Ezekiel Chapter 40 Vs. 5

 

The East Gate to the Outer Court

And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. Eze 40:5




And behold a... The 65th prophecy in Ezekiel (Eze. 40:5-48:35, unfulfilled).



Last prophecy in Ezekiel. Twenty-six Predictions—Unfulfilled:

1. The building of the millennial and eternal sanctuary (Eze. 40:5-42:20)—many details in this prediction

2. The return to the temple of the glory of God which departed at the time of the Babylonian captivity (Eze. 43:1-5 with Eze. 10:4)

3. The establishment of the eternal kingdom and throne of Messiah (Eze. 43:6-7)

4. Eternal blessing on Israel (Eze. 43:7)

5. God dwelling in the midst of Israel forever (Eze. 43:7, 43:9)

6. New laws of the temple given (Eze. 43:10-12)

7. Restoration of the great altar of sacrifice (Eze. 43:13-17)

8. New ordinances of the altar (Eze. 43:18-22)

9. New priesthood and worship

10. Dedication of the altar (Eze. 43:23-24)

11. Consecration of priests (Eze. 43:24-26)

12. New service of the priests (Eze. 43:27)

13. Shutting of the east gate (Eze. 44:1-2)

14. Instructions to the prince (Eze. 44:3)

15. New laws of the temple (Eze. 44:5)

16. New laws to Israel (Eze. 44:6-9)

17. Rebellious Levites to continue in punishment for their rebellion (Eze. 44:10)

18. New services of rebellious Levites (Eze. 44:11-14)

19. Faithful priests blessed (Eze. 44:15-16)

20. New laws to priests (Eze. 44:16-31)

21. Setting apart the holy oblation (Eze. 45:1-7; 48:8-22)

22. New division of land to the 12 tribes (Eze. 45:9; Eze. 47:13-48:7, Eze. 48:23-29)

23. New laws for all Israel (Eze. 45:9-12)

24. New worship in Israel (Eze. 45:13-46:24)

25. New and eternal river (Eze. 47:1-12)

26. New and eternal Jerusalem (Eze. 48:30-35)

one reed; and... A measuring reed was six cubits, but this one was based on the long cubit which is defined here as "the cubit and an hand breadth." A cubit was 18 inches long and the hand breadth, which is width of the hand at the base of the fingers, was a sixth of a cubit or 3 inches. So the long cubit was 21 inches and this reed was 10 feet 6 inches long. Therefore, the outer wall of the house, which was the outer wall of the outer court surrounding the temple, was 10 feet 6 inches tall and 10 feet 6 inches thick.

We are now, looking at the wall on the outside of the house which in reality is the temple. This outer wall is later described as a separation of the holy areas.

This could not be the heavenly temple since Ezekiel was taken to Israel to see it (verse 2). It could not be Zerubbabel’s temple since the glory of God was not present then. It could not be the eternal temple since the Lord and the Lamb are its temple. Therefore, it must be the earthly millennial temple built with all of the exquisite details that are yet to be outlined.



The angelic being with Ezekiel had a measuring rod… six long cubits, each of which was a cubit and a hand-breadth. A common cubit was about 18 inches long and a long cubit (probably the one used in Ezek.) was about 21 inches long So the measuring rod was about 10½ feet in length. The wall surrounding the temple was 10½ feet (one… rod) thick and 10½ feet (one rod) high. We are, now, looking at the wall on the outside of the house which in reality is the temple. This outer wall is later described as a separation of the holy areas.

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 35

 

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? Rom 11:35

shall be recompensed... Greek: antapodidomi, repay. Here; Rom. 12:17; Luke 14:14; 1Thes. 3:9; 2Thes. 1:6; Heb. 10:30. God pays His debts to His creatures.

1Cor. 4:7 “For who maketh thee to differ ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive , why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received ?” We did not give to God, He gave even our life to us. We are what we are by the grace of God. We had absolutely nothing to do with that family we were born in, or what race we are, or what color our hair is, or how tall we are, or how intelligent we are: God chose. This verse in Job says it all.

Job 35:7 ”If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?”

The apostle then quoted Isa. 40:13, which shows that God is the sole Designer of His wise plan. No one knows His mind or gives Him advice. This is followed by a free quotation from Job. 41:11, which testifies to God’s sole responsibility for His acts. God is indeed the Sovereign of all things, the One to whom all creatures are accountable and whom all should glorify. He is under no obligation to repay anyone, for no one has ever given Him anything.

Ezekiel Chapter 40 Vs. 4

 

Vision of the New Temple

And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. Eze 40:4

behold with thine... Four commands to Ezekiel:

1. Behold with your eyes.

2. Hear with your ears.

3. Set your heart upon all that I will show you.

4. Declare all that you see to Israel.

Whoever this figure of a man is (could possibly be Jesus), is warning Ezekiel to not see with his eyes and not see, or hear with his ears and not hear. He is warned to not only look at these things, but look carefully and retain what he sees. He is also, cautioning Ezekiel to hear every Word correctly, and retain every Word he hears. Ezekiel is to carry this message to those Israelites in captivity. The message is really for Israel.

On that very day… God… took Ezekiel back to Jerusalem in a vision (cf. Eze. 8:1-3). Jerusalem was then vastly different from what it was before. Ezekiel was led on a “tour” of the future temple which he recorded in remarkable detail. This tour was given by a man, probably an angel, whose appearance was like bronze.

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 34

 

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Rom 11:34

For who hath... Questions 80-82. Next, Rom. 13:3.

(Quoted from Isa. 40:13) “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him?”

God is all in all. We need Him, He does not need us. He loves us and wants us, but He does not need us.

Rev. 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

You see, the reason we were created in the first place was for God’s pleasure. We are His, we are not our own.

As above the apostle then quoted Isa. 40:13, which shows that God is the sole Designer of His wise plan. No one knows His mind or gives Him advice. This is followed by a free quotation from Job 41:11, which testifies to God’s sole responsibility for His acts. God is indeed the Sovereign of all things, the One to whom all creatures are accountable and whom all should glorify.

Ezekiel Chapter 40 Vs. 3

 Vision of the New Temple

And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. Eze 40:3





An angel conducted a tour of all the details shown to the prophet, appearing in the form of a man appearing like bright, gleaming bronze.

He could be understood as the Angel of the Lord since he is called “Lord” as you will see when we come to (44:2).

His “line of flax” was for larger measurements, the “rod” for shorter ones. (Rev. 11:1; 21:5). God measured what belongs to Him.

He could be understood as the Angel of the Lord since he is called “Lord” as you will see when we come to 44:2.




This tour was given by a man, probably an angel, whose appearance was like bronze.

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 33

 

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Rom 11:33

of the wisdom... The majesty, grandeur and wisdom of God’s plan revealed (in verses 1-32), caused Paul to burst out in praise. This doxology is a fitting response not only to God’s future plans for Israel (chapters 9-11), but to Paul’s entire discussion of justification by faith (chapters 1-11).

Col. 2:3: “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

how unsearchable are... The minute we start speaking of someone who had no beginning and had no end, you get beyond our comprehension. In Proverbs, it lists so many things that God has done that we could never understand. Just the fact that God placed a planet in open space and it has stayed there is really unbelievable. Nature itself, tells us that there is an intelligence so far superior to us.

and his ways... Have you made any worlds lately? Neither have I. The human body is so complicated that doctors still do not know everything about it. Just look around you, and it will not be hard to realize that God is a mystery that our brain could never figure out. The best thing to do is just let God be God and realize that He has everything figured out for us. Accept Him on simple faith and then do it His way.

To God’s Glory And Praise

As Paul ended his discussion on the revelation of God’s righteousness in His sovereign choice, he burst forth in a doxology of praise to God. He exclaimed, Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! The plan of God for the salvation of all people demonstrates God’s infinite knowledge and His ability to use it wisely. God has revealed some of His judgments and His paths (“ways”) so that people may know them, but it is humanly impossible to exhaust them. Beyond tracing out translates the one word anexichniastoi, which means “incapable of being traced by footprints.” In Eph. 3:8, its only other use in the New Testament, it is rendered “unsearchable” and refers to the riches of Christ.

Ezekiel Chapter 40 Vs. 2

 The Hand of the Lord

In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. Eze 40:2

In the visions... The visions of Ezekiel 40-48 concern things in the Millennium immediately following the regathering of Israel (Eze. 37:1-28), and the battle of Armageddon (Ezekiel 38-39). These millennial conditions will continue in the New Earth period and throughout all eternity.

Seven Visions of Eternal Things:

1. The future and eternal capital of all the earth—Jerusalem (Eze. 40:2; 48:30-35)

2. Rebuilt eternal temple (Eze. 40:5-43:12):

(1) The outer and inner courts and the gates (Eze. 40:5-43)

(2) The priests’ rooms (Eze. 40:44-46; 42:1-14)

(3) The altar court (Eze. 40:47)

(4) The temple itself (Eze. 40:48-41:26)

(5) The outer wall—4 sides (Eze. 42:15-20)

(6) The returning glory and restored monarchy (Eze. 43:1-12)

(7) The sacrificial altar (Eze. 43:13-17)

(8) Ordinances of the altar—reorganized services (Eze. 43:18-44:8)

(9) The restored priesthood (Eze. 44:9-21)

3. The holy oblation and new division of the land (Eze. 45:1-8)

4. The new civil and religious laws (Eze. 45:9-46:24)

5. The millennial river (Eze. 47:1-12)

6. New division of the land (Eze. 47:13-48:7, 48:23-29)

7. The holy oblation—including the temple and city sites (Eze. 48:8-21, 48:30-35)

a very high...

Visions of Ezekiel and John

Here Ezekiel saw the future and eternal promised land, earthly Jerusalem, the temple, and the eternal worship (Eze. 40:5-48:35). He saw this from a very high mountain. Compare the vision of John on a great and high mountain when he saw the new earth, new heaven, the New Jerusalem, and other eternal things (Rev. 21:10). Ezekiel saw things as they will be from the beginning of the Millennium into eternity; John saw things beginning with the new earth into eternity. Ezekiel saw the eternal heavenly Jerusalem. Ezekiel saw Christ and His eternal reign (Eze. 43:7); John saw God and Christ and their eternal joint reigns after the putting down of all rebellion on earth by Christ (1Cor. 15:24-28; Rev. 11:15; 20:4-10; 21:3-7; 22:5).

frame of a... This city was the earthly Jerusalem that will be built by Christ at His second coming (Eze. 45:6-7; 48:15-35).

We must remember that Ezekiel had been in Babylon. This vision is in Jerusalem, or nearby. The mountain, spoken of, is speaking, possibly, of one of the mountains in the Jerusalem area and could be Mt. Zion which is approximately 3280 feet tall.

This area is about 2000 feet above the Mediterranean Sea. It is even higher than that, above the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on earth. The frame of the city seemed to be south of where Ezekiel was looking. An angel conducted a tour of all the details shown to the prophet, appearing in the form of a man appearing like bright, gleaming bronze.





The date was sometime in 573 b.c. The phrase “the beginning of the year” poses some problems. The Israelite religious new year began in Nisan (April-May) and was established at the time of the Exodus (Exo. 12:1-2). However, in Israel’s later history the seventh month, Tishri (October-November), became established as the first month of Israel’s civil or regnal year. So the date would be either April 28, 573 b.c. or October 22, 573 b.c. The October date was also the Day of Atonement (cf. Lev. 23:27).

On that very day… God… took Ezekiel back to Jerusalem in a vision (cf. Eze. 8:1-3). Jerusalem was then vastly different from what it was before.