Ezekiel Chapter 43 Vs. 17

 The Altar

And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east. Eze 43:17

And the settle... Again, using the (18 inch cubit), this would be (21 feet by 21 feet square). There is a small border that goes around it. This is so tall, that stairs must be climbed to offer the sacrifice.

The height of the altar above the ground (10 cubits) corresponds to the altar constructed by Solomon (2Ch. 4:1). However, since Solomon used the shorter 18-inch cubit (2Ch. 3:3), the total height of his altar was only 15 feet compared with an above-ground height of 17½ feet for the millennial altar. The altar hearth, 21 feet square, was reached by a flight of steps facing east.

Romans Chapter 16 Vs. 15

 

Personal Greetings

Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. Rom 16:15

Salute Philologus, and... At least seven women are named in this chapter: Phebe (Rom. 16:1), Priscilla (Rom. 16:3), Mary (Rom. 16:6), Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis (Rom. 16:12), Julia (Rom. 16:15); and mention is made of an unnamed sister of Nereus (Rom. 16:15). All of them were Christian workers, deaconesses and prophetesses who "labor in the Lord" (Rom. 16:12). This indicates that they labored in the ministry of the Word. There were a number of prophetesses in the early church (see, Acts 21:9).

Nereus, and his... This man, named Nereus after the sea-god of the Aegean, retained his heathen name.

Philologus means “fond of talk”.

There were many Julias at this time, and no one knows for sure which one she is.

Nothing more is known of Nereus or Olympas.

Julia may have been the wife of Philologus. Two other husband-wife teams were Priscilla and Aquila (Rom. 16:3) and (possibly) Andronicus and Junias (Rom. 16:7). Nereus and his sister were then greeted, though the sister’s name is not given. And finally, greetings were sent to Olympas and all the saints with him. This group may have been the leaders of another house church (cf. Rom. 16:14).

Of all these individuals only Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament for certain; yet Paul knew them all individually and sent personal greetings to them and their associates. Paul cannot properly be charged with not being “a people person.” He closed this section with the command, Greet one another with a holy kiss, the mode of salutation similar to the handshake today (cf. see 1Cor. 16:20; also cf. 2Cor. 13:12; 1Thes. 5:26; 1Pet. 5:14) and with a general word of salutation, All the churches of Christ send greetings (lit., “greet you”).

Ezekiel Chapter 43 Vs. 16

 The Altar

And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. Eze 43:16

And the alter... If these are the regular 18 inch cubit, the altar is (18 feet long). It will also be (18 feet broad). The lower settle could symbolize the mount of God, and the upper settle could be speaking of the hearth of God.

At any rate, this is where the sacrifice is made.

The height of the altar above the ground (10 cubits) corresponds to the altar constructed by Solomon (2Ch. 4:1).

Romans Chapter 16 Vs. 14

 

Personal Greetings

Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. Rom 16:14

Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon,... The ten persons in Rom. 16:14-15 are mentioned only here. The Hermas here is not the one who wrote The Shepherd of Hermas in 120 A.D.

The only thing we know about Asyncritus is that the name means “incomparable”.

Phlegon means “burning”. Historians say he was one of the original 70 disciples of Christ.

Hermas is celebrated as a saint on May 9th by the Romans. Hermas means “mercury”.

The next five names mentioned together (Rom. 16:14) evidently had something in common, perhaps as leaders of another house church. This may be indicated by the reference to the brothers with them. They are all common names, particularly among slaves.

Ezekiel Chapter 43 Vs. 15

 The Altar

So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. Eze 43:15

So the alter... The 72 (or about 86 inches), is actually the height of the entire altar.

and upward shall...The 4 horns extending upward from the altar symbolize strength.

The height of the altar was 19’ feet (11 long cubits; but part of this was below ground.

Romans Chapter 16 Vs. 13

 

Personal Greetings

Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Rom 16:13

Salute Rufus... This is perhaps the one mentioned in Mark 15:21. His mother acted as a mother to Paul so they were very close.

Biblical scholars generally agree that he was one of the sons of Simon of Cyrene, the man enlisted to carry Jesus’ cross and was likely saved through that contact with Christ. Mark wrote his gospel in Rome, possibly after the letter to Rome was written and circulated. Paul would not have mentioned Rufus if that name were not well known to the church in Rome.

chosen in the... Meaning he was elected to salvation. This indicates he was widely known as an extraordinary believer because of his great love and service.

Rufus was not Paul’s natural brother. Rather Rufus’ mother, the wife of Simon of Cyrene, at some time had cared for Paul during his ministry travels.

Whether Rufus is the same person mentioned in Mark 15:21 or not is uncertain. If so, then he, as a son of Simon of Cyrene, was a North African. Paul said Rufus was chosen in the Lord, a statement true of every believer (cf. Eph. 1:4).

Consequently the word translated “chosen” may mean “eminent,” since it was given to Rufus as a statement of distinction. The greeting included Rufus’ mother who, Paul said, had also been a mother to him. Paul obviously did not say she was his actual mother, but he had been the recipient of her motherly care.

Ezekiel Chapter 43 Vs. 14

 The Altar

And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. Eze 43:14

from the bottom... This seems to be in layers the first area closest to the ground is two cubits tall. If we are using the cubit plus a hand span, this is about (43 inches in depth). If this is a regular cubit it would be (36 inches tall). This would probably be (21.648 inches wide).

and from the... From the lesser to the greater settle would be either (72 inches or about 86 inches), according to which cubit you use. The breadth is the same as the other.