1Afterward, he brought me to the gate facing east,
2And I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the way of the east. His voice was like a sound of rushing waters; and the earth was radiant with His glory.
3And the vision that I saw was like the vision that I saw when He came to destroy the city; and like the visions that I saw by the river Chebar (Kebar); and I fell upon my face.
4And the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.
5Then the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
6And while the man stood by me, I heard Him speaking to me out of the temple;
7And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet; this is where I will dwell among the children of Israel forever, and the people of Israel shall no more defile My holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, nor by their funeral processions for their kings upon their death.
8When they set their threshold next to My threshold, and their doorposts next to My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them; they have defiled My holy name by the abominations that they have committed; therefore, I have consumed them in My anger.
9Now let them put away their harlotry, and their funeral processions for their deceased kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.
10You, son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them consider the pattern.
11And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, show them the design of the temple, and the form of it, and its egresses and entrances, and all its design, and all its regulations and laws; and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.
12This is the law of the temple: All of the surrounding area on the top of the mountain shall be most holy. Such is the law of the house.
13And these are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (approximately 21 inches): The cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth; Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around the edge. And this is the height of the altar:
14From the gutter the altar rises 3½ feet to a lower ledge that surrounds the altar and is 21 inches wide. From the lower ledge the altar rises 7 feet to the upper ledge that is also 21 inches wide.
15Above that, the altar hearth is four cubits high, and four horns project upward from the hearth.
16And the altar hearth is square, twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide.
17The upper ledge also is square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit. The steps of the altar face east.”
18And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the LORD God: ‘These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built:
19And you are to give a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before Me, says the LORD God.
20And You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it.
21You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.
22On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull.
23When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.
24And you shall offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
25For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.
26For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it.
27And at the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the LORD God.” Who is the “prince”, referred to in Ezekiel, beginning in chapter 44, verse:3, then in chapter 45 vv.7,8,16,17 & 22, and continuing in chapter 46, vv. 2,4,8,10,12,16,17,18, and ending in chapter 48, vv.21,22? This passage in Ezekiel is describing the worship of the Lord that will take place in the future millennium (1,000 year) reign of Christ as described in Rev. 20. There will be a new temple as described here in Ezekiel, and this “prince” will be the mortal – and moral – leader of the people during this period.) It is probably easier to say who these verses do not refer to, than to say with any certainty who they do refer to: They do not refer to Christ, the Messiah. At least two facts support this assertion: 1. This prince will offer sin offerings for himself, as well as for the people (45:22) - Christ is sinless. 2. This prince will have physical sons (See 46:16-17, below) If not David, it is most likely someone in David’s line. In II Sam. 7:12-13, we read: 12And when your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, which shall proceed out of your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Ezekiel 34:23-24 may offer some insight into the prince’s identity: 23And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd. 24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant, David, will be a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken it. Ezekiel 46:16-17 - 16Thus says the LORD God: “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, the inheritance of it shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance. 17But if he gives part of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall belong to his servant until the year of liberty; afterward it shall return to the prince, but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
    |