how do you account for all the measurements and description?
Presumably, by seeing it thru the eyes of the NT instead of the Talmud or Mishnah? Or even the Torah for that matter, 'for Messiah is the end of the law' (Rom. 10:4). Alternatively, we could call it the 'Jacked Up' hermeneutic if you still prefer that kinda terminology to describe how the writers of the NT interpret the OT? But if you're serious about wanting to know the meaning of all that apparently unnecessary detail, the following 'jacked up' interpretation may help.
The Everlasting Temple (40:5-42:20)
This portion of the vision describes the Temple Area and its contents. Ezekiel’s journey begins here because in the World to Come the Temple—or rather the worship of him who inhabits the Temple—will be of first importance. Also, as he learns later in his tour, the Temple Area will be situated at the absolute center of the Land. Thus, by speaking first of the center of life in the World to Come, the Spirit alerts us to the fact that in the eschaton the worship of God in Christ will lie at the heart of all things. If we limit ourselves to the essentials, the plan of the Temple Area is fairly easy to describe. It is a perfect square (42:15-20). At the exact center is the altar (43:13-17). Behind the altar, to the West, stands the Sanctuary, or the Temple itself. Elevated upon its base, it is comprised of the Most Holy Place (another perfect square), the Holy Place, and a portico. The whole structure is enclosed on the North, South, and West by three galleries containing 90 side rooms (41:5-11).
The Sanctuary and the altar are enclosed by a small rectangular court (40:47). On either side of the Sanctuary, just outside this court, are buildings with more chambers for the priests (42:1-10). Behind the Sanctuary to the West are three separate buildings, two of which contain utensils for the preparation of the various sacrifices (46:19-20). On the North, East, and South sides of the Temple court there are gateways, each containing chambers for the Temple guards (40:28-38). Surrounding the entire Temple Area is a large outer court, bounded by four high walls each measuring 500 cubits in length. Thus, it too is a perfect square. In the middle of the Northern, Eastern, and Southern walls there are large gates, each with chambers for the Temple guards (40:5, 16-20). Ezekiel’s tour was “outside-in” and “inside-out.” He enters through the Eastern Gate of the outer court, proceeds towards the Most Holy Place of the Temple (which he does not enter), and exits again through the Eastern Gate.
While it is undoubtedly true that each element of this vision contains rich typological significance, we cannot see the trees until we behold the forest. In other words, we must first ask ourselves, “What does the Temple Area as a whole symbolize?” The NT answers in no uncertain terms. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days” (John 2:18). For Christ, the Temple of God was—and would be—his body. The apostle Paul elaborates, declaring that God the Father gave Christ to be head over all things to the Church, which is his Body, the fullness of him who fills
all in all (Eph. 1:22-23, 5:22ff). So then, the Temple is not simply Jesus’ physical body, but rather his mystical Body, the Church, of which he is the Head. Paul states this explicitly, affirming that Christ’s ever-expanding Church is a “holy Temple in the Lord, in whom (the saints) are being built together into a dwelling-place of God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-21).
These NT passages reveal the true sphere of fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple Area. In other words, God was using OT ideas and images to give him a glimpse of the Church—the Body of Christ—as she will exist in the eschaton. John the Revelator confirms that this vision was indeed symbolic. In a vision of his own—but much influenced by Ezekiel’s—he describes the new earth. However, he sees no temple. Why? Because “… the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple” (Rev. 21:22). In the World to Come (the very theme of Ezekiel’s prophecy) there will be no Temple of wood or stone. Instead, the glorious Body of God the Son will be the glorious Temple of God the Father. We conclude, then, with Duguid, that Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple Area is “architectural theology;” that it uses OT temple imagery to set forth important theological truths about Christ and the Church. In particular, we may say that in this early portion of the vision the Spirit uses OT type and shadow to picture the completed Body of Christ, enjoying the life of Christ, because of the merits of the Work of Christ, even as it awaits the gift of the glory of God the Father at the Coming of Christ. This thesis requires further explanation. It is best, however, to offer it as we look at some of the more important details of Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple Area.
1. The Outer Walls (40:5, 16-20)
The outer walls—which are very high, thick, and strong—are “walls of salvation” (40:5, 16-20; Isaiah 60:18). They represent the mighty power of the Person and Work of Christ “to separate the holy from the common;” to deliver and preserve his Body from the presence, power, and penalty of sin (42:20). Even today, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the High King of Heaven has erected a legal and spiritual barrier between his Church on the one hand, and the world, the flesh, the devil, and the judgments of God on the other (Ex. 14:19-20, John 17:15, 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1, 1 Pet. 1:1-2, Rev. 18:4). In the Age to Come, that barrier will be perfect and complete. The sin and defilement that entered ethnic Israel’s former temple area will never enter spiritual Israel’s eschatological Temple Area (Ezek. 8-9, Rev. 22:15). The God who abandoned ethnic Israel’s earthly sanctuary will never abandon spiritual Israel’s heavenly sanctuary (Ezek. 10). In the words of one commentator, the World to Come will be a “Paradise with Walls”—walls of salvation that mightily keep evil out and God in. Therefore, it will be a world that can never fall again.
2. Gates and Gateways (40:6-27)
The three gates in the walls surrounding the outer court, and the three gateways to the inner court, all symbolize spiritual access, access made possible by the redemptive work of the triune God. Because of that work, God the Father, by the Holy Spirit, can henceforth gain access to the Body of Christ, just as he did on the Day of Pentecost, and just as he has done ever since, whenever he calls a saint to newness of life in his Son (John 14:15-24, Acts 2:1f). Because of that work, the saints now have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:18), and to the everlasting grace in which they now stand (Rom. 5:1-2, nkjv). Also, because of that same work, the God of glory will gain consummate access to the Body of Christ at the Parousia on the Last Day (Ezek. 43:1-4, Rev. 21:3, 11, 23). Notably, the spiritual access described in Ezekiel’s vision is not unlimited: None but the priests may enter the Sanctuary, the Eastern Gate must remain closed except on Sabbaths and New Moons, etc. Such restrictions are fitting in a distinctly Old Testament revelation of the Kingdom, a revelation given at a time when the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest (Heb. 9:8). Nevertheless, the restrictions are not without significance for NT believers in Jesus, since they serve to remind us that apart from Christ’s priestly work we have no access whatsoever to God. Happily, because of its infinite sufficiency, that work does indeed give God and (redeemed) man complete, unrestricted access to one another, as the Revelation picturesquely affirms (Rev. 21:25).
3. The Outer and Inner Courts (40:28-35)
Next we have the two courts, both outer and inner. More than any other element of the Temple Area, they bring to mind the idea of “holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). It is ground created by the walls of salvation, and therefore suitable as a meeting-place for God and (redeemed) man (Psalm 65:4). For the OT saints, the temple courts were a place of spiritual satisfaction (Psalm 84:2, 10), flourishing (Psalm 92:13), gratitude, joy, and praise (Psalm 100:4, 135:2-3). In his vision of God’s eschatological courts, Ezekiel is therefore telling us that in that Day the LORD’s holy people/royal priesthood will be able to meet with God on the ground of Christ, and so enjoy all these blessings forever.
4. The Chambers (40:38-44, 42:1-15)
The Temple Area contains a great abundance of chambers. Embedded in the walls and the buildings, they are mostly for the use of the (Zadokite) priests, but also for singers and (Levitical) gatekeepers (40:39-45, 42:1-10, 46:19-24). This calls to mind how Christ has strategically &ldquo ; S E T ” each of his charismatically gifted children into his Body, so they may become vital, functioning members thereof (1 Cor. 12:18). Each of his “royal priests” occupies an appointed niche and has an appointed ministry to fulfill (1 Peter 2:9, 4:10-11). The prophet’s vision also reminds us of the words of Christ, who said that in his Father’s house there are many dwelling-places (John 14:2; niv, “rooms”). These are not physical structures, but spiritual spheres of service. The chambers in Ezekiel’s Temple vision depict the eternal gifts and callings of the saints (Luke 19:17).
5. The Sanctuary, or Temple Building (40:48-41:26)
This tri-partite structure—consisting of a portico, an outer sanctuary (the Holy Place), and an inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place)—is the dwelling-place of the Presence and Glory of God. It displays four notable characteristics corresponding to its NT antitype, the Body of Christ. First, the Sanctuary is elevated above all other structures in the Temple Area. Even in the World to Come, the Body of Christ will be seated in heavenly places; she will be high and lifted up, not spatially, but spiritually, in virtue of her surpassing holiness and intimacy with the Triune God (Isaiah 52:13, Eph. 2:6, Rev. 21:10). Secondly, the Sanctuary is protected, not only by walls, chambers, buildings, buffer zones, courts, and gates, but also by divine decree. This is especially true of the Most Holy Place: Only God himself, and the angel whom he sent to the prophet, are permitted to enter by its exceedingly narrow door. If we think of this Sanctuary as a true physical structure, the message here is indeed a gloomy one, speaking as it does of sinful man’s exclusion from the Presence of the Holy God. But if, with John the Revelator, we think of the Sanctuary as a spiritual structure—as the Body of Christ itself—then suddenly we find Ezekiel giving us something vastly more encouraging: a holy people, filled with the Holy Spirit, indwelt by the holy God, and therefore eternally secure from every defilement and punishment of sin (Rev. 21:1-3, 17-18, 22, 27).
Thirdly, the Sanctuary is ever served (and preserved) by sacrifice. As we have seen, an altar of sacrifice stands before it at the absolute center of the land. Also, it is surrounded by various kinds of rooms that house priests and implements devoted to sacrifices for sin. On this score, the NT blessedly relieves our distress. No, it is not that in the eschaton Jewish priests will offer animal sacrifices forever. Rather, it is that Christ, our eternal High Priest and Sacrifice, will ever live to present the merits of his once-for-all sacrifice to the Father; he will ever live to make intercession for his Body, so that the Presence of the Holy God may ever fill his Body (Isaiah 53:12, Rom. 8:34, Heb. 7:25, 27, 10:10). Finally, the Sanctuary is a dwelling-place, not only for God, but also for man. True, the priests cannot remain in it, or even enter the Most Holy Place. But as we have seen, many of them live in the 90 side-chambers attached to it. The three tiers of galleries, each containing30 (3x10) chambers, call to mind the redemptive work of the Holy Trinity: Together, the three Persons have created one many-membered Body of Christ, a holy priesthood that lives forever in (close proximity to) God, even as God lives forever in (close proximity to) it (John 17:23, 26, 1 Peter 2:5, Eph. 2:22).
6. Palm Trees and Cherubim (41:15-20, 24-36)
In passing, it is well worth noting that on the walls and door jambs of the Sanctuary Ezekiel saw carved images of palm trees and cherubim, situated one between the other. Each cherub had two faces, one of a man, the other of a lion, with each face looking towards an adjacent palm tree (41:15-20). Here the vision begins to incorporate inspiring pictures of Paradise regained. The palm trees remind us of Eden’s lush vegetation; indeed, of the Tree of Life itself. The cherubim recall Adam and Eve’s expulsion and exile from the Garden (Gen. 3:24). Here, however, the holy angels—just like the walls of salvation—are not keeping God’s people out, but keeping them in. In the eschaton, the world will become a Temple-Garden for God’s people. The mighty cherubim, whose faces embody the compassion of the Son of Man (Heb. 4:14-15) and the royal power of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5), will stand watch, this time guaranteeing perpetual access to the Tree of Life.
Dean Davis
The High King of Heaven, pp332-337
BOB DYLAN- Property of JESUS from Keith Diaz on Vimeo.