RTW 2023

Then the man brought me through the north gateway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD, and I fell face down on the ground.

Ezekiel 44:4

Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed. And the LORD said to me, “This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut.

Ezekiel 44:1,2

What we don’t know:

• Was the temple in Ezekiel literal for the future or figurative/symbolic? https://www.gotquestions.org/Ezekiel-temple.html
• Why were the instructions for sacrifice different in Ezekiel 45:13-46:24 than in the Pentateuch/Torah?
• Why were there no vertical measurements for the temple structure in Ezekiel?

What we do know:

• From the beginning of human history, God’s plan has always been to dwell with His people.
• The rituals of the temple were always meant to point to “God with us.”
• The Temple in Ezekiel may have been a symbol for perfection/temple language, fulfilled and embodied perfectly in Jesus.
• Jesus declared Himself to be “living water” at Sukkot in the Temple when the priest poured out living water on the altar. Jesus was once again communicating that the Temple and all its rituals pointed not just to a system of power but to a very real and faithful God. (Note: I quoted the verse incorrectly in the video. Correct verse: On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”  John 7:37-38)

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We can build the “temple” right now, today, because Jesus is always with us. We can build God’s Kingdom when we do things like love our neighbor, heal the sick, feed the hungry, comfort the lonely, and store up treasure in Heaven.