We
are about to see Ezekiel carried "in vision" to the land of Israel
and
shown that glorious sanctuary of the Millennium.
In
the closing verses of Ezekiel chapter 37
just
before we saw the final battle of Hamon-gog in chapters 38 and 39,
God
promised the Millennial sanctuary?
Here it is:
Not only that, He promised to return and be with His people.Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
And Everyone shall know that the "I AM THAT I AM" of Israel is the LORD![27] My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
[28] And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
It
is the same final generation that Christ spoke of in Matthew 24 and Mark
13,
the
final generation of the fig tree which began on May 15, 1948.
Yes, there will be Baby Boomers who will see the return of Jesus Christ.
Just
as the Book of Ezekiel begins with visions,
it
also ends with visions,
all
of which are visions that the sons and daughters of God's servants
in
the last days would come understand (Acts 2:17).
We
are about to see Ezekiel carried "in vision" to the land of Israel
and
shown that glorious sanctuary of the Millennium.
It
is worth remembering that eventually,
in
the 3rd Earth Age, i.e. throughout eternity,
there
will be no temple,
for
the Lord GOD Almighty and the Lamb ARE the temple,
even
as Christ is that temple now if you have understanding.
Rev. 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Here it is:
Rev. 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Ezekiel 40:1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.
[2] 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.
Consider
that we are going to see the kingdom of God during the Millennium
"from
the top down".
[3] 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.
If
you are a student of the prophets then you may recall
that
the prophet Daniel was also visited by "Vision Man"
whose
appearance was also like unto polished brass.
Daniel 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:[6] His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
[7] And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
The
men that were with him COULD NOT see it,
so
neither could they understand it.
So
too, there will be those with you who do not have eyes to see and ears
to hear
that
will not SEE the visions of Ezekiel chapters 40 through 48,
for
the visions are indeed spiritual as we now continue to document.
However,
before we move on,
did
you notice that the man of brass appeared with two measuring tools,
a
line of flax (linen) and a measuring reed,
kind
of like a tape measure, for longer measurements and a yardstick for shorter
ones?
Our
Father has unique ways of revealing His truth to us
even
as we have seen the "line" and the "reed" used elsewhere
when
He wanted to "size things up" for us!
The measuring line:
The reed:Zech. 2:1-2 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. [2] Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
Rev. 21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Ezekiel 40:4 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;
IF
YOU MISS this verse,
the
rest of the Book of Ezekiel will be little more than a description of a
temple building and a city.
1
Cor. 2:14 " But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned."
[4... continued] 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.
And
make that which you UNDERSTAND
part
of your teaching and declaration to your people.
Now
notice the very first thing Ezekiel SEES...
behold
a WALL round about the Temple.
[5] And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about,...
We
know that the Glory of God is returning to the temple,
even
Jesus Christ,
but
the "spiritually dead" cannot partake of that "Tree of Life"
until
after the 1000 years is finished.
Thus,
there will be a "wall" between them and Christ
(See
Ezek. 43:8 now or wait until we get there.).
In
other words, those who were not part of the first resurrection
cannot
approach Christ and receive eternal life
until
the time of second resurrection,
the
Great White Throne Judgment.
The
very fact alone that a "Temple"
will
once again be set up should tell us that, shouldn't it?
Remember,
after the lake of fire
and
the city of New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven,
there
will be no temple therein:
Rev.
21:22 "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it.
Right
now, during this dispensation of grace,
when
many do not even believe that God exists,
all
who WILL can approach Christ and enter the Holy of Holies,
but
during the Millennium that will not be the case.
For
everyone SHALL KNOW that He is Lord,
for
they shall see His Glory,
but
they must "learn" and "want" of their own free will to follow Him
and
His ways and not Satan and his ways.
They
will have NO CHOICE but to learn
and
follow His ways during the Millennium.
(That's
where we will see the Zadok and the saints of the 1st Resurrection come
in.)
After
that, Satan will be released for a short season
when
they can PROVE on their own
whether
they still want to or not!
THEN... the judgment!
Let's complete verse 5.
[5... continued] 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.
But
LOOK, the cubit used here has an ADDED hand
breadth,
a
SEVENTH one!
The number "7" in Biblical Numerics means "Spiritual Perfection" (see appendix 10 in the Companion Bible).
Since
the reed used here is one seventh larger than that used in Solomon's Temple,
this
gives the Millennium Temple an ADDED DIMENSION
and
that dimension and the measurements thereof are SPIRITUAL.
Behold?
(Remember, we are in the Lord's Day,
the
Sabbath Day, the 7th Day, and we are all in
our spiritual bodies.)
Let's recap what we have learned so far from the first five verses which, if you noticed, ALL contain something spiritual, or "supernatural", to set the stage from the beginning that what we are going to read in the closing Millennial Chapters of the Book of Ezekiel is spiritual not physical.
1. The hand of God came upon Ezekiel and took him in "visions" to "eretz Israel", the land of Israel, and set him upon the "north side" of the highest mountain where he was looking south.2. He was then taken to the temple where a celestial being was waiting with measuring tools to be his spiritual instructor and SIZE-UP the temple for his understanding.
3. The angel then told Ezekiel to get his eyes and ears open and discern what he is about to be shown, then teach it to the house of Israel.
4. Then, the first thing Ezekiel was shown was a WALL outside the temple.
5. Ezekiel, now with his eyes open, saw that the measuring reed used by the angel was one seventh larger than usual and the wall was one reed by one reed.
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