Chapter 3 - The Date Of Ezekiel's Vision Of The Temple

3.The date of Ezekiel’s vision ofthe temple (Ezekiel 40:1,2)IntroductionEzekiel prophesied in momentous times. The Kingdom of Israel reached itszenith during the reigns of David and Solomon, and since those glorious days ithad been in steady decline. The children of Israel forsook the God of theirfathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, choosing rather to serve the gods of theheathen around them. In the days of Rehoboam the kingdom was divided bycivil war, and when Ezekiel prophesied some four hundred years after the time ofDavid, the Assyrians had already descended and carried off the inhabitants ofthe northern kingdom of Israel into captivity. Now the prophet bore witness to theoutpouring of the wrath of God upon the southern kingdom of Judah, asNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried off the two tribes into captivity. Ezekielhimself was among the captives who were taken to Babylon, and it was throughhim that God chose to speak to His people in the land of their captivity.In the last recorded set of visions the prophet received, recorded in Ezekiel40-48, the subject matter is focused on the temple - not the temple that wasdestroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar in the days of Ezekiel the prophet, but atemple that has yet to be built in Zion, even today. Whilst in the land of theircaptivity, Ezekiel’s temple vision would have given his fellow captives hope thatIsrael’s ultimate restoration would indeed take place.In the grace of God we, who live far distant from the days of Ezekiel, have beencalled to embrace “the hope of Israel”1, and bound up with this hope is theprospect of eternal life through the work of the Saviour2. The visions of Ezekiel1Acts 28:202See Acts 23:6; 26:6,727

can likewise serve to strengthen our faith, and sharpen our desire for the comingof the Kingdom of God, when God will perform the truth to Jacob, and themercy to Abraham, which He has sworn to the fathers from the days of old3 .The date of the visionThe temple visions were given to Ezekiel “in the five and twentieth year of ourcaptivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in thefourteenth year after that the city was smitten”4 . The whole of Ezekiel’sprophecy is punctuated by specific dates5, and the years relate to Jehoiachin’scaptivity, as can be seen from the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophecy: “Now it cameto pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, asI was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened,and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year ofking Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel thepriest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and thehand of the LORD was there upon him”6 .The city of Jerusalem was smitten in the eleventh year of Jehoiachin’s captivity,which also therefore corresponds to the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign. Thehistorical account says that Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem inZedekiah’s ninth year, and the city was finally broken up in his eleventh year:“And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in thetenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and allhis host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against itround about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, andthere was no bread for the people of the land. And the city was broken up”7.Ezekiel learned of the fall of the city in the following year: “And it came to passin the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of themonth, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, Thecity is smitten”8 .3Micah 7:204Ezekiel 40:15See 8:1; 20:1; 24:1; 26:1; 29:1,17; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1,17; 33:21; 40:16Ezekiel 1:1-372 Kings 25:1-48Ezekiel 33:2128

The temple vision was seen by Ezekiel fourteen years after the city was smitten, inthe twenty-fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. The record is very preciseregarding the exact day in which Ezekiel saw the vision: “In the beginning of theyear, in the tenth day of the month”. For emphasis, Ezekiel continues, “in theselfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither”9.What is the significance of this particular day?It was “the beginning of the year”. But in the Jewish calendar, there are two newyears, and there are possible significances to both:1) The religious year begins in the first month Abib, in which case the “tenth dayof the month” corresponds to the feast of the passover: “And the LORD spakeunto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be untoyou the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speakye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month theyshall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers,a lamb for an house It is the LORD’s passover”10 .The twenty-fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity was exactly fifty years since thegreat passover that was instituted by king Josiah in the eighteenth year of hisreign11 :Passover kept in Josiah’s 18th yearJosiah reigned a further13 yearsJehoahaz reigned3 monthsJehoiakim reigned11 yearsJehoiachin reigned3 monthsZedekiah reigned11 yearsThe temple vision received14 years laterTOTAL49 years 6 monthsIt has been suggested that Josiah’s passover may have corresponded with ajubile year. Indeed, the Jewish Talmudists hold a tradition that this was so,although there is no definite scriptural evidence to this effect. But if thistradition is correct, then it seems very appropriate that the visions of Ezekiel9Ezekiel 40:110Exodus 12:1-3,11112 Chronicles 35:1929

The Jewish calendar9vKisleconcerning the Age to come were given in a jubile year, and it would seemreasonable to infer that the future temple service will likewise be inauguratedon the day of the passover of a jubile year.2) The civil year begins in the seventh month Tishri, in which case the “tenthday of the month” corresponds to the day of atonement: “And this shall be astatute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, yeshall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your owncountry, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: for on that day shall thepriest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean fromall your sins before the LORD And this shall be an everlasting statute untoyou, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once ayear”12.If it is true that the year of Josiah’s passover was a jubile year, then it issignificant that the year of jubile was inaugurated by the blowing of trumpets12Leviticus 16:29,30,3430

on the day of atonement: “And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years untothee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of yearsshall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet ofthe jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonementshall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land”13. Could thiscorrespond to the “selfsame day” in which Ezekiel saw the vision of thetemple? In which case it may be that the temple ritual in the Age to come willcommence with the blowing of trumpets on the day of atonement of a jubileyear.The hand of the LORD was upon meEzekiel begins by saying that “the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought methither”14. This phrase occurs seven times throughout the prophecy of Ezekiel15 ,and it appears to indicate that what follows is an account of a vision seen by theprophet. It is as if Ezekiel sees himself taking part in the vision - and so it is inthe temple visions - he participates in the temple service.This raises an important question. Much of what Ezekiel saw when “the hand ofthe LORD” was upon him was highly symbolic. This is particularly apparent inhis visions of the cherubim in chapters 1 and 10. Ezekiel saw cherubic creaturesthat were obviously not literal, and if we are to correctly understand the visionsthat he saw, the details must be interpreted16. Does this mean, therefore, that weare at liberty to conclude that the temple that Ezekiel saw is similarly not to beunderstood in any literal sense, in which case there may not be a future literaltemple in the Age to come?Such a conclusion would be unjustified for a number of reasons:1) In 8:3, Ezekiel is taken in vision to Jerusalem, to “the door of the inner gatethat looketh toward the north”. In the same vision he sees Jaazaniah the sonof Shaphan, and women women weeping at the door of the gate of thetemple17 . In the inner court, he sees men worshipping the sun between the13Leviticus 25:8,914Ezekiel 40:115Ezekiel 1:3; 3:14,22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1For an exposition of the cherubim see “The Cherubim”, John Allfree, Bible StudyPublications1617Ezekiel 8:1431

porch and the altar18 . Whilst what Ezekiel saw was a vision, the vision wasbased upon the literal existence of the city of Jerusalem, its temple, the innergate that looked toward the north, the porch and the altar. The fact thatEzekiel saw these things in vision did not negate the fact that these objectsand places literally existed. So it is with Ezekiel’s visions of the temple in theAge to come. The temple itself will be literal enough, but Ezekiel wasprivileged to see it in vision before it was built.2) Similarly, Ezekiel in 40:2 says, “In the visions of God brought he me into theland of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as theframe of a city on the south”. The fact that this was a vision does not detractfrom the fact that “the land of Israel” literally exists.3) We have already seen that there is sufficient evidence from other scriptures toallow us to conclude that there will indeed be a temple in the Age to come: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of theLORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall beexalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peopleshall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of theLORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, andthe word of the LORD from Jerusalem”19. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop downnew wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judahshall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of theLORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim”20. “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams ofNebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance onmine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory”21. “Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem withmercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a lineshall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem”22.18Ezekiel 8:1619Isaiah 2:2,320Joel 3:1821Isaiah 60:722Zechariah 1:1632