Ezekiel's Vision of the New Temple
Fourteen years after Jerusalem burned, Ezekiel was shown a vast new temple, God's glory returning to fill it, and a river of life flowing out from under its threshold.
In the twenty-fifth year of the captivity, fourteen years after Jerusalem fell, the hand of the LORD brought Ezekiel in visions of God to a very high mountain in the land of Israel. A man whose appearance was like brass, holding a line of flax and a measuring reed, led him through a vast temple, measuring its gates, courts, and chambers. Then Ezekiel saw the glory of the God of Israel come from the east with a voice like many waters and fill the house, the same glory he had earlier seen depart. He later watched a river flow from under the threshold, growing from ankle-deep to a river too deep to cross, bringing life wherever it went and lined with trees whose leaves were for medicine. The vision, filling Ezekiel 40-48, ends with a city named 'The LORD is there.'
Details
- Category
- Prophets
- Dreamer
- Ezekiel
- Interpretation
- God promised to return and dwell among His people for ever, with a holy temple from which life and healing would flow.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Brought to a Very High Mountain
Ezekiel 40:1-4
Years into exile, Ezekiel is shown a temple to declare to the house of Israel as a sign of hope.
1n 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.
The Glory Returns
Ezekiel 43:1-7
The glory of the LORD returns from the east to fill the house, where God promises to dwell among His people for ever.
1fterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
The River from the Sanctuary
Ezekiel 47:1-12
Waters flowing from God's house grow deeper and deeper, healing everything they touch.
1fterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
Did You Know?
It is the longest single vision in Ezekiel, filling nine chapters.
Earlier, Ezekiel had watched God's glory depart from the temple toward the east (Ezekiel 10-11).
The river from the temple grows from ankle-deep to a river 'that could not be passed over'.
The book ends with the city's new name: 'The LORD is there' (Ezekiel 48:35).