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Email: <lelgee@voicenet.com>Copyright © L. L. Griffith, 1971, 1996. ISBN 0-929554-01-9. This document may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that this copyright notice is reproduced on each copy made.
It must be emphasized that the features revealed so far are the same in the pattern which is detailed in the remaining verses of Ezekiel 40. No gatehouse shown to Ezekiel is larger than 25 by 50 cubits in total area.
Each main porch faces inwardly, looking toward the altar of burnt offerings within the Inner Court. Each gatehouse is a checkpoint leading into a court.
The man will reveal two East Gates; two North Gates; and two South Gates. But he shows no gatehouse on the west side of the sanctuary. Nor does Ezekiel question the man about this supposed omission.
The lower gates have seven steps in their stairs. The higher gatehouses have eight steps in their stairways.
Ezekiel and his guide are now in the north portion of the Outer Court.
20 And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.
This is the second gatehouse described. It faces to the north. It also belongs to the pavement of the lower court.
21 And the little chambers thereof [were] three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof [was] fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
22 And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, [were] after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof [were] before them.
The "arches" are the porches "within the gate" (verse seven) which span the passage way. They undoubtedly span above the threshold areas "between" the little-chambers; therefore their "arches" are facing the steps as one climbs upward to the threshold. These are the long "arches" of verse 30. See Appendix, Arches & Porches.
23 And the gate of the inner court [was] over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.
Just one gatehouse is on the north side of the sanctuary. This description of the northern gatehouse duplicates all the information concerning the east gatehouse, but emphasizes its location in a different area of the bulwark.See Diagram E, The North Gates
24 After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.
This is the third gatehouse. It is on the south side of the site. It is also a gatehouse leading into the Outer Court.
25 And [there were] windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length [was] fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
26 And [there were] seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof [were] before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.
The features of the South gate are identical with those of the East Gate, and of the North gatehouse.
Such "windows" are not unusual in arches or porches in Eastern architecture. The use of a perforated surface facilitates the movement and cooling effect of warmer air.
27 And [there was] a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.
The man has described one gatehouse located on the south within the frame like a city. Ezekiel is presently in the Outer Court on the south side of the sanctuary. The court between the two southern gatehouses measures 100 cubits broad.
At each point where the man measured the gatehouses in the sanctuary, he has also indicated the court outside. From the porch of each gatehouse, Ezekiel sees another gatehouse at 100 cubits distant across from his position. Thus indicated, the Outer Court is a uniform 100 cubits wide throughout from the perimeter of the porches. See Diagram D, The Court Between the Gates.
At no time does Ezekiel say, show or imply that there is a multiplicity of units of the gatehouse built into the wall of the sanctuary.
Ezekiel and his guide now move northward and toward the inner sanctum.
28 And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures.
29 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and [there were] windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: [it was] fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.
Ezekiel makes no comment concerning the design of the windows. They were described in verse sixteen as "narrow," (as even later in 41:16, 26). Gesenius states that the word narrow comes from an obsolete root, and suggests joined together, collected, congregated or conjoined, citing an ancient Arabic source. There is no vine or foliage covering this "narrow" window design; a sanctuary gatehouse is not an arbor or a green house! Gesenius gives the meaning of these "lights" as beams, or bars laid over. Compare with the text of 1 Kings 6:4.
30 And the arches round about [were] five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.
These arches were first alluded to in verse sixteen. The form of each arch fits into the area stated. This area is definitely not a circle but could be a curved shape (as the choice of the word "arch" for the "porch" would indicate). This is probably the idea which the Bible translators were trying to convey in the English translation. Each "arch" or "porch" shape must fit into the stated rectangular area of 25 by 5 cubits. This area would appear on the pattern - on the site laid out for construction - as a flat plane.
There are four possible locations for the placement of these "arches"
which span the breadth of each gatehouse.
Study Diagram B carefully, The
Basic Gatehouse Design
There is another word which may cause some misunderstanding of the pattern; the Hebrew word, sabib sabib. In Ezekiel 40, this doubled use of the word appears a number of times.
The first appearance is in verse five; there is a wall on the outside of the house all around. The last appearance refers to the hooks which are fastened all around the slaying tables in the north inner gatehouse. Twice the word refers to the court which goes round about within the sanctuary of the LORD's house.
At least three times it refers to the porches which go all round about the gatehouses. About six times it refers to the windows which go around each of the gatehouses. In these instances the surrounding action is confined to a specific feature in the area of 25 by 50 cubits only, of the gatehouse. The surrounding act is used in regard to the outer gates as well as to the inner gates. Whatever else may be conjectured from sabib sabib, its use in these last appearances is required to be closely related only to the design of each gatehouse.
The word is used as an adverb; it is not a noun. When it comes to Hebrew words, our Jewish friends know how to use them more definitively. When in doubt we may consult the local rabbi, even David Ben-Yahuda's dictionary, or someone wiser.
Ezekiel has explored all around the court of the sanctuary with his
guide but they have not walked around a circle.
See Diagram A, The
Points of Interest.
31 And the arches thereof [were] toward the utter court; and palm trees [were] upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it [had] eight steps.
The south gatehouse of the Inner Court is identical with the three previously measured gatehouses. Only one south gate leads into the Inner Court. It has eight steps in its stairs, differing from the seven steps which are in the stairs of the gatehouses at the wall of the "structure like a city." This number quickly identifies whether the text is speaking about a gatehouse to the Inner Court, or concerning a gatehouse of the Outer Court.
32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.
33 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, [were] according to these measures: and [there were] windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: [it was] fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.
34 And the arches thereof [were] toward the outward court; and palm trees [were] upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it [had] eight steps.
This is the east gatehouse which provides entrance into the Inner Court. It too is a single gatehouse, but it has a rather special use, as we shall see later.
Ezekiel and the man proceed from the east side of the Inner Court to its north gatehouse.
By this time this point should have been well taken by the reader of this prophecy -- all the gatehouse measures conform to the one identical pattern.
35 And he brought me to the north gate, and measured [it] according to these measures.
36 The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length [was] fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
37 And the posts thereof [were] toward the utter court; and palm trees [were] upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it [had] eight steps.
Not stated directly, but nevertheless, it is evident that the "posts" of all six gatehouses look toward the outer court of the sanctuary; each pair facing the court.
Thus far the physical features of the north gatehouse of the Inner Court do not vary from the pattern first shown. Although the pattern of the gatehouse is one pattern, the different locations have different functions. Some of these functions have already been hinted at.
The porches "between" the little-chambers of the gatehouses provide access to the surrounding court on the adjacent pavement, in the same manner it seems in all six gatehouses. In later parts of the vision Ezekiel is given certain ordinances and laws which restrict entry to the courts of the sanctuary.
The three gatehouses of the Outer Court are approached by a stairway having seven steps, while the corresponding three gatehouses of the Inner Court are approached by an ascent having eight steps. At verse 19, 23, and 27, the width of the Outer Court between the related gatehouses was measured. That measure was proved as 100 cubits wide.
Comment! You, my reader, must be bored to tears by this repetition of the identical measures and same description of all the gatehouses. But remember, you were warned by the heavenly being. The warning has a cause behind it. The nation of Israel historically has had a problem with hearing and seeing the holy spirit of the Hebrew Scriptures, and a subsequent reluctance to be inspired by all the words spoken through the holy messengers of God. Thus the messenger from heaven duly instructs the holy prophet, Ezekiel: 'Look carefully at what is being shown to you. Listen carefully to what is being told to you. Consider carefully all the things together.'Reconcile all the details of the vision into a picture of this future structure like a city, the city which Abraham looked for!
Furthermore, the LORD has a reason for revealing this vision to Ezekiel. The house of Israel must be told of the things which Ezekiel has recorded here. But, this is what the Adversary and the enemies of Israel are fighting against -- a restoration of the kingdom of God in the land promised to Abraham and to his seed forever.
These are the words of the LORD, the God of Israel, 40:4; 43:10-11. One day soon the people will be made to hear these words, and to do the command of the LORD!
This is the preliminary "work before" another "Son of man" at his coming -- of Israel's Messiah.
Isaiah testifies of the song that will be sung one day in the promised land: "A strong city is ours. (The Savior) will set our walls and rampart," 26:1. See the Hebrew text, and see Ezekiel 17:22-24.
Ezekiel is still near the north gatehouse of the Inner Court. From there he now observes some things related to its rooms and entrances.
38 And the chambers and the entries thereof [were] by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.
Openings to these chambers are beside this gatehouse; whether the burnt
offering is washed within these chambers is not stated - just that the
openings exist. More distinguishing features of this north gatehouse are
next seen.
See Diagram G, The
Inner North Gatehouse.
39 And in the porch of the gate [were] two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.
The tables on the sides of the gatehouse are located along the length, at the side's porches. Four tables are accounted for. These tables will be within the 5 by 6 cubit wide areas "between" the little- chambers.
40 And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, [were] two tables; and on the other side, which [was] at the porch of the gate, [were] two tables.
Ezekiel now specifies their positions and total number.
41 Four tables [were] on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew [their sacrifices].
The total is eight slaying tables. Ezekiel is quite precise in their locations.
42 And the four tables [were] of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
The tables are between 27" to 36" square in breadth; and about 2 " high.
The LXX text disagrees with the dimensions as given here by Ezekiel. Possibly the slaying tables which served in the second temple were of a different measure. There is no record of David or Solomon (to the best of my knowledge) having left a written record of the construction plan for the first sanctuary and house of the LORD, with which Ezekiel's plan might be compared.
43 And within [were] hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables [was] the flesh of the offering.
It has not been determined whether the positions of the tables correspond with those of any previous temple. Here is a remarkable situation. Ezekiel is being shown around in vision the site of the smitten city wherein is a structure like a city. The day of Ezekiel's vision is the sabbath day before the Passover. He is watching the measuring of the future holy city, Zion. Already the flesh of the offering is upon the tables. But neither individual comments about the flesh of the sacrifice...
Why the omission? (Or is only an ellipsis in the text indicated here?) Unless, is the reference meant to represent "the flesh" of the "lamb slain from the founding of the world?" See Genesis 3:21; Revelation 13:8 and John 1:29-36.
One of the last confidences which the Lord Jesus Christ imparted to his disciples was the thought of having an eternal dwelling place with him and with his Father. The idea is not unlike the idea expressed to Israel by the LORD Himself, in Numbers 14:20- 21: "And the LORD said, 'I have pardoned according to your word, except as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.'" The LORD desires a holy people to serve Him in righteousness and in truth, and in judgment upon the earth.
So the Lord told his disciples, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." He speaks thus of both a place, and of a position with him. The apostle Peter defined the qualifications of those whom the LORD has chosen from the nations: "Ye are a choice race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired that ye may show forth the excellences of Him who did call you out of darkness into His wondrous light..." The apostle John describes such an office thus: "Unto him that hath made us a kingdom of priests unto God, and his Father..."
The concept of an everlasting dominion of ruling priests of royal lineage is not alien to the writings of the holy prophets of Israel, who prophesied the word of the LORD to the people.
The following passage from Isaiah 56:3-8 would indicate that Jesus (as quoted from John's Gospel, above) was not referring to any place in the skies above the earth, but was referring to an actual position in his Father's "house" in Jerusalem - when he comes again to be the rightful king over all Israel. Consider Isaiah then:
"Neither let the son of the foreigner that hath joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, 'The LORD hath utterly separated me from His people;' neither let the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep My sabbaths and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant: even unto them will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off; also the sons of the foreigner that join themselves to the LORD to serve Him and love the name of the LORD to be His servants, everyone that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it and taketh hold of My covenant. Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples. The Lord GOD who gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, "Yet will I gather others to him beside those that are gathered unto him."
Isaiah has defined the "eternal dwelling place" of the Father and of the Son during the time of Israel's future glory. Although the LORD rejected the prior Jewish nation, its leaders, priests and kings for their disobedience to His word, He has not cut them off entirely; the remnant remains. The thought expressed by Isaiah is overwhelming in its magnitude, even as much as their own evil doings overwhelmed and destroyed them throughout the many centuries since the temple was last destroyed. Was the eunuch whom Philip baptized (see Acts 8) deceived into accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ by a doctrine that teaches irrevocable destruction of the LORD's house from Jerusalem, or the total rejection of the Jewish nation?
Certainly not! The Christian doctrine of supercessionism, and other beliefs plastered over with smooth talk, are lies and blasphemies against the Word of God. Under the Law the temple sanctuary was the temporary residence of the numerous priests who ministered by course in its service. Some of these are noted in 1 Chronicles 9 - the priests, Levites and Nethinim; and in 1 Chronicles 23:1 through 1 Chronicles 27, the Levites, musicians and singers, the porters, and gate-keepers who had the charge of the treasuries of the house of the LORD; the officers and the judges, the captains and the overseers. King David ordered their courses, and their charges.
But the LORD is not only watching over Israel for her future glory; He is also gathering together those whom He will make rulers and priests over the remaining nations of the world, nations which remain after the coming "great and dreadful day of the LORD" is past, and when the new heavens and the new earth are planted with the hearing and seeing "seed" of His righteous choice.
Certain chambers of the officiating order of priests are located nearby the Inner Court. Their proximity to the court of the altar of burnt offerings and to the inner precincts of the temple's buildings beyond appears to be dictated by the functions which these priests must perform in them.
44 And without the inner gate [were] the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which [was] at the side of the north gate; and their prospect [was] toward the south: one at the side of the east gate [having] the prospect toward the north.
Another caution concerning the English text: We cannot assume that one "chamber" is the same "chamber", or that Ezekiel is not speaking of other chambers which he notices from his location in the Inner Court. The man does not measure the structure of these chambers, either.
45 And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect [is] toward the south, [is] for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.
"The house" refers to the temple's building. The proximity of these chambers to the temple may certainly suggest this. These chambers are apparently something like apartments, or meeting rooms.
46 And the chamber whose prospect [is] toward the north [is] for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these [are] the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him.
At times in this narrative it almost seems that the man is actually showing Ezekiel a blueprint of the sanctuary, and pointing at different locations as he explains the vision. The text of verses 44-46 is rather inexplicable otherwise.
All these chambers are located within the elevation of the Inner Court, (eight steps higher than the pavement of the Outer Court). The elevation therefore would not show on a plane of two dimensions only. Ezekiel makes no further comment about the outer boundary of the Inner Court.
The altar's dimensions will not be revealed until we come to Ezekiel 41:22. Like verse 47, this verse notes the altar in passing. The verse concludes the description of the inner north gatehouse, and the chambers nearby.
The sons of Zadok, sons of Aaron, were appointed to oversee all the service of the first temple sanctuary. The covenant of an everlasting priesthood, as confirmed to the sons of Zadok, is found in Numbers 25. The high priesthood was confirmed to Zadok (see 1 Chronicles 29:22) at King Solomon's coronation and formal accession to the kingdom of heaven. The event is also recorded in the three chapters of 2 Chronicles 5-7. The lesser priests, of Levi's line, were appointed by King David "to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD..." See 1 Chronicles 23:27, 32.
Three divisions of the priests are here identified for the service in the Inner Court: singers, house keepers and altar keepers. The overseers are given laws and ordinances, in later chapters of the vision, to perfect the service.
Ezekiel is still near the south gatehouse of the Inner Court. We are abruptly introduced to notice of the altar's court as the man now reveals the existence of a court in front of the temple. He measures its area in proof.
47 So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar [that was] before the house.
Both the court and the altar are facing toward the temple. This court is surrounded - squarely - on its three gatehouse sides by the porches of the inner gatehouses; the one to the north, the one to the east and the one to the south.
The temple, therefore, is on the west side of the altar's court. A colonnade probably marks off this limit of the court at the court's outer perimeter. This perimeter is shown by "the way" which goes round about at the porches of the gatehouses. This is true concerning both the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard.
The measurements of the altar are not given at this point in the vision, but are revealed in Ezekiel 43:13-18. Included there with the dimensions are the laws and ordinances which apply on the day when the service at the altar is perfected.
Verse 47 ends the descriptions of all six gatehouses, and of the broad court which connects them together as a unit. But the plan is still not completely measured.
Bible readers who have a map section appended to the text of the Holy Scriptures may have one map showing a drawing of Jerusalem in New Testament times. If not, there are Bible Atlas's which show such a drawing, or even better, may show a drawing of the temple as reconstructed by Herod, the king of Judea. By comparing those drawings of the temple site with the description of the sanctuary of the LORD's house as shown by Ezekiel, it is readily apparent that there are a number of discrepancies or changes in the numbers and measures of the plan.
It is doubtful that the plan, as shown by Ezekiel, has ever been used for any previous construction of the LORD's "house." It is a certainty that the land has never been measured out for the inheritance of the children of Israel, according to that which is revealed in Ezekiel's vision. Nor have any Gentiles been allowed to inherit any place among the people in the promised lands. Never has "the prince" had any large amount of land measured out, according to the prophecy, for his inheritance, either.
This structure like a city is designed to be a sure and secure dwelling place for the glory of the LORD, when "the glory" returns to "dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for the age of the ages."
The dwelling place is designed to be the most holy place upon the earth. It will have its law. It will be "the law" of this house upon the top of the mountain, as declared in Ezekiel 43:1-12. No man will defile the house of the LORD when His kingdom is restored in Israel, Acts 1:6.
The full work of the ministry in the gates cannot be revealed until the further coming of the power of the Holy Spirit of the LORD. The LORD will provide His "high priest over the house of God" who will share the rule with the chosen "kings and priests" who are a new dominion of priests "of God and of His anointed One." According to New Testament teaching the future rule of the restored kingdom of Israel (and of the world beyond) belongs to the son of God, the One son of man whom He provided Himself; the Lord, Jesus Christ.
At his first appearance, Jesus, during a confrontation with a group composed of the chief priests, Pharisees, and the elders of the people, plainly told them: "Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a people bringing forth the fruits of it."
Were these "people" the rulers of the Roman Empire or any successor to the rulers of Rome? Have any successor rulers of the land brought forth the fruits of the kingdom of God? Has yet even Israel today brought forth the fruits for the LORD? Unfounded religious claims cannot prove title to lands or to thrones.
Is this kingdom of God only an abstraction, and not to be a concrete reality? Is this not what the Islamic nations fear today? They remember the ancient things even if the Christian nations and the corrupters of true Christian doctrine are grossly astray on the Scriptural points concerning Jewish resettlement in the land promised to Abraham. Christian supercessionists are both antichrist and antisemitic; a house divided against itself.
Armageddon is coming; the battlefield lies between "the north parts" and Jerusalem. Inexorably and irreparably all the surrounding nations are drawn into Israel's affairs and into Jerusalem with "hooks in their jaws" like the first Babylonian captives, captive to the will of the LORD. The attempts by the Temple Mount Faithful to lay a cornerstone, (however symbolic the act is intended to be) for the construction of a new temple ignites both Palestinians and Jews to fight against the existing political and religious structures of the Israeli government. At present only sparks appear, but the fire smolders and will burst into flame at the appointed day. The prophecy about it appears in Zechariah 12:6.
The implications of the things shown in Ezekiel's vision must be considered nevertheless. Some people assert that the law of Moses is null and void absolutely and for all future time. Yet the Holy Scriptures, in Isaiah 42:21 states; "The LORD is well-pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable." What a wonderful prospect for the nation! Except, how is the law to be enlarged and to be made honorable by the man to whom Isaiah refers?
The capacity to enlarge the law of Moses is presently beyond the capability of the Israeli government and the Jewish people. But Isaiah has made the point: One man - the servant whom the LORD upholds, His chosen one - neither a blind man nor a deaf man, but the LORD's servant and messenger will accomplish the will of the LORD for the sake of His holy Name. Neither the sons of Jacob nor of Israel will be robbed and spoiled forever. Nor is their hope dead or cut off forever.
While it may be so that a foundation is not the structure nor is a purpose the dispensation, yet we have in Ezekiel a structure that has a foundation in the law past and in the law to come. We may not fully understand all the processes but we are not required to fully understand all things now. We must have faith in all of the LORD's promises. The procedural changes are the work of the Holy Spirit of God, which like the wind, we cannot see where it comes from nor see where is goes to, but we know that it does its work.
This process of spiritual change the apostle Paul made clear in his discourse to the Corinthians, when comparing the energizing of biological seed with the work of the "earnest" seed of the Holy Spirit. Even as the creatures of the earth differ from one another in body and flesh, so the bodies of the heavenly hosts differ from one another in form and glory; the LORD has made it so. The change to such "light" is not easily fathomed by the human mind. However, the change will be made and will be made upon the foundation of better law, magnified and made honorable for men. This is the end of the purpose for all Israel as the LORD declared in Numbers 14:20-21. Surely such glory is based upon better law. Surely this change will come.
The importance of the charge for the keeping of the inner gatehouses is stressed. Laws are given for the proper use of the temple, for the Inner Court, and for the chambers of the priests. They differ from the original law. Why? Is not this a place where the law is being enlarged and made honorable? The work of the priests ought to be examined to better understand the true nature of the kingdom of the LORD - Israel - as it will be during the reign of the immortal and incorruptible, visibly resident glory of the LORD, Jesus Christ, who is the "seed" promised to Abraham, the son of David and son of God.
The nation of Israel, under the rule of the appointed kings of Judah's tribe, was known as the kingdom of the LORD (1 Chronicles 28:5; 1 Chronicles 29:23; 2 Chronicles 13:8) by the surrounding nations. But the nation was continually rebellious against the LORD. The chief priests and the elders of the people chose to reject the messiahship of Jesus Christ, and refused his teaching about the required spiritual rebirth of the individual. Because of the adamant refusal of the leaders to heed the word of the LORD, Jesus plainly told them, "Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a people bringing forth the fruits of it."
On another occasion Jesus told these same leaders, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you thrust out." These words are not much better agreeable to the ears of many Jewish people today. The words of the holy prophets are not much heeded by the nations nor by many so-called Christians either. Situations for controversy abound in political questions and on account of religious questions. The political reactions of "Christian" groups are sure to be guided by their contorted religious persuasions. The nation of Israel is still a republican state; soon to be troubled by its great transgression.
The doctrines of St. Augustine, promulgated to explain the removal of the Jews and their nation from the pages of time, translated the kingdom of the LORD into the heavens, and made it an ethereal dominion of spirits in the sky; which led captive a lot of people - until May, 1948. Since then the Vatican State and the Papacy have refused to acknowledge the existence of the regathered nation of Israel. To do so would mean reconciling Augustine's fiction to the fact: There cannot be two kingdoms of the LORD, except that the old fiction upholds the false, the rebel; and the true kingdom of God is shortly to come.
The kingdom to come belongs to Jesus Christ who was "born king of the Jews" and who freely admitted before Pontius Pilate that "My kingdom is not out of this world," and most certainly stated that now is my kingdom not from hence," but even as he admitted, as "Thou sayest, I am a king..." and did explain that "to this end was I born and for this cause I came into the world..."
Pilate did not believe that his preaching about the kingdom of the heavens or the kingdom of God was motivated by any desire of Jesus to become the immediate king over Israel, as the above testimony of Jesus shows. But the nation's leaders, desiring his death, wanted the judgment of death to be made to appear as an act of treason against the state of Rome: "Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar." See John 19:12-25. The political expediency which Caiaphas (John 18:13-14) advocated was carried out.
The end - of the controversy for which he was born to resolve - promises to bring a king to Israel, a nation unified under the dominion of the LORD, and a new house of God having as an high priest a man after the order of Melchizedek. This is a much better hope than the old Israel had under corrupt kings and priests, and people disobedient to the word of the LORD.
The city-like structure, with its massive wall surrounding it, houses the new sanctuary of the LORD's house, the Mt. Zion from above. After the borders of the land are regained, according to the promises in the Old Testament, the next step appears to be the building of the third temple. It appears to be the next physical stage in reconstruction and in the restitution of the kingdom of God to Israel. The house of the LORD, which is the residence of the king who bears the coming glory of the LORD, is designed to be appropriately magnificent in its construction and appointments.
"The evil bow before the good; and the wicked (bow) at the gates of the righteous."
- Proverbs 14:19
