083: Mark O'Grady - Ezekiel's Temple and it's Moral Power

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Welcome to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post at the start of each week for you to listen with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to hear. And now let's hear more about this week's talk. This class is by Brother Mark O'Grady from New Zealand. He gives it at the Branford meeting in 2016. It is a standalone Bible class. The notes on Christadelphian Bible Talks, this was the week after the Ontario Winter Bible School. This is a really excellent class. He covers a lot of material. This is definitely a Bible open, Bible marking opportunity. I have always been attracted to studies of Ezekiel's temple, and I think he does a really good job hitting some of the whys. Why is there eight chapters? Why would you study it? Why are we given so much detail?

2. 1:29

   And really covers that. And I think the title also, The Moral Power of Ezekiel's Temple, shows that, and he does a good job kind of underlining the lessons that we all can learn from it. Just what the temple can inspire us to change in our own lives as we wait for that temple to come. I'll just tell you that I think my favorite point right in the middle of the class is he talks about how there is a very large difference in reaction if I was to tell you that in two weeks I'm going to give you an old car. Well, if you said that, then you would be maybe curious or interested. But if you were told that in two weeks I'm going to give you a, you know, 1965 perfect baby blue Mustang, all totally restored and with, you know, shiny wheels and everything and it's invaluable, well, you're not curious or maybe just interested. You're actually incredibly excited and would look forward to that day. That's the difference in details. The details of the temple is what encourages us and excites us. And I thought that was a really great analogy.

3. 2:56

   Although I did actually describe a different car than he did. So that's just the car I would be very excited about. So this was a great class. I hope you enjoy it through this next week as we all continue. Right. So with that introduction of Ezekiel chapter 43 verses 1 through 12, we'll call forward our brother Mark to speak on the subject, the moral power of Ezekiel's temple.

4. 3:20

   Mark. Thank you, brother David. And good afternoon, brothers and sisters and young people. One of the biggest challenges for us in this life is to live our life knowing that it's only temporary and to see the life to come as being more real and more substantial than all other things that consume us in daily life. And we just get submerged, don't we, between the, just under the flow of all the, all the tasks of what we have to do to survive in this world. What's described in the prophecy as being or in the parable is the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this life and the lust of other things that just, they just sat our energy and our attention. And as we see all the things that are happening in the world around us and we see what it's saying about the nearness of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, this issue becomes quite a critical one for us. How do we stop the things of life this year, 2016, from overrunning our vision of the reality of the future? Now the subject we're about to spend a few minutes looking at together this afternoon is a wonderful topic for directly addressing that issue. And it's an issue that we all face as a personal challenge. And the subject is God's house of prayer, or as we sometimes know it, the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy. Now this is a subject that not many of us personally spend time at home actually stopping to consider. For most of us, the only time we really consider the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy is if perhaps our ecclesia might have a

5. 5:05

   Bible class series on the temple, or perhaps it's something which comes up at a Bible school, there might be talks or an evening program or something that looks at the structure and the function of the future building. But we don't tend to give the subject our personal attention at home. And therefore we lose something very powerful that's actually hidden in this topic. Just consider to begin with the perspective of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember when he was so indignant with the tables of the money changers and the commerce that was going on in the temple, it was Herod's temple in the city of Jerusalem. Driven by indignation, he plaited that cord, he overturned the tables, and he used the cord as a whip, he drove the money changers out, all the animals dashing in different directions, no doubt some of the doves fluttering up into the sky. And the disciples, as they watched this vehemence, remembered the words of scripture, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

6. 6:07

   Now this was Herod's temple of all places. And yet Christ was so disturbed to see Herod's temple defiled in that way, because he said, my father's house is to be a house of prayer for all people. So as far as he was concerned, the sanctity of that house and its role as a house of prayer for all people was absolutely overwhelming. Now David's attitude towards that house is also quite manifest from the Psalms. Psalm 122, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of Yahweh.

7. 6:43

   Our feet shall stand within my gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is billed as a city that is compact together. Whether the tribes go up, the tribes of Yahweh unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of Yahweh. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

8. 7:03

   Now, of course, when David penned those words, the house of Yahweh had yet to be built. For a period of time, he put the ark itself, after he had found it again, in a tent. And yet he says, I was glad when they said, let's go up to the house of Yahweh. And his mind is thinking of the future age, when all of Israel would be flowing up to that house year by year to worship.

9. 7:27

   And we see that reality of that vision for David was so important to him. This is a passage from the Psalms of Korah. And we look at their attitude towards this house. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Yahweh of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

10. 7:55

    Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. Even thine altars, O Yahweh of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will be still praising thee. And then later in verse 10, a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.

11. 8:16

    I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Now what prevailed upon a man to write those words? What depth of longing and desire did he have to be in that place in the age to come? I mean, these aren't just poetic phrases, and nor are they like words.

12. 8:44

    My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Yahweh. Those are extremely strong words. Do we stop and think about what it will be like to be in the courts of the temple in the future age? Is that something of daily importance as far as we're concerned? Do we have that level of passionate longing for that house to come?

13. 9:10

    Psalm 27 verse 4. One thing have I desired of Yahweh, that will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Yahweh, and to inquire in his temple. The NIV says, one thing have I asked of Yahweh. This is what I will seek, to dwell in the house of Yahweh.

14. 9:33

    So when we stop and consider the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, the words of David, the words of this psalm, the words of the psalm for the sons of Korah, we start to realize that there's something about that house which was very important to those people. Yet when we consider the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy, we tend to consider it in the abstract.

15. 9:56

    We have some idea of what it will be like. We know where it's going to be built. But do we often stop and think about it as being our aspiration? That actually that's the place where I want to be. Do we think of that building, that temple, as being our inspiration? That it will change the way in which we behave now?

16. 10:21

    How often have we personally, in our daily prayer, asked to be in that house? Sure, we want to be in the kingdom and we ask God to bring us and our families and our brothers and sisters into the kingdom. How often have we actually asked to be in that house? In that temple?

17. 10:40

    In those courts? Are those items of our hope sufficiently powerful that we're requesting the privilege of being there? Now if the genuine answer is, well, sell them. I can't really remember when I last prayed if I could be in the courts of Yahweh. Then that suggests we're missing something. We're missing something that Christ saw.

18. 11:01

    We're missing something that David saw. We're missing something that the psalmist who wrote the psalm for the sons of Korah could see. There's something in this topic that somehow changes it from being a mechanical building into a key aspect of our hope together. Now it's interesting to ask ourselves the question, why was the temple pattern given in the first place?

19. 11:27

    Why is it that between chapters 40 and 47 of Ezekiel we have all these details about the building itself and the things that will take place in the building? And we tend to say rather glibly, well, it's great to have it because it gives us a bit of a vision of the future and that encourages us and motivates us.

20. 11:44

    And that's true. But we've got to go back a step. Why was the prophecy actually given? And there's another reason altogether as to why the prophecy was given. The purpose of that vision was actually to change things now. So it wasn't given so we could say, yep, we know what the future is going to be.

21. 12:08

    The actual reason why the prophecy was given back in the book of Ezekiel was to have an impact on people now who are being prepared for that time. And so the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy is a very powerful tool to help build today's faith. All right, I'd like you to come with me to Ezekiel 43 and see a most surprising thing.

22. 12:30

    Do you know why the vision of the temple was given? In the first instance, the vision was given to make people ashamed. Doesn't that seem odd? The purpose of this picture in Ezekiel was literally, it was given to make people ashamed. Let's have a look at Ezekiel 43. We'll start in verse 7.

23. 12:53

    Ezekiel 43 verse 7. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. And my holy name shall the house of Israel no more defile. Neither they nor their kings by their whoredom nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places.

24. 13:17

    Yahweh was grieved at the defilement of his house of prayer, which had been built in the days of Solomon in the area of Jerusalem. Verse 9. Now let them put away their whoredom and the carcasses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. Thou son of man.

25. 13:37

    Verse 10. Show the house to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern. And then, if they were ashamed, he says in verse 11, if they be ashamed of all that they have done, then show them the form of the house and the fashion thereof, the goings out thereof, the comings in thereof, all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and the laws thereof.

26. 14:12

    And write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. So the objective first, brothers and sisters, was to make them ashamed because of what they'd done. And then if they were ashamed, they were to be given this vision, and then they were told to keep all the ordinances and everything which they were shown.

27. 14:39

    Now whilst we're here, it's worth noting a couple of other things. In verse 10, thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern. The word measure there, may that, means literally to measure or to stretch. So literally, it's a case of, okay, out with the ruler, mark out the measurements, and observe what the measurements are of the particular platform.

28. 15:08

    Now why is that? Well, there was a power in it. Now the ironic thing is, brothers and sisters, that when we hear a talk on Ezekiel's temple, and I guess those of us that have been in the truth for a number of years, we've heard a number of talks over the years. The very thing that we find the hardest to listen to, the hardest to absorb, the hardest to listen to, to relate to, is detailed measurements.

29. 15:32

    The brothers talking about the sanctuary being 500 reed square, the porch is 20 cubits, the outer court 100 cubits, the post of the temple are 6 cubits, the posts of the door on one side 4 cubits, the door opening is 7 cubits. And our eyes just glaze over, and we find that really hard to listen to or to relate to.

30. 15:53

    And unless there's a few engineers amongst us, I'm not sure if there are or not, we find those details rather hard to actually relate to. And yet, this is the very thing they were asked to do. They were actually told to measure the pattern. That's the thing that was designed to affect their hearts.

31. 16:13

    Now I'd just like to read to you the same verses from the RSV. And you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, portray the temple, its arrangements, its exits, and its entrances, and its whole form.

32. 16:37

    Make them to know all the ordinances and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and perform all its laws and all its ordinances. So what is it about the technical details of this plan that they could relate to, observe, and then learn to keep?

33. 16:59

    Well, it helps us to stop and think again about the context. Once again, these chapters in the book of Ezekiel come in a context. And as we always find with our Bible study, we've got to look at a context. I mean, for example, why didn't these visions of Ezekiel's temple get added on the end of the book of Daniel?

34. 17:18

    The book of Daniel is talking about God's kingdom being established on earth. So wouldn't that be a logical place to pop these little chapters? Nice little vision of the kingdom at the end of the prophecy of Daniel? Well, it comes in a context. What's the context? Well, the book opens with a vision of the glory of Yahweh.

35. 17:34

    And tragically, heartbreakingly, you watch the glory depart. The prophecy goes on to talk about them defiling the temple. And you see it abandoned to its ultimate destruction when the foe comes from the north. And so the context of the book, brothers and sisters, is a rebuke for Israel because they had defiled God's house.

36. 17:56

    And the glory was going to depart. And the temple would be trashed and burned with fire. When we get actually to Ezekiel chapter 33, we won't turn it up, but in verse 21, the record says that one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me saying, the city is smitten. So all the prophecies in those earlier part of the book about the defilement of the city and what had happened, it was cleansed by being burnt with fire and smashed.

37. 18:24

    And that was the end of the city, which they had defiled with their whoredoms, as it's described in Ezekiel 43. Now, from that point in the prophecy, the theme of the book begins to change. It moves to the cleansing of the people. It brings in their restoration and the cleansing of Israel. And then it moves on to the building of a new house.

38. 18:48

    So having started with the destruction of the old, it finishes with the construction of the new and the principles which would apply to that new building. That's the context. So it was a picture which was designed to make Israel realize what they had done. To realize that they just lost the house of God because they had defiled it with the things of this world.

39. 19:11

    And that if they cleansed their heart and mind, there would come a time when a new house would be restored to them again. And that the glory of Yahweh would come and dwell again in this city. So they have a picture of a future house, sanctified, cleansed, holy. And they see a vision of this house being filled with the glory of Yahweh.

40. 19:33

    And then in Ezekiel 43 and verse 12. And it's one of those little key passages which defines the entire vision. And then it repeats. This is the law of the house. And it's that contrast, brothers and sisters, that was designed to make them be ashamed. They had realized what they had done in their daily lives.

41. 20:09

    And they would realize that the house of the future is going to be based and built upon the principles of holiness. That is the law of the house, repeated twice. That it will be most holy to Yahweh. And that caused them to stop and to examine their own behavior. Now, at that point, it's possible for us to say, yep, got that.

42. 20:35

    And to nod wisely and say, yes, wasn't it a terrible tragedy? Wasn't it awful, really sad, that that glorious temple of Solomon was defiled by them in such a terrible way? And we shake our head, as it were, and we go, tut, tut. But it's so sad. And look what they lost. And don't they need a picture of a vision of a new house to help them realize what they had done with the old?

43. 21:01

    It's almost as if we lock it away behind a fence and we look at it remotely. But, you know, as we sit there rather smugly looking back at what they did to that temple, the subject suddenly jumps the fence. It comes across the boundary and it confronts us rather personally when we stop and think of little words of the Apostle Paul when he said, hmm, you are the temple of the living God.

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    2 Corinthians 6 and verse 16. And at that point, we stop and we become rather thoughtful. So Israel of old had a temple. What did they do to that temple? Well, it was defiled and destroyed. And they had to learn that a new temple was coming and the principles of that new temple was it was going to be holy to Yahweh.

45. 21:46

    And we've got a temple. You are the temple of the living God. All right, that's 2 Corinthians. Let's go to 1 Corinthians now. 1 Corinthians 3. And just see how pointed the Apostle Paul is in telling us about our temple. 1 Corinthians 3. Verse 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?

46. 22:10

    The Spirit of God dwelleth in you. And look at this in the context of Ezekiel. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy. Which temple ye are? And now suddenly, brothers and sisters, this literal temple which they defiled has its counterpart. We are the temple.

47. 22:34

    And the law of this temple is holiness. Which, for the temple of Yahweh, temple of God, is holy. Which temple ye are? When it says, if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. Those are actually the same word in the Greek. If any man defiles the temple, God will defile him.

48. 22:50

    And the Apostle is bringing to us the confronting reality that we have exactly the same issue in our days that Israel was confronting. They had a temple which was defiled. And the Apostle's advice to us is to make sure that we keep the temple, which is us, holy to Yahweh. Not to allow it to be defiled with the things of the past.

49. 23:15

    Now as we start to look at this, we start to say, well, does that imply that when we're looking at this physical temple of Ezekiel's prophecy that we had up before, that actually there's another dimension to this? That there's actually perhaps a spiritual aspect to it? That whereas in their day they were looking at a physical temple, destroyed, yet to be built in the future, that the same principles might apply to a spiritual temple, which is being built today by God?

50. 23:42

    Well, certainly Paul is inferring that, isn't he, in 1st and 2nd Corinthians. When the prophet talked about Israel observing and keeping the pattern of the temple, how were they to do that? Is he once again implying that there's a spiritual aspect to this? That there's a behavioral aspect? This is not just a matter of saying how many cubits the posts were.

51. 24:07

    This is saying that there's something in that picture which is to be kept. There's something which changes our life. So is it implying to us that there is this whole other dimension, not one of real blocks and bricks and stone, but a direct corresponding counterpart in the life of the saints? And this, brothers and sisters, is where we come face to face with the relevance of this building for us.

52. 24:31

    Because the visions of the end of Ezekiel touch us in two particular ways. First of all, of course, as we build a picture of what the future looks like, and we start to see more about what will literally be there, that vision builds faith. So there's benefit in us in looking at the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy because it gives us a vision, and that will strengthen our faith.

53. 24:52

    So that's one great value in those particular chapters. But the second that flows from that is understanding the moral picture. When we find that actually sitting in behind the architectural plans is the purpose of the building. Sitting in behind the little details, the little features that are described in the narrative, is the moral counterpart of every one of those features, the hidden dimensions of that building.

54. 25:20

    And we start to find that underlying the physical pattern is a moral plan, or a moral pattern behind the details. So what we want to do now, and we haven't got long this afternoon, is we're just going to look at a couple of those aspects in turn to get a feel for both the literal building and also the moral counterpart that sits in behind it.

55. 25:40

    So let's start, first of all, by examining the reasons for such a detailed description in the prophetic record. You know, if you pick up a ruler, and you can actually physically measure something, it becomes much more tangible to us, doesn't it? It becomes much more real. I want to give you an illustration of this.

56. 26:01

    If I said that at some stage in the future I'm going to give you an old car, I'd say, okay, a bit odd, but okay. If I said to you next Saturday, 10 o'clock, I'm going to give you a 45-year-old car. It's a classic E-type Jaguar. It's dark green. It's got a V12 motor.

57. 26:23

    It has brushed steel spoke wheels. It's in mint condition. It's only done 23,000 miles. And I guarantee that every brother in the room can see that car in their minds. Now what's the difference? Simply some detail. And we then be able to construct a picture so we can actually see something and have a stronger vision as a result.

58. 26:47

    Next thing to note is back in, we won't turn it up at the moment, but back in Ezekiel 43 and verse 10, there's a little phrase, them. Who was to measure? The prophet was told, let them, the house of Israel, let them measure the pattern. And I think that's a little key for us, personally, to be able to approach the subject successfully.

59. 27:10

    Who was to measure the pattern? Let them measure the pattern. Or NIV, let them consider the plan. So there's an element here of personal application. The very nature of the subject means that any brother ever doing a talk on it is at a huge disadvantage. There's a barrier. And the barrier is simply this.

60. 27:29

    When we listen to a talk, we like to hear something with action in it. We like to hear something that's gripping and riveting. And you know what? It's really hard to make an abstract set of measurements sound gripping. Did you realize the porch was 20 cubits? I mean, it just doesn't quite have that drama about it, does it?

61. 27:51

    And so when we look at measurements, it makes it hard for us to relate to. And so the solution is, well, we need to do it ourselves. So we actually need to sit down individually and look at each measurement and see how it fits in. Let them measure the pattern. Let them consider the plan is the divine instruction.

62. 28:08

    And it's when we sit down personally and try to work it out that it starts to make sense. It's when we look at the building unfolding before our eyes. It's when you start imagining walking across the outer court. Or imagine peering into the rooms that are defined and see them just absolutely full of people.

63. 28:33

    You hear the songs rising from the chambers. The songs of the singers. And then there's also cool and refreshing shade that comes from the trellis work and encircling leafy vines. You can watch the priests hard at work. They're taking the sacrifices from the people. They're preparing them on all the slaying blocks. You can see the careful regulation of the people.

64. 28:56

    Millions of people, actually, coming up, flowing up every year. There's parts of the building allocated for entrance. There's a corresponding gate for exit. You can walk up the steps. You can go inside the inner court. Gaze at the enormous caribin figures that are there that grace the doorways. And then you can see the barrier that stops the mortal population from being able to go inside and going any further.

65. 29:20

    And it starts to come alive when we measure it in our minds. I might just go through these. This is something that a brother did probably 20 years ago. So it's very old technology now. But it actually really helped us when he first did it. Because it made us stop and think, oh, this is a real building.

66. 29:43

    There's going to be real people there. We can actually go inside these buildings. And we're able to walk across the river and actually up to the gates. And we found it quite helpful to actually suddenly think, hey, this is not just some abstract measurement. We're actually going to be able to see this building and the sort of things which are going to take place there.

67. 30:03

    Now, how do we manage to do that? We're not architects. And we're not draftsmen. Well, most of us aren't. So how are we going to visualize it? And there's something that's been extremely helpful for the brotherhood in the last 100 years or so. And that's Brother Sully's book, The Temple of Ezekiel Prophecy.

68. 30:18

    Have most of you got this at home? I'm seeing a few nods, mostly. Yeah. I mean, this is excellent. And we'll talk a little bit about it. First thing we have to say is what Brother Sully's done is go through the measurements. And with his background as an architect, he's drawn up a construction of what he thinks the building might look like.

69. 30:38

    Now, we have to say it is an architect and artist's impression. He may not have it right in every detail. But the benefit of what he's done is it helps us to start looking at the prophecy in a literal, tangible way. You know, I think it is interesting that it's only in the last 100 years or so that the brotherhood or 150 years that the brotherhood has had access to things like this to help us visualize what that building will be like.

70. 31:06

    I mean, if we go back to many of the faithful in Scripture, to David and to Samuel and to others, they didn't actually even have the vision of the prophecy of Ezekiel. So it's been provided to us to give us some sense of reality and intangibleness in this kingdom that we're looking forward to.

71. 31:22

    And if ever there was going to be a time in the history of the earth where that vision was needed, it's now. And it's wonderful that in the last 100 years or so, the brotherhood has been able to look at something like this and actually start to visualize what's there. Brother Roberts actually recognized the benefit in this particular book.

72. 31:41

    He encouraged its production. He assisted in reviewing it. And he and a group of brothers and sisters spent three years raising the funds to be able to publish it. Publishing a book was extremely expensive in those days compared to what it is now. Three years the brotherhood spent raising the funds to be able to publish it for people like you and me to be able to come and have a look and read.

73. 32:07

    And I'd encourage you all to actually just go through the exercise. And it doesn't actually take that long. Go through the exercise of, first of all, just reading for yourself through those last eight chapters or so of Ezekiel. And then sit down with Brother Sully's book and actually work through it as an exercise all over again.

74. 32:25

    Now, again, it's not a novel. It requires a little bit of work. But I think it's something you have to do almost personally yourself. You see, the wonderful thing of Brother Sully's work, and there are plates there. And these ones that we've got in this particular edition are nicely colored. Let me see if I can just find one of them.

75. 32:44

    Yeah. There's a plate here. Now, what you can't see, I'm going to put it up on the screen at the moment. But what you find is that all the pictures that he has as he goes through are actually coded. So let's put up a couple of examples. Okay. So there's one of the diagrams.

76. 32:56

    Can you see the codes? There's an H there at the top. There's an F. There's a D. There's an L. He's got this alphabetic code as you go through those plates. Oops. Let me go back. Okay. There's some more. Another diagram. And he's got these little letters and these little codes. Now, the reason they're there is so that as you read through Ezekiel and you're reading through the text in the book, he says, oh, that's H.

77. 33:23

    You go to the picture and you can see what H is. You read the next little description. Oh, that's a K. Go to the picture. Then you can see what the K is. And I found that really powerful. Like, really helpful. Because now, instead of just being some words and some more words, I could relate them to part of the building.

78. 33:45

    Now, as we start to do that, a remarkable transformation happens. And I challenge you, I guarantee if you go through this process, you won't be able to stop this from happening to you. A transformation takes place. You start to think about the building. You just start to think about the building as a whole.

79. 34:05

    You start to think about what it means. And then as you see the size, you start to marvel at the sheer scale of it. And then you start to notice the brilliance of its design, the intricacy of detail, and also its fitness for purpose. And you start to feel the building coming alive.

80. 34:22

    And that's the point when so many cubits and reeds change from being measurements to something which you can actually see. And I'd like to give you an example. There are doorways. Great. Each gate has two doorways, each of which is about 10 cubits wide. Now, if a brother talks about the fact that there's gates, and then the gates are two doorways, and each of the doorways is 10 cubits wide, we say, yeah, great, that's 10 cubits wide.

81. 34:48

    If you measure it yourself, and you start to think about it, particularly if you ever got out a tape measure, and actually stretched that out to see how large that sort of a space is, you stop to think about it and you think, well, that's quite large. You convert it into feet, and you think this is more than 15 feet across.

82. 35:03

    In fact, it's between 15 and 20 feet for each one of those individual doorways. That's huge. Like a 15-foot doorway? Even by American, even by Texas standards, that would be huge. Aha. Thank you. Let's just do that, actually. Brother Daniel, can you start walking? Oh, good, it's in feet, too. Can you start walking 15 feet?

83. 35:33

    Okay. That's a spring of a car, yeah? Yeah, that's quite large. And there's two of those side by side. Brother Sully suggests, one's for entrance and the other's for exit. And that's every gate. These gates are all the way down. There's a vast size here. Thank you. I appreciate it.

84. 35:53

    There's a vast size here. And you can't do that without starting to think of the crowds that are thronging through those gates. And it starts to become a reality. You see those enormous gates swinging on their hinge. And then you stumble across a passage like the one we looked at before. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God.

85. 36:15

    He's going to be standing there. He's going to be guarding that particular gate. Or, Psalm 24, verse 6. Lift up your heads, O gates. Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors. And the king of glory will come in. One of those doors, Christ's going to walk through it. But when he comes in, he's going to come in as the king of glory.

86. 36:37

    So you can imagine one of those enormous doors being swung open. And the king of glory himself coming in through. And now it's starting to become a reality for it. Now what starts that off? Simple measurement. Ten cubits. And that's the power of personal application to it ourselves. And what happens is you end up sitting back in your chair and you're just thinking.

87. 37:01

    And you get lost in thought. And you start to imagine what it will actually be like. And you start thinking about the kingdom and about the tremendous glory of Yahweh that's going to fill that house. Okay, that's one of the ways in which the visions of the end of Ezekiel are very helpful.

88. 37:20

    In terms of helping us look forward to and build a reality, a vision of reality of that future age. But that's only the literal building. What about the other dimension? What about this other aspect to it? To this element of Ezekiel's temple which might have some moral counterpart. Now, I've got a series of passages here.

89. 37:40

    In chapter 40 verse 2 it describes the city. This is the vision that Ezekiel saw. In verse 2 it's set by a high mountain. In verse 3 there's a man with a measuring reed. In 40 verse 5 there's walls. There's gates. There's waters that issue out. Those waters become a river. There are many trees down either side of the river.

90. 37:59

    It's a forest in chapter 47. 47 verse 8 those waters heal. They go forth into the Dead Sea and make it living. 47 verse 12. The trees are going to be fruit for food. And in verse 12 they have leaves for medicine. Now that's lovely. That's the picture of Ezekiel. What does that remind you of?

91. 38:18

    Some other passage in scripture? Can anybody hear a scriptural echo of every one of those elements? Where is it? Revelation. They all have their counterpart. Every one of those items has its counterpart. In the city which is described in Revelation 21 and 22. We say isn't that remarkable? There's a match. There's a parallel between the house of prayer.

92. 38:45

    Which is described in the book of Ezekiel. And what we find in Revelation 21. So we ask ourselves the question. Is Revelation 21 another picture of the same building? Well let's test that. I'd like you to come with me to Revelation 21. Where we find those. Let's just have a look at one little verse.

93. 39:03

    Revelation 21. And verse 16. So he's describing the city. He's describing all the gates. Holy Jerusalem. In verse 10. He's got the gates described in verse 12. Let's just have a look at verse 16. The city lies four square. Fine. The length is as large as the breadth. Okay. He measured the city with the reed.

94. 39:27

    12,000 furlongs. The length of the breadth and the height of it are equal. 12,000 furlongs. That's 1,500 miles. Ooh. That's pretty big. And it's also pretty high. 1,500 miles. That means if it started in Jerusalem it would probably finish, I don't know, somewhere like Frankfurt. That's a pretty big building. And as the brothers just mentioned, it says the height of it's the same.

95. 39:56

    Oh. So it's now 1,500 miles high. This is not a literal city. So what is it? Well, have a look at verse 2. I, John, saw the holy city New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Verse 9. There came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues and talked with me, saying, Come, hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife.

96. 40:25

    And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. So this is a picture of the bride of Christ. It's a picture of the saints. Put it another way, that's us in God's grace. And yet, item by item, many of those things described match exactly the physical description that we find in those chapters in Ezekiel about what God's temple will actually look like.

97. 40:56

    So what have we got? Revelation 21 is a vision of the saints in glory. It's a beautiful sight. It's not a beauty, a sensual beauty, but it's a beauty based on meaning and emotion, based on the complexity of all the symbols that are used. And then suddenly the penny drops. Ezekiel 40 to 48 is not just about a building.

98. 41:21

    It's not just the plans for the greatest palace that has ever been seen on earth. It's not just an architectural plan of the most beautiful refinement. More importantly, more powerfully than that, every physical element in that house when it will be built, that literal physical temple or palace when it is built, as described in Ezekiel, every little element in it has a moral counterpart.

99. 41:48

    We know that because of the way in which all of those features relate to the vision of the saints in Revelation 21 and 22. So what that tells us, brothers and sisters, is that when the nations flow up to the house of prayer in the future age, every little element that they physically see in front of them is like a living parable.

100. 42:12

     It tells them something about God's work with his people, as depicted in Revelation 21 and 22. So it's not just a center of worship, it's an education mission. And as they travel up the land and they see that building, everything their eyes behold will be extending an invitation. It will be saying to them, this is almighty God's plan and purpose for the human race.

101. 42:42

     It will be finished at the conclusion of the kingdom. We pick that up from the description at the beginning of chapter 1, which describes it as being a time when there is no more death. When the entire earth is populated by an immortal population that praises Yahweh, the law of that house will be holiness round about.

102. 42:59

     And so the physical population, as they come up and see that, will realize that every last little feature of that building will be teaching them about what God's purpose with the human race is, actually with them. So now it's an invitation. Now it's a statement of God's purpose with people. Now it's a definition of our hope.

103. 43:21

     Now every element of that actually sits there, redolent with meaning for us. And all we're going to do now is have the opportunity in the next few minutes to look at just one feature alone and see how these themes run through scripture. The feature we're going to have a look at, brothers and sisters, let's go back to Ezekiel chapter 40.

104. 43:44

     Every little feature of that building will be pregnant with meaning for the mortal population that comes up. And we're going to look at just one thing. Ezekiel chapter 40.

105. 43:59

     Verse 16. There were narrow windows to the little chambers and to their posts within the gate round about and likewise to the arches. And windows were round about inward. And upon each post were palm trees. It's an obscure little piece to pluck out of Ezekiel chapter 40. Where it refers to posts there, by the way, it has the idea literally of a surbase or a pedestal.

106. 44:38

     So upon that post or upon that base or that pedestal, we find a palm tree. Well, what does that mean? What's it telling us? There's a palm tree sitting there in the building. Now many profane commentators have tried to guess. Some have suggested that there's going to be a gardener that goes around and literally plants a few little date palms or some sort of palm tree in front of this particular building.

107. 45:00

     It was Brother Sully who pointed out that actually those palm trees are built into the structure of the building. They are the pillars of the house. So they're actually constructed as part of the construction of the building. They're the supportive framework around the house. In other words, they're the pillars upon which it rests.

108. 45:19

     Let's see if we can find a picture of them. So there's a picture of them there. It's basically what Brother Sully has. In fact, I might be able to use the mouse on the screen. Can you see that? So it's this pillar sitting up there, this pillar or post sitting up there, and here, and again there.

109. 45:36

     And they're defined as being palm trees. Let's think, well, that's interesting. It may be actually in the shape of a literal palm tree. It might be the spreading structure when you get to the top. I've seen translations which talk about that in terms of having like the crown at the top of the palm branches.

110. 45:56

     And I know of some more modern architects who have actually constructed buildings using the shape of a tree to actually do the construction shape that holds the building up itself. Be that as it may, these are defined as being palm trees. Now, have a look at verse 22. Verse 22. It comes up again in verse 31.

111. 46:47

     It comes up again in verse 34. Let's go over to chapter 41. Chapter 41. We've now got to the inner court. Verse 18. It was made with cherubim and palm trees. In fact, actually, the picture we have there on the screen is actually the picture of the inner court. Verse 18. It was made with cherubim and palm trees so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub.

112. 47:11

     And every cherub had two faces. So the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side. The face of the young lion toward the palm tree on the other. And that's what Brother Sully has depicted there in that artist's impression that you've got in front of you on the screen.

113. 47:27

     Now, what's the point? Why are they referred to as palm trees? Well, one of the features of a palm tree is its uprightness. We won't turn it up. But in Jeremiah 10, verse 5, in fact, it's used of idols. It talks about them being upright. Set upright like a palm tree. And it was just trying to convey the fact that the idol had been set upright.

114. 47:49

     What I'd like us more particularly to turn to is Psalm 92. Psalm 92. And let's see how this theme of palm trees is elaborated on in Scripture. Psalm 92.

115. 48:08

     Verse 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. Think, ooh, that's interesting. Now we're being told that a palm tree has a moral connotation actually relating to people. So here's a righteous person who flourishes like a palm tree. Now this is clearly a reference to the fact that a palm tree has a shaft that just goes straight up.

116. 48:33

     And you look at a magnificent towering palm tree and you say, that's a glorious symbol of a righteous person. Let's look at the context. He carries on. He'll grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of Yahweh shall flourish in the courts of our God. Now I don't think for one moment that's saying there's going to be a whole lot of physical trees that we're going to go around with wheelbarrows and plant.

117. 48:58

     It's talking about the righteous will be like a palm tree growing in the courts of the house of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit, verse 14, in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. So what do we have? Well now we've got an interesting blend of symbols. We're using the symbols of plants, but they're being incorporated into the structure of a building.

118. 49:23

     And now we realize what's being talked about. These are the pillars of the temple. And these pillars of the temple are going to be the saints. Righteous. Like a palm tree. Well now let's go to Revelation chapter 3 and see the way in which the theme of pillars is developed. These palm trees which are the pillars of the temple.

119. 49:48

     Revelation 3. You know how at the end of each of the seven letters there's a statement to him that overcometh will I. And it's a statement of the blessing of immortality or the roles that we'll have in the kingdom age. And in Revelation 3 verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.

120. 50:09

     And he shall go no more out. So now I'd like you in your mind to go back to consider Ezekiel's temple. I want you again to stand in front of that towering edifice. And I want you to see in your mind each of those pillars cascading off into the distance. There's more than a thousand of them around that building.

121. 50:36

     A thousand of these enormous pillars which are likened to the righteous, to the palm trees. And what are we seeing? What you see, brothers and sisters, in that wall in front of you is a promise for the future. What you're seeing is an invitation. Come and be part of that house. Be one of those palm trees of righteousness that will be incorporated into the structure of God's house in the age to come.

122. 51:04

     Pillars. Hundreds of pillars. A thousand of those pillars on either side marching off into the distance to right and to left. Tall, strong, majestic pillars. And now walk about the walls. And as you go past each one of those pillars, we start to think, oh, there's Daniel. Oh, there's the widow of Zarephath.

123. 51:27

     Oh, there's Hannah. Oh, that pillar. That's Jairus. Oh, there's old brother so-and-so. Oh, there's that elderly sister from the Ecclesia just down the road. Oh, there's one of your friends. And that one there, that one there, brothers and sisters, that one over by the corner, is that? Could that be you? Is that you?

124. 51:54

     Is that your pillar in the house of God? Magnificent vision. That's the invitation that's contained in the symbology that's physically incorporated into that glorious building in the age to come. Technical. Dry. Boring. It's our life. That's our hope. That's what's being conveyed by this passage here in the book of Ezekiel. It's a glorious depiction of the role of the individual saints.

125. 52:28

     You know, we don't have the time to do it, but just keep following through that theme. You know what we're going to do? Let's have a look at Revelation 7. In Revelation chapter 7 and verse 9, we have a magnificent throng.

126. 52:45

     There are those in verse 13 that are described as being arrayed in white robes. For whence came they? Verse 14, I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. These are they who came out of great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. But when he first sees them, do you see his description?

127. 53:05

     Verse 9, after this I beheld, though, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues, they stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. And we can see how the theme of the palm tree now is personally identified with each of the saints.

128. 53:28

     Palm branches. What section of scripture does that remind us of? Walking through Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning of that last week as he came in. John 12 verse 13. They strewed palm branches down in front of him. And they cried out, Hosanna, which means save now. It's a theme of deliverance.

129. 53:52

     And the palm branches were used when they constructed the booths in the Feast of Tabernacles, which was to remind them, Leviticus 23 verses 40 to 43, the palm branches were involved, that ye may know that I brought them out of Egypt. So now we don't just have a palm tree as a symbol of might and power and strength of a righteous person, but even the palm branches symbolize the fact that Yahweh provided the shelter for them when he redeemed them as his people out of Egypt.

130. 54:18

     And that's just one little theme. It's the theme of the palm branches. And you see it as a glorious theme. It's there in the law in Leviticus. It's there in the apocalypse. It comes up in the Psalms. It's there in Ezekiel. It's a beautiful little theme of God's work with the saints. Now we don't have time to look at some of the other things on that slide.

131. 54:38

     Look at the caravan. There's two faces on this caravan. It's the lion and the man. King priest. We should be kings and priests of the age to come. You know, brothers and sisters, the little details of this picture are absolutely beautiful. They are conveying to us our hope, what God wants to do with us.

132. 55:04

     That's why this temple will be constructed in the age to come. Not just to say, well, isn't the king glorious? It'll do that all right. But it will be a monument to teach the mortal population all of the lessons. And it's an invitation to them to come and participate in the same hope, brothers and sisters, that you and I have been given as well.

133. 55:23

     I'd like you to come back with me now to 1 Corinthians 3 to close. 1 Corinthians 3. He says in verse 6, What about the earlier verses? Verse 9, We are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building. According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation another man buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed how he is building thereupon.

134. 56:15

     For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, obvious. For the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

135. 56:40

     You know what that's telling us, brothers and sisters? It's saying the temple is already being built. Not the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy. We're going to see that start soon. But the moral temple is already being built. And you and I are involved in that building work. And the point that Paul wants us to stop and think about is, what are we building?

136. 57:08

     What sort of edifice are we building? What are we building upon the foundation that has already been laid? We are the temple of the living God. And the law of the temple is holiness round about. So may it be, brothers and sisters, in these last days that we have, and they are only brief, these last days before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, may it be that we diligently give heed to what we build upon that foundation that's already been laid.

137. 57:36

     Because the time will shortly come when we, God willing, in God's grace, will be a glorious part of it. Thank you for listening to the Good Christ Adelphine Talks podcast. Please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or whichever service you are listening from to help people find the show when they search for it.

138. 58:01

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139. 58:25

     If you know of a great talk, we want to know about it too. Send a suggestion to goodchristadelphiantalks at gmail.com or message us on any of our social media platforms. Thank you for listening. God bless and talk to you next week.