Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut.
Ezekiel 44:1-2 NLT
Students of the Bible are widely agreed that chapters forty to forty-five of Ezekiel are not intended to be the blueprint for an actual building, Rather, what is being described in great detail there is the life in which the Holy Spirit lives and reigns. He has come back home and the gate is closed behind him
Throughout the Bible, the Tabernacle and then the Temple held a special place. It was not so much the place where God lived, as in paganism, but the place where Yahweh’s “name” was. The Temple was the expression of God’s presence and divine nature among his people. So when the people fell away from God and into paganism, as described in Ezekiel 8 – 11, the Holy Spirit left the Temple. Here the Holy Spirit returns, but not to a building. Rather, to the human heart (2 Cor 6:16).
In this light, it is very significant what furnishings are found and not found in the perfect temple. There are only two pieces: an altar (43:13-27) and a table (41:22). There is no laver, no lampstand, no table of bread, no incense altar, and most significantly, no ark of the covenant. What is going on? I suggest that the perfect temple is symbolizing the Spirit-filled life. No longer do we need the light and the bread. Jesus is the light of the world and the bread of life. No longer do we need the incense; he is the sweet savor. And especially, no longer do we need a symbol of the broken covenant crying out for death. The covenant is written on our hearts. What do we need? Since we will always unintentionally fall short of God’s absolute perfection, we need the continuous atonement of Christ’s precious blood – the altar. And since we now have the privilege of perfect and ongoing fellowship with our Savior – he sets the table. All we need is Jesus – dead and risen – altar and table.
Called To Be Transformed 