Ezekiel 41: The Temple Interior; The Wall and It’s Chambers, and the Holy Images:
41:1-6: The Prophet is brought into the inner sanctuary, which is an image of the human soul...The temple is a type of Theotokos, who held YHWH (God) the Word in her womb...For more on this imagery, see Hebrews 9...The untouched wall also images the Theotokos...see Ezekiel 40:5-7; and Ezekiel 43:1-3 my previous notes…
Hebrews Chapter 9, covers The Earthly Sanctuary and Liturgy, The Heavenly Sanctuary and Liturgy, The New Covenant, The Blood of Christ, and The New Worship is Heavenly Reality...
41:7: The side chambers that became wider as they went up illustrate the heart that grows by grace into the likeness of God, as well as the growth and unity of the Church united in Christ…
41:11-12: North...south: See my notes on Ezekiel 40:20,27...The light is the light of Christ present in every human being (John 1:9-11)...The open space within the house brings to mind a hymn we sing to the Theotokos: “Your womb is more spacious than the heavens…”
John 1:9-11 Scripture work: Christ offers light to every person, but the world and even many of His own refuse to receive Him; thus, they can neither know nor recognize Him...Those who accept Him have His light...In a hymn sung at the end of Liturgy, after hearing the Gospel and receiving the communion, we sing, “we have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit…”
41:16: The shaded light illustrates that the light of Christ’s glory is revealed to man as far as he is able to bear it; for while we are on this earth, we see as dimly in a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12)...Look at the term fishnet and compare it to Ezekiel 47:10; John 21:3-6...The wood panels point to Christ’s humanity, see also (Exodus 25:10-11)...
1 Corinthians 13:12: The gifts of the spirit, wonderful as they are, are temporary and incomplete...They are for this age, while we are “children”...But love continues into the age to come: it is eternal, complete, and fulfilling…
John 21:3-6: Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and [a]immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
They answered Him, “No.”
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
41:17-19: The two faces of the cherubim signify Christ as man and as lion of Judah, see also (Genesis 49:9-12)...
41:21: The wooden altar is symbolic of the Cross…
Ezekiel 42: The Outer Court; Halls for the Priest, and The Temple Exterior:
42:1-8: Five Halls in the outer court, to the east, illustrate the five human senses directed toward Christ...The halls of ten by one hundred (perfection) cubits, together with the upper walkways, illustrate a lifetime of obedience, good works, and repentance leading upward to heaven...Fifty: see my notes on Ezekiel 40:15… Revelation 11:1-2 compared to the Chapters of Ezekiel 40-42, Note...
42:9-10: Christ is the door, the Orient (east), the light, the head, and the way for all who enter the heavenly places…
42:13-14: Under the Law, the holy place was accessible only to the priests, but Christ, all who draw near in faith and love may partake of the most holy things…
42:15-20: He measured the house all around: see and compare Revelation 21:9-27…
Ezekiel 43: The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple: Measurements of the Altar:
43:1-12: The prophet was led...out from the east gate, the glory of the Lord entered, and then the gate was shut (Ezekiel 44:1)...According to the Fathers, this passage, together with (44:1-5), foreshadows the Incarnation, when the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin in the Temple and the Son of God was conceived in her womb (Luke 1:26-38)...The sound of many voices is echoed by the “multitude of the heavenly host” announcing the Advent of Christ to the shepherds (Luke 2:13)...
43:13-17: The altar here, as well as the altar in the Church, images the heavenly altar...The altar is “the soul of the righteous man, which lays upon itself before His eyes as many sacrifices as it has done good deeds...And what is the drain of the altar but the patience of good men, which, while it humbles the mind to endure adversities, shows it to be placed low down after the manner of a ditch?...Well, too, this same trench is directed to be of one cubit, because, if patience fails not, the measure of unity is preserved” (GrgGt)...The great mercy seat is clearly a type of Christ…
43:18-27: The Levites typify the clergy who serve at the altar in the Church, (see also Numbers 8:5-25)...The burnt offerings point to Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross for our salvation…
Numbers 8:5-25: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purification on them, and let[a] them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 Then let them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 10 So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites; 11 and Aaron shall [b]offer the Levites before the Lord like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. 14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. 15 After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. 17 For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I [c]sanctified them to Myself. 18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”
20 Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. 21 And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; 25 and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more.
Ezekiel 44: The East Gate Is for the Lord:
44:1-4: The eastern outer gate is seen by the Fathers as the womb of the Virgin, which was shut because the Lord God had entered by it...The Church see this passage is describing the ever-virginity of Mary...Though many modern denominations reject this doctrine, it was held to be true by Luther, Calvin, and John Wesley...St. Jerome writes that the east gate images the Virgin Mary, whose womb is “always shut and always shining, and either concealing or revealing the Holy of Holies; and through her the Sun of Righteousness; our high priest after the order of Melchizedek; goes in and out…”At the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple we sing,“Today the house of God receives the Gate through which no one may pass; so it has brought an end to the worship commanded by the shadow of the Law…”
44:6-9: The Law was broken by the Jews, but under the New Covenant, foregin sons...uncircumcised Gentiles became baptized Christians…
Ezekiel 45: A Holy Section of Land, Property for the Prince, and Observing the Feasts:
45:1-25: These physically impractical divisions of the land and the instructions concerning liturgical worship make sense only in the light of their fulfillment in CHRIST and His Church...The one sheep, the young bull, and the prince are all types of Christ, our possession, who made atonement for His Church...The Paschal Feast, or Passover, (see Numbers 28:16), is fulfilled whenever we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection…
Numbers 28:16: ‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Lord.
Ezekiel 46: The Way of Worship, The Prince’s Possessions, & The Temple Kitchens:
46:1-24: With the Resurrection of Christ, the Sabbath, which was the seventh day, has become the day of rest and preparation for the Eighth Day, or Sunday (see Acts 20:7)...During the Divine Liturgy, the people gather to worship the Lord and to make a grain offering in the form of bread and wine...The oil signifies the presence of the Holy Spirit...In response, Christ the Prince, the Lamb of God, enters and is in our midst...Just as the prince goes in and out by the east gate, so Christ came into the world by taking His flesh from His Mother, the Most Holy Theotokos…
Acts 20:7: Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
Ezekiel 47: The Stream from the Temple and Boundaries of Land:
47:1-23: A vision applying to holy baptism, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the apostles, compare verse 10 to John 21:6,and the growth of the Church from both Jew and Gentile believers (resident aliens)...”In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel there is seen above the cherubim a crystal stretched forth, that is, the compressed and denser waters...The first living beings come out of the waters; and believers soar out of the laver with wings to heaven...In Eden a garden is planted, and a fountain in the midst of it parts into four heads (Genesis 2:10)...This same fountain which Ezekiel later on describes as issuing out of the temple and flowing towards the rising sun, until it heals the bitter waters and quickens those that are dead” (Jerome)...
John 21:6: And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
Genesis 2:10: Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
47:12: See Revelation 22:2: In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Ezekiel 48: Dividing the Land for the Tribes, and Exit gates of the City:
48:1-35: This Chapter has been and continues to be fulfilled since Pentecost, when the Church was established and began to “inherit the land”, growing with Christ in its center until it fills the earth on the final day...The Levites typify the clergy of the Church, and the workers are the faithful...These cultivate the land by good works, bringing the firstfruits of their labor into the Lord’s house whenever we gather together to worship Him in Spirit and in truth…
48:35: The name of the city is the New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12), the Church, which has been and is now “continuing” (Hebrews 13:14) from the day on which Christ took His place in her midst...On the final day, when the Lord comes for His Bride, those who overcome will receive a “new name” (Revelation 2:17)...the name of Christ revealed...on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4)...
Revelation 3:12: He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Hebrews 13:14: For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
Revelation 2:17: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”
Revelation 22:4: They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.