The Gospel According to Ezekiel, Chapter 43-44 (Part 1 of 2)

The Context of the Temple Vision

Since chapter 40, we've been in a vision God gave to Ezekiel of a temple. Many call it the millennial temple or the third temple, but it's a temple vision we can study. Last week, we saw its specific purpose: to make us ashamed of our sins, to grow in sanctification, to see sin as infinitely bad and the glory of God as immeasurably good. That's the primary emphasis.

This is a vision of a city, not just a temple. As chapter 48 closes, the name of the city is "The Lord Is There." God dwells among his people.

This temple is awesome. The dimensions, gatehouses, three gates, the entrance to the city—it's magnificent. There's a big courtyard, and in chapter 47, a river of life flows from the throne room out through the east gates. The deeper you go into this river, the deeper it becomes. There's an outer court for dwelling and an inner court for worship, drawing near to God. You can't help but read this and say, "That's where I want to be."

That's a huge point of this vision. After countless chapters in Ezekiel showing the ruin and misery of living in sin, apostasy, exile, and conquest by Babylonians, this temple stands in stark contrast. It's a no-brainer: that's awesome; that's terrible. I want to be in the temple with God.

Ordinances for the Altar

Ezekiel 43:18–27 (ESV)

He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is erected, for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it. You shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord God, a bull from the herd for a sin offering. And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it. You shall also take the fat of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.

And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified. When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish. Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it. And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward, the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”

The Shut East Gate and the Prince

Ezekiel 44:1–3 (ESV)

Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east—and it was shut. And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple! And I fell on my face.

Ezekiel 44:5 (ESV)

And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.”

There's significant interpretive difficulty here: who is this prince? Earlier in chapter 37, we saw the prince as the servant David—messianically fulfilled in Christ, the perfect, permanent shepherd who rules with justice, fairness, and care for his people. Israel's prior princes and priests failed, allowing idolatry into the temple. God provides Christ as the leader.

Some argue this prince is Ezekiel himself—a temporary fulfillment among the exiles, performing priestly duties. He's the only one allowed in the east gate, and God instructs him to "mark well" the entrances and exits, meaning to install them in his heart.

Others say it's not messianic but a collective for future leaders, or a millennial figure under Christ, or even a high priest. The prince offers sacrifices for his own sins (chapter 45:22), which rules out Christ for some. But Hebrews 9 shows Old Testament high priests typify Christ imperfectly—they sacrifice for themselves and the people—while Christ, the perfect high priest, sacrifices once for all in the heavenly sanctuary.

Ultimately, this points to Christ as the eternal prince. Like Leviticus sacrifices, these have spiritual significance, fulfilled in Christ's once-for-all sacrifice. Memorial sacrifices in a kingdom could point back to the cross, as communion does.

Exclusion from the Sanctuary

Ezekiel 44:6–9 (ESV)

Say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations, in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.

It's not just physical uncircumcision but uncircumcised hearts. Even in the Old Testament, there must be inward change for right relationship with God.

Ezekiel 44:10–14 (ESV)

But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment. They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

These apostate priests are demoted to temple guards—outer duties anyone could do. They can't draw near to God or his holy things; no public worship. It's condemnation for leading into idolatry.

Privileges of the Faithful Priests

Ezekiel 44:15–16 (ESV)

But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God.

They enter the sanctuary, approach God's table, and keep his charge.

Ezekiel 44:17–31 (ESV, excerpted)

When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat... They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean... It shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance... You shall give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.

These regulations ensure ritual purity for worship. The faithful sons of Zadok teach holiness, judge righteously, keep feasts and Sabbaths, avoid defilement (except close family), and receive God as their inheritance.

The Hope in Exile

If you were in Babylonian exile—forcefully removed from home and temple, punished for centuries of sin—what would you hope for? Restoration to normalcy? The old temple and idolatrous freedom? Or acceptance by God?

This vision shows the way back: purify the altar ("unsin" it), make atonement (appease God's wrath), offer peace offerings (restore fellowship), and burnt offerings (pleasing aroma). Nothing purifies physical things without fulfilling purification of God's people.

Atonement means God is no longer angry—personal, specific. Christ became sin so we become his righteousness. Wrath removed means love restored; fellowship resumes eternally. Christ's sacrifice is the fragrant offering (Ephesians 5:2), intentional for you, calling us to walk in love as a pleasing aroma to God.