Today we return to Ezekiel 44 to finish the chapter looking at the rules for the priests of that coming day
Ezekiel’s escort takes him inside the inner court by way of the north gate
As he approaches the entrance to the temple, he can see the glory of the Lord filling the house, and down he goes again
Notice how Ezekiel cannot even stand in the presence of the Lord’s glory and power
And then the voice of the Lord speaks to Ezekiel from this future moment in the temple
He tells Ezekiel to report everything that he’s seeing and hearing to the people of Israel concerning their temple
The point of these revelations is to share them with Israel, so that the people would know them
In fact, that’s the purpose of everything God reveals through His prophets, that God’s people would know what has been revealed
But beyond the temple itself, the Lord also has a message for the people of Israel regarding how they dealt with the previous temple
In Ezekiel’s day, and in generations prior, the people of Israel had committed uncountable abominations against the Lord
This book is the primary record of those abominations, so we need not repeat them here
But now the Lord contrasts Israel’s defiling of the temple to the immense glory the temple will have in the Kingdom
As an example, the Lord says the people of Israel brought foreigners who were uncircumcised in heart and flesh into the temple
To be uncircumcised in the flesh means to be Gentile, that is to not have a part in the covenants of Israel
But to be uncircumcised in the spirit means to be unbelieving, to not have the Spirit of God giving the person new spiritual life
So the Jews allowed unbelieving Gentiles to enter into a place reserved exclusively for Jews and even the priests
The Mosaic Covenant established these rites and rituals for Israel alone, and Gentiles have no part in that covenant
But the nation had allowed Gentiles to defile the temple
And more than that, the Lord says Gentiles were allowed to eat of sacred foods reserved for sacrifice or for priests
And if that weren’t bad enough, it seems Israel may have allowed foreigners to officiate in the temple as if they were priests
We know Joshua employed Gibeonites to serve at the altar as water carriers (Josh 9:23-27)
So apparently that set a precedent that continued afterward until Gentiles were serving in greater capacities
But now the Lord says in v.9 that in the Kingdom, no natural man who is uncircumcised in flesh and spirit may enter His sanctuary
We know that the nations stream to the temple to celebrate feasts and holy days
Yet apparently, unbelieving citizens will not be allowed to enter the temple grounds in the Kingdom
And of course in that day the heart of a person will be known by God so the rule will be enforced perfectly
And then turning to the Levitical priests, the Lord changes the rules for how the priests serve and where they will come from within Israel
The Lord reminds the Levites that they stood by as Israel went astray, allowing the profaning of the temple over the centuries
As Israel descended into idolatry and depravity, the priests even officiated over the pagan rituals
Remember back in Ezekiel 8 we read:
The Lord showed Ezekiel 24 priests and the high priest bowing to the sun as it rises, in pagan worship ritual
They were standing on the threshold of the temple preparing to serve in the temple that day
Because of the unfaithfulness of God’s ministers in that day, He says the Levitical priests will officiate in a more limited way in the Kingdom
Notice in v.13 the Lord says they shall not come near Him in this time
This is different than under the Mosaic law, where the offerer kills his own sacrifice, not the priest
The priest offered the sacrifice on the altar and took blood into the Holy Place
But in the Kingdom, the priests have a more limited role
They will have oversight of the house and gates, slaughtering animals and ministering to the people who worship there
They now do the “dirty” work for the worshippers, ministering to them in the temple
Only one family of priests will be allowed to serve Christ as before
Among the Levitical priests, only the sons of Zadok will be permitted to approach the Lord in the sanctuary
Zadok was the high priest who remained loyal to David during the time that the house of Saul was contending with David for the throne
As David fled from Absalom and left Jerusalem, we read this:
Zadok took the ark of the covenant and followed David as David fled
He was demonstrating that he knew David was the the Lord’s anointed, not Absalom
Because of Zadok’s faithfulness, the Lord makes Zadok and his sons the only priests who will officiate in the Kingdom
There’s a great picture in that story of our time now in the Church
David’s departure from Jerusalem pictures Jesus being rejected by His own people, Israel
Because of that rejection, Jesus departs for a time
And David’s command to the priests to remain behind with the Ark pictures the Church remaining behind on earth for a time
Just as the Glory of God dwelled on the Ark, so does the Spirit of God dwell in the body of Christ, the church
And just as David said the Ark should remain in Jerusalem until he returned, so does the Church remain on earth waiting for Christ
And just as Zadok’s faithfulness to David gave him the right to minister in the Kingdom temple…
So will our faithfulness give us opportunity to reign in the Kingdom
To finish the chapter, we look at the dress and conduct of these priests
First, all the dress of the priests of Zadok will be linen, not wool
There are theories for why linen is required
First, linen is a product of plants while wool is the product of animals
Since God used animal skins to cover the first sin, linen pictures our purity without need for atonement
Just as saints in the Bible are pictured dressed in linen, being clothed in Christ’s righteousness
Furthermore, the Lord said His priests could not sweat
Sweat makes a priest ritually unclean
Obviously, wool is warmer and makes one sweat, while linen is cooler
Interestingly, the priests may not take their garments out of the temple
The Lord says in v.19 He doesn’t want the priests to transmit their holiness to the people
The word transmit isn’t found in the original Hebrew
In fact, the Septuagint says “so they shall not sanctify the people”
By that we understand God is saying He does not want to expose the common man to what the priests experienced in the presence of God
This suggests that perhaps their clothing will radiate as Moses’ face did after encountering God in the tent of meeting
So unbelievers can’t enter the temple and neither will the unbelieving world see the glory of God reflected on the priests
From these details we begin to see the requirement for faith in the Kingdom just as it is today (and has always been)
Students of the Bible naturally wonder how it could be that a world ruled by Christ could include unbelievers
Most assume that Jesus will be visible in the world
And we assume that supernatural displays will be common
And even the fact that we live among the world in our glorified bodies should be proof enough to bring faith
But if you think a moment longer, you come to realize these things can’t be true in the Kingdom
Hebrews says:
And Paul adds:
The Bible teaches that faith is an expression of hope because it accepts something as true before it can be “seen” or experienced in reality
Once something can be seen, accepting the truth of it no longer requires faith…it’s become self-evident
Nor should it gain us anything, because God Himself gains no glory when we acknowledge the obvious
So God’s plan of salvation depends on faith, trusting in the promises of God found in His word concerning things yet to come
We place our faith in thing that cannot be seen: Christ’s atoning death, our future resurrection and judgment
God’s word has made promises to us concerning these matters, and faith is required to accept them
Now imagine if Jesus were visible in His glorified form to the unbelieving world?
They would certainly acknowledge Jesus, but that acknowledgement wouldn’t be based on faith in God’s word
It would merely be a self-evident truth, and acknowledging Jesus under those circumstances wouldn’t result in salvation
No more than at the final judgment when Paul says:
At the final judgment, all humanity from all history will come to understand the truth that Jesus is Lord
In that moment, Paul says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that truth
Notice the various places where humanity will exist when they make this confession
Some are above the earth, others on the earth, but importantly some are still below the earth
Obviously, those below the earth refers to souls enduring eternal judgment
Paul says they too will confess Christ as Lord, yet they remain in judgment despite their confession
Why? Because at that point their confession is simply an acknowledgement of self-evident truth…no faith required
And so it does not bring salvation
Therefore, since unbelief remains part of life during the Kingdom, then faith must still be the means to salvation
And if faith is required, then the truth of Christ will not be self-evident – at least not in the sense that it nullifies the need for faith
That’s one reason Jesus is not roaming the earth in His glorified form but rather He remains in the Holy of Holies
The testimony of that day will be that our Lord is resident in the temple, reigning and ruling
But accepting that testimony will require faith, since unbelievers will not see Jesus nor will they be permitted to enter the temple
Moreover, the priests will leave the temple dressed like ordinary people
They leave their garments back in the temple
And then there’s the issue of our appearance and, for the same reason, we should assume that our glorified appearance won’t vary dramatically
We should expect that our physical construction will mirror the one we have now albeit without sin or disease or weaknesses
Perhaps our appearance will remain essentially the same (just fewer wrinkles and maybe a little thinner)
And if so, that may be the way we’ll recognize each other
And perhaps most amazing, our sinless nature won’t make us radically different from the sinner
We can live side by side with the natural man or woman and yet our sinlessness won’t challenge their understanding of God
They won’t look at us and be amazed at the difference, so that it causes them to believe in Jesus
Perhaps they recognize us as being “kind” or “upright” or perhaps they will think we’re weird and resent us for our perfection
It’s a situation I know very well (joke)
But one thing we can know for sure: our sinless nature won’t nullify faith for those who remain sinful
Remember, Jesus lived a sinless life, and yet none of his earthly brothers were moved by what they saw to believe in His claims
So if sinless Jesus could live side by side with unbelievers without them noticing, we should expect to do the same
The more we consider these issues, the more reason we have to look forward to the Kingdom life
It’s going to be everything we like about life today and nothing we don’t
It’s going to be a life with fulfillment in place of disappointment
A life with meaning instead of one that sometimes seems senseless
It’s a life with a rhythm and stability that eliminates fear or worry
A life where the prospect of growing old and dying are gone, where the consequences of sin are no more
Our days will be filled with work we enjoy, pastimes that don’t hurt us or others, and possessions that never fade away
And for the unbeliever, the same will be true so long as they do not sin, and if they come to faith during their first 100 years
And in the midst of that near-perfect world, the unbeliever will be told that must believe in Jesus if they want to continue in that bliss
Though we may assume that such a great world would make faith easier to come by, the reality will be the exact opposite
When the world is experiencing such bliss, faith will be harder
Just as today when people are comfortable in their circumstances, they find little reason to consider a change
Especially not a change as significant as repenting of their present way of life to embrace a new one in Jesus
Moving back to the priests, we have a series of rules for proper conduct
The priest can’t drink on the job, can’t look like a hippie, and must marry a respectable woman (i.e., a virgin)
That reference to marrying raises a huge red flag for us, because it indicates that the priests will be natural men
Which brings us back to the question of whether all Israel will be glorified or not
Earlier, I addressed this question by noting how Scripture indicates that Israel will all know the Lord and obey Him perfectly
Jeremiah says there will be no need for one Jew to teach another Jew to know and obey the Lord
They will all have the law on their hearts so that they may follow it perfectly
Perfect knowledge and obedience to God strongly suggests that all Israel will be glorified just as all the Church saints will be
And if Israel is glorified then they won’t marry, since Jesus says in Matt 22:30 that the glorified are like angels not marrying
That is hard to reconcile with the command to teach Israel about things clean and profane
Nevertheless, here we have a reference to the descendants of the priests of Zadok marrying women
Clearly if priests are descendants of Zadok, then they are Jewish
And if they are marrying, they are natural men which would mean that not all Israel is glorified
Moreover, in v.23 we’re told the priests explain the difference between what is holy and profane to Israel
By their teaching, the Lord says Israel will discern between unclean and clean
And in v.24 were told the priests will judge over disputes among the people of Israel
Sinless people don’t enter into disputes, presumably, nor do they require judging
Admittedly, this is one of the most difficult concepts in eschatology, and I haven’t resolved it yet
Somehow it must be true that Israel fully knows and obeys the Lord in the Kingdom
And yet it’s also possible for priests to have wives and to need the judgment and instruction
At the very least, we know the Old Testament saints will be resurrected and glorified just as the Church will be
So perhaps there are some of both among Israel, yet even that answer doesn’t fully resolve the question
Further complicating our understand, we find these tantalizing details
In v.25 the Lord says the priests cannot visit a dead body unless that dead body is part of their family
Here again, only a natural, unsaved person will die in the Kingdom, as we learned in Isaiah 65
So if these priests have relatives who can die, then it means they have natural, unsaved Jewish family in Israel
Yet Jeremiah promised that all Jews in the Kingdom will know the Lord
Notice also in v.27 that the priest who has contact with a dead body offers “his” sin offering before he may return to officiating in the temple
This is a stunning statement since it implies the priest has sin
Here again, that makes the priest a natural born person, or so it would seem
Clearly, there is a gap in our understanding here, which cannot be resolved easily
Finally, as it was with the levitical priests of the Mosaic Law, these priests will depend upon the gifts to the temple for their supply
The priests have no other inheritance in the land except the temple itself
And they shall be fed by what comes into the temple
Later in the book we study the specific allotments for the tribes, including for the priests
The final verses teach a common principle of the Bible, both for Old Testament, New Testament and Kingdom times:
Those who minister to God’s people are to expect their supply from God’s people
According to Leviticus, the priests could not eat meat killed in any way except meat sacrificed in the temple
That was the only source of meat for priests serving in the temple
In New Testament times, the same principle applies as Paul explains
Those who devote their life to the purpose of the Gospel should expect to see their needs met by the church body
Elsewhere, Paul explains that this system is to the benefit of the Church
This system ensures that God’s servants have maximum opportunity to serve us spiritually
And in the Kingdom, the same principle continues on
The priests in the temple will receive the first fruits of the people of Israel as their payment
And as we’ll learn later, they live in the temple as their inheritance in the Kingdom
And as it was under Moses, they only eat meat sacrificed in the temple
Knowing there will be many priests in the Kingdom, it also tells us how much sacrificing will go on at the temple
Now in Chapter 45 we begin to see how the Lord divides the land, starting with the land for the priests and the prince
The Lord says the land will be assigned by lot
As Israel enters the Kingdom, each tribe will get an allotment of the Promised land, as the Lord directs
They will discern His will by throwing lots, and of course the Lord will control the outcome of each throw
So that by throwing lots the people of Israel come to know what the specific allocation of land will be for each tribe
Why didn’t the Lord just publish those decisions in this book?
Probably for two reasons…
First, the allocation will be a reflection of the obedience of the various tribes, and at the time this book was written that record wasn’t complete
Secondly, to know this allocation in advance would likely have caused strife among the tribes in the present age
But at the time they throw lots, the Lord says they should set aside a portion of land for the temple, the priests and for prince David
The space carved out will be 25,000 cubits by 20,000 cubits, which is 8.3 miles by 6.6 miles
This space is further divided up into sections for various uses
The top third of the rectangle is 25,000 x 10,000 and it holds the temple with its holy empty space
Outside that space the priests of Zadok live
Then below that in the middle section of the rectangle is a 25,000 by 5,000 cubit portion for the city of Jerusalem
We don’t know much about the city except that it is the possession of all Israel
Finally, the bottom third is 25,000 by 10,000 and is the home for all non-priest Levites
On either side of this space (outside the 25,000 x 20,000 measurement) are allotments that are equal in width to the rectangle
These portions are for the prince and the princes
So this is the land reserved for David and his senior leadership
The total of this space is significant, amounting to the size of Salt Lake City
That land is divided among a handful of people, indicating how richly the Lord will award those who please Him
From here, the Lord moves away from priests to the system for offerings and feast days in the new Kingdom system
The Lord begins with an exhortation to the leaders of Israel to treat the people justly, which we know they will do in the Kingdom
Rather than rob from people or exploit their power, the leaders would deal fairly the Lord says
This was always the Lord’s expectation for those who shepherd His people
But in the Kingdom the Lord promises that this command will be followed
In leading Israel, the princes will put away violence and destruction and practice righteousness
They will have just balances
In ancient times, monetary value was established on the basis of weight
A scale compared the weight of a dry good with a known weight of a precious metal
A corrupt merchant or king could tip the scales to his advantage in business dealings
But the Lord says that won’t happen in the Kingdom
In other words, you will never need to count your change
But by the same token, there will be money in the Kingdom, or at least some system for judging and trading items of value
So as they say, nothing is for certain except death and taxes, and one of those will still be true in the Kingdom
In vs.11-12 the Lord assures Israel that an ephah and a bath would be standard, dependable and consistent in that day
An ephah is a dry measure of volume and a bath is a wet measure of volume from that day and both will be equal in the Kingdom
Likewise, shekels, which are unites of weight, would not vary
The point is that all business dealings will be fair and trustworthy in that day…another welcome change from today
Then in vs.13-17 the Lord specifies the payment the people of Israel would give to the prince, David, for his own offering at the temple
The house of Israel makes this payment to David regularly so that he might offer it to the Lord as a sin offering
Once again, hearing that a sin offering is made for atonement for the house of Israel indicates sin within Israel
If there is sin, then apparently not all who are living in Israel are sinless at this point in history
The allotment required here is significant
One sixth of all grain produced in Israel is given in this offering
As well as one percent of all oil and one out of every 200 animals
Taken from everyone in Israel, this is a lot of material to sacrifice
Finally, we have a few regulations for feasts
The first day of every year there is a feast that begins with the sacrifice of a young bull
The blood of the bull is applied to the doorways of the temple similar to Passover
This sacrifice cleansed the temple for the coming year
Then on the seventh day of the new year, this sacrifice is repeated
Then on the 14th day of the first month, the nation will celebrate Passover followed by the feast of Unleavened Bread
These feast is similar yet not identical to the one practiced under the Mosaic Law
The first day is marked by sin offering, only here it’s a bull, not a lamb
Then on the next seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the people shall eat unleavened bread and sacrifice a bull and ram each day
As they did before, these feasts commemorate Christ’s work on the cross
Interestingly, this feast is repeated on the seventh month, which corresponds to the feast of booths or tabernacles
These are the only two feasts mentioned in Ezekiel
So it’s unclear if the rest are simply not addressed in the book or if they won’t be done at all in the Kingdom
Interestingly, the feasts between these two have no relevance in the Kingdom
The feast of Passover related to Christ’s first coming, while the feast of tabernacle related to His second coming
The feasts in between all relate to events that span the gap between those two moments
Therefore, it makes sense that in the Kingdom we would have no need to remember the time between
Only the two moments of Christ’s work for our sake are worthy of memorial