Ezekiel 43

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

God’s Glory in the Millennial Temple

BACKGROUND NOTES

The glory of the Lord departed from the Temple and from Israel as we saw in Ezekiel, chapters 10 and 11. Did the glory of the Lord return to the rebuilt Temple when the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity? Did the glory of the Lord return to the expanded and rebuilt Temple of Herod the Great? Has the glory of the Lord returned to Israel? Will the glory of the Lord return to any temple that is built before or during the Tribulation Period of the future?
We sometimes refer to the glory of the Lord as the _____________ glory. The glory of the Lord signifies the Lord’s _____________. When will the glory of the Lord return to the Temple? From which direction will the glory of the Lord return to the Temple?
The altar in the Millennial Temple will be consecrated with sacrifices and used for sacrificial offerings. Levitical priests from the line of Zadok will minister before the Lord at the altar. In light of Hebrews 10, verses 12 and 18, which says, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sin forever, sat down at the right hand of God . . . Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin,” why will there be literal sacrifices on this literal altar in the literal temple in the future?

After the glory of the Lord departed from the Temple, it did not return to the Temple rebuilt under Zerubbabel after the captivity or to the Temple expanded by Herod, and it has not returned to Israel. And the glory of the Lord will not return to any temple that is built before or during the Tribulation Period.
The glory of the Lord is sometimes referred to as the Shekinah Glory, and signifies the Lord’s presence. The glory of the Lord will return to the Millennial Temple from the east.
The author of Hebrews is pointing out that the Old Testament sacrifices did not take away sin. Their purpose was to point forward to the one great sacrifice of the Lamb of God for all time. As the Old Testament sacrifices looked forward to the cross, so the sacrifices during the Millennium will look back in remembrance of the work of Christ on the cross. They will be memorial in character, not efficacious in character. That is, they will not take away sin. Even though the Lord will be here on this earth in His glory, unsaved people (not everyone born during the 1000 years will become a believer) will need to be reminded and taught that salvation is necessary and only possible because the Lord Jesus went to the cross and died as the Lamb of God for the sins of this world. The literal sacrifices during the Millennium will be that constant reminder.

Discuss the spiritual needs of people who are born during the 1000-year reign of Christ here on earth. Consider the number of people who will come to the Millennial Temple to worship, and the purpose and impact of the sacrifices at the altar in the Temple.

Take time to list several of the Messianic prophecies for the first coming of Christ that you know came true exactly as predicted. Then list several prophecies concerning the second coming of Christ and His 1000-year reign on earth, including some of the details of the Millennial Temple. Can you recognize the need for hermeneutical consistency in order to interpret the prophecies regarding the second coming of Christ literally, just as the prophecies of the first coming of Christ were to be interpreted literally?

“And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east . . . the glory of the Lord came into the temple by the way of the east gate which faces toward the east . . . and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” From Ezekiel 43: 2-5