Ezekiel 40-48: Tour of Future Temple

Date:   12/30/07
At:       Tioga Heights Christian Church
By:      Wayne ODonnell
Web:    http://bible.ag


Timing and Importance

My topic today is a survey of the last 9 chapters of Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48.  These chapters are about the kingdom, and especially about the temple.  God took Ezekiel into the future through a vision and showed him the actual buildings of the kingdom.  It’s as if he took a video camera with him, and sent us back a DVD of the messianic kingdom.  But before we travel with Ezekiel into the future, let’s consider the timing of the kingdom and temple, and the importance of studying them.



In the chart above, we are currently in the bottom left part labeled “Current Period”.  A “7-Year Tribulation Period” is probably going to begin very soon.  Before that time there will be a “Resurrection and Catching Away of Church Believers” who will wait out the tribulation in heaven and then “Return With Christ” at the end of the tribulation period. 

Revelation 19:11-16, “Behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him,” that’s Yeshua, Jesus, “and the armies which were in heaven followed him,” that’s us, “clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.”  He will smite the nations when he returns at the end of the “7-Year Tribulation Period”, and he will rule them with a rod of iron during the “1000-Year Messianic Kingdom”.  “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS,” because during the kingdom, there will be multiple nations, each with their own king, but Jesus will be king over all kings. 

Then, after the kingdom there will be a “New Heaven” and “New Earth”, as shown on the right or the diagram above.  Revelation 21:1-3. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, ... and ... new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,”  If new Jerusalem comes down from God out of heaven, it has to come to the earth, because there is only heaven and earth.  “And I heard...behold, the tabernacle of God is with men...”  God is going to make his tabernacle with men.  Men are not going up to spend eternity in tabernacles in heaven.  “And he will dwell with them.”  We are not going to dwell with him in heaven.  He is going to dwell with us on the new earth forever. 

So get out of your mind the idea that you are going to be in heaven for eternity.  We are in heaven only a very brief time.  Even the people who died a thousand years ago in the Lord, and their spirits are in heaven, their bodies are still here with us. And after the resurrection it is a very brief layover in heaven before returning to earth with Christ and entering the messianic kingdom.  So we could use a lot less songs about walking around heaven with Jesus, and a lot more songs about what it is going to be like in the kingdom.

Since we are going to be spending so much time there, we should learn about the kingdom; and the new earth is going to have a lot of similarities to the kingdom, although there are some differences.  I know God wants us to learn about the kingdom because he has told us so much about it in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the minor prophets, the psalms, and so forth.  And the benefit of learning about the kingdom, is that it will help you persevere through trials, and help you to labor more fervently. 

God could have given us just an overview of the kingdom, but he gave us these 9 chapters that focus a lot on the temple, so that if we know this one building in a very detailed way, and it is very solid and real to us through our trials today, then it will help our hope in the entire messianic kingdom to be sure and strong. 


The Mountain

When Ezekiel first arrived in the future at the land of Israel, he saw a very high mountain. Now, there is no very high mountain in Israel today, but there will be geological changes before the messianic kingdom.  Isaiah 2:2 says, “It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house,” that is, the mountain that has the temple on it, “shall be established in the top of the mountains.”  That means it is going to be the highest mountain in the world. Ezekiel 20:40 says, “For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me.”

Zechariah 14:1-10 talks about the geological changes that are necessary. “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh.”  ‘Day of the Lord’ is another name for the seven year tribulation period; and it is called ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer30:7).  Verse 2.  “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle... then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations.”  The Messiah, Yeshua, returns with us and smites the armies of those nations, as we saw in Revelation 19.  “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.”  That is where Yeshua, Jesus, left the earth from.  “And the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley,” running east and west, “and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south ... and the LORD my God shall come,” in the person of Messiah at the end of the tribulation period, “and all the saints,” that’s us returning with Christ.  “All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place”  So the land will be made a plain, a portion of it will be raised up to be the tallest mountain in the world, and the temple will sit on that plateau.


The Outer East Gate



An angel with a 6-cubit measuring rod and a flax rope standing by the border wall just outside the outer east gate.  We are facing west.

The next thing Ezekiel sees as he gets closer is a man and a wall, in Ezekiel 40:3-5.  “And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass.”  That means he was an angel.  He was shining brightly.  Most angels don’t have wings.  Only seraphim and cherubim have wings.  And he had, “a line of flax in his hand,” which was for measuring long distances, “and a measuring reed,” which was for measuring short distances.  “And he stood in the gate... and behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth.” That meant that a hand breadth was added to a cubit to make a long cubit, because there were several types of cubits in the Bible.  So the angel was using the long cubit. 

If you want to convert cubits to feet in the picture above, the angel holds a six cubit rod.  Divide by two which gives you three.  Add it on to the six, now you’ve got nine.  Six cubits is a little longer than nine feet, 1.5 times.  By the way, a note on the wall in the picture above says, “Click scene tabs for guided tour.”  You can download this model from Google SketchUp Warehouse and walk through it yourself.  You’ll need to download the viewer, too.  Continuing in Ezekiel 40:5, “So he measured the breadth of the building, one reed,” see the rod laying on the ground, “and the height one reed,” see the vertical rod against the front of the wall. ‘Building’ in Hebrew just means anything built, including a wall.  It doesn’t have to have a room and a roof. 




The steps and outer threshold of the outer east gate.  We are outside the temple compound and facing west.

Then the angel moves on to the outer threshold of the eastern gate. Notice in the picture above, there is no porch here.  And he measures, “the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad,” Ez40:6.  I am interpreting “the other threshold” to mean “the other side of the threshold” even though the word “side” is not there.  So I am not completely satisfied with my interpretation here.  And I am not claiming that this model is correct in all points; but it is a feasible model that I hope will at least give you the idea of what is possible.


Two of six 6x6 cubit guardrooms with 5 cubit spaces between them.  We are inside the outer east gate and facing south.

Then the angel measures some chambers inside the gate, in Ezekiel 40:7.  “Every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad.”  So six cubits long and six cubits broad. These are guard rooms, because when you have a lot of people in an area you need to keep things orderly.  If nothing else, the guards will be needed for providing direction and answering questions.  “And between the little chambers were five cubits.”  The five cubit spaces between the chambers are so you can exit the gate into the pavement or courtyard along side the gate without necessarily going all the way through.


The inner threshold, porch, and a post on the temple compound side of the outer east gate.  We are inside the temple compound and facing south.

Then in Ezekiel 40:7-9, he measures the porch, and the threshold which is on the inside, meaning towards the inside of the temple compound, so he uses the word “within.”  “The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.  He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.  Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits.”  Here is a two cubit post.  You add on one reed, six cubits, for the porch; so the total breadth of the porch is eight cubits.  “And the porch of the gate was inward.”  Again, the inside of the gate facing the inside of the compound has a porch. It has a roof, posts, and no walls.


Looking down on the six 6x6 cubit guardrooms from inside the outer east gate.  South is at the top of the picture.

In the picture above, we are looking at the inside of the gate and we see six guard chambers.  Ezekiel 40:10, “And the little chambers of the gate eastward [the east gate] were three on this side, and three on that side.”  Three at the top of the picture, and three at the bottom.


(Some Principles of Biblical Interpretation)

I want to pause, now, to consider some principles of biblical interpretation.  I believe that the literal method is the correct method of interpretation, and that it is incorrect to use a symbolical method of interpretation. I want to present five problems with the symbolical, or spiritualizing, method of interpretation; and I will use some quotes from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary and a quote from Dr. Peter Pett, whose writings I found on the internet, to illustrate these problems. 

Difficulty:  The first problem is difficulty.  Matthew Henry says, “Here is a vision beginning at chapter 40 which is justly looked upon to be one of the most difficult portions in all the book of God.”  Yes, Matthew Henry and all interpreters who use the symbolic approach have great difficulty with chapters 40 through 48 of Ezekiel.  It causes them a lot of pain, because it is very difficult to give symbolic meaning to all these cubits. 

Now if you use the literal method, the interpretation is quite easy. The six by six room, as shown in the picture above, represents a six by six room.  And this should be easier than, say, Romans or Ephesians, but not for people who approach this passage symbolically. Their problem is that they are using the wrong approach, and they are using the wrong approach because their doctrinal biases don’t allow them to believe that God could have a temple in store for Israel in the future. 

Inconsistency:  The second problem is inconsistency.  Matthew Henry says, “The chambers, as they were each of them foursquare, denoting their stability ...”  So he says that because the chamber is six by six, it is less likely to fall over.  It denotes the stability of the Church.  Well, he is being inconsistent, because right next door to each six by six room, we have a five by six area, called the “space between the chambers”, as shown above, and he doesn’t say those non-square areas denote the instability of the Church, for good reason.

Inefficiency:  It is also being inefficient, because if the first six by six chamber means the church is stable, then the second one means the church is stable, the third one means the church is stable, the fourth one means the church is stable, the fifth one means the church is stable, and the sixth one means the church is stable.  And there are five other gates to go through, with six 6 x 6 rooms in each.  And every other square area of the temple compound means the same thing.  So it is very inefficient, because God could have said it in a much simpler.  Ezekiel could have just written, “I saw the temple, and it was foursquare,” and then we would know the Church is stable. Or God could have just said, “The Church is stable.”  But the scribes through all the years are copying this.  People are memorizing these chapters.  And it would really be unnecessary to have all these cubits here if it is just teaching that the Church is stable. 

Uncertainty:  The fourth problem is uncertainty.  Matthew Henry says, “The chambers were very many.”  I’m not sure that 6 is very many, or even counting the other 5 gates, there would be 36 chambers, I am not sure that’s very many.  But Matthew Henry says, “For in our Father’s house there are many mansions.”  I hope there’s more than 36.  Then he says, “Some make these chambers to represent the particular congregations of believers which are parts of the great temple, the universal Church.”  So some non-literal interpreters think that these chambers represent congregations on earth.  I hope there’s more than 36 of those, too.

But Matthew Henry’s problem is that he likes his own interpretation, about the rooms in heaven, but he also really likes this other interpretation about particular congregations of believers on earth, and he can’t decide which is right.  And that is the problem with symbolic interpretation; nobody knows who is right. We can come up with another 100 possible meanings for what these chambers might represent, and no one would ever know which interpretation was right.  You can basically make a passage mean anything you want it to mean if you use symbolism.  And if it can mean anything, then it really means nothing.  Now, the Bible does use symbolism sometimes, but it explains the symbolism it uses.  It doesn’t make us resort to guess work. 

Partiality: The firth problem is partiality.  Dr. Peter Pett says, “Five cubits,” and he is referring to those five cubits  in the spaces between the guard rooms.  “Five is the number of covenant.  It is, thus, prominent in this heavenly temple. There were five fingers to the hand with which covenants were confirmed.”  So Peter is very into covenants, and so this five cubit length attracted his attention.  But that is the problem with symbolic interpretation; no person who uses the symbolic method is capable of giving meaning to all the cubits in the temple compound, so they only give meaning to some that catch their fancy.  But a person who uses a literal method of interpretation has no problem using all the cubits, because if you leave any out, the building has gaps.

And Peter is convinced that five is the number of covenant.  I’m not convinced of that, but I am convinced that the Bible teaches that six is the number of man.  And Peter failed to point out that the chambers in the picture above are all 6 cubits long.  Does that mean that the temple is of man, not of God?  And, in fact, there are three 6 cubit long areas on one side of the gateway passage, 6, 6, 6, which we know is the number of antichrist. And we see his number on the other side of the passage, too.  So with the antichrist on both sides of all the entrances to the temple, does that mean that the temple is a trap?  Obviously, I’m being sarcastic, but these are the kind of problems that people get into when they abandon the literal interpretation of the Word of God.


(The Outer East Gate Continued)


Inside the outer east gate, measuring the doorway facing the temple compound side.  We are facing west.

Next the angel measures the passageway through the gate where the people walk, in Ezekiel 40:11, “And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits”. The width of the passageway is 10 cubits, as you see from the measuring rods over the top of the gate, which is about 15 feet, all the way through the gate, which is sufficiently wide for two directions of foot traffic.  And the “length” of the gate, meaning height here, is 13 cubits, as you can see from the two 6-cubit rods on the left side of the entryway in the picture above, with another cubit to go at the bottom.  Then Ezekiel talks about the ‘barriers’, as shown in the picture above in front of the guard chambers, which can also be interpreted to mean ‘spaces’.  “The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side,” Ez:40:12.  And whether the Hebrew word means ‘barriers’ or ‘spaces’, the purpose would be to prevent the crowds from interfering with the guards doing their work.
 
The overall dimensions of the outer east gate, and its palm tree ornaments.  We are inside the temple compound facing southeast.

Next the angel provides the overall dimensions of the gate in Ezekiel 40:13-15, “He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another,” and he may have actually measured the floor to get that measurement, “the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door,” meaning door ‘facing’ door.  We saw that the doors of the guard chambers faced each other.  So we see a 25 cubit width overall in the picture above.  And for the height,  “He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate,” meaning the post is 60 cubits tall and it is the same height as the posts of the court round about the gate.  Now for the length.  “From the face of the gate of the entrance, unto the face of the porch of the inner gate, were fifty cubits ...”  So from the outside entrance to the front of the porch facing into the temple compound, 50 cubits. “And upon each post were palm trees.”  The purpose of the palm tree ornaments will be to give a visual indication as to where the doors are, where the gates of the building are.




The narrow windows as seen while looking at the side of the outer east gate.  We are on the outside of the gate and facing south.

Ezekiel 40:16,  “And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward.”  Next the angel showed him narrow windows to the little chambers and to the arches. The arches are the five cubit wide spaces through the sides of the gate.  The purpose of the windows was to allow the guards to see out, and see everything that was going on.  And yet the windows were narrow enough so that no one could get in and interfere with the guards.


Diagram of the outer east gate.  North is to the top of the diagram (where the title “GATES” is).  In the preceding narrative, we entered the gate from the right side of the diagram where there is no porch.  Each square equals .5 square cubits.

Here is a diagram of the east gate.  From east to west, there are 6 cubits for the outer threshold, 6 for each of the three guard rooms, 6 for each of two spaces between the guard rooms if you include the .5 cubit wall on each side (.5+5+.5), 6 cubits for the inner threshold, a 6 cubit porch, and a 2 cubit post. So there are eight sixes equals 48, plus 2 for the post, equals 50 cubits overall length.  For the width, we know the passage way is 10 cubits, and 7.5 on each side makes 25.  The 7.5 on each side is made up of 6 for the inside of the guard chamber, plus .5 cubits for the width of the wall, and 1 cubit for the space or barrier in front of the guard chambers.  So the dominant number for the gates is 6.


The Outer Court


Some of the 30 rooms on the lower pavement alongside the outer east gate we entered through.  We are inside the temple compound in the outer court facing southeast.

“Then brought he me into the outward [outer] court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement,” Ez40:17-18.  Here is a picture of some of the thirty chambers on the lower pavement.  The lower pavement is 50 cubits wide, because it goes alongside the gate, which is 50 cubits long.  It is called the lower pavement because there are only seven steps up to it, whereas the upper pavement, which we will see later, has eight steps up to it, and so that pavement is higher.

 
The 100 cubit wide outer court and the six gates of the temple compound in the order the angel showed them to Ezekiel.  We are above the outer east gate and looking west.

“Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward,” Ez40:19.  He measures the outer court from the east lower court gate, to the outside of the inner court gate; 100 cubits east to west, and 100 cubits south to north.  So the inner court is 100 cubits wide all the way around. 

Now there’s five other gates in the temple compound, and the numbers in the picture above show the order in which the angel showed them to Ezekiel.  We entered through the outer east gate (#1).  Then the angel showed Ezekiel the outer north gate (#2), the outer south gate (#3), the inner south gate (#4), the inner east gate (#5), and then the inner north gate (#6).

The outer north gate was “after the measure of the first gate”, Ez40:21; meaning it had the same measurements, 50 by 25 cubits, and “seven steps”, Ez40:22.  And the south is “according to these measures” , Ez40:24, meaning the same measures, 50 by 25.


The Inner Court


Inner east gate from the inner court.  We are looking northeast.

The inner south is also “according to these measures,” Ez40:24, of the outer gates, but it has eight steps.  Then the angel took Ezekiel through the inner south gate and into the inner court.  He measured the inner east gate from the inner court side, “according to these measures,” Ez40:32.  Notice there is no porch here on the inside of the inner east gate, and there are no steps.  The gates for the inner court are reversed from the gates for the outer court. The porches for the inner court face outward, towards the outer court, whereas the porches for the outer court face inward towards the outer court.  So all of the gates have their porches facing the outer court. 


Tables for sacrificing outside the inner north gate.  We are in the outer court facing south.

The inner north gate has the same measurements also, but then the angel takes Ezekiel through the inner north gate and turns around, and “four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices,” Ez40:41. 

Why sacrifices in the millennial kingdom, in the messianic kingdom?  Because sacrifices never took away sin.  Only Jesus taking our place and suffering the wrath of God for us could do that.  God, being a just God, cannot justify the unrighteous apart from that.  Today, in the Lord’s Supper, the bread and wine remind us of what the Lord did on the cross for us.  We have the Lord’s Supper “until he comes,” ICor11:26 and until he drinks wine with us in the kingdom (Matt26:27-29).  After he returns, Israel’s offering of these animal sacrifices is the method of remembering what the Lord did for us.  And this will last until the new heaven and the new earth, because during the messianic kingdom there will still be those that don’t know the Lord, and there is a final rebellion and a final judgment at the end of the millennial kingdom, so there needs to be this reminder of the tragedy of sin.  However, these sacrifices may be the only animals that die during the kingdom.  Our usual diet will probably be vegetarian (Is11:6-9; 65:25).


Chambers for the singers on the north and south of the inner east gate.  We are in the inner court facing east.

Ezekiel 40:44-46, “And without the inner gate,” possibly meaning through the arches in the side of the gate, “were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.  And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him.”

In the picture above, I placed these chambers for the singers by the side of the north and south gates, because some translations say “south gate” instead of “east gate”; and because the north chambers are about 37.5 cubits clockwise to the side of the north gate, and the south chambers are about 37.5 cubits clockwise to the side of the east gate.  An alternative interpretation might have four chambers: a north and south chamber for singers north of the east gate, and a north and south chamber for priests south of the east gate; since there seems to be a change in subject matter from singers in verse 44 to priests for the temple and altar in verse 45 and 46.



The 100 x 100 cubit inner court with the altar towards the center and temple porch towards the top of the picture.  We are above the inner east gate facing west.

Ezekiel 40:47, “So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare,” 100 x 100 (and we know what foursquare symbolizes), “and the altar that was before the house”, meaning before the temple.


Diagram of the temple compound. North is to the top.   Each small square equals 10 square cubits.

The compound is 500 x 500 cubits, not counting the 50 cubit border all around the outside (Ez45:2).  From east to west, there are 50 cubits for the outer east gate and the lower pavement on both sides, 100 for the outer court, 50 for the inner east gate and the upper pavement on both sides, 100 for the inner court, and 200 for the temple area (100 for the temple and 100 for the west building and separate place).  From north to south, there is 50 cubits for the outer north gate and the lower pavement on both sides, 100 for the outer court, 50 for the inner north gate and the upper pavement on both sides, 100 for the inner court, 50 for the inner south gate and the upper pavement on both sides, 100 for the outer court, and 50 for the outer south gate and the lower pavement on both sides.  So the dominant numbers are 50 and 100.

We came through the little wall on the very outside of the border on the east, and then entered the outer court through the east outer gate on the right side of the diagram.  We looked at the outer court and the other gates, the chambers for the singers, and the inner court. We are now going to be looking at the temple, the separate place, and the west building.


The Temple


The temple porch.  We are in the inner court facing west.

Ezekiel 40:48-49, “And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.  The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.”  Verse 48 should start a new chapter, because Ezekiel begins talking about the temple in that verse.

In the picture, you can see that the rectangular posts on each side of the porch are 5 cubits by 3 cubits, by looking at the rods laying by the post on the right.  The length of the porch is 20 cubits across the front of the temple. ‘Length’ is always the long measurement for any particular area under consideration, no matter which direction it faces. And the breadth, the shorter measurement of the porch, is 11 cubits deep.  And there are pillars on each side; large, special pillars.


Porch and threshold of the temple.  We are on the temple porch facing southwest.

Ezekiel 41:1, “Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side.”  Now we are looking at the door to the first room in the temple, the holy place.  The posts of the doorway are 6 cubits on each side of the door, and we learn later (Ez41:21) that they are square.  The rod behind the folding door shows the 6 x 6 cubit square post going 1 cubit beyond the end of the porch and into the 6 cubit wide temple wall,  “which was the breadth of the tabernacle,” wall, Ez41:1.


Inside the Holy Place of the temple looking east back out the door to the porch.

“And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side,” Ez41:2. If we go from the porch, through the door, into the holy place, and turn around, we see that the posts are only 5 cubits wide on the inside, even though they were 6 cubits wide on the outside, because they go into the temple wall 1 cubit.


Looking down from the ceiling of the Holy Place.  South is at the top of the picture.

And the whole room of the holy place is two 20 x 20 cubit square areas; in other words, 40 cubits by 20 cubits.  “And he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits,” Ez41:2b.


The door from the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place.  We are looking west.

Then the angel measures the most holy place.  The wood door posts are 2 cubits wide behind the folding doors.  The temple wall on each side of them is an additional 5 cubits, so 7 cubits on each side of the 6 cubit wide doorway.  “Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits”, Ez41:3.


Looking down from the ceiling of the Most Holy Place.  West is to the top of the picture.

Then inside the most holy place, the length is 20 cubits and the breadth 20 cubits.  “So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place,” Ez41:4.



The southeast corner of the temple:  1) porch, 2) wider 6-cubit temple wall, 3) narrower 5-cubit temple wall, 4) narrower 4-cubit side chambers, 5) wider 5-cubit side chambers, 6) side chamber doors (in shadow), 7) side chambers walkway, 8) side chambers outer wall, 9) foundation of the temple.

Next he measured the 3-story side chambers, the wood part in the picture above. Ezekiel 41:5-7, “After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits,” at the bottom, but it gets thinner as we’ll see, “and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side,” four cubits wide on the bottom level, “and the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order,” three stories tall, “and they entered into the wall which was of the house,” see numbers 2 through 5 in the picture above, “for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.  And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.”  The enlarging and winding about upward means that, starting at the bottom, each story of the chambers was wider and the temple wall likewise narrower so the chambers could sit securely against the temple without being attached by nails or anything.

Ezekiel 41:8-11, “I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.”  You can see the six cubit foundation by the vertical rod leaning against the stairs near 9 in the picture above.  So temple sits higher than everything else in the inner court and upper court by six cubits.  “The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits,” meaning the outside wall of the side chambers (labeled #8 above) is five cubits.  “And that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.”  ‘That which was left’ is the 5 cubit wide walkway that provides access to the side chambers. “And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.”  We’ll see this 20 cubit area called the Separate Place around the temple better in a minute.  “And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left,” the chambers’ walkway, “one door toward the north, and another door toward the south,” the stairs we see in the picture above is for the door toward the south, “and the breadth of the place that was left,” the chambers’ walkway, “was five cubits round about.”


The west building is to the left, the temple to the right, and the 20 cubit separate space in between.  You can also see the side chambers’ 5-cubit walkway around the back of the temple.  Northwest is to the top of the picture.

Ezekiel 41:12, “Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.”  The west building is 70 by 90 in its internal dimensions.  It’s got a five cubit thick wall all around which makes it 100 long and 80 wide in its external dimensions.  When you add on the 20 cubits of the ‘separate place’ in front of it, the total area is 100 by 100 cubits.


The temple surrounded on three sides by the separate place, the west building towards the top, and the 3-tiered priests chambers on the right and left sides.  West is to the top of the picture.

Now the angel measures the overall dimensions of the 200 x 100 cubit temple area, including the separate place and the west building.  Ezekiel 41:13, “So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long, and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long.”  First he measures 200 cubits east to west; 100 for the temple from the front of the porch (bottom of picture) to the back of the outer wall around the side chambers; and 100 for the separate place plus the west building. 

“Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits,” Ez41:14.  Next he measures 100 cubits north to south across the front of the temple, which would include the temple with its side chambers and their walkway outer walls, and the separate place on each side.

Finally he measures around the three sides of the separate place.  “And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it,” the separate place along the west building, “and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side,” the separate place along the two buildings to the right and left in the picture above “an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court,” Ez41:15.  All three measurements around the periphery of the separate place measured 100 cubits.  To me, this careful measuring, first east to west, then north to south, and finally this additional check around the perimeter of the separate place is another evidence of the inspiration of the scriptures.


Diagram of the temple, the separate space, and the west building. North is at the top (where the title “TEMPLE + SEPARATE PLACE” is). Each small square equals 2 square cubits.

We see using Ezekiel 41:13-15 again, east to west, that the temple is 100 cubits long comprised of five 20’s.  The porch plus the dividing wall between the holy place and the most holy place equals 20 cubits (3+8+6+3=20), the holy place is 40 cubits long (or two 20’s), the most holy place is 20, and the temple wall and side chambers on the west are 20 cubits (6+4+5+5=20).  And then the external dimensions of the west building plus the separate place is 100 long.  (Ez41:13.)

And then there are 100 cubits from north to south across the front of the temple: the separate place, 20; the side chambers and temple wall, 20 (5+5+4+6=20); the holy place, 20; the temple wall and side chambers, 20 (6+4+5+5=20); and the separate place, 20. (Ez41:14.)

And finally, the separate place is 100 cubits long against the three buildings on the west, north, and south. (Ez41:15.)  So the dominant numbers for the temple area are 20 and 100.


The altar in the Holy Place in front of the Most Holy Place, the cherubs and palm tree ornaments, and the folding doors.  We are facing west.

Ezekiel 41:18-25, “And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.” I didn’t have any pictures of two-faced cherubs available, the ones on the walls in the picture above have only the lion face.  “The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.”   You can see the altar in the picture above. 

“And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.”  I’m assuming that means both have two doors each.  “And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door.”  So you can see two folding doors for the sanctuary in the picture above, and we will look at the two folding doors of the temple when we go back out to the porch. “And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls.”


The temple porch with thick planks and folding doors.  We are facing south.

Ezekiel 41:25-26, “And there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without, and there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.”  Here we are on the porch of the temple. There are thick planks, and narrow windows.  You can also see the folding door on the south side of the doorway in the picture.


Other Buildings and Features


Two buildings of 3-tiered priests’ chambers are to the right in the picture.  A longer one and a shorter one facing each other with a walkway between them.  The north side of the temple with the stairs to the side chambers’ walkway is visible in the middle of the picture, and a palm tree ornament of the outside of the inner north gate is to the right.  We are in the outer court facing southwest.

Ezekiel 42:1-6, “Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter [outer] court,” meaning between the 20-cubit separate place and the outer court, “was gallery against gallery in three stories. And before the chambers was a walk to ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north.”  There is a 10 cubit wide walkway between the two buildings which are 20 cubits wide each, because the upper pavement they sit upon is 50 cubits wide (20+10+20=50). “Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building. For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.”  The upper stories were narrower than the lower ones so they could have an unroofed porch or balcony, an outside area in front of each one.  I have a roof at the top of the third story making shade on the balconies; but I think I will remove the roof over the 3–tiered chambers in the next version of my model, because the intent here seems to be to have an uncovered patio for each story, which is why pillars cannot be used.  Pillars would allow each tier to have the same size room and same size patio, but then the patio floor of the tier above would be a roof to the tier below.

Ezekiel 42:7-8, “And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter [outer] court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. For the length of the chambers that were in the utter [outer] court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits.”  The two buildings were not the same length.  The one towards the outer court was only 50 cubits long, while the one against the separate place of the temple was 100 cubits long.  Ezekiel 42:13-14, “Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people.”  Perhaps the 50-cubit long building by the outer court, in the picture above, should be moved east and the wall to the west of it extended to block the 100 cubit building behind, since the purpose of these buildings is to separate the priests from the people, not to provide more space for interaction with the people, as I have modeled it above.


The altar in the inner court before the temple.  We are facing southwest.

Now let’s look at the altar before the temple.  Ezekiel 43:13, “And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.  And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.  So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.  And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.  And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.”  The stairs in the picture should probably go all the way up to the top of the altar, because the 1.5 foot topmost ledge around the side is probably not wide enough to do all the work from.


Looking down on the priests’ boiling places at the extreme west end of the upper pavement.  The west building is at the top of the picture and the 3-tiered priests’ chambers with their walkway to the left.  Southeast is towards the top of the picture.

Now let’s look at the priests’ boiling places on the far western side of the upper pavement.  Ezekiel 46:19-20, “After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate,” through a side arch of the inner north gate, “into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north,” up the path between the priests’ chambers, “and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward,” the west ends of the upper pavement both north and south of the temple.  “Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.”


One of four boiling places for the people’s sacrifices.  This one is in the northwest corner of the outer court.

There will also be boiling places for the peoples’ sacrifices in little courts in all four corners of the outer court.  Ezekiel 46:21-24, "Then he brought me forth into the utter [outer] court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.  In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure. And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.”


The Lord and the People


View from outside the temple compound, through the outer east gate, across the outer court, through the inner east gate, across the inner court and altar, and into the temple.  We are looking west.

Ezekiel 43:1-4, “Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.”  The shekinah glory will enter the temple compound via the outer eastern gate, and go into the most holy place in the temple to dwell with Israel.


Throne in the most holy place in the temple.  We are looking west.

Ezekiel 43:5-6, “So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me,” so it wasn’t the angel talking, “and he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet,” in the person of Messiah, “where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.”  God, the Holy Spirit, carried Ezekiel into the inner court so hear could hear a message from God in the shekinah glory. 

Who is speaking from the shekinah glory?  Ezekiel had described the shekinah glory earlier in his book in chapter one.  He saw a whirlwind, a cloud, fire unfolding itself, brightness, and four living creatures.  Each living creature had four faces and four wings; the face of a man, lion, ox and eagle.  The firmament was over their heads, and very high up was a throne with the likeness of the appearance of a man upon it.  Ezekiel 1:26-27, “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, ... and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it,... from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.”  This must have been the Angel of Jehovah, the pre-incarnate Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, because no man, including Ezekiel, has seen the Father (John1:18), and an angel wouldn’t be on the throne above the four cherubs.

So Yeshua may be spending at least some of his time in the kingdom sitting upon the throne in the most holy place, with the cherubs around him as they are presently in heaven, Rev4:6-8, “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”  But we will have no access to Yeshua in the temple, so I think he may probably spend some time in Jerusalem, also, just as he spent 33 years on earth away from the four cherubs.

There will be no ark of the covenant in the most holy place.  You don’t need the ark of the covenant when the Lord himself is present. Jeremiah 3:16-17, “And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.  At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.”

 
Prince David entering the outer east gate from the porch on the outer court side.  The light on the steps is from the shekinah glory in the temple.  We are looking east.

Ezekiel 44:1-3, “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.”  This picture shows the resurrected King David entering the outer east gate from the porch of the outer court.  I don’t show it on this picture, but the outside of the outer east gate will be sealed, since the shekinah glory entered through it.  This gate has not been built yet, and it is sealed after the glory enters the temple.  People get confused and try to relate it to the sealed eastern gate in Jerusalem today, and say that it will be unsealed for Messiah to enter by, just the opposite of what scripture teaches here. 

As for the prince, because he is the prince, he can eat his meals in the gate.  He can go in through the porch and leave through the porch.  He can’t get through the other side.  The prince is Prince David.  He will be a king to Israel but a prince to the King of Kings, Yeshua.  Jer30:9, “They shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them,” along with all the other people who are resurrected before the kingdom is established.

Prince David standing on the porch of the inner east gate.  The light is from the shekinah glory in the temple.  We are looking west into the inner court and temple.

Ezekiel 46:1-3, ”Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.  And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.  Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.”  Most of the time, the inner east gate will be closed, like the outer east gate is.  But on sabbaths and new moons, the inner east gate will be opened.  Then the prince can go up on the porch, to offer his sacrifices, and he can watch and worship from the posts of the gate, with the people nearby.  But that means he can’t go into the inner court, and we won’t be able to either.


People walking through the outer court.  We are looking west towards the inner east gate.

Ezekiel 46:8-12, “And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.  But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.  And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.  And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.  Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.”

The people of the land when they come up for the feast, will go in by the north gate and out by the south, or they will go in by the south and out by the north. Nobody will return by the way they came.  And the prince in the midst of them, will go in and out with them.  Likewise, according to Zechariah 14:16-17, “It shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem,” which, remember, were smitten when the Messiah returned, “shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.”  Now, I don’t expect to be living in the land of Israel during the messianic kingdom.  I expect to be working and laboring in one of the Gentile nations, but I expect to come up once a year, at least, for the feast of tabernacles with other people from my nation when it is our turn to come up.


The River and the Land
 

Waters coming from under the south side of the front of the temple.  We are in the inner court facing northwest

Ezekiel 47:1, "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house,” the temple, “and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.”  This picture shows water flowing from south side of the front of the temple.


Waters coming from the south side of the outer east gate.  We are looking west.

Ezekiel 47:2, “Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about [around] the way without [outside] unto the utter [outer] gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.”  Why did the angel take Ezekiel out the north gate and around when he wanted to show him something outside the outer east gate? Why didn’t he just take him through the outer east gate?  Well, because, remember, it’s sealed; although my picture doesn’t show it as sealed.  So here we are outside the eastern gate where we started, and we see waters coming from underneath the south side.


Water up to Ezekiel’s loins in the river from the waters from the temple.  We are east of the temple compound and looking southwest.

Ezekiel 47:3-5, “And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees.  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.”  The waters get deeper and deeper as they flow east.  So the angel is still working hard measuring, but at least the angel gets to stay on land while Ezekiel has to walk in the water.

Ezekiel 47:6-12, “And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.  Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.  Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.”  The river from the temple goes down to the Dead Sea, and heals their salty waters.”

Ezekiel 47:9-11, “And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea [the Mediterranean], exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.”  There’s no fish living in the Dead Sea today, but there will be great fishing there soon.

Ezekiel 47:12, “And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”  The trees that are watered by the river from the temple will have leaves that provide healing to people.

The river will split at Jerusalem. Half will go towards the Dead Sea and half towards the Mediterranean Sea.  Zechariah 14:8, “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer [dry season] and in winter shall it be.”


Looking down on the mountain of the Lord.  There are portions of land for the priests, the Levites, the people of Jerusalem, and the Prince.  North is towards the top of the picture.  The temple compound is the small square in the middle top.  The river flows east from the temple compound, then to Jerusalem, the big square in the bottom middle, where it splits and flows towards the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea.

And then, in chapter 48, Ezekiel talks about the division of the land.  There is 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width at the top in the picture, will be for the sons of Zadok, the priests, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the center.  And the Levites will also have 25,000 by 10,000 cubits of land on the mountain of the Lord as shown in the middle of the picture.

Ezekiel 48:9-14, “The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.  And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.  It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.  And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.  And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.  And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.”

The 5,000 cubits that remain at the bottom of the picture will be for dwellings and agriculture.  Jerusalem is in the center with a small border.  The rest of the length, 10,000 to the east and 10,000 to the west, shall be for food for the workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel.  The prince, King David, will have a portion on both sides of the mountain, going out to the Jordan River, and going out to the Mediterranean Sea.

Ezekiel 48:15-21, “And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.  And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.  And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.  And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.  And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.  All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.  And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.”