NOVEMBER 20
Remember to
take a look at the "Millennial Temple" at the end of this document.
(This "document" is actually the entire month of the November Reading
Notes. This PDF file can be found at the link at the very bottom of the
disclaimer below.)
Ezekiel 40:28-41:26
If you're like me,
you don't have as many observations as you do questions from all of this
detail.
First, if the temple
was already built, why did the angel measure everything with Ezekiel? There is
some importance in Ezekiel seeing him measure everything firsthand. I'm sure
the angel was "online" with God and could have just said how long, tall
and thick everything was. The audience of Ezekiel's prophecy was to have been
impressed too. Also, as Ezekiel is taken on this tour and verbally related it
(before writing it down), it may have been a "you had to be there"
kind of experience, where it was so well communicated orally that it was
actually like being there. To alter an idiom, the hearers may have been
"spirit-bound."
Second, in the
measurements there is repetition. Verse 28 says the south gate was the same
size as the other gates, but even here, the angel measured it first. You find
eight steps a lot. There is apparently an order and symmetry about everything.
It might be worth looking at the diagram of the Millennial Temple and making
arrows as you read to trace Ezekiel's journey.
Third, why all the
mention of sacrifices?
The sacrifices of
Israel were never for the forgiveness of sins (only Christ's sacrifice could do
that), but for a faith-inspired obedience looking for the future fulfillment of
forgiven sin. For it is impossible for
the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Heb. 10:4) For the church
today, we have the Lord's Supper as a remembrance and memorial of what Jesus
did. We are not Israel and so the Levitical sacrifices were not for us. Jesus
did say that the celebration of the Lord's Supper was just until His return.
Apparently in the Millennium, which will have a very Jewish focus to it, and in
which, Israel will fulfill its service before the Lord, sacrifices will be a
memorial remembrance of what Christ did on the cross. The sacrifices belong to
the Jews and this will be a way for them to celebrate and remember His
sacrifice.
As for the need of a
memorial to remember Christ's death, even though Jesus is there, remember that
once the Tribulation is over and Jesus is sitting on the throne, people will
begin to see Him as any other political figure. Pictures of Him will look like
a man. The Millennium will be 1000 years. After twenty years people will forget
what happened and a new generation will grow up, only hearing about the Tribulation
and Christ's coming. There will still be sin in each person, and each person
will have to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who died to save
them. One of the purposes of the Millennium will be to prove to mankind that
our real problem is sin, not Satan. Satan will be bound for those thousand
years, but rebellion toward "that guy on the throne" will grow.
Therefore, in Jerusalem all nations will be told to come to visit and to take
part in the memorial commemorating the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God.
Apparently toward the end of the Millennium, some nations/people will refuse.
See Zechariah 14:16-17.
Ezekiel 40:28-49
Vs. 28-31 From the
south gate of the outer court, the angel led Ezekiel across the outer court to
the south gate of the inner court. This gate was a mirror image of the south
gate of the outer court, that is, identical but exactly the opposite. If you
look at the diagram of the Millennial Temple you can see this. To get into the
temple you had to go up eight steps. I have a feeling that with the Lord
present, there will be little concern for handicapped friendly structures.
Vs. 32-34 Now in the
inner court, Ezekiel is led from the south gate to the east gate.
Vs. 35-37 This is now
the north gate. If you're looking at the diagram of the temple, you can see
that Ezekiel and his guide have made a semi-circle around the altar.
Vs. 38-43 If I
understand this properly, the vestibule of the gates to the inner court is the
large opening on the inside of the gate, like a foyer or entryway, as you enter
from the outer court. This is where the sacrifices would be killed and prepared
for sacrifice. Again, this sacrifice will only be in memorial. It is funny to
think that people will need any memorial, but even though they will have Jesus
there, they still have to believe that He died for them and rose again. Once
people see Jesus, as time goes on for 1000 years, I'm sure because of sin,
people will treat Jesus as common place. The memorial sacrifices are to help
people remember that it took a death and blood to purchase their redemption.
Still, when Satan is released after 1000 years, he will find rebellious hearts
all over the planet. See Revelation 20:7-9.
Vs. 44-47 These are
chambers for priests to make themselves ready. I doubt they'll have Coke
machines and candy bar machines in there, but who knows.
Vs. 48-49 Now Ezekiel
is standing before the steps leading into the temple proper.
Ezekiel
41
See
the diagram of the "The Millennial Temple Proper" at the end of this
document.
Vs. 1-4 So what
happens here is that the angel takes Ezekiel into the temple proper. Ezekiel
was led into the temple from the steps on the lower end of the diagram. The
angel led Ezekiel through the entry or nave. Since Ezekiel was a priest, he
could go into the large long room, the outer sanctuary; but only the angel
could go into the inner room, the Most Holy Place. The doorways get
progressively narrower.
Vs. 5-11 These are
three levels of side rooms for storage. I can't visualize this, especially how
to get to those rooms.
V. 12 This huge building/room
is mentioned, but it is never said what goes on in there. Is it a spare room or
will someone live in it?
Vs. 13-26 In the
temple, in the room before the Most Holy Place, there was a lot of carving of
palm trees and cherubim. The only piece of furniture is a wooden table.
Interestingly, it is not covered with gold like the furniture in the tabernacle
was. In the tabernacle and temple, in the Holy Place before the Most Holy Place,
there was a lampstand, the table of the bread of the Presence and the altar of
incense. All of these were made with or covered with gold. Some might suggest
that this is the altar of incense, but that isn't said to be its purpose. It is
simply the wooden table that is before the Lord. Maybe it's the first table
Jesus made as a carpenter.
Nothing is described
inside the Most Holy Place where the ark of the covenant stood. The ark has
been missing since the days of Hezekiah or Manasseh. Thanks to Indiana Jones,
we know the ark is safely hidden in some undisclosed government warehouse,
probably in Ohio.
We are not yet done
with all of the descriptions, but it is safe to assume that when the people and
leaders got all of this information, they began asking their own questions and
trying to understand the shapes and dimensions of everything. And to think,
this will stand for 1000 years, and then come the new heavens and new earth.
James 4
Vs. 1-4 We have seen
the idea of adultery used before. It signals the idea of belonging to God, but
living by one's own desires and so using His blessings to live for ourselves.
Being faithful means that our devotion should be wholly for the Lord. If
something else takes the place in our hearts that only God should own, He calls
that adultery. We normally face these temptations, but in stress and hard
times, the temptation only grows deeper. We read about church fighting in 1
Corinthians 3:1-3. Paul's comment to them was that they were not behaving like
spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. I think that is
what was happening here too.
Remember too that in
Hebrews 10:34, it mentions that at one time, in those early days of faith,
those believers were willing to allow their property to be taken. That was no
longer the case with the Hebrews and I'm guessing it was not the situation here
either. They had been mature, but regressed. Hard times, without a fresh love
for Christ ruling our hearts, can make us redefine following Christ to include
a life lived for earth stuff and to exclude carrying a cross.
Also, Jesus mentioned
to His disciples that when they faced persecution, the hardship would cause
many professing believers to … fall away
and betray one another and hate one another. (Matt. 24:10) I think this is
what was happening to these believers as they faced persecution.
Vs. 5-10 This makes
me think of Paul's reminders to the Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19,
that their body was a temple of the Holy
Spirit. God jealously watches over His own. The rest of this sounds like
Peter talking about our adversary the
devil (1 Peter 5:8) and humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God (1 Peter 5:6). Not only did these
apostles know one another and face similar problems in churches, they were all
inspired by the same Author of the Bible.
Vs. 11-12 In those
same lessons to His disciples Jesus warned His disciples about condemning and
judging others (Luke 6:37). When our hearts hold on to stuff, and when we
cannot accept that God brings hard circumstances into our lives to show His
love through us, we become angry, bitter and complaining toward others and
toward God too.
Vs. 13-17 As those
who were dead and have been given life by the death and resurrection of our
Savior, it ought to be a crime to live for ourselves and not for Him. This is
the intent here. Our lives are not our own and the life we live is to be lived
following the Spirit, not our plans. As Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:4,
we live under the orders of the one who
enlisted us, and our life's desire should be to satisfy Him. In this case
here, it appears that these are rich people who were living above the
circumstances because of their money. Therefore, they didn't have to be dependent
on God for how they lived or for what they wanted.
To me it is
interesting to see that all of the discipleship teaching of Jesus, Paul, and
James flows together. The look and adornments of our cultures have changed, but
disciples today face the same debilitating temptations to become neutralized as
disciples did back then.
Psalm 118:19-29
Vs. 19-20 You have to
admit it is a little coincidental that we're reading so much about the temple
structure, and here we have gates and a stone and an entrance of a king. The
joy and thanksgiving are because of this king, and the way to enter into God's
presence is by giving thanks expressed with joy. This desire to enter into the
presence of the Lord is always found in David. His ultimate desire was to be
with God. Long years of running created this longing in his heart.
Vs. 21-23 These
verses must have applied to David. Saul and his men wanted to get rid of David,
but as often as they tried to reject him, kill him and drive him off, God kept
bringing David back and saving him. Isn't it amazing then that Jesus and Peter
quoted these verses regarding the Jews casting away their Messiah?
V. 24 The day when
that rejected cornerstone was exalted
was a great day.
V. 25 And so where
does that success and salvation come from?
V. 26 This is what
Jesus said the people would cry out during the Tribulation, showing their
humility in needing Him. Their shouting of this prayer will begin the process
of His return to Jerusalem. It will begin the salvation and success of the
future Israel.
V. 27 God made His
face to shine upon us by binding the sacrifice, figuratively speaking, to the horns of the altar. The horns of the
altar were to be grasped by those pleading for mercy and forgiveness. How could
David have had these thoughts other than the Holy Spirit inspiring him?
Vs. 28-29 This seems
to be the universal praise of the redeemed and those who follow in the harvest.
What a great psalm!
He'll return in the future and today we have the joy of letting people know
they need to be ready.
Proverbs 28:3-5
These verses continue the theme of a land full of
transgression.
V. 3 In this land, the poor have no compassion for other
poor.
V. 4 The heroes of this land are like the people praising
them, the wicked. But there are still people who keep the laws and work against
this lawlessness.
V. 5 Seeking the Lord is what keeps the disciples on target,
knowing right from wrong when everyone else has no clue.
In all of this, it shows the importance of those who know
the Lord to be active, reaching out and making disciples, who make disciples.
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these
comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in
growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see
the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples,
meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out
and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal
manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us
more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is
that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a
year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples,
disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more
descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the
Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the
commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never
hurts.
I am not endorsing any
particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte
Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with
us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their
own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular
tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to
criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has
written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
No comments:
Post a Comment