Ezekiel 40-48

[Psychic]

These chapters speak about a Temple. But isn’t the Temple done over? Is this really a future Temple?

 

[tobinatorstark]

this link might give you some insight.

haydock1859.tripod.com

 

[COPLAND_3]

These chapters speak about a Temple. But isn’t the Temple done over? Is this really a future Temple?

St. Gregory interprets the temple as the believers in Christ. I have the Ancient Christian Commentary and the Early Church Fathers did a wonderful job bringing out the spiritual meaning of those chapters. I can scan some pages for you if you are interested. The Haydock is also an excellent option as tobinatorstark has given you.

 

[NotWorthy]

I once did a presentation on chapter47 of Ezekiel in relationship to John, chapter 8 where Jesus stands up and says “Whoever is thirsty, let him come to me and I will give them everlasting life…” (paraphrasing). I think this will help show that the Temple is Jesus and the water flowing from the heart of the Temple is the Holy Spirit that began to flow from Jesus’ side on the Cross and then continued to flow out as the fledgling Church grew. I know it’s long, but I hope you enjoy:

In verse 37, we get to the heart of this story (Imagine a large Mass.  In the middle of Mass, Jesus stands up and says).  ***On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me; let him drink who believes in me.  Scripture has it: 'From within him rivers of living water shall flow***."  Jesus sort of comes out of left field on that one.  In the middle of the Jewish liturgy, Jesus stands up and says, "***If anyone thirsts, let him come to me***"…

This is a perfect example of our need to understand the Jewish culture. On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, during the Liturgy, the Levites would go down to the pool of Saloom, fill a huge pitcher of water, and proceed back to the temple. They would circle the altar seven times. Then they would pour the water out over the altar and let it wash down onto the floor. This is what’s going on when Jesus stands up and makes this statement. Becomes a little clearer, right? But it goes deeper. This ritual is part of prophecy from the Old Testament.

The Scripture comes from Ezekiel 47, which is read in the Jewish Liturgy for this feast. It starts off with Ezekiel being brought to the entrance of the Temple, where he saw “water flowing out from the threshold of the temple towards the east”. The water was issuing out from under the altar of the temple, the heart of the temple. Ezekiel leaves the altar and starts walking. As he walks, he measures the depth of the water. In verse 3, the water is ankle deep. In verse 4, it is knee deep, then it’s waist deep. In verse 5, it became a river that could only be crossed by swimming. In verse 8, he hears, "This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah (Arabia), and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes it fresh (it cleanses the Dead Sea).

Where ever the river goes there’s life. And one of the key themes to John is “Life”. (9) Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. (10) Fishermen shall be standing along it from En-gedi to Eneglaim, spreading their nets there. Does this bring anything to mind? Jesus called the disciples (fishermen) to become “fishers of men”. It goes on to describe trees that bear fresh fruit every month, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Does anyone know what the Old Testament means when it describes trees bearing fruit? We’ll see this in the Gospel of Mark, but the fruit from trees are the good works of righeous men.

 

[NotWorthy]

Continued…

So, let’s go back to the Jewish Feast. Back in Ezekiel chapter 10, Ezekiel had a vision of the “Shekinah” the Holy Spirit leaving the Temple. The Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the Temple. It celebrates Solomon when he originally dedicated the Temple, and the “Shekina”, the Glory Cloud of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Temple and remaining there. So in your mind, what are the Jews trying to invoke with the water being poured onto the altar and reading from Ezekiel? The Jews feel that when the Holy Spirit returns to the Temple, it will overflow with this life-giving source of the Holy Spirit (which the water symbolizes) and spread Israel’s glory throughout the land.

With that in mind, let’s look again at what Jesus means when he says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me”… If we look at Ezekiel, we see that the water will flow from the altar of the Temple, but Jesus says, "Scripture has it: ‘From within him rivers of living water shall flow’". Why does Jesus change the Scripture? In John, 2:18-19, at this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?"*** Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." ***What does Jesus mean by saying this? The Temple Jesus is referring to, is His Body. “Destroy this body, and I will raise it up on the third day”, but they did not understand Him. So Jesus is showing the true meaning of Ezekiel. The water, that gives life to everything it touches, is the living water. And Jesus is the Temple from which this living water flows. What is this living water? It is the Life Jesus gives us through the Holy Spirit. The water getting deeper as Ezekiel’s walking away from the Temple represents Time, and the water’s depth increasing as time passes, represents Jesus’ Gospel spreading throughout the World. The Growth of the Church through the Holy Spirit springs from the Sacred Heart of Jesus! John is telling us that Jesus is the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision.

John tells us that (vs. 39), “Here he was referring to the Spirit, whom those that came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit as yet, since Jesus had not yet been glorified”. We’re going to find out in upcoming lessons what it means for Jesus to be glorified, and what it means for the Spirit to be given, as well as why can’t the Spirit be given until Jesus is glorified. But what John is continuing to show is that Jesus is fulfilling the Jewish Festivals, but in ways the ancient Israelites were completely un-prepared for.

Note: I got a lot of this information from listening to Tim Gray’s talk on the Gospel of John on EWTN.

 

[Benadam]

why can’t the Spirit be given until Jesus is glorified

in Jesus body earth and heaven are united. When Jesus is glorified He takes up the substance of His flesh into glory and that substance is of the earth. With the earth united to heaven in the body of Christ the flesh of those who enjoyed a bond of mutual love with Him become the first ministers of the New Temple made of living matter.

NotWorthy, I should confess, this post is self serving, now if I got it wrong you are obligated to correct me.

 

[NotWorthy]

why can’t the Spirit be given until Jesus is glorified

in Jesus body earth and heaven are united. When Jesus is glorified He takes up the substance of His flesh into glory and that substance is of the earth. With the earth united to heaven in the body of Christ the flesh of those who enjoyed a bond of mutual love with Him become the first ministers of the New Temple made of living matter.

NotWorthy, I should confess, this post is self serving, now if I got it wrong you are obligated to correct me.

There’s no reason why the Spirit couldn’t be given, it’s just the way God chose it to be, the Holy Spirit guiding the Church throughout the ages.

In the Last Supper discourse we see this:

The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you (John 14:26)… "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. (15:26)…But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (16:7)

 

[Benadam]

There’s no reason why the Spirit couldn’t be given, it’s just the way God chose it to be, the Holy Spirit guiding the Church throughout the ages.

In the Last Supper discourse we see this:

The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you (John 14:26)… "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. (15:26)…But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (16:7)

maybe the name has something to do wth it. At any rate thank you for that correction and for providing a question to be mystified by.

 

[Robbinson]

Continued…

Note: I got a lot of this information from listening to Tim Gray’s talk on the Gospel of John on EWTN.

This is an outstanding and extremely interesting interpretation of what is really one of the most difficult passages in the Hebrew scriptures and one I’ve struggled with since coming to faith (reconciling this apparent desription of a third temple with sacrifices with the gospel that).

Thank you for sharing this - I’ll ponder it further.

Blessings,

Brian

 

[NotWorthy]

The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–

maybe the name has something to do wth it. At any rate thank you for that correction and for providing a question to be mystified by.

Sending someone “in Jesus name” means with the authority of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is sent with the authority of Jesus.

 

[ryanoneil]

I hope these help.

**So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:19-22)

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (1 Pet 2:4-8)**

 

[NotWorthy]

I hope these help.

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:19-22)

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (1 Pet 2:4-8)

I didn’t realize that St. Peter was a plagiarist.

Actually, I think you didn’t re-copy St. Peter’s quote:

Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in scripture: "Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame."Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"and “A stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.” They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny. (The real 1 Peter 2:4-8)

 

[ryanoneil]

Thanks! I didn’t notice that.