Ezekiel 43:23, commentary and pictures

When the cleansing of the altar is finished a young bull without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish are to be offered, as the second-day offering in a seven-day work of purging, purifying, sanctifying and consecrating the altar before the regular offerings begin. It belongs to the restoration pattern shown to Israel in captivity of what God would do if the people were ashamed of iniquity, repented and kept His ordinances, but Israel went on in apostasy so the sanctuary as described was never built. The bull and ram belonged to the first covenant system of shadows pointing forward to Christ, whose one offering perfected forever them that are sanctified, so that the offering of beasts as acceptable to God forever ceased because the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. Therefore it is not a prediction of a restored sacrificial system or a future sanctuary to be built in the last days, and wherein it failed for earthly Jerusalem it will be grandly realized without animal sacrifices in the New City for the true Israel of God. The eighth day is simply the first day after the seven days of dedicatory service, and has no reference to the seventh-day Sabbath or the first day of the week and does not prophesy a change of the Sabbath.

Words and Ceremony

When the cleansing of the altar or sanctuary is finished, a young bullock without blemish and a ram out of the flock without blemish are to be offered. That offering belongs to a seven-day work of purging, purifying, sanctifying, dedicating and consecrating the altar, with definite offerings on each of the seven days, after which the altar is ready for the usual daily and regular burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. Within that week the offering is the second-day offering, following the first-day offering, with such offerings continued for a whole week until the altar is purged and purified. Upon the eighth day and forward the priests make the regular burnt-offerings and peace-offerings described in the law, with the promise of acceptance.

The sanctuary or altar is cleansed by sacrificial blood through sacrifice, under the ordinances of the altar in the day when they make it, to offer burnt-offerings thereon and to sprinkle blood thereon. The purging instruction in Ezekiel 43:16-27 belongs to the types and shadows of the ceremonial law also set forth in Exodus, Genesis and Numbers and teaches the same evangelical truths. Beyond its place in the vision, the specific meaning of the offering is not given.

Conditional Offer to Israel

Ezekiel 43:23 belongs to the sanctuary, city, land and restoration pattern of Ezekiel 36-48 and 40-48, shown to Israel in captivity and offered after Babylon as what God would do if the people yielded to His conditions. It is part of the vision beginning in Ezekiel 40 onward that covers the same period and purpose toward Jerusalem as Zechariah 2, and of the detailed description of sanctuary, city, land, glorious temple, cleansing of the land, destruction of Gog and Magog, redivision of the land, and restoration that would have been given in Ezekiel's day. That promised restoration and glory were conditional, and give no specific explanation of the offering beyond its place in the pattern.

The condition was that Israel be ashamed of iniquities and put them away, repent, return wholeheartedly from captivity, obey, keep the ordinances, attend to the pattern, put aside sins, and come up to the full measure of children of God. The temple's ceremonies and offerings, including the offering of the unblemished bull and ram after cleansing, were promised on those terms, belonging to a time when such sacrifices were in force. Because the people were unwilling and went on in apostasy, the vision in its spiritual aspect stands as prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ.

If met, all the figures and promises would have been literally fulfilled, with establishment of the building, return of the twelve tribes, rebuilding of a temple more glorious than ever before and far greater and grander than Zerubbabel built, cleansing of the land, destruction of northern enemies, redivision among the twelve tribes, healing of barren land, salt marshes and impure waters by God's presence, longer life, character affecting even the animals, Israel made the joy of the whole earth and a means to convert the nations. The glory promised for Palestine and the Jewish people included defeat of Gog and Magog and prosperity centered in the restored Jerusalem. Wherein it failed for old earthly Jerusalem it will be grandly realized in the New City for the true Israel of God, and the faithful will receive the full immortal inheritance as later revelations describe.

Israel did not meet the conditions but went on in apostasy, so the sanctuary as described was never built and its glory, resurrection, and full promises were not realized. The glory of God did not rest upon them, the resurrection of chapter 37 did not take place, the temple was not built as described, and the prophecy does not describe the future age in detail. Its animal offerings of blemish-free young bull and ram after cleansing belonged to a temple prophecy that would have been fulfilled during the Mosaic dispensation if conditions had been met.

What was built at the restoration fell far short of the pattern, for only about forty thousand returned, and the sanctuary built by Zerubbabel under Ezra was an inferior, lesser shadow with only the faintest shadow of the promised glory and prosperity. That Jerusalem was never thus restored and that temple was never built, because Israel would not yield all to God and God could not dwell among a half-hearted people to dishonor His name. It never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected.

Sacrifices Fulfilled in Christ

The unblemished young bull and ram to be offered after the cleansing, with the burnt-offerings, sin-offerings and trespass-offerings of bulls and goats around them, belonged to the first covenant's Levitical system of shadows that pointed forward to Christ's one effective, once-for-all sacrifice for sin. Christ's death fulfilled those sacrifices forever, for by one offering He perfected forever them that are sanctified, and after He offered one sacrifice for sins forever He sat down on the right hand of God, so the offering of beasts as acceptable to God forever ceased. Those offerings were only a symbol of faith in Christ, shadows pointing toward the substance, and if they had been effectual or necessary they would not have ceased to be offered, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

To renew animal sacrifices now would deny the finality of Christ's offering and return from its fulfillment to its earlier shadow. It would annul and make void the sacrifice Christ offered, and to go back to the sacrifice of bulls and goats as effectual for the cleansing of sin is a denial of Christ as Saviour.

The beast sin-offering system cannot exist at the same time as Christ's ministry as high priest pleading His own precious blood, for God has blessed this dispensation with the glory that excelleth and could not approve beasts as sin-offerings while Christ pleads His blood. When Christ was crucified and ascended the law of the priesthood changed, so Levi is no longer priest and Christ became priest forever after the order of Melchisedec with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. Therefore the instructions belong to a time before Christ's death when such sacrifices were in force, not to the order in force now nor to any time after the opening of the Christian dispensation or to the last days.

No Future Temple Sacrifices

Ezekiel 43:23 belongs to a temple prophecy that would have been fulfilled in the Mosaic dispensation if Israel had met its conditions, and it does not describe a restored sacrificial system, a future age, or a sanctuary to be built in the last days. Its unblemished young bull and ram offered after cleansing belong to a vision of a sanctuary with Levitical burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, and trespass-offerings of bulls and goats whose promises were forfeited through failure to meet the conditions. That whole vision of Ezekiel 40-48 was provisional and conditional on Israel being ashamed of iniquities, but they went on in apostasy, so the sanctuary was never built as shown and was only feebly met in the lesser sanctuary built by Zerubbabel. To offer such animal sacrifices now would annul the offering of Christ and make void the sacrifice Christ offered, for those offerings were only symbols of faith pointing to the substance and ceased forever when Christ came as the Sacrifice. By one offering He perfected forever them that are sanctified, and after He offered one sacrifice for sins forever He sat down on the right hand of God, so offerings of beasts as acceptable to God forever ceased, since it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins and to return to them as effectual for cleansing would deny Christ as Saviour.

The temple and its service of Ezekiel 40-48 will never be built at any time after the opening of the Christian dispensation to fill the place God designed it should fill. When Christ was crucified and ascended the law of the priesthood changed so that Levi is no longer priest and Christ became priest forever after the order of Melchisedec with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. Israel would not yield all to God, and God could not come in and dwell among a half-hearted people nor build a temple for His name for them to dishonor.

In its spiritual aspect the prophecy stands as a prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ. Wherein it failed for old earthly Jerusalem it will be grandly realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God, and the faithful will receive the full immortal inheritance as later revelations describe. What was offered to Israel coming out of Babylon — rebuilding the temple more glorious than ever, cleansing the land, destroying Gog and Magog, redividing the land among the twelve tribes, making Israel the joy of the whole earth and a means to convert the nations — was conditional on being ashamed of iniquities, repenting, and returning wholeheartedly, but they were unwilling, so the glory did not rest upon them and the resurrection of Ezekiel 37 did not take place. The chapter remains only faintly typical, not in detail but in great general promises, of what God will do for His children at the second coming when He shall punish forever those who would destroy His people. That yet-future fulfillment in the greater glory of the second coming will be without the local conditions of the prophet's day, with no burning of wooden weapons and no cleansing of the land by human hands, because the fires of the last day will consume sin out of the world and melt the earth with fervent heat.

The pattern of the glorious temple set as the center of a restored Jerusalem taught that the only holy, worthy thing is that in which God dwells, to lead man to yield himself as dwelling-place, temple, and sanctuary of God, and taught that Jehovah is there to heal all barren land, all salt marshes, and all impure waters and give life to all. That Jerusalem was never thus restored and that temple was never built and never will be built in that earthly form, and the temple built at the restoration from Babylon fell far short of the pattern and never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected. Those who held it taught that Ezekiel 43 predicts the building of the greater temple later built by Herod, giving the prediction of that building work but not revealing the process by which the work was to be done. The verse belongs to the closing prophecy of restoration including a glorious temple and to the detailed description of a grand and magnificent temple that Israel might build at Jerusalem as the house of prayer for all nations, shown as the city that would have been built if Israel had responded to the calls to leave Babylon, yet that city was never built because Israel failed to do its part and only a lesser shadow was built.

Eighth Day and Sabbath

The seven-day work ordered around the altar is for purifying and dedicating it, and when that cleansing is finished the flawless young bull and flawless ram are to be offered; it is not a rule for weekly worship, and once the ceremony is complete the altar is ready for the usual daily offerings. The verse gives one of the definite offerings appointed for each of those seven days, by which the altar was purged and purified and made ready for service. That offering belongs to the second day, following the first-day offering, with such offerings continued for a whole week until the altar was purged and purified, after which upon the eighth day and forward the priests were to make the regular burnt-offerings and peace-offerings described in the law. This dedication belonged to the promised new and larger city and temple of Ezekiel 40 to 48, which was conditioned on Israel returning to God and being ashamed of iniquities and was never built, an inferior sanctuary being built instead under Ezra and Zerubbabel.

The eighth day is not a day of the week but simply the first day after the seven days of dedicatory feast or service, beginning a new time of service in which all following common days were to be alike. The seven days are seven days of sanctification in which they purge the altar and purify it and consecrate themselves under the ordinances of the altar in the day when they make it, to offer burnt-offerings thereon and to sprinkle blood thereon, and upon the eighth day and so forward the priests make burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar, with the Lord God's promise to accept them. The verse and its eighth day have absolutely no reference to the seventh-day Sabbath or the first day of the week, have nothing to do with the eighth day of the week or with the Sabbath, and do not prophesy a change of the Sabbath to the first day.

The seven days of purging do not prove that the eighth day is the first day of the week, because that would require showing that the purification began on the first day. Even if the days did so begin, the eighth would still not make a Christian Sabbath. Taking the eighth day as a literal prediction of first-day observance in the new dispensation would also require literal burnt-offerings upon a literal altar by literal priests on the eighth day. The instruction belongs to the vision of the temple's restoration after the Babylonian captivity, as part of the altar's consecration before regular temple service resumes, not to a change of the Sabbath or to the gospel dispensation.