And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.
The verse pictures a mortal human ruler worshiping together with the people in the sanctuary of Ezekiel's temple vision, entering when they enter and going out when they go out. He cannot be Christ in His immortal reign, because he must offer a sin offering for himself, has sons and servants to inherit from him, and is forbidden to oppress the people, while Christ is sinless and priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The whole temple and its worship with its prince were offered as a conditional promise that would have been fulfilled literally if Israel had repented and turned wholeheartedly to God. Israel did not repent but continued in apostasy, so the glorious temple was never built and the restoration after Babylon was only a weak shadow of what was described. That sanctuary will never be built literally nor its bulls and goats, feasts and Levitical ordinances renewed, for to do so would make void the once-for-all offering of Jesus Christ and return from sunlight to shadow. What failed for earthly Jerusalem stands only in a general spiritual sense for greater things through Christ, to be grandly realized in the New City for the true Israel in the new heavens and new earth.
Vision Setting and Prince
Ezekiel 46:10 belongs to the temple and its service described in Ezekiel 40-48, extending to the promises of restoration in Ezekiel 36-48 concerning the new sanctuary, its offerings and glory, the city and the division of the land. No such city or sanctuary stands today, and the vision describes a sanctuary, city and land that God would have given Israel with literal fulfillment if conditions had been met, offered as a provisional sanctuary and prophecy of what He was prepared to do after the return from Babylon in restoring the people and rebuilding the temple. The animal offerings of thousands of sheep and oxen belonged to the time then present in that proposed arrangement, shadowing forth the only effectual offering of Jesus Christ. The vision was given fourteen years after the sanctuary was destroyed, while the Hebrews were captive in Babylon, offering to restore them to their own land and give them again a city and a temple under circumstances of wonderful glory, including bringing back the twelve tribes. That envisioned city would have been built if Israel had answered the calls to leave Babylon, but it was never built because Israel failed to do its part.
In the verse the prince is in the midst of the people, going in when they go in and going forth when they go forth, entering and leaving alongside them in the sanctuary worship. That restored community and its worship would have taken place in a sanctuary marked by God's presence, at the center of a restored Jerusalem where His presence would bring life and healing to the land. The prince there is a poor, frail, mortal human ruler among the people, not Jesus Christ in an immortal future reign or as Prince and Shepherd in the glorified state. He is commanded to offer sacrifices for himself, has sons and servants who may receive an inheritance, and is forbidden to oppress the people.
Identity with Christ is impossible because this same prince must offer sacrifices and a sin offering for himself, has sons and servants who may receive an inheritance, and is forbidden to oppress the people or take their inheritance, while Christ is sinless, will possess the uttermost parts of the earth, and is priest forever after the order of Melchizedek with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. That temple has Levites serving as priests, but 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 Melchizedek. His priesthood is contemporary with the everlasting gospel, Christ is the great High Priest and the gospel is His gospel, and when His priesthood ends there is no more probation.
The setting is the Mosaic dispensation when circumcision, divorce, distinction in meats, marriages, widows, death, Levitical priests who marry and die, sacrifices, burnt offerings and sin offerings of bulls and goats, feasts, the Jubilee, and allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord and the Hebrew festivals were in force. Those offerings and ordinances, including sacrifices, feasts and the Jubilee, belonged to the past and are no longer acceptable to God, and the arrangements belong to a time when the offerings and Levitical priesthood were in force, not to the gospel dispensation, the present or future age, the age to come where marriage and death are unknown, the reign of immortal saints after the second advent, or the New Jerusalem of Revelation. The mortal conditions around the prince, including Levitical priests who marry and die, with marriages, divorces, widows and death, prove the vision cannot describe immortal saints after the second advent. The vision sets forth God's purpose for Jerusalem and is the counterpart of Zechariah 2, covering the same period and representing the same purposes, so the two should be studied together. The chapter does not reveal how the work would be carried out, and the historical circumstances of its construction are secondary to the prophecy.
Conditional Promise and Fulfillment
Ezekiel 46:10 belongs to the temple, city, sanctuary worship, restoration to the land, and arrangements for prince and people offered as a conditional, provisional prophecy. The condition was that Israel be ashamed of iniquities, put away sins and wickedness, repent, turn wholeheartedly from captivity, leave Babylon, yield fully to God, and meet the standard of faith, obedience, and children of God. The vision offered a sanctuary and its promises on condition the people be ashamed of sins and turn from iniquity, describing ceremonies, rites, city and sanctuary that God would have given if they had met His conditions.
Had those conditions been met the promises would have been literally fulfilled in detail. The building would have been erected, with its arrangements for prince and people fulfilled in detail, and God would have established the building and brought back the twelve tribes. That sanctuary would have been built as the Messiah's kingdom was established gradually on the present earth, in a sanctuary marked by God's presence, bringing God's presence, life, and healing to the land and to a restored Jerusalem with the prince going in and out with the people.
Israel did not repent, was not ashamed, and continued in apostasy and failure. Therefore the glorious temple was never built, the offered glory was never inherited, and Jerusalem was never restored as shown. The restoration after the return from Babylon was only partial and far less than described in temple and prosperity, and the temple erected by Zerubbabel was only a weak shadow of its greatness.
That sanctuary will never be built literally at any time after the opening of the Christian dispensation, in the last days, or in a future age. Its specific local promises will never be fulfilled now, and the vision cannot be used to establish a future restoration of ancient Jerusalem and its sacrificial system. The prophecy of sanctuary and service cannot be rebuilt to fulfill the purpose God described, and the conditional sanctuary prophecy will never be fulfilled by building that sanctuary.
The animal offerings of thousands of sheep and oxen, bulls and goats, belonged to the time then present in the proposed arrangement. Sacrifices, burnt offerings, and sin offerings of bulls and goats were in force in the proposed sanctuary arrangement, shadowing forth the only effectual offering of Jesus Christ. No such city or sanctuary stands today, so the vision has not been fulfilled.
Literally renewing those sacrifices, feasts, and Levitical ordinances now would make the offering of Jesus Christ once for all of none effect, make His sacrifice void, build again the things destroyed, return from sunlight to shadow, and annul His offering. The blood of bulls and goats is no longer acceptable to God even as a type, these provisions were not acceptable after Christ's death, and the prescribed sacrifices show it is not a temple God would ordain again. The instructions include the old sanctuary service and its sacrifices, including sacrifices, feasts, and the Jubilee belonging to the Mosaic dispensation, which cannot be restored without making Christ's sacrifice void and show the sanctuary was intended for the past, not the present or future age.
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 Melchizedek with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. That priesthood of Christ is contemporary with the everlasting gospel, Christ is the great High Priest and the gospel is His gospel, and to preach any other gospel brings a curse, so when His priesthood ends there is no more probation.
Because Israel failed, the chapters stand only in a spiritual, general, and faintly typical sense for greater things God will do through Christ. The future glory and immortal inheritance will instead be given to the faithful according to later revelations, the peace of the kingdom will be fulfilled more gloriously in the new earth, and there will be a greater fulfillment in connection with Christ's second coming and the kingdom of Jesus Christ though not under the local conditions of Ezekiel's time. What failed for old earthly Jerusalem will be grandly realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God, in the new heavens and new earth and the new earth state with absolute joy, peace, and harmony, pointing in a general way to what God will do for His people at the second coming, not to a detailed fulfillment of every feature.
That greater fulfillment was promised as resurrection of the righteous dead, subjection of enemies, a new temple, a new division of the land, and the life and healing power of God upon Palestine and the earth. In that glorious kingdom life would have been lengthened, the godly character of a true-hearted people would have taken hold upon the animals themselves, and the manifest presence of God would have been constantly seen dwelling in His holy mountain where nothing would hurt or destroy. Israel did not accept God's conditions, so the promise was not fulfilled then, but it will be fulfilled under far greater conditions with more or less of the former detail eliminated, leaving absolute joy and peace and harmony among all God's creatures in the new earth state when God restores them by His mighty power.
The verse pictures a mortal human ruler worshiping together with the people in the sanctuary of Ezekiel's temple vision, entering when they enter and going out when they go out. He cannot be Christ in His immortal reign, because he must offer a sin offering for himself, has sons and servants to inherit from him, and is forbidden to oppress the people, while Christ is sinless and priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The whole temple and its worship with its prince were offered as a conditional promise that would have been fulfilled literally if Israel had repented and turned wholeheartedly to God. Israel did not repent but continued in apostasy, so the glorious temple was never built and the restoration after Babylon was only a weak shadow of what was described. That sanctuary will never be built literally nor its bulls and goats, feasts and Levitical ordinances renewed, for to do so would make void the once-for-all offering of Jesus Christ and return from sunlight to shadow. What failed for earthly Jerusalem stands only in a general spiritual sense for greater things through Christ, to be grandly realized in the New City for the true Israel in the new heavens and new earth.
Vision Setting and Prince
Ezekiel 46:10 belongs to the temple and its service described in Ezekiel 40-48, extending to the promises of restoration in Ezekiel 36-48 concerning the new sanctuary, its offerings and glory, the city and the division of the land. No such city or sanctuary stands today, and the vision describes a sanctuary, city and land that God would have given Israel with literal fulfillment if conditions had been met, offered as a provisional sanctuary and prophecy of what He was prepared to do after the return from Babylon in restoring the people and rebuilding the temple. The animal offerings of thousands of sheep and oxen belonged to the time then present in that proposed arrangement, shadowing forth the only effectual offering of Jesus Christ. The vision was given fourteen years after the sanctuary was destroyed, while the Hebrews were captive in Babylon, offering to restore them to their own land and give them again a city and a temple under circumstances of wonderful glory, including bringing back the twelve tribes. That envisioned city would have been built if Israel had answered the calls to leave Babylon, but it was never built because Israel failed to do its part.
In the verse the prince is in the midst of the people, going in when they go in and going forth when they go forth, entering and leaving alongside them in the sanctuary worship. That restored community and its worship would have taken place in a sanctuary marked by God's presence, at the center of a restored Jerusalem where His presence would bring life and healing to the land. The prince there is a poor, frail, mortal human ruler among the people, not Jesus Christ in an immortal future reign or as Prince and Shepherd in the glorified state. He is commanded to offer sacrifices for himself, has sons and servants who may receive an inheritance, and is forbidden to oppress the people.
Identity with Christ is impossible because this same prince must offer sacrifices and a sin offering for himself, has sons and servants who may receive an inheritance, and is forbidden to oppress the people or take their inheritance, while Christ is sinless, will possess the uttermost parts of the earth, and is priest forever after the order of Melchizedek with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. That temple has Levites serving as priests, but 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 Melchizedek. His priesthood is contemporary with the everlasting gospel, Christ is the great High Priest and the gospel is His gospel, and when His priesthood ends there is no more probation.
The setting is the Mosaic dispensation when circumcision, divorce, distinction in meats, marriages, widows, death, Levitical priests who marry and die, sacrifices, burnt offerings and sin offerings of bulls and goats, feasts, the Jubilee, and allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord and the Hebrew festivals were in force. Those offerings and ordinances, including sacrifices, feasts and the Jubilee, belonged to the past and are no longer acceptable to God, and the arrangements belong to a time when the offerings and Levitical priesthood were in force, not to the gospel dispensation, the present or future age, the age to come where marriage and death are unknown, the reign of immortal saints after the second advent, or the New Jerusalem of Revelation. The mortal conditions around the prince, including Levitical priests who marry and die, with marriages, divorces, widows and death, prove the vision cannot describe immortal saints after the second advent. The vision sets forth God's purpose for Jerusalem and is the counterpart of Zechariah 2, covering the same period and representing the same purposes, so the two should be studied together. The chapter does not reveal how the work would be carried out, and the historical circumstances of its construction are secondary to the prophecy.
Conditional Promise and Fulfillment
Ezekiel 46:10 belongs to the temple, city, sanctuary worship, restoration to the land, and arrangements for prince and people offered as a conditional, provisional prophecy. The condition was that Israel be ashamed of iniquities, put away sins and wickedness, repent, turn wholeheartedly from captivity, leave Babylon, yield fully to God, and meet the standard of faith, obedience, and children of God. The vision offered a sanctuary and its promises on condition the people be ashamed of sins and turn from iniquity, describing ceremonies, rites, city and sanctuary that God would have given if they had met His conditions.
Had those conditions been met the promises would have been literally fulfilled in detail. The building would have been erected, with its arrangements for prince and people fulfilled in detail, and God would have established the building and brought back the twelve tribes. That sanctuary would have been built as the Messiah's kingdom was established gradually on the present earth, in a sanctuary marked by God's presence, bringing God's presence, life, and healing to the land and to a restored Jerusalem with the prince going in and out with the people.
Israel did not repent, was not ashamed, and continued in apostasy and failure. Therefore the glorious temple was never built, the offered glory was never inherited, and Jerusalem was never restored as shown. The restoration after the return from Babylon was only partial and far less than described in temple and prosperity, and the temple erected by Zerubbabel was only a weak shadow of its greatness.
That sanctuary will never be built literally at any time after the opening of the Christian dispensation, in the last days, or in a future age. Its specific local promises will never be fulfilled now, and the vision cannot be used to establish a future restoration of ancient Jerusalem and its sacrificial system. The prophecy of sanctuary and service cannot be rebuilt to fulfill the purpose God described, and the conditional sanctuary prophecy will never be fulfilled by building that sanctuary.
The animal offerings of thousands of sheep and oxen, bulls and goats, belonged to the time then present in the proposed arrangement. Sacrifices, burnt offerings, and sin offerings of bulls and goats were in force in the proposed sanctuary arrangement, shadowing forth the only effectual offering of Jesus Christ. No such city or sanctuary stands today, so the vision has not been fulfilled.
Literally renewing those sacrifices, feasts, and Levitical ordinances now would make the offering of Jesus Christ once for all of none effect, make His sacrifice void, build again the things destroyed, return from sunlight to shadow, and annul His offering. The blood of bulls and goats is no longer acceptable to God even as a type, these provisions were not acceptable after Christ's death, and the prescribed sacrifices show it is not a temple God would ordain again. The instructions include the old sanctuary service and its sacrifices, including sacrifices, feasts, and the Jubilee belonging to the Mosaic dispensation, which cannot be restored without making Christ's sacrifice void and show the sanctuary was intended for the past, not the present or future age.
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 Melchizedek with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. That priesthood of Christ is contemporary with the everlasting gospel, Christ is the great High Priest and the gospel is His gospel, and to preach any other gospel brings a curse, so when His priesthood ends there is no more probation.
Because Israel failed, the chapters stand only in a spiritual, general, and faintly typical sense for greater things God will do through Christ. The future glory and immortal inheritance will instead be given to the faithful according to later revelations, the peace of the kingdom will be fulfilled more gloriously in the new earth, and there will be a greater fulfillment in connection with Christ's second coming and the kingdom of Jesus Christ though not under the local conditions of Ezekiel's time. What failed for old earthly Jerusalem will be grandly realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God, in the new heavens and new earth and the new earth state with absolute joy, peace, and harmony, pointing in a general way to what God will do for His people at the second coming, not to a detailed fulfillment of every feature.
That greater fulfillment was promised as resurrection of the righteous dead, subjection of enemies, a new temple, a new division of the land, and the life and healing power of God upon Palestine and the earth. In that glorious kingdom life would have been lengthened, the godly character of a true-hearted people would have taken hold upon the animals themselves, and the manifest presence of God would have been constantly seen dwelling in His holy mountain where nothing would hurt or destroy. Israel did not accept God's conditions, so the promise was not fulfilled then, but it will be fulfilled under far greater conditions with more or less of the former detail eliminated, leaving absolute joy and peace and harmony among all God's creatures in the new earth state when God restores them by His mighty power.