Ezekiel 46:8, commentary and pictures

Ezekiel 46:8 belongs to the vision of a new sanctuary, city and division of the land in Ezekiel 40-48, and it directs that when the prince enters he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate and go out by the same way. The prince is a poor, frail, mortal ruler under the Mosaic worship system, not Christ reigning in the immortal state, for he must offer a sin-offering for himself and is forbidden to oppress the people or take their possessions. The whole order around him belongs to that then-present dispensation, with marrying and dying Levite priests, marriage and death, circumcision, distinctions in meats, offerings of beasts, the Jubilee and the Levitical priesthood still in force. That glorious temple was conditional upon Israel being ashamed of iniquities and returning to God wholeheartedly, and because they did not meet the conditions it was never built as described. It will never be built literally after the opening of the Christian dispensation, for to restore its animal sacrifices would make Christ's once-for-all offering of no effect, yet its broad promises concerning true Israel will be fulfilled even more gloriously at the second coming in the new heavens and new earth.

Vision's Setting and Prince

Ezekiel 46:8 belongs to the vision of a new sanctuary, its offerings, its glory, the city, and the division of the land in Ezekiel 40-48, offered to Israel while in Babylonian captivity as the city and temple they might build upon return. That sanctuary, city, and land were offered for that historical period, and no such city or sanctuary stands today. The promises and figures in those chapters would have been fulfilled literally as a grand temple at Jerusalem, a house of prayer for all nations, teaching that God's presence would dwell among His people to bring life and healing.

That vision was conditional and provisional, to be established literally and in detail only if Israel was ashamed of iniquities, put them away, repented, and returned to God wholeheartedly from captivity. It was a sanctuary plan whose ceremonies, rites, and offerings were promised to Israel on those terms, and in its spiritual aspect it stood also as prophecy of greater things God would do for His people through Christ. The plan was only feebly realized in the sanctuary built by Zerubbabel.

The verse prescribes the prince's route, that when he enters he goes in by the way of the porch of that gate and goes out by the same way, entering and leaving the envisioned temple by the same gate route. It belongs to instructions for a prince who enters and leaves the sanctuary by the gate's porch, as part of the sanctuary description and God's promise to restore Palestine and the Jews. No further explanation of the prince's route through the gate is given beyond that instruction itself.

The prince is a poor, frail, mortal ruler under the Mosaic worship system, not Christ reigning in the immortal state or in the future glorified state. He must offer a sin-offering for himself, with offerings required of him and for himself, showing his subjection to that worship. He is forbidden to oppress the people or take their possessions, and must give his sons inheritance only from his own possession, while Christ is sinless and will have the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, and Christ is to be the Prince and Shepherd over Israel then.

The surrounding order belongs to the then-present Mosaic dispensation, when circumcision, divorce, distinction in meats, offerings of beasts, the Jubilee, and the Levitical priesthood were in force. There Levite priests marry and can die, and marriage, divorce, widows and death are still present, whereas marriage and death are to be unknown in the age to come. Its thousands of sheep and oxen sacrifices, including bulls and goats, belonged to the time then present as shadows pointing to the only effectual offering, Jesus Christ, and are no longer acceptable to God even as a type. In that temple the Levites serve as priests, but when Christ was crucified and ascended the law of the priesthood changed from Levi to Christ as priest forever after the order of Melchisedec with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass from one to another. His priesthood and the everlasting gospel are contemporary, and when His priesthood ends there is no more probation, so to return to the Levitical system is another gospel. The chapter contains distinct allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord and the festivals with discrimination between the Sabbath and other days.

Forfeiture and Future Significance

Because Israel did not meet the conditions, was not ashamed of iniquities, and did not put away wickedness, the glorious temple described in Ezekiel 40-48 was never built as shown. Only about forty thousand returned from Babylon, and only a lesser shadow of its greatness was erected by Zerubbabel, with limited prosperity after the restoration. That Jerusalem was never restored as shown because Israel would not yield fully to God and failed to do its part in leaving Babylon and returning wholeheartedly, not because God changed His purpose. The plan was provisional and conditional on being ashamed and returning to God, and was only feebly realized in Zerubbabel's sanctuary.

That sanctuary will never be built literally in any period after the opening of the Christian dispensation, in the future age or glorified state. It does not describe the New Jerusalem of Revelation, a future restoration of the Levitical sacrificial system and the Jewish people, or a return of the local conditions of Ezekiel's day. The sanctuary specifications were offered for that historical period of captivity and return, not for a future or present dispensation. The whole order there, with Levite priests who marry and can die, with marriage, divorce, widows and death still present, with circumcision, distinction in meats, offerings of beasts, the Jubilee and the Levitical priesthood in force, cannot exist after Christ's heavenly ministration closes before His coming, whereas marriage and death are to be unknown in the age to come and Christ is to be Prince and Shepherd over Israel then.

Its old services and animal sacrifices cannot be restored without making Christ's once-for-all offering of no effect, rebuilding what was destroyed and returning from sunlight to shadow. The thousands of sheep and oxen sacrifices will never be renewed literally, because they belonged to the time then present as shadows pointing to the only effectual offering, Jesus Christ, and the blood of bulls and goats is no longer acceptable to God even as a type. When Christ was crucified and ascended on high the law of the priesthood changed, Levi was 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. His priesthood and the everlasting gospel are contemporary, and when His priesthood ends there is no more probation, so to return to the Levitical system is another gospel, and a typical atonement cannot follow the real atonement already made in fact.

The larger prophecy from Ezekiel 36 onward promised the salvation of Israel, the resurrection of their righteous dead, the subjection of the kings of the North and all enemies far and near, a new temple with its worship and prince, a new division of the land, and the life and healing power of God coming upon Palestine and the earth as never before. Since the details were not fulfilled then and will not all be fulfilled in their original form, the vision stands in its spiritual aspect and broad promises as faintly typical of greater things God would do through Christ. Its peaceful conditions and promises concerning true Israel will be fulfilled even more gloriously at the second coming, in the new heavens and new earth, the New City, and the fullness of the immortal inheritance for the faithful.