Ezekiel 48:21, commentary and pictures

Ezekiel 48:21 assigns the leftover strips of land on the east and west of the holy offering and the city property to the prince as his own portion, with the holy offering and the sanctuary house lying in the middle. It belongs to the large closing vision of Ezekiel 40-48 concerning the temple, sanctuary, city, offerings and division of the land, shown to Ezekiel among the captives fourteen years after Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. The sanctuary, city and division of the land were offered on condition that Israel be ashamed of iniquity, repent and obey, but Israel did not meet the conditions and only a small remnant returned, so the sanctuary and city were never built and the temple of Zerubbabel was only a feeble shadow of what was shown. It will never be built literally in the future, neither in the gospel age nor in the immortal state, for its thousands of animal sacrifices and sin offerings cannot be restored without annulling Christ's once-for-all offering, and its mortal prince, Levitical priesthood and possibility of oppression belong to the past dispensation. In its spiritual aspect it will be fulfilled in Christ and the true Israel in future glory, in the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem as capital, but according to later revelation and under greater conditions, not according to these literal details.

Wording and Historical Setting

Ezekiel 48:21 belongs to the description in Ezekiel 40-48 of the temple and sanctuary, the city, its offerings and glory, and the division of the land, including the holy oblation, the possession of the city, and the portion for the prince. It belongs to a conditional prophecy of a new division of the land with a sacred allotment and sanctuary, which was not to be built after the Christian dispensation opened and does not describe a temple still to be built in a later age. The vision describes a city and sanctuary distinct from the New Jerusalem and the heavenly Jerusalem.

The pattern was shown to Ezekiel among the captives of Israel fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple, and the sanctuary were destroyed. The destruction was in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, dated as B.C. 588, and the vision was given in B.C. 574. It was given to show to the house of Israel in captivity.

The verse assigns the residue of land on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city to the prince as his portion. It lies over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, on the east and west sides of the holy district and the city's possession. The sanctuary of the house is in the midst of the holy portion, at the center of the holy district assigned around it.

The prince in the vision is a poor, frail mortal and not Jesus. He is commanded to offer a sin offering and all kinds of offerings for himself, he must take away exactions and not oppress the people, and he has sons and servants to whom he may give an inheritance. The word sanctuary in the verse denotes the temple building offered to Israel. That building had two holy places like the tabernacle and Solomon's temple, with a most holy place of the same size as Solomon's.

The prophecy seems to predict the building of a greater temple, though it does not reveal how the work would be carried out. The circumstances of construction are secondary to the prophecy.

Conditional Offer and Forfeiture

The sanctuary, the city, the division of the land, and the restoration from the seventy years in Babylon were offered on condition that Israel be ashamed of iniquities, put them away, repent wholeheartedly, return to God, and obey. The pattern of the city and sanctuary in Ezekiel 40-48 was a conditional prophecy of a new division of the land with a sacred allotment and sanctuary, promised to Israel if they turned from wickedness and returned wholeheartedly from captivity. If Israel were ashamed and put iniquities away, God would have the building established and would bring back the twelve tribes. In its spiritual aspect the unfulfilled arrangement stands as a prophecy of greater things the Lord will do for His people through Christ.

Because Israel did not meet the conditions and rejected the offer and slighted the blessings, the sanctuary and city were never built and the promised glory was never inherited. Only about forty thousand returned from captivity, with many failing to leave Babylon, and the promises were not fulfilled in their fullness. No such city or sanctuary stands today, for the house of Israel rejected the gracious offer in Ezekiel 47-48, and the sanctuary described there was never erected. The temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others was only a lesser, feeble counterpart or shadow of what was shown, realized only feebly instead of the glorious temple and land arrangement.

Had Israel met the conditions of faith and obedience, on which blessing was based over and over, the verse would have been fulfilled literally in fullest detail. Its residue for the prince on either side of the holy oblation and city possession, with the sanctuary of the house in the midst, would then have been literally fulfilled, along with the building of the offered temple with its attendant sacrifices and the burning of weapons in Ezekiel 39:9-15. Had Israel been faithful and returned to the mountains of Israel to shoot forth branches and yield fruit and receive better things than at their beginnings, the resurrection of Ezekiel 37 would have taken place. God would have established the building, brought back the twelve tribes, dwelt among them in overpowering glory, destroyed the enemies from the north of Ezekiel 38 and 39 by plagues, and given victory over enemies. Israel would then have built that marvelous sanctuary with its holy oblation and portions for the prince, would have become a light to the world, and the temple would have become a house of prayer for all nations.

The restored Jerusalem with the glorious temple at its center was set to teach that Jehovah is there. The city would have been called Jehovah-shammah, meaning Jehovah is there, with God's glory resting on the city. The presence of God in that temple would have healed all barren land, all salt marshes, and all impure waters, and would have given life to all. But Jerusalem was never thus restored, because Israel would not yield all to God, and God could not come in and dwell among a half-hearted people to dishonor His name, so that temple was never built.

No Future Literal Building

The temple and its land arrangement will never be built literally in the future, neither in the Christian or gospel dispensation nor in the future immortal state. That temple was not to be built after the Christian dispensation opened, no such city or sanctuary stands today, and the sanctuary described was never erected because the house of Israel rejected the gracious offer and slighted the inestimable blessings held out in captivity in Ezekiel 47-48. The pattern of the city and sanctuary was shown fourteen years after the sanctuary was destroyed, while Ezekiel was among the captives in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple, and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah in B.C. 588, to show to the house of Israel on condition that they should be ashamed of their iniquities and put them away. Because they did not repent and turn from apostasy, the provisional plan and its promises were realized only feebly in the sanctuary built by Zerubbabel, and by Ezra and others as only a shadow, and the prophecy does not belong to the future reign of Christ and his saints.

Its thousands of sheep and oxen sacrifices, burnt offerings, and sin offerings of bulls and goats cannot be restored. To offer them now would make Christ's once-for-all effectual offering of no effect, annul it, make void the sacrifice Christ offered, rebuild what was destroyed, and return from sunlight to shadow. The former offerings belonged to the time then present and shadowed forth the only effectual offering, that of Jesus Christ, whose one sacrifice is sufficient, since the offerings of the first covenant pointed to Christ. That sanctuary with its sacrifices cannot be set up literally now, and it does not describe a future sanctuary where sacrifices would be offered.

By its own specifications it was designed to be fulfilled in the past dispensation, not in the present dispensation and not in the future dispensation which is the immortal state. It retains literal circumcision, divorce, clean and unclean meats, burnt offerings and sin offerings of bulls and goats, and the Levitical priesthood in force, and it was not accomplished under the first covenant because Israel did not fulfill the conditions and were not ashamed. The residue of land on either side of the holy oblation and city possession is given to the prince as his portion, and the prince there is a poor, frail mortal and not Jesus, because he is commanded to offer a sin offering and all kinds of offerings for himself, must take away exactions and not oppress the people, and has sons and servants to whom he may give an inheritance. It cannot belong to the future immortal state, where Jesus alone shall be King over Israel and where Christ the great Sacrifice has caused all other sacrifices to cease and there will be no oppression.

The vision describes a city and sanctuary distinct from the New Jerusalem and the heavenly Jerusalem, and its promises are conditional with the promised restoration forfeited. It rejects the expectation of believers in a future age that its city with continuing offerings will be built and will take the place of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Greater Spiritual Fulfillment

In its spiritual aspect the vision faintly points to greater things the Lord will do for His people through Christ. What was shown as a conditional prophecy of a new division of the land, with a sacred allotment and sanctuary and a holy district including land set apart for the prince, was promised to Israel if they returned wholeheartedly from the Babylonian captivity and turned from wickedness and were ashamed of iniquities and truly and fully repented. Because Israel according to the flesh did not yield to God and was unwilling and failed to put away sins and live up to calling, the glorious temple and land arrangement were not carried out in that form, the sanctuary was never rebuilt as described, and Zerubbabel's temple was only a lesser counterpart. The land allocation placing the prince's share on either side of the holy district and the city's possession, with the sanctuary at the center of the holy district, will therefore never be fulfilled literally in its details. It will be fulfilled to the true Israel in future glory and the fulness of the immortal inheritance to the faithful, in Christ, in the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem as capital and the New City prepared for God's true Israel. That fulfillment comes according to later revelations and under greater conditions with some former details omitted, not according to these details, so the prophecy is a faint type of God's general promises for His people at the second coming though not a detailed account of their fulfillment.

God's purposes toward wicked nations and the true Israel remain the same though times and environment vary. Had Israel met the conditions of faith and obedience stated over and over from Ezekiel 36 to the close of the book, the residue for the prince on either side of the holy oblation and city possession with the sanctuary of the house in the midst would have been fulfilled in fullest detail literally, along with the burning of weapons in Ezekiel 39:9-15 and the building of the offered temple with its attendant sacrifices. Because Israel did not meet the conditions these details will never be fulfilled. Instead Israel will be redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance, even the earth made new, and its promised peace and kingdom realized more gloriously. Gog and Magog represent the northern nations punished in part in this world before and when Christ comes and ultimately at the end of the 1,000 years of Revelation 20.

The allotment of the promised land in Ezekiel 48 was temporary, but it was designed to show God's purpose for the future world. The distribution of the land, including the prince's portion on both sides of the holy offering and the city with the sanctuary at the center of the holy offering, points to each person's lasting inheritance for the redeemed in the promised land. The land being married signifies that this inheritance is permanent.