Ezekiel 48:34, commentary and pictures

The west side measures four thousand and five hundred with three gates named for Gad, Asher and Naphtali, completing twelve tribal gates with three on each side of the city. It belongs to the closing vision of a sanctuary, city and newly divided land with God's presence dwelling among His people, shown to Israel in captivity fourteen years after the sanctuary was destroyed. That sanctuary, city, land and gates were offered conditionally to fleshly Israel at the return from Babylon, to be given in fullest literal detail if they were ashamed of iniquity, repented wholly, obeyed and lived up to their calling. Because Israel was not ashamed and did not truly repent, with only about forty thousand returning, the promised glory was not inherited and that sanctuary and city were never erected and never will be built literally. To restore its sacrifices now would deny Christ's once-for-all offering and return to types fulfilled at the cross, while the promises stand as faint types in broad outline of the new heavens and new earth for true Israel, the holy city coming down from God with twelve gates for the twelve tribes.

Words and Immediate Context

The west side measures four thousand and five hundred, with three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, and one gate of Naphtali. These complete twelve gates named for the twelve tribes, with three on each of the north, east, south, and west sides. The west-side specification is one detail in the closing description of the promised sanctuary and its surrounding city.

The verse belongs to the vision of the new city and the apportionment and new division of the land and earth among the twelve tribes northward and southward and eastward and westward from the city. That division includes the prince's portion between Judah and Benjamin. It is a vision of a restored Israel in which God's presence would dwell among His people.

It is part of the pattern of another sanctuary and city in Ezekiel's last nine chapters, chapters 36 to 48 and 37 to 48. It was shown to the house of Israel in captivity fourteen years after the sanctuary was destroyed, to show it to them. Like the tabernacle and the temple, that building has two holy places, with the most holy place the same size as Solomon's. The word sanctuary is applied to the building throughout Ezekiel 40-48, including in chapter 48.

Apart from this setting, no separate explanation is given of the verse's gates or tribal names.

Conditional Offer to Exiles

The sanctuary, city, land division, and tribal gates belonged to a conditional and provisional promise offered to literal fleshly Israel under the old covenant at the restoration from the seventy-year Babylonian captivity. If they had been ashamed of their iniquities and put them away, returned wholeheartedly to God, truly repented, yielded, obeyed, been cleansed from sin, been faithful, and lived up to their calling, God would have given the whole pattern in fullest literal detail. That literal fulfillment would have included the temple with its sacrifices and arrangements, the division of the land among the twelve tribes, the city with its gates, and the seven years of burning described in Ezekiel 39:9-15.

If Israel had met those conditions, God would have caused the building to be established and caused the twelve tribes to return and be brought back upon the mountains of Israel. He would have done better to them than at their beginnings, fulfilled the resurrection shown in Ezekiel 37, conquered the enemies coming from the north shown in Ezekiel 38 and 39 and destroyed them by plagues, and made Jerusalem a praise. He would have enabled them to build the marvelous sanctuary where His presence and glory would dwell in overpowering glory as never before, with the city named Jehovah Is There, and would have established the Messiah's kingdom on earth with Israel worshiping there and His glory resting on the city. In that restored setting life would have been lengthened, the character of a true-hearted people would have taken hold upon the animals themselves, and the manifest presence of God would have dwelt constantly among them so that there would be no hurt or destroying in all His holy mountain, a glory unsurpassable and inconceivable.

The house of Israel was not ashamed, did not turn, yield, or truly and fully repent, but continued in apostasy, rejected and slighted the gracious offer, and slighted the offer of Cyrus as well as the promised blessings of God. Though all Israel could go up under the decree, only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others went up while the ten tribes stayed back. Only about forty thousand returned, and because the condition was disregarded the promised glory was not inherited by them in its fullness.

Never Built in History

The sanctuary and city shown to Ezekiel fourteen years after the sanctuary was destroyed were never erected, are not still to be built, never will be built, and do not refer to a future sanctuary God will ordain again, and the literal details of those chapters never will be fulfilled. That offer was conditional on Israel being ashamed of iniquities and putting them away, truly repenting and yielding to God, which fleshly Israel did not do, as shown when only a few returned under the decree, so God did not then do all that was promised. It cannot be the immortal state, because the prince there must offer sin-offerings and all offerings for himself, must take away exactions, has sons and servants to whom he gives inheritance, and is forbidden to oppress, proving him a poor frail mortal and not Jesus the one Prince and King over Israel, whose sacrifice caused all others to cease at the cross and whose reign has peace for officers and righteousness for exactors. It cannot be the gospel dispensation, because literal circumcision is in force, divorce is permitted, distinction between clean and unclean meats remains, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings of bulls and goats are in force, and the Levitical priesthood exists, all superseded by Christ and the priesthood of Melchisedec, and it was not accomplished under the first covenant. The sanctuary instruction included the old service and its sacrifices, which cannot be restored or set up now without making void Christ's sacrifice and making of none effect the offering made once for all by Jesus Christ.

Because Israel continued in apostasy and refused to heed and repent, the restoration from Babylon brought only a small, partial, weak and feeble realization and shadow of the vision. The best they had was the inferior temple built by Zerubbabel and Ezra, which fell far short of Ezekiel's pattern. That temple never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected. Its great truth is Jehovah is there, whose presence would heal all barren land, salt marshes, and impure waters and give life to all, but Jerusalem was never thus restored because Israel would not yield all to God, so God could not come in and dwell among them nor build a temple for His name for a half-hearted people to dishonor. The full promised glory with the marvelous sanctuary where His presence would dwell in overpowering glory and the city named Jehovah Is There was conditional on Israel turning from sin, being cleansed, and returning to God, and because Israel failed to meet those conditions the restoration and victory were only partial and only a small fulfillment came.

The city with its west side of four thousand and five hundred and its three gates of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali was never built because Israel failed to do its part in answering the calls to leave Babylon, not because God changed His purpose. God has prepared the holy city in heaven, and it will descend to earth.

The closing chapters predict the fact of the building of the greater temple later built by Herod as a monument of his repentance for extinguishing the light of the world, joining what some of the minor prophets also foretell. The prophecy foretells the fact of that building but does not reveal the process by which the work was to be done, and the circumstances attending the work are secondary to the facts of the building itself.

Prophecy and Future Hope

The west side measuring four thousand and five hundred with its three gates of Gad, Asher and Naphtali completes twelve gates named for the twelve tribes, three on each of the north, east, south and west sides, as part of a vision of the apportionment of the earth to the twelve tribes northward and southward and eastward and westward from the city, including the prince's portion between Judah and Benjamin. It belongs to the vision of the eternal city and the new earth, the same holy city coming down from God out of heaven with twelve gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Its similarities to the New Jerusalem do not make the two cities identical, since the city vision in Ezekiel 40-48 was conditional and its promises were forfeited.

The promised restoration depended on Israel turning from wickedness, returning wholeheartedly, being ashamed, truly repenting and yielding to God, and because they did not the temple and land arrangement with its tribal gates were not realized as described. The promises stand as faint types in broad outline and in spiritual aspect of what God will do when He restores the new heavens and new earth through Christ for His true Israel. The division of the land among the tribes illustrates a permanent inheritance for the redeemed in the future world, temporary in its original setting but designed to point to God's purpose for the future world, to be given in fullest measure to the faithful true Israel according to later revelations rather than according to Ezekiel's details. The promised purpose forfeited for earthly fulfillment will still be realized in the New City prepared for God's true Israel.

That future glory 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. True Israel will be redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance and the earth made new, while Gog and Magog, representing the northern nations, are punished in part in this world before and at the coming of Christ and in full at the end of the 1,000 years. The lengthened life, the taking hold upon the animals through the character of a true-hearted people, and the constant manifest presence of God with no hurt or destroying in His holy mountain, unsurpassable and inconceivable in its offered form, will thus come in a greater new-earth fulfillment rather than in restored Palestine. The verse does not belong to the future reign of Christ and His saints as a literal fulfillment.

Those who held the age-to-come theory taught that it means a literal district on the west side with three gates named for Gad, Asher and Naphtali, belonging to a revived earthly Jerusalem on this sin-cursed earth in the future thousand-year age, with the old sacrifices carried on again and taking the place of the heavenly Jerusalem. Such an earthly fulfillment with renewed sacrifices would be less glorious than the present dispensation and a return to the ordinances of the first covenant which pointed to Christ the great sin-offering, requiring a second Messiah to expiate transgressions, contrary to Christ's more excellent ministry as Mediator of a better covenant who by one offering for sins forever perfected them that are sanctified and sat down at the right hand of God. The true hope is the heavenly Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven upon the new earth, the city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God. The prophecy must be read with the clearer New Testament revelation that the mystery not made known in other ages is now revealed that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the gospel, in which there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian and Scythian, so any theory of its fulfillment that excludes God's gospel work to the world for all alike goes astray, and the temple Israel might build at Jerusalem after the exile would ultimately become the house of prayer for all nations.

Doctrine and Spiritual Meaning

The west side with its three gates cannot belong to the immortal state, for the prince in that vision must offer sin-offerings and all offerings for himself, must take away exactions, has sons and servants to whom he gives inheritance, and is forbidden to oppress, which proves him a poor frail mortal and not Jesus, the one Prince and King over Israel, whose sacrifice caused all others to cease at the cross and whose reign has peace for officers and righteousness for exactors. It cannot belong to the gospel dispensation, because literal circumcision is in force, divorce is permitted, distinction between clean and unclean meats remains, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings of bulls and goats are in force, and the Levitical priesthood exists, all superseded by Christ and the priesthood of Melchisedec.

The sacrificial system and old service in the vision cannot be restored or set up now without denying Christ's once-for-all offering. To restore it would annul it, make it of none effect, and make void Christ's sacrifice. It would be going back to typical sacrifices that pointed forward to Jesus Christ, since Christ Himself suffered and fulfilled all types. The prescribed sacrifices show the sanctuary was not intended as a future temple God will ordain again.

Such an earthly fulfillment with renewed sacrifices would be less glorious than the present dispensation and a return to the ordinances of the first covenant which pointed to Christ the great sin-offering. It would require a second Messiah to expiate transgressions, contrary to Christ's more excellent ministry as Mediator of a better covenant who by one offering for sins forever perfected them that are sanctified and sat down at the right hand of God. The true hope is the heavenly Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven upon the new earth, the city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.

The pattern of a glorious temple at the center of a restored Jerusalem teaches that the only holy, worthy thing is that in which God dwells, to lead man to yield himself as a dwelling-place, temple, and sanctuary of God. Its great truth is Jehovah is there, whose presence would heal all barren land, salt marshes, and impure waters and give life to all. But Israel would not yield all to God so God could not come in and dwell among them nor build a temple for a half-hearted people to dishonor.