There Will Be Only Love For God Is Love

In Ezekiel 38-39, the Lord revealed to Ezekiel the future defeat of the mighty army of Magog. Magog had thought to destroy the people of God, but God destroyed Magog as well as all the people from various nations who joined with them.

In Ezekiel 40:1-3, during the 25th year of his captivity in Babylon, the Lord gives to Ezekiel a vision of Israel. From a mountain, he sees a city and a man whose appearance is like bronze. The man is in the gateway of the temple with a line of flax and measuring rod in his hand.

This vision is similar to the one that Jesus Christ gave to the Apostle John in Revelation 1:9. John was “on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” He was exiled there. In Revelation 1:13, 15, John sees “the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace.” In Revelation 11:1-2, John wrote, “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court, which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles...”

In Ezekiel 40:6-46; 41:5-22; 42:1-9, 15-20, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel the dimensions and the descriptions of a future temple in Jerusalem. In Ezekiel 45:1-6, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel the dimensions of lands that will “be set apart a district for the Lord.” This land is for the Levites and the ministers of the temple. Ezekiel was a prophet and a priest so these revelations were relevant to him. In Ezekiel 46:21-24, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel dimensions of four courts located in four corners of the outer court of the temple. These courts have walled areas for kitchens “where the ministers of the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people.” In Ezekiel 47:13-48:29, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel future locations and dimensions of land for the twelve tribes of Israel, as well as a district set apart for the Lord. In Ezekiel 48:30-34, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel that the new Jerusalem will have twelves gates with three gates on each side of the city. Each gate will be named for a tribe of Israel. In Ezekiel 48:35, Ezekiel is told that “the name of the city shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.”

In Revelation 21:10-21, the Lord reveals to John from a mountain, the great city, the holy Jerusalem. It descends out of heaven from God. It has 12 gates named for the 12 tribes of Israel. Additionally, the city’s wall has 12 foundations named for the 12 apostles of the Lamb. “He who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.” The Lord reveals to John the dimensions of the city. He sees that city is constructed of precious jewels, with gates of pearl and streets “of pure gold, like transparent glass.”

In Revelation 21:22, John does not see a temple in it, “for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” There is no need for a physical place or a priesthood to bring people to God for He is there and His people are always with Him.

In Ezekiel 43:1-5, Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord coming from the east of Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord came into the temple and filled it.

In Ezekiel 43:6-9, the Lord says to Ezekiel...

“Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy Name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy Name by the abominations which they committed; therefore, I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.”

The Lord has always wanted to be with His people, but they failed to reciprocate the same desire to be with Him back to Him..

“Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances and perform them. This is the law of the temple: the whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.” Ezekiel 43:10-12

If God’s people are ashamed of their previous sins... repentant... and wanting to be with God, Ezekiel may share with them the design of the temple and its laws.

In Ezekiel 43:18-43, the Lord gives to Ezekiel the ordinances for making atonement for the people in the temple.

In Ezekiel 44:1-3, the Lord tells Ezekiel that “the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east... ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore, it shall be shut. As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway and go out the same way.’” The prince is likely a reference to Jesus Christ.

In Ezekiel 44:6, Ezekiel is to say to the people, “Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, let us have no more of all your abominations.” In Ezekiel 44:10-11, He admonishes the Levites for previously worshiping idols but assures them that “they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house.”

In Ezekiel 44:15, the Lord tells Ezekiel that “the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me. In Ezekiel 44:16-22, the Lord instructs him how that they should serve Him. In Ezekiel 44:23-24, the Lord says of the Levites, “They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In controversy they shall stand as judges and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.”

In Ezekiel 45:9-10, the Lord gives Ezekiel a word for the future princes of Israel, saying, “Enough, O princes of Israel! Remove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people... You shall have honest scales...”

In Ezekiel 47:1-12, the Lord shows Ezekiel “water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east. They walk 1,500 feet along the waters, and the waters are ankle deep. They walk another 1,500 feet along the waters, and the waters are knee deep. They walk another 1,500 feet along the waters, and the waters are waist deep. They walk another 1,500 feet along the waters, and the river is too deep to cross. There are trees on both sides of the river. The river’s water heal the sea... the Dead Sea. There are fish in it. “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

In Revelation 22:1-3, the Lord shows John “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Ezekiel’s vision is fulfilled here in the Book of Revelation.

In Ezekiel 38-48, God gave to Ezekiel a vision of the death of those who wanted to destroy His people, and the restoration of His people back to the land of Israel. The Lord also restored their hearts back to Him. He fed and healed them like a good shepherd does for His sheep. The Lord gave to Ezekiel a vision of Jerusalem and the temple rebuilt. This would happen after the 70 years in Babylonian captivity ended.

In Revelation, the Lord gave to John a vision of the death of those who want to destroy His people, namely the devil and the nations who serve the devil. He also gave to John a vision of what will exist after the Babylon of the end times is destroyed. There will be a new Jerusalem that comes down from God in heaven. New Jerusalem will never again be defiled by sin nor destroyed by war. It will not have a temple because the Lord will be there and His presence will be felt in all places. There will be a new heaven and new earth. The nations who believed in the Lord will walk in light of God’s glory. There will be no more tears. No more death! There will be joy unspeakable and full of glory. There will only be love because God is love. Praise the Lord!