12/12/2020 – Day 209 – Ezekiel 37 -42 What was the significance of “Ezekiel’s” temple (ch 40-42)?
https://www.gotquestions.org/Ezekiel-temple.html
Instead of communicating with Nancy over telephone tonight, we are texting. That is bizarre! I was just sharing with her that the recent readings of the major prophets: Isaiah; Jeremiah and Ezekiel , just jump off the page at you, given the similarity to our times today. What is the secular saying?: Those who do not know history, are destined to repeat it.
Click on the link above for a fascinating and instruction read for background into chapters 40 – 42. Ezekiel was the first group of Jews exiled to Babylon. At this point of his writing – around 572 B.C. – I don’t know that Solomon’s temple has yet been demolished by the Babylonians. So, is this temple that Ezekiel writes about future literal or figurative?
What’s funny is that I was really enthralled by Matthew Henry’s commentary in these chapters. But, I was thinking – He notes how this temple just so huge dimension wise, dwarfing even Herod’s temple at the time of Yeshua, an enourmous structure in of itself. But I thought to myself, I see this temple as future literal in the millenium kingdom. Henry didn’t even comment on that possibility and then I ran into this website article.
So, yes, I think the literal millenium kingdom subsequent to Christ’s 2nd coming has stronger biblical support than say the rapture. Note, I am not saying the rapture isn’t in the Bible. But the theology of the rapture didn’t even exist more than two centuries ago, and that leaves out a long line of faithful and diligent theologian messengers. Let’s see: * see list – below
Another difference: Matthew Henry clearly believes the man in bronze that greets Ezekiel in his vision of the temple in Jerusalem is Yeshua the Christ. That is not noted in this article.
If I meet my objective, this Ezekiel will have at least three separate posts.
Blessings! Enjoy – Read, meditate, prayer!
*From the 11th century:
11th: Anselm
12th: St. Francis of Assisi
13th: St. Thomas Aquinas
14th: Thomas Kempis
15th: Huldrych Zwingli / Martin Luther / Ignatius of Loyola
16th: John Calvin / John Knox (*16th) / Francis de Sales /John of the Cross / Teresa de Avila / William Perkins (called “father of Puritanism)
*John Knox is in a branch of Nancy’s Scot family tree. And John Knox can draw a line back to Robert the Bruce. There you have it.
17th John Owen (another Puritan theologian) / John Milton
18th Jonathan Edwards / John Wesley / Charles Wesley / George Whitefield
19th: Soren Kieregaard / Charles Spurgeon / C.S. Lewis / Dorothy Sayers / Cornelius Van Til / A.W. Tozer / Abraham Kuyper
20th: Dietrich Bonhoeffer / Francis Schaeffer / Sinclair Ferguson / Thomas Merton/ Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) / Ravi Zacharias (we miss you Ravi!) / John Lennox (*20th) / R.C. Sproul / John MacArthur.
*20th – Much enjoyed John’s lecture at our Dallas church a few years back, a renowned Christian Irish apologist and Professor Emeritus in Mathematics at Oxford. (lifetime short list of in-person lectures)
So on the entire list, John MacArthur , still living, is the only one that I know of that espouses belief in the rapture. But that is ok, I disagree with John on quite a few signficant issues that would not be considered foundational to our faith in the body of Christ. It didn’t stop me from listening to him on the radio on long car trips.