Ezekiel 40-48 describes certain features in the future Messianic kingdom that Jesus promised to His disciples before He returned to heaven (Acts 1:6-7). This kingdom is commonly called the 1,000 year kingdom or the millennium . Both Jews and most Christians agree that this passage is about the coming Messiah, but there are some who do not. So, let’s discover what Ezekiel 40-48 describes. Then we will answer the question, “Why do the sacrifices return in Ezekiel’s temple?” What is Ezekiel 40-48 about? In order to understand Ezekiel 40-48, we need to know what the book of Ezekiel is all about. From the first chapter of Ezekiel a series of prophecies are given about the wickedness and destruction of the nation of Israel and other foreign countries. From history we know that all of the prophecies in Ezekiel 1-32 have been literally fulfilled. But the prophecies in Ezekiel 33-48 are future. Ezekiel 36-48 describes the return of Israel to the land that had they occupied, God’s judgment on the nations, and then the future 1,000 year kingdom or millennium. Some Christians believe this passage is symbolic of the Christian church, and others would say it predicts the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple after the Jewish captivity in Babylon ended. Both views are wrong. The first view should be rejected because Ezekiel never tells us that these descriptions of the temple are symbols, and it is not obvious that these are symbolic of the church. Why would the prophet be so indirect when Ezekiel 1-32 have been fulfilled so literally? The view that Ezekiel 40-48 is about the church is not consistent with the preceding prophecies in the book. In order to understand this point one should study the book of Ezekiel . The view that the chapters describe the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple after the Jewish captivity in Babylon should also be rejected because the prophet says this kingdom will last forever. And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name . . .” Ezekiel 43:7 (NASB) But Israel was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Romans. Israel did not last forever. Only recently did Israel return to the land that God had given them in 1948, and still there is no temple. The point is that Ezekiel described a future temple – a literal temple that is still to come. We must remember that all of the prophecies in Ezekiel have been literally fulfilled today except for Ezekiel 33-48. The Millennial Temple Ezekiel 40-48 describes a temple that will exist in the millennium. Earlier in Ezekiel God promised that He would establish His sanctuary, or temple forever or for eternity. Since there is no temple today, we know that this prophecy has not occurred yet. And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. Ezekiel 37:26 (NASB) This is a future prophecy. In the following descriptions we should notice that the descriptions do not match those of Solomon’s or Herod’s temple. It is agreed by most biblical scholars that Ezekiel 40-48 does not correspond to any historical temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 40-48 describes this millennial temple in detail. The first part of Ezekiel 43:7 states, He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever . . . Ezekiel 43:7 (NASB) The chart below provides a quick outline or overview of Ezekiel 40-48 and the temple. These chapters describe the temple, its priests, and the offerings of worship which Ezekiel saw in his vision. This vision is about a future temple. The prophet also describes a person called “the prince” in Ezekiel 40-48. The prince is not Jesus Christ for several reasons. First, the prince offers sacrifices for himself (Ezekiel 45:2, 4, 12; 45:22). Why would Jesus offer sacrifices for Himself? Second, the prince will produce children (Ezekiel 46:16-19). The prince cannot be Jesus since He no longer has human flesh but has a transformed divine body (Luke 24:39; 1 Timothy 2:5). Today He is at the right hand of God the Father in heaven in an immortal body (1 Timothy 2:5). Third, “the prince” is not a priest. He will be allowed to provide animals for sacrifice, but he will be not be able to perform the ministries of a priest (Ezekiel 45:11-19). Since Jesus is our high priest, He would be able to perform the ministries of a priest. This means the prince is not Jesus. So who is the prince? The prince is apparently a leader during the millennial kingdom. He appears to be an administrator in the kingdom. Since Moses never gave any instruction about a prince, we cannot be certain. This is a key fact that helps us understand that this temple is very different from anything in the past. When we look carefully at the words in Ezekiel 40-48, we find that there are some significant differences between Ezekiel’s worship and the worship described by Moses. The Jews agree that there are differences from the instructions given by Moses – differences they cannot explain. Here are the key differences. There are differences in the feasts but not in the sacrifices. Notice that there will be no Day of Atonement, because Jesus has already died for our sins. There is no Pentecost, since the Holy Spirit has already come in power. This give us an important point that Ezekiel 40-48 cannot describe Solomon’s temple or Herod’s temple. It is describing a temple that has not yet existed. Ezekiel 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 reveal that sacrifices will occur in the millennial kingdom. Some believers are disturbed that will occur, so they assume an allegorical or figurative explanation. Leviticus 1:1-17; 6:8-13; Numbers 28:1-29:40; But they should not be surprised that there are the scarifies in the millennial kingdom after Christ has already been crucified, resurrected, sits at the right of the Father, and is now waiting for the millennial kingdom to occur. Why? First, we must recognize that the sacrifices never removed sin (Hebrews 10:1-4). They were no efficacious. The sacrifices merely looked forward to Christ’s vicarious atonement for our sins. So, after the cross they will still point us to Christ. In addition, today Christians take the Lord’s Supper or communion as a reminder of Jesus’ death and return to life. Jesus has already died, but we “do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). In the same way, the sacrifices are simply a memorial which will remind us that Jesus is our Savior who is “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Certainly we will be reminded of this all-important truth in the millennial kingdom. Why should we not remember Him by the non-efficacious sacrifices.

The idea of a temple and sacrifices is common throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament sacrifices were offered in Solomon’s temple. In the New Testament the Mosaic Law disappeared (Hebrews 8-9), but Christians became the temple of God (2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians. 2:21). In the Tribulation period there will be a temple in Israel (2 Thessalonians 2:4). There is a temple in heaven today (Revelation 7:15; 11:19; 14:17; 15:5-8; 16:1, 17). And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple . . .” Revelation 11:19 (NASB) This agrees with Hebrews 9:23 which implies that there is a temple in heaven, and God plans to have a temple along with memorial sacrifices in the kingdom. The sacrifices do not forgive sins. They never have. They only looked forward to Jesus’ death. So in the kingdom they will look back to Jesus just as the Lord’s Supper does today. Suggested Links: Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me . . . Jeremiah 9:23-24 Like the Master Ministries P.O. Box 31976 Tucson, AZ 85751 A non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation. Donations to this ministry are tax-deductible. NeverThirsty.org is the ministry of Like the Master Ministries since 1998, providing verse-by-verse Bible studies and theological Q&As. We are independent of and unaffiliated with Neverthirst (neverthirstwater.org, 2008), a water charity. Getting Acquainted Origin of Our Name What We Believe About the Author Bible Copyrights Donate to NeverThirsty Ask A Bible Question Newsletter Signup Legal Topics & Permissions Do Not Track or Sell My Information CONSENT PREFERENCES Manage Consent Preferences