Have you ever read through the book of Ezekiel and arrived towards the end only to find the final nine chapters are a long, confusing description of some future temple? The book of Ezekiel as a whole has some recognizably golden sections—such as the vision of the opening chapter (Ezekiel 1), the promise of a new heart and new spirit (Ezekiel 36), or the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). But many lament at the prospect of reading the final nine chapters detailing this new temple. These chapters are usually seen as a) boring, and b) confusing—two characteristics which only compound upon one another.
Even Bible teachers and scholars disagree on how to interpret the final nine chapters of Ezekiel. Is he prophesying some future temple structure? If so, which one? When did or when will it occur? Or if he’s not prophesying some future temple structure, what’s going on in these nine chapters?
I hope in this article to give an answer, showing how the promise of a restored temple (along with other Old Testament promises) is truly about Christ.
The Temple Is About Christ
Here’s the thesis I’ll argue for: The temple prophesied and detailed in Ezekiel 40-48 is pointing to and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Or to say it even more specifically: Ezekiel 40-48 is detailing and describing to its readers a future temple where genuine worship will take place and where God’s presence will be, which was (and is) fulfilled in the coming of the true temple and true place of eternal worship, Jesus Christ. This means these chapters do not point to some physical temple structure (more on that below). Instead, God always intended the chapters to literally (meaning, it was the literary intention of God) point to Jesus himself—to what he did and is for his people. In brief, the temple is a description of and fulfilled in Christ and his gospel.
Now, before you think this is hurdling over the text, let me defend this with two arguments. For both I will connect something from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and specifically I will show how the apostles—the supreme, Jewish, inspired interpreters of the Old Testament—used words and ideas from the Old Testament (including Ezekiel 40-48) to make this point. Saying the detailed temple from Ezekiel 40-48 describes Christ may sound far-fetched, but if we can show that Christ’s very apostles thought along these lines, we must believe it.
A Quick Summary of Ezekiel 40-48
Before we dig into the two arguments, however, in order to connect Ezekiel 40-48 to Christ in the New Testament, it’s helpful for us to give a brief overview of these chapters.
As a quick summary, Ezekiel 40-48 describe a future, glorious temple in acute detail. The outside temple courts and gates are described in detail. The inside of the temple, the altar, and the rules for the priests who serve in the temple are described in detail. And the land divided for the people around the temple is described in detail. As you read the chapters it sounds like a wonderful, detailed, glorious temple, where God’s people rightly worship their God.
Yet that’s not all. There’s three thought-provoking moments in Ezekiel 40-48 that, in the midst of all this temple detail, stick out when you’re reading the passage. The first two make sense, but the third is strange (but important).
- The first thought-provoking moment comes in chapter 43 where the glory of God fills the temple. This makes sense in the book of Ezekiel as a whole since God’s glory left the temple during exile in Ezekiel 10.
- The second moment is the very last verse of the book. Ezekiel ends: “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” This too makes sense, since the temple is where, above all, God dwells.
- The third thought-provoking moment is the strangest and most striking. It happens in Ezekiel 47:1-12. We’ll look at this one in more detail.
Ezekiel 47:1-12: The River of the Water of Life
In Ezekiel 47:1-12, water flows out from the east of the temple in stunning fashion. At first the water is “trickling out” (Ezekiel 47:2); then Ezekiel travels 1500 feet and finds the water “ankle deep” (Ezekiel 47:3), then another 1500 feet and it’s “knee deep,” then another 1500 feet and it’s “waist-deep” (Ezekiel 47:4), then a final 1500 feet and “it was a river that I count not pass through for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through” (Ezekiel 47:5).
So we have this swelling water flowing from the temple. But that’s still not the climatic part. God then gives the purpose of the water. The angel explains the water flows east towards the sea, and then adds,
“And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes” (Ezekiel 47:9)
This river, then, is emphasized as being water which gives life. “Everything will live where the river goes.”
Which brings us to the conclusion of Ezekiel 47:1-12. The final verse of this section reads,
“And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:12)
So in Ezekiel 47:1-12, a swelling water flows from the temple—it’s a water which brings life to many creatures wherever it goes, and it produces trees which will bear fresh fruit every month, with “their leaves for healing.”
Two Arguments Proving the Temple Describes Christ
We’ll return to this river in a bit. But with that summary of Ezekiel 40-48 settled, we now can continue to the two arguments which, I think, prove that this temple was meant to describe Jesus.
In the first argument, Jesus himself strongly points us in this direction, while the second argument builds upon the first and, I believe, proves the case.
Argument #1: Jesus, the Temple, and the Living Water in John 2 and 4
The first argument considers how Jesus describes himself in John 2 and John 4.
In John 2, Jesus famously declares he is God’s temple. While standing inside the literal, physical temple structure, Jesus says to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 4:19). Then the apostle John clarifies his meaning for us, writing, “he was speaking about his body” (John 4:21).
In John 2, therefore, as all Christians acknowledge, Jesus surprises us by declaring he’s the true temple. In fact, while standing in the physical temple, he awkwardly calls himself “this temple”! Undoubtedly, then, Jesus sees himself as God’s true temple. (Now, the question if Jesus sees himself as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promised restored temple, like from Ezekiel 40-48, still may need to be proved, although evidence even from this leans there. But here he at least clearly says he is God’s temple.)
Which leads to another hint from Jesus about his identification with the promised temple two chapters later in John 4. A couple chapters after the surprising “destroy this temple, and in three days I will rise it up” conversation, Jesus takes up another strange conversation topic with the Samaritan woman at the well. In this conversation he keeps offering her “living water,” and importantly, he makes it clear that he’s the one who gives this water (John 4:10, 14). Moreover, Jesus is clear: This water isn’t only “living,” but it is a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
So in John 4, Jesus states that he’s the one who gives this swelling, living water (which is strongly reminiscent of the strange living water in Ezekiel 47:1-12). And finally, it’s perhaps worth noting that the conversation with this Samaritan woman in John 4 then transitions to a discussion of the temple, specifically with Jesus saying that the physical temple structure is no longer important. It’s been replaced by worshiping in spirit and truth through him the Messiah (John 4:20-26).
In John 2 and John 4, therefore, Jesus at least strongly points us to seeing him as the fulfillment of God’s promised temple. He says he’s the temple, the giver of living water, and the Messiah who brings in the time where people no longer worship in the physical temple but in him in spirit and in truth. So, undoubtedly he is God’s temple.
Yet someone could say that as to whether he is the fulfillment of detailed promises of a new temple, like in Ezekiel 40-48, still needs to be proved. This then brings us to the second argument for why Jesus is the promised temple.
Argument #2: The Temple in the New Heavens and New Earth in Revelation 21-22
Some have believed that although Jesus is the true temple in John 2, still, because of certain prophesies and promises from the Old Testament (like in Ezekiel 40-48), there must be a physical renewed temple in the future. Or else, they argue, God’s promises didn’t hold true. (Many of those who argue this way make the same argument about the land of Israel too, which is an argument for another post.) But I believe they are mistaken. There will be no future, physical temple, and the prophesies and promises of God from places like Ezekiel 40-48 are truly fulfilled in Christ. How do we know this? Jesus led us to think this way from John 2 and John 4. But even more clearly, there is strong proof from Revelation 21-22.
Revelation 21 and 22 are the last two chapters of the Bible. In the first of these chapters, Revelation 21, the apostle John is describing the New Heavens and New Earth, our final and forever home. He begins by emphasizing that in this place God will finally and fully be with his people: “The dwelling place of God is with them…God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3). John then continues to show that gaining entrance into the New Heavens and New Earth comes without payment, but is granted only to “those who are thirsty for the water of life” (Revelation 22:6). Then he describes the New Jerusalem, with its gates, its walls, and its cubical shape (resembling the Most Holy Place of the temple). And finally, towards the end of Revelation 21, we see how there will be no sun and no danger in the city, and (for our present argument’s sake) the important,
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22)
So in our perfect, forever home filled with God’s presence, there is no temple. Why? Because “its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”
This then brings us to Revelation 22. Revelation 22 takes up where Revelation 21 left off and begins with a description of “the river of the water of life.” In the first few verses of this final chapter of the Bible, John writes,
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yelling its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2)
There is a river, and it’s a “river of the water of life.” This is similar to Jesus’s conversation with the Samaritan woman, but “the river of the water of life” also even more clearly is an allusion to Ezekiel 47. But that’s not all. Also notice the idea of the river producing trees—trees which bear fruit and which are “for healing,” which is a clear reference to Ezekiel 47:12.
So the connection to Ezekiel 47 is undoubted. But the question we must then ask is, Where is this river of water of life flowing from? This water is the fulfillment of the water which flowed from the temple in Ezekiel 47. It’s a direct citation. So where does it flow from according to John in Revelation 22? It doesn’t flow from a physical temple. Why? Because there is no temple in the city! Where does it flow from? “The river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). It’s flowing from God and Christ. Why? Because, as we just read in Revelation 21, the city’s “temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22). And this by the way is why Jesus could offer the Samaritan woman the same swelling, living water: He is the temple from where the water flows.
A Quick Summary of the Arguments
In summary: Argument #1) Jesus says he is the true temple in John 2; Jesus says he is the one who gives swelling, living water, and he is the place of true worship, in John 4. Argument #2) The apostle John makes clear in Revelation 21-22 that this Ezekiel-47-promised water of life is not about water coming from some physical temple structure in the future, but from God and Christ. This river of living water will flow out from God and the Lamb (not a physical temple structure) forever.
What Then About All the Prophetic Details?
Jesus Christ therefore is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises for a restored temple. It’s here though that people stumble: “But what about all the details from Ezekiel 40-48? Can we really just say that ‘it all describes Christ’?” I sympathize with such a response; at first saying it describes Christ sounds too unclear, too non-text-focused. But the apostles direct us to think this way about details like this in the Old Testament. They lead us to read them, consider them, but then see them—with all their details—fulfilled in the coming of Christ and in the New Covenant people of God in him.
Two apostolic texts in specific lead us to this conclusion. The first is from Paul in Colossians 2. Paul writes,
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17)
Remember, Paul was a Jew. So this is a significant thing for Paul to write. He knew the promises of a restored Israel, a regathered nation in their land, and a renewed temple. (In fact, notice how similar Colossians 2:16 is to Ezekiel 45:17!) But what does he say about all these Old Testament commands and promises? They are “a shadow” while the “the substance belongs to Christ.”
The second apostolic text uses similar language, and this time it is in specific reference to the temple. In Hebrews 8 the author writes,
“There are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ‘See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.’ But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:4-6)
Significantly, the topic here is the temple, its sacrifices, and its priest—three realities which were promised to come in Ezekiel 40-48—and they are said to be a “shadow” of the heavenly reality, which is found in “the ministry that Christ has obtained.”
As a result, the Jewish New Testament writers acknowledged that the Old Testament commands, details, and promises—with ideas such as the temple, priest, sacrifices, religious feasts, and even Sabbath—were “shadows” while the “substance” belongs to Christ, who has now come.
Space does not permit a fuller discussion here, but we can see this similarly with how the apostles regarded the coming of the New Covenant. We do well to remember that the famous New Covenant promises in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 are promises specifically to “the house of Israel and Judah” and always include detailed promises for them to dwell in the land. But then when Christ comes, the Jewish apostles see this New Covenant as come in full, with Christ himself being the epicenter and the fulfillment of all the promises: The apostles taught that the Gentiles are grafted into Israel through Christ (Romans 11:17-24); anyone in Christ is counted as the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) and the true circumcised people (Philippians 3:3); and perhaps most amazing of all, they taught that all the promises of God (many of which were specific promises to ethnic Israel) are Yes to all those in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Describing the Shadow
How then do we read the many, various promises to Israel in the Old Testament? How do we read the detailed prophecies, such as in Ezekiel 40-48? We read them as describing the shadow. Here’s what I mean.
When we read and consider any text in the Bible, we should do so with the original, historical setting in mind. Meaning, we should consider who was being addressed and why. For example, consider the New Covenant promises of Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36, and consider the long restored temple section of Ezekiel 40-48. Who is being addressed in these Old Testament promises? The Israelite nation in exile. What was God communicating to them? He was communicating to them hope, his future restoration, and a greater covenant. And so how did God communicate this sure, future restoration to them? With what they could understand; with what they knew. He pictured for them a time when they would be unified and turned back to the Lord, when they would all have new hearts, when they’d have peace in the land, and when they would have a perfect place to worship God. This was the promised picture of a greater, New Covenant for “the house of Israel and Judah.” And this, the apostles believed, is what happens when Christ came.
Or to say it another way, in Ezekiel 40-48 God is picturing for the Israelites a time of splendid, unmatched worship. The temple is huge and beautiful. The priests are serving faithfully. The people are living around the temple. The glory of God is in their presence. God is dwelling with his people: “The LORD is there.” And there is this wonderful water which gives life streaming forth from God’s presence, giving life to not only Israel, but to all creatures.
Those are the specifics. That is the description. And similar descriptions occur throughout the Old Testament promises, such as in the New Covenant promises of Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, and others.
But we learn in the New Testament from the Jewish apostles that these specific descriptions were actually describing the shadow. The substance—meaning, the thing these detailed promises were pointing to—is Jesus Christ, God himself come in the flesh.
This is why the New Testament teaches with clarity: Jesus Christ is God’s glory tabernacled among us (this is exactly what John says in John 1:14). Jesus Christ is the temple. Jesus Christ is from where this living water comes. Jesus Christ is where God’s perfect worship finally takes place. Jesus Christ is where we can say, “The LORD is there.”
He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises. He is the promised New Covenant, the new temple from Ezekiel 40-48.
Is this then taking Ezekiel 40-48 non-literally? Not at all. In fact, we now, through the inspired apostles, see that this was God’s literal intention (meaning, God’s literary purpose in his inspired prophetic texts) all along. He was describing perfect worship, his presence, his final restoration in terms the Israelites could understand: with priests, a temple, a land, life-giving water. But the fulfillment of all that shadow-description is the substance, Christ himself.
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? It all truly is about Jesus. This is why the Old Testament promises exist. It’s why Ezekiel 40-48 exists, with its description of restored worship, God’s glory, living water, and God’s presence. These chapters—like the Old Testament as a whole—are just another place where we can see the beauty of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
