Message Five
The Vision of the Holy Building of God
in Its Outstanding Features
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity……on that same day the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and He brought me there……In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me down upon a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was a structure like a city.- Ezek.40：1-2.
And the man said to me, Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I show you, because for this purpose you have been brought here that it may be shown to you. Tell all that you see to the house of Israel.—Ezek.40：4.
Word of Appetizer
The vision of the appearance of the glory of the lord which Ezekiel saw in chapter 1 was seen in the fifth year of the captivity, the vision of the building of god’s house which he saw in chapter 40 was in the twenty-fifth year of the captivity; what does it mean to us?
Ezekiel saw the first vision, the vision of the appearance of the glory of the Lord, when he was thirty years of age, the age at which a priest begins to function (1:1); he saw the last vision, the vision of the holy building of God, twenty years later (40:1; cf. 1:2), at the age of fifty, the age of retirement for a priest (Num. 4:3); this indicates that to see the building of God, Ezekiel needed more maturity in life.
Spiritual Burden
God’s eternal purpose is to have a building as a mingling of Himself with His chosen peoplewhatever God does amongHis people and among the nations on earth is for His building; this is confirmed by the book of Revelation, which is parallel to the book of Ezekiel and concludes with God’s ultimate building, the New Jerusalem.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The man of bronze at the gate of the building is Christ; bronze signifies being tested by God’s judgment; having passed through God’s judgment, Christ is fully qualified to measure (take possession of by judging) what belongs to God’s building.
The wall around the house is for separating what belongs to God from what cannot belong to Him.
The gate is divided into four sections: an outer threshold, a passage, an inner threshold, and a porch.
The details of the gates to the inner court were the same as those of the gates to the outer court,indicating that as we enter into the inner court, we repeat our experience of Christ.
Whereas the altar signifies the cross, the temple signifies both Christ and the church, the Body of Christ.
The holy chambers, located on both the north side and the south side, are buildings that connect the inner court with the outer court.
The Experience of Life
As the entrance to God’s building, the gate signifies Christ as the gateway for us to enter into God and into God’s interests,God’s building, and God’s kingdom;whereas the wall separates sinners from God, the gate brings people into God and into God’s building.
After passing through the gate of God’s dwelling place, we come to the outer court and enter into the chambers, where, standing on the “stones” of our regeneration, we eat and enjoy Christ, who is the reality of all the offerings.
Practice and Application
To see the vision of God’s building, we need maturity in life; we need to be brought to a high mountain.
The altar, which signifies the cross of Christ, is not only the center but also the circumference of God’s holy building ; All that we do and say in our life and work should be through the cross and by the Spirit to dispense Christ into others for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity……on that same day the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and He brought me there……In the visions of God He brought me into th e land of Israel and set me down upon a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was a structure like a city.- Ezek.40：1-2.
And the man said to me, Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I show you, because for this purpose you have been brought here that it may be shown to you. Tell all that you see to the house of Israel.—Ezek.40：4.
God’s eternal purpose is to have a building；
to see the building of God needed more mturity in life, right position, right standing, and right angle
look with your eyes,and hear with your ears, and set your heart
I. God’s eternal purpose is to have a building as a mingling of Himself with His chosen people.
II. he saw Sthe last vision, the vision of the holy building of God, twenty years later, at the age of fifty, the age of retirement for a priest; this indicates that to see the building of God, Ezekiel needed more maturity in life.
III. To see the vision of God’s holy building, Ezekiel was brought from the land of captivity to a high mountain, signifying the resurrection and ascension of Christ, in the land of Israel；this was the right position, standing, and angle for Ezekiel to see such a vision.
V. look with your eyes,and hear with your ears, and set your heart.
Key Verses (2)
And He brought me there, and there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze with a line of flax and a measuring reed in His hand, standing in the gate.- Ezek. 40:3.
Now there was a wall, all around the outside of the house, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits long, each cubit a cubit and a handbreadth. So He measured the thickness of the structure, one reed; and the height, one reed.- Ezek. 40:5.
Then He came to the gate which faces toward the east and went up its steps, and He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep; and each thresh- old was one reed deep. And every guardroom was one reed long and one reed wide, and the space between the guardrooms was five cubits, and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.- Ezek. 40:6-7.
There was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze-christ
The gate
The gate is divided into four sections
IV. The man of bronze at the gate of the building is Christ; bronze signifies being tested by God’s judgment; having passed through God’s judgment, Christ is fully qualified to measure (take possession of by judging) what belongs to God’s building.
VI. The wall around the house is for separating what belongs to God from what cannot belong to Him The gate is divided into four sections: an outer threshold, a passage, an inner threshold, and a porch.
•We must learn to be a human christian, According to the humanity of Jesus is His human life in resurrection, live a Jesus human living.
•We need to experience the spirit of God as the Spirit of Jesus.
Key Verses (3)
Then He brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and He measured the south gate according to those same measurements. – Ezek. 40:28.
And He measured the court, a square, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide; and the altar was in front of the house.- – Ezek. 40:47.
Then He brought me out into the outer court the way toward the north, and He brought me into the chamber that was adjacent to the separate place and which was adjacent to the building toward the north.- – Ezek. 42:1.
The details of the gates to the inner court were the same as those of the gates to the outer court
Whereas the altar signifies the cross, the temple signifies both Christ and the church
The holy chambers, located on both the north side and the south side
VIII. The details of the gates to the inner court were the same as those of the gates to the outer court,indicating that as we enter into the inner court, we repeat our experience of Christ; we experience the same Christ, but we experience more of Him.
IX. Whereas the altar signifies the cross, the temple signifies both Christ and the church:
•The cross, Christ, and the church are the central subject not only of the New Testament but also of the entire Bible; that the altar stands in front of the temple indicates that we cannot have the church apart from the cross; we can have the reality of the church only after we have passed through the cross.
X. The holy chambers, located on both the north side and the south side, are buildings that connect the inner court with the outer court:
• the holy chambers are for the priests to eat the offerings and also to place and store the offerings and to lay their priestly garments; whereas the offerings signify Christ as our enjoyment, the priestly garments signify Christ as our expression.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1whatever God does among His people is for His building;（Ezek40:1-2,Rev21:10）
(Please illustrate that beginning with Abraham’s tent, there is a continual progression in the enlargement of God’s building in the Old Testament)
T2 God’s building in the Old Testament is a type of God’s spiritual building in the New Testament (John 1:14; Rev.21:2-3)
(Please illustrate that God’s spiritual building in the New Testament, which begins with Jesus Christ and consummates with the New Jerusalem)
D2
T1 In chapter 40, Ezekiel saw the last vision, the vision of the holy building of God, twenty years later , at the age of fifty, the age of retirement for a priest.
(This indicates that to see the building of God, Ezekiel needed more maturity in life (cf. Ezek. 1:1, footnote 1))
T2 The right position, standing, and angle for Ezekiel to see such a vision (Ezel40:2)
(Please illustrate that to see the vision of God’s building, we need maturity in life; we need to be brought to a high mountain.)
D3
T1 The holy temple the holy city and the holy land（Ezek. 40:1-5）
(Please illustrate that the three main things concerning God’s holy building in Ezekiel 40—48 )
T2 There was a wall all around the outside of the house (Ezekiel 40:5)
(The wall is for separating what belongs to God from what cannot belong to Him.)
D4
T1 The gate is entrance of the God’s building (John 14:6, 20; Rev. 21:21a)
(Please illustrate that Christ as the gateway for us to enter into God and into God’s interests, God’s building, and God’s kingdom)
T2 The difference between the wall and the gate
(Please illustrate that the wall separates sinners from God, the gate brings people into God and into God’s building.)
D5
T1 The details of the gates to the inner court were the same as those of the gates to the outer court. (Ezek. 40:28-37, Phil 3:8-10)
(Please indicate that as we enter into the inner court, we repeat our experience of Christ; we experience the same Christ, but we experience more of Him)
T2 The altar, which signifies the cross of Christ, is not only the center but also the circumference of God’s holy building (Ezek. 40:47)
（Please illustrate according to our experience that if we wish to contact God and enjoy His riches in His house, we must pass through the cross）
D6
T1 Two pillars and the temple doorposts (Ezek. 41:21)
（What does it indicate that the fact that Ezekiel does not give us the measurement of the pillars？）
T2 The holy chambers are for the priests to eat the offerings (Ezek. 42:13)
(Why In the holy chambers we reach the highest peak of spiritual experience)
