And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
This is prophecy of His second coming as lightning, that shineth from the east to the west.
And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
No gate and house of God on earth, since Christ ascended with a cloud, has yet to be entered into by the glory of the LORD from the east.
So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
And he said unto me, Son of man, 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 for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
Christ has yet to sanctify any throne of His on earth with His glory and soles of His feet.
This temple and house is yet to be built on earth. Nor will it be before His coming again to earth, to build it for Himself.
Hebrews 9:9-11 says of the old covenant,
“for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.”
The idea that Ezekiel is predicting a return to old covenant worship and the widespread slaughter of animals in a future millennium is preposterous and is dismissed by numerous explicit New Testament Scripture. Thus my question: Why would God restore animal sacrifices when He sent His Son to make one final all-sufficient sacrifice for sin? Jesus did away with any need or reliance upon the outward keeping of the old covenant religious system. The cross fulfilled forever God’s demand for a perfect once-for-all sacrifice.
Adam Clarke says of this reading, “The time of reformation,
kairou diorthooseoos, the time of rectifying, signifies the Gospel dispensation, under which everything is set straight; everything referred to its proper purpose and end; the ceremonial law fulfilled and abrogated; the moral law exhibited and more strictly enjoined; (see our Lord's sermon upon the mount, and the spiritual nature of God's worship taught, and grace promised to purify the heart: so that, through the power of the eternal Spirit, all that was wrong in the soul is rectified; the affections, passions, and appetites purified; the understanding enlightened; the judgment corrected; the will refined; in a word, all things made new.”
Hebrews 10:19-20 declares,
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.”
All of the sacrifices, ceremonies, and methods of worship, which related to the law of commandments in the temple, were mere shadows of the reality that God provided in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. These old covenant ordinances could never satisfactorily fulfil the eternal plan of God for mankind. This is seen in the fact that Jesus abolished these through His work on the cross. Everything was accomplished through Jesus' death. These Old Testament rites simply served as a shadow of Christ and His real and final sacrifice. All of these types came to an end at Calvary when the ancient covenant was completely fulfilled. The New Testament makes it very plain that the old covenant, including its temple ritual and its priesthood, pointed to a greater reality in Christ.
Premils totally circumvented the many explicit New Testament passages that disallow the re-starting of sin offerings, trespass offerings, etc. The fact is, we have the final offering for sin – Jesus Christ. They should be careful not to promote the re-introduction of an old abolished covenant that has been eternally removed in Christ and His final sacrifice for sin. The whole book of Hebrews will reveal the folly of such a concept.
Hebrews 8:7-8 says
“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”
The Premillennial view regarding the reinstatement of animal undermines the cross-work of Christ, including the divinely pleasing nature of it and the eternal nature of His atonement. Sadly, they present their opinion of Ezekiel 40-48 and Zechariah 14 (which we have seen was referring to God’s people in the old covenant period) to argue that Christ's once-all-sufficient blood sacrifice was not the last.
