The Need for a Different Approach

4. Regarding the temple vision, what approach has been taken in the past, but what is called for now?

⁴ In the past, our publications have stated that Ezekiel saw Jehovah’s great spiritual temple, the one that the apostle Paul was inspired to write about in his letter to the Hebrews.a Based on that conclusion, it seemed to follow logically that we could assign symbolic, or antitypical, meanings to many of the features of Ezekiel’s visionary temple, using Paul’s explanation of the tabernacle as a starting point. However, further prayerful study and meditation suggest that a simpler approach is called for in explaining Ezekiel’s temple vision.

5, 6. (a) How did the apostle Paul show humility in his discussion of the tabernacle? (b) What did Paul say about some details of the tabernacle, and how might we, in principle, apply his thought to our understanding of Ezekiel’s temple vision?

⁵ It seems wise that we do not look for a prophetic or symbolic meaning in every feature of Ezekiel’s visionary temple. Why not? Consider an interesting example. When Paul discussed the tabernacle and the spiritual temple, he mentioned details of the tabernacle, such as the golden censer, the cover of the ark, and the golden jar that contained the manna. Did he then assign some prophetic meaning to those details? Evidently, the holy spirit did not move him to do so. Instead, Paul wrote: “Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail.” (Heb. 9:4, 5) Paul was willing to yield to the leading of the holy spirit and to wait humbly on Jehovah.​—Heb. 9:8.

⁶ A similar point might be made in principle in connection with Ezekiel’s temple vision. It too is rich in details. And it seems best to wait on Jehovah to clarify matters if further clarification is needed. (Read Micah 7:7.) Should we conclude, though, that Jehovah’s spirit has shed no further light on this vision? Far from it!

Did Ezekiel See the Great Spiritual Temple?

7, 8. (a) What understanding has now been adjusted? (b) How did the visionary temple differ from the spiritual temple that Paul described?

⁷ As mentioned earlier, for many years our publications have explained that Ezekiel saw Jehovah’s great spiritual temple, the one that Paul was inspired to write about in his letter to the Hebrews. However, further study leads us to conclude that Ezekiel could not have seen the great spiritual temple. Why not?

⁸ First, the temple that Ezekiel saw does not fit Paul’s inspired explanation. Consider this: The apostle Paul made it clear that the tabernacle of Moses’ day was a shadow and a pattern of something greater. The tabernacle, like the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel, which were designed in the same basic pattern, included a “Most Holy” compartment. Paul called that compartment “a holy place made with hands,” explaining that it was “a copy of the reality,” not the reality itself. What was the reality? Paul explained: “Heaven itself.” (Heb. 9:3, 24) Is that what Ezekiel saw​—heaven? No. Ezekiel’s vision contains no suggestion that he was beholding heavenly things.​—Compare Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14.

9, 10. When it comes to sacrifices, how did Ezekiel’s visionary temple differ from the great spiritual temple that Paul described?

⁹ An even more convincing difference between Ezekiel’s vision and Paul’s description involves sacrifices. Ezekiel heard extensive directions being given to the people, to the chieftains, and to the priesthood about the offering of sacrifices. They were to offer sacrifices for their own sins. They were also to offer communion sacrifices, which they could likely share in eating in the temple’s dining rooms. (Ezek. 43:18, 19; 44:11, 15, 27; 45:15-20, 22-25) Are such repeated sacrifices offered up in the great spiritual temple?

¹⁰ The answer is clear and simple. Paul explained: “When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have already taken place, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. He entered into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time, and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us.” (Heb. 9:11, 12) So in the great spiritual temple, only one sacrifice is offered​—ever. It is the ransom sacrifice, and it is offered by the Greater High Priest himself, Jesus Christ. Clearly, Ezekiel’s visionary temple with its many sacrifices of goats and of bulls was not the great spiritual temple.

11. In Ezekiel’s day, why was it not God’s time to reveal truths about the great spiritual temple?

¹¹ That leads us to a second reason why Ezekiel could not have seen the great spiritual temple: It was not God’s time to reveal such truths. Remember, Ezekiel’s vision was addressed first to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. They were under the Mosaic Law. Once the exile ended, they were to return to Jerusalem and apply that Law regarding pure worship by rebuilding the temple with its altar. Then they would continue to offer sacrifices there, as it turned out, for nearly six centuries. Imagine how the Jews would have been affected if Ezekiel’s vision had showed them the spiritual temple​—a temple in which the high priest offered up his own life as a sacrifice, after which all other sacrifices were abolished! How could they have grasped such a vision? Might their resolve to obey the Mosaic Law have been undermined? As always, Jehovah reveals truths only at the right time and when his people are ready.

12-14. What is the relationship between the temple that Ezekiel saw and Paul’s explanation of the spiritual temple? (See the box “Different Temples, Different Lessons.”)

¹² What, then, is the relationship between Ezekiel’s temple vision and Paul’s explanation of the spiritual temple? Keep in mind that Paul did not base his discussion on Ezekiel’s temple vision; rather, he based it on the tabernacle of Moses’ day. Granted, Paul did mention several features that also existed in the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel and that likewise appeared in Ezekiel’s temple vision. In general, though, Ezekiel and Paul covered different ground in their writings.b Rather than echo one another, their writings complement one another. In what way?

¹³ We might think of the relationship between the two Bible passages in this way: From Paul, we learn about Jehovah’s arrangement for worship, but from Ezekiel, we learn about Jehovah’s standards for worship. To teach us about Jehovah’s arrangement for pure worship, Paul reveals the meanings of such features of the spiritual temple as the high priest, the sacrifices, the altar, and the Most Holy. But to emphasize Jehovah’s high standards for pure worship, Ezekiel’s temple vision gives us a detailed picture that impresses on our mind and heart many lessons about Jehovah’s standards.

¹⁴ Where, then, does our adjusted understanding leave us? It certainly does not mean that Ezekiel’s vision conveys less meaning for us today. In order to see how the vision benefits us, let us take a closer look at how it must have benefited the faithful Jews back in Ezekiel’s day and thereafter.

Ezekiel’s Visionary Temple:

• Is described by Ezekiel for the Jews exiled in Babylon

• Has an altar on which many sacrifices are offered

• Highlights Jehovah’s righteous standards for worship

• Focuses our attention on the spiritual restoration that began in 1919

The Great Spiritual Temple:

• Is explained by Paul, addressing the Hebrew Christians

• Has an altar on which only one sacrifice is offered, “once for all time” (Heb. 10:10)

• Explains the spiritual reality to which the tabernacle and the physical temples had long pointed​—Jehovah’s arrangement for pure worship based on the ransom sacrifice of Christ

• Focuses our attention on the work that Christ did as the Greater High Priest from 29 to 33 C.E.