ARE EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE & SOLOMON'S TEMPLE IDENTICAL?
Was Ezekiel
given the remaining measurements of the Temple of Solomon? We believe
the answer is they all dovetail perfectly.
Solomon's Temple was destroyed in 586 BC. About 13 years later Ezekiel
was given the vision of rebuilding the exact same temple which had been
destroyed. This vision of rebuilding Solomon's Temple gave the captives
hope during their remaining 50 years of slavery. At the end of their captivity
the Jew were given their freedom by the Persians. They were stunned to
learn that King Cyrus decreed that they could only build a Temple 60 cubits
tall. As they were building the 2nd Temple they knew that it would some
day be destroyed. That destruction would pave the way so that the Temple
of Solomon could stand majestically once again as Ezekiel had promised.
Ezekiel was given the outside measurements of Solomon's Temple. It is
a fact proven time and time again. In the First Temple the outer courtyard
walls were 500 x 500 cubits. Ezekiel as is well known wrote down the measurements
of a Temple that had already been built and destroyed. Which is why he
says the following. The promise was to rebuild Solomon's Temple.
4. "And
the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes,
and hear with your ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances
of the house of the Lord."
7. "In that you have brought (past tense) strangers, uncircumcised
in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it
Ezekiel 44:4-22.
There
are other interesting facts which might point to a vertical temple rather
than a horizontal temple. If it were a horizontal temple how do you reconcile
that Solomon's Temple uses TWO different types of wood linings inside
the main structure.
This might be another indication that the main tower structure had three
chambers because the gigantic stacked chambers used different type of
wood linings.
CEDAR
wood covered certain area's:
Temple (40 x 20) I Kings 6:17-18 "all was cedar"
Holy of Holies (20 x 20) I Kings 6:16 "the floor & walls were
cedar"
CYPRESS (Fir, KJV) wood covered other specific area's.
Porch and House (60 x 20) walls & floor were covered with cypress
wood. II Chronicles 3:3-5 "and the greater house he covered with
cypress wood (fir)" I Kings 6:15 "and covered the floor of the
house with planks of cypress wood (fir)"
Question:
There are two different types of wood. A horizontal temple would not be
able to have the 60 x 20 chamber overlaid with cypress wood and a 40 x
20 chamber overlaid with a cedar wood at the same time because in a horizontal
temple they represent one and the same place of the temple. It would appear
that only a vertical temple can utilize both wood linings correctly. The
different wood linings is one of many items which also hint that there
might have been in the main tower structure three stories.
Windows of the main tower structure.
The House (60 x 20) has windows I Kings 6:2-4.
The Temple (40 x 20) has windows and 10 candlesticks Ezk. 41:26
The Holy of Holies (20 x 20) had no candlestick's or windows.
The Temple
possibly might have windows in three ranks since since it might be similar
to the House of the Forest of Lebanon. I Kings 7:1-5. One window in the
bottom chamber and two in the middle chamber (Temple). Never at any time
was the Eastern sun permitted to enter into the Western chamber of the
Holy of Holies for it was dark always. The only light was that which emanated
from the mysterious Shekinah. That is the invisible God glowed and the
oracle spoke out of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark contained the two
stone tablets which was the Law of Moses.
4 set
of Doors enter into the main tower structure.
Doors into the Holy of Holies (20 x 20) chamber were made of olive wood
& covered with gold. I Kings 6:31 & I Kings 7:50, II Chron. 4:22
Doors into the Temple (40 x 20) chamber were made of cypress wood (KJV
fir) & covered with gold I Kings 6:34 & 7:50, II Chron. 4:22
Doors into the House (60 x 20) chamber were covered with gold II Chronicles
3:7 and 4:22.
Doors into the Porch were called the "Gate" the gate entrance
is 6 wide Ezekiel 40:48
It appears that three sets of Gold covered door's are listed in II Chronicles
4:22. The three sets of doors are; House, Holy Place, Temple. The House
measurement is given as 60 x 20, the Holy Place is 20 x 20, the Temple
measurement is 40 x 20. When you include the gate-door of the porch mentioned
in Ezekiel that is a total of four sets of doors in the main structure.
Four sets of doors would be difficult to fit in a horizontal temple. However
four sets of doors would fit perfectly into a vertical model of Solomon's
Temple. Only the bi-fold doors in the (40 x 20) & (20 x 20) chambers
had gold hinges. I Kings 7:50
If the Temple is horizontal how can the entrance include 1/4 part of the
wall? I Kings 6:33. This only makes sense if the Temple is vertical that
way the winding stairs can actually include 1/4 part of the wall as it
winds up from the cypress lined House into the cedar lined Temple.
The same problem exists with the entrance of the Holy of Holies as listed
above. This doorway includes 1/5 part of the wall. How can a horizontal
Temple include a door which includes 1/5 part of the wall except in a
vertical temple? I Kings 6:31
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