In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, on that same day the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me thither.
Ezekiel receives this final vision as a prisoner in Babylon, fourteen years after Jerusalem and its temple burned. What he sees is a house standing again in the land. He dates the day with unusual care, and commentators read that care as part of the message.
Ezekiel counts the years from the exile he shared with his people. One writer traces that reckoning back to the opening of the book:
These dates and those in Ezekiel 20:1 and 8:1 seem to be counted from Jehoiakim's captivity; see Ezekiel 1:2. Compare also 2 Kings 25:1.
Commentators differ on which new year this is. Israel later kept a civil year starting in the seventh month. One writer argues for the older, sacred year, and finds meaning in the day named:
The verse states the time still more definitely: "in the beginning of the year, the tenth of the month." Ezekiel was a priest. The civil year — counted from the first day of the seventh month of the sacred year — was a late innovation among the Jews. It had nothing to do with God's own order, which everything revealed here is bound up with. So it seems certain that this beginning of the year is the one spoken of in Exodus in connection with the Passover... Then it is the tenth of the month, when the lamb was taken and kept until the fourteenth day.
This is not Ezekiel's latest message, yet it stands last in his book:
In order of time this is not the last prophecy of Ezekiel, the one given in Ezekiel 29:17 being two years later. But this great vision is the only one that could fittingly close the book. God revealed the glory to the prophet at the beginning. A little later he saw it leave the defiled temple, soon to lie in ruins. Now he sees it returning to that greater and more wonderful dwelling place on earth, spread out before him so that he may describe it to the house of Israel.
Ezekiel does not travel. God takes him. The vision is God's own, not something the prophet imagined:
The prophet was under the hand of Jehovah, and He brought him to the place of this vision. No other hand, no other guide, could bring him and open his eyes to see what "the visions of God" are. That puts the divine seal on it all. They are visions of God, meaning that God is the Giver.
He was still among the exiles, yet he stood in Israel. Another writer explains how, and points to a later parallel:
Ezekiel says that in these visions "He brought me into the land of Israel" — that is, Ezekiel was simply carried there in spirit. The apostle John speaks in the same way in Revelation. He says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10). Twice more, "he carried me away in the Spirit" — "into a wilderness" (Rev. 17:3), and "to a great, high mountain" (Rev. 21:10).
God does not set him down on neutral ground. The place and the mountain both have names:
God brought Ezekiel into the land of Israel. These visions have to do with the whole nation. They show the land when all the tribes hold it — restored, united, blessed, all enemies struck down, all internal conflict over. The prophet's vantage ground is a very high mountain. This can be no other than Jehovah's "holy mountain, the mountain of the height of Israel," where Israel shall serve Him (Ezek. 20:40-44).
Readers have taken these chapters in very different ways. One writer lists the options and gives his own:
Interpreters are commonly said to divide four ways. The historical-literal view makes these chapters a plain description, meant to preserve the memory of Solomon's temple. The historical-ideal makes them a vague announcement of future good. The Jewish theory assumes the returned remnant adopted the plan. The Christian or allegorical view finds in them a huge system standing for the good in store for the church. But this leaves out the fifth and, I have no doubt, the only true interpretation. It sees in these chapters the fitting conclusion to the whole prophecy... It predicts that in the last days Israel will be fully re-established, then converted, holding every promised blessing for ever in their land, with the glory of Jehovah in their midst.
Readers often call these chapters obscure. The same writer compares them with the tabernacle chapters in Exodus:
The remaining chapters present a vision of the most striking character. In it the prophet sees and passes on the pledge of more than restoration — of crowning glory — for Israel in their land... Ezekiel 40-48 is hardly more obscure than Exodus 25-40. The details of the future temple in the land are not harder to understand than those of the past tabernacle in the wilderness.
- Dated. Ezekiel counts the years from the captivity he shared. The day he names belongs to the sacred year of Passover — though commentators differ on which new year he means.
- Carried. He does not go; the hand of the LORD brings him, and the seal of God is on everything he then sees.
- Placed. God sets him in the land, on the holy mountain, looking out over the whole nation restored and at peace.
- Shown. What he sees is the glory he once watched leave a defiled temple, now returning to a greater house.
- Sent. The vision was never private. God brings him there to describe it to the house of Israel — a pledge of more than restoration.
In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain; and upon it was as the building of a city, on the south.
Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon when God carries him in vision to Israel, sets him on a very high mountain, and shows him something built like a city. Who moved him, why a mountain, and what is that city?
Ezekiel does not travel to Israel. He is moved there in vision, and John later describes the same kind of experience.
The prophet began to see these "visions of God" while he was among the captives by the river Chebar in the land of the Chaldeans (Ezek. 1:1-3). Ezekiel says that in these visions God "brought me to the land of Israel." That is, Ezekiel was only carried there in spirit. The apostle John says much the same in Revelation. He writes: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day"; "he carried me away in spirit to a desert"; "he carried me away in the Spirit, and set me on a great and high mountain" (Rev. 1:10; Rev. 17:3; Rev. 21:10). So we may say that it was the power of the Spirit of God that brought Ezekiel from the land of the Chaldeans to the land of Israel.
The phrase "visions of God" says more than what the visions were about. It also says where they came from.
The prophet was under the hand of Jehovah, and He brought him to the place of this vision. No other hand, no other guide, could bring him and open his eyes to see what "the visions of God" are. It is good to be sure of how he came to see. God's own seal is on it all. They are visions of God, signifying that God is the Giver. The phrase marks where they came from: God is the cause.
Height in Scripture is rarely just geography. A high place is where a man sees things God's way.
All through Scripture, high ground always stands for seeing things by God's standard. So God sets Ezekiel on "a very high mountain," and from there he sees the vision of the Temple. That Temple will be the centre of worship on earth in the golden thousand-year age. In the same way John sees the Holy City, which stands for the Church of God joined to Christ in His thousand-year kingdom. He too is carried in spirit to "a great and high mountain" (Rev. 21:10).
This mountain can be named. And what it looks over is the whole nation.
God brought Ezekiel into the land of Israel. These visions have to do with the whole nation. They show the land when all the tribes hold it again: restored, united, blessed, every enemy struck down, every conflict inside it over. The prophet's viewpoint is a very high mountain. It can be no other than Jehovah's "holy mountain, the mountain of the height of Israel," where Israel shall serve Him (Ezek. 20:40-44). It is that mountain of Jehovah to which all the nations shall flow (Isa. 2:2-3), beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great King (Ps. 48:1-3).
The direction matters. If the city lies to the south, Ezekiel is facing it from the north.
The prophet clearly comes from the north, since what he sees lies to the south. He seems to be brought by the northern road. That is the road Israel's great enemies came down, and the road along which Israel was carried away into captivity. Now comes the return from all of that. No enemy will swoop down from the north any more. Judgment has brought in righteousness, and the people find a peaceful home.
The vision as a whole is about the Temple. Yet a city appears in it too.
The description here is a description of the Temple. Yet at the start of verse 2, from the high mountain, he sees "a structure like a city to the south." So whatever the layout of the measured land, there was a connection between the city and the sanctuary.
Interpreters differ: some read these chapters as a record of Solomon's temple, some as a picture of the church, and some as prophecy still to come. Kelly holds the last.
I have no doubt that the only true interpretation sees in these chapters the fitting conclusion to the whole prophecy. It is the prediction that in the last days Israel will be fully restored and converted, holding every promised blessing for ever in their land, with the glory of Jehovah among them.
- Given. "Visions of God" marks the source, not just the subject — God is the Giver, and His seal rests on every detail that follows.
- Carried. Ezekiel never leaves Babylon in body; the Spirit's power sets him in the land, as John was later carried away in spirit.
- Lifted. The very high mountain is God's standpoint loaned to a man, so that he sees the land as God sees it.
- Turned. He looks south, from the north that once carried Israel away — the route of captivity becomes the route of return.
- Restored. What he views is the whole nation in its land at last, with the glory of the Lord dwelling among them.
And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a flax-cord in his hand, and a measuring-reed; and he stood in the gate.
Ezekiel's last vision opens with a meeting: a man with a cord and a measuring reed stands waiting in the gateway. The last nine chapters of the book grow out of this scene — who the man is, what his tools mean, and what the measuring says about God's plans for Israel.
Commentators have read these chapters in four ways. Some see a record of Solomon's temple. Others see a vague promise of good, a plan the returning exiles used, or a picture of the church. One writer rejects all four:
But this leaves out the fifth view, and I have no doubt it is the only true one. It sees in these chapters the fitting close to the whole prophecy, and it belongs with the chapters just before it. They predict that in the last days Israel will be converted and fully restored, holding every promised blessing for ever in their land, with the glory of the Lord among them.
The same writer rests this on the exactness of the measurements:
...this destroys the idea that there was, or could be, any real likeness between Ezekiel's vision and any temple ever built... It is given with exact precision. Call it an exaggeration, and you shake the character of the prophet, and of Scripture in general.
The vision describes the guide by a metal, not by a name. That metal ran all through the older sanctuaries:
The prophet now sees a man standing in the gate — most likely the north gate of the sacred enclosure, since from there he goes with the prophet to the east gate, which he measures first. The man had the appearance of brass. It is the same metal used in the tabernacle and Solomon's temple, which is more correctly copper. We know it as the symbol of strength, protection, firmness in good or evil, and judgment. It could be polished until it reflected images, so people made mirrors of it. Those mirrors went into the basin in the tabernacle that held the water for cleansing the priests. That last link ties the metal to the Word of God... The lesson of the copper is the character of God: a God of holy judgment, unchanging, lasting, and searching, all revealed in His unchangeable Word.
Others set brass beside the other metals and fabrics used for the same idea, ranking it as the righteousness of God as it touches man:
Gold — intrinsic divine righteousness. Brass (or copper) — divine righteousness as applied to man in judgment. Linen — "the righteousness of the saints." Filthy rags — the righteousness of the flesh.
The measuring says something about God Himself:
This work of measuring has prophetic meaning... It shows God's care and interest; everything to do with His purposes and promises matters. It may well mean that God has risen up to take possession — He is claiming His right to what is His. Every false claim is set aside, every stolen holding is taken back, and all will be settled by the measure of truth and righteousness.
Another writer sets this scene beside a similar one:
Two similar passages are found in Scripture — Ezekiel 40 and Revelation 11. In both, measuring seems to come before taking possession for blessing. It is an act ordered by God just before He comes in again to set up His dwelling-place, and to claim His people as His own.
The reed's own size carries a message:
From verse 5 we learn that the reed in the man's hand was six cubits long, each cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth — that is, a cubit of four palms. Six expresses the limit God sets on man. It is linked with evil, as with Goliath and the beast of Revelation 13. Yet where six appears with evil in full display, that is just where God overcomes and makes the wrath of man praise Him. David fells Goliath, and the Son of Man coming in His glory destroys the beasts and sets up His everlasting kingdom... But it is by the arm and hand of a Man that this will be done, and four — the four handbreadths of the cubit named here — is the number of man and creation: the Man Christ Jesus, the appointed Heir of all things.
The same scene comes back in Revelation, with two differences:
In Ezekiel the measuring reed is an ordinary one, suited to an earthly city. In Revelation it is a golden reed, the picture of divine righteousness, suited to the dwelling-place of God. In Ezekiel the city is large, as fits a splendid earthly capital. In Revelation the city is vast beyond any earthly limit.
- Measure: the line and reed are not building plans. Measuring is God claiming His right, and setting every other claim aside.
- Metal: brass marks the man out — strength, holy judgment, and a Word that never changes. Daniel and John saw the same metal on the Lord Himself.
- Man: six cubits speak of the limit God sets on man. The four handbreadths point to the Man who takes the inheritance.
- Moment: measuring comes just before God returns to dwell — a survey taken on the eve of blessing.
- More: an ordinary reed measures an earthly city here; only a golden reed measures the city above.
And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for in order that it might be shewn unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare to the house of Israel all that thou seest.
Ezekiel is in exile when God lifts him in vision onto a high mountain, where a man with a measuring line and a reed meets him. Before he measures anything, the man tells the prophet what to do: look, listen, take it to heart, then tell Israel.
Commentators differ sharply over the chapters that follow. One writer lists four common readings, sets them all aside, and says how the vision should be read:
Interpreters are usually said to divide four ways. Some make these chapters a plain description, meant to preserve the memory of Solomon's temple. Some make them a vague announcement of future good. Some assume the exiles who returned actually adopted the idea. Some try to find in them a vast symbol of the good in store for the church. But this leaves out the fifth interpretation, which I have no doubt is the only true one. It sees in these chapters the fitting conclusion to the whole prophecy, closely akin to the chapters that come before it. It is the prediction that in the last days Israel will be completely re-established, then converted and in possession of every promised blessing for ever in their land, with the glory of Jehovah in their midst. This is the only proper Messianic fulfilment of the vision. It must therefore be taken in its simple and plain grammatical sense — literal, symbolic, or figurative, as the context of each passage decides.
That is what Ezekiel is told to fix his heart on: not a memory, but a future.
Measuring fills the whole vision. One writer explains what all that measuring means:
He is prepared to measure. He keeps the prophet busy with this work as he guides him through the courts and buildings of the Sanctuary. This measuring has prophetic meaning. It suggests God's care and interest. Everything that relates to His purposes and promises matters. Then it may well signify that God has risen up to take possession — it is the assertion of His title. Every false claim will be set aside, and all wrongly seized possession removed. Everything will then be established by the measure of truth and righteousness.
The guide is never named, and one writer finds meaning in that silence:
Ezekiel, in his vision of glorious things to come, was guided by a man with a measuring line in his hand. Unlike the heavenly messenger that appeared to Daniel (Dan. 9:21), this man had no name. He is rightly seen as a picture of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit searches the deep things of God on our behalf, so that He may lead us into an understanding of them (1 Cor. 2:10).
God asks for more than a glance:
The man with the reed appealed to the prophet's eyes, ears and heart (Ezek. 40:4). The Holy Spirit desires our wholehearted and undivided attention.
William Kelly traces a common mistake back to the heart:
It is here that men have failed to set their heart. They have missed the difference between the ordinances and laws of the house described here and what the temple used to be. They have failed to mark well, and have confused it all with what has already been. Indeed, this is where people are usually dull. The Holy Spirit alone can show us things to come according to God.
God calls Ezekiel "Son of man" here, and He uses the title many times in this book. One other prophet shares it:
The title "Son of man" is given to Ezekiel and Daniel as prophets, and both are seen in Gentile territory. Daniel is referred to this way once, Ezekiel many times.
Far from home, in Gentile territory, he is the one trusted with the plan of the house.
Ezekiel must pass on what he sees. Hamilton Smith says what that telling was meant to do:
Only in this way would it be brought home to them how great their departure from the pattern had been.
Seeing the pattern does more than expose the failure:
So even then the prophet is told to set the house before Israel in its measured pattern. They were to feel what their sin had taken from them. In days to come the vision will act on them deeply.
- Shown. The vision is a promise, not a record. Commentators differ, but one reading ties these chapters to the prophecy before them: Israel re-established in the last days, with the glory of God in their midst.
- Searched. The guide has no name. He is seen as a picture of the Spirit, who searches the deep things of God and leads us to understand them.
- Measured. Measuring shows God's care for every detail of His purpose. It also shows Him rising up to assert His title, with every false claim set aside.
- Held. The command claims eyes, ears and heart. People fail at the third: they look and listen, but never set the heart on what is new.
- Told. Ezekiel is shown the house so that he can declare it. Israel measures the pattern, sees how far it has drifted, and feels what its sin has cost.
And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring-reed of six cubits, [each] of one cubit and a hand breadth. And he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
In a vision, Ezekiel watches a man with a measuring line and a rod. The first thing the man measures is the wall around the outside of the house — so whose house is this, and why does God start with a boundary?
Commentators say the building Ezekiel sees has never stood on earth. The temple built after the exile in Babylon does not match it.
The temple the returned exiles built does not correspond in any way to the magnificent structure Ezekiel saw in his vision. The fact is, if this temple is a literal building — and it certainly is — then no one has ever built it yet. The prophecy also makes clear that the glory of the Lord returned to the temple and made His dwelling place there. It is the same glory Ezekiel had seen leave the temple and Jerusalem. But the glory did not return to the second temple. No glory cloud filled that house.
The measuring is not surveying for its own sake. Elsewhere in Scripture the same action carries a settled meaning.
This work of measuring has prophetic meaning. See Zechariah 2 and Revelation 11; Habakkuk 3:6. It suggests God's care and interest. Everything that touches His purposes and promises matters. It may well mean that God has risen up to take possession. He is asserting His title. Every false claim is set aside and all that was wrongly seized is removed. Then all will be established by the measure of truth and righteousness.
The verse stops to define its own unit. This cubit is not the everyday one.
That extra handbreadth changes every figure that follows.
Ezekiel's cubit is one-sixth longer: a cubit and a handbreadth. The handbreadth counts as one-sixth of the ordinary cubit. So Ezekiel's reed of six great cubits equals seven ordinary cubits… Seven is the Scriptural number for completeness or perfection. It is worth noticing that the measurements of Ezekiel's temple, the millennial temple, are so brought up to the scale of perfection.
Some read the number six itself as speaking. It marks the limit God sets on man, and the point where God overcomes.
We have learned that six expresses the limit God puts on man… Even though six is linked with evil in full display, it is exactly in that link that we find God overcoming and making the wrath of man praise Him. He gains the victory… Just such thoughts cluster around this measuring reed of six cubits. God will assert His title to the earth and destroy those who have destroyed it. It will be in the way this number suggests. But a Man will do it by His own arm and hand, and four — the four handbreadths of the cubit named here — is the number of man and creation.
Commentators differ on what this low, square wall means. One writer rules out defence:
This encircling wall is one reed high and one reed broad — a reed of six cubits, equal to 7.2 feet in our measure. We see at once that this wall is not for protection against enemies. It is too low. It means something other than a barrier to resist attack. The basic idea here is separation. The wall teaches that the space inside is sanctified, set apart to the Lord… It preaches the exclusion of all that defiles. This wall is as broad as it is high — foursquare. Perfect equality in every direction marks God's holy requirements: separation from evil, and judgment of it.
Another writer sees protection in it:
The wall is symbolic of perfect protection, the exclusion of all evil. The gate that follows speaks of the inclusion of all that is right and good.
Verse 5 names the wall but never gives its length. That number waits.
The wall all around the outside of the temple area is not measured until we come to the end of Ezekiel 42. There it is declared to be 500 reeds square. The figure is given with the most exact precision. You cannot treat it as an exaggeration without shaking the character of the prophet and of Scripture in general. That is, the temple grounds take in considerably more than the whole city did.
- Claim. God measures to assert His title, setting aside every false claim before He takes possession.
- Standard. He measures with His own rod. Its cubit is one handbreadth longer, and that lifts the whole house to the scale of perfection.
- Mastery. Six cubits speak of the limit God sets on man, and of the Man whose arm and hand will do the work.
- Separation. The first thing measured is a boundary. Inside is set apart to the Lord; everything that defiles stays out.
- Certainty. These exact figures are not poetry. No one has built this house yet.