Back of, or west of the rear of the Temple, and separated from it by the twenty cubits of the separate place will be the western building, a structure of inside dimensions 70 by 90 cubits and with walls 5 cubits thick, making the outside dimensions 80 by 100, or including the 20-cubit separate place, 100 cubits square, indicating the Divine perfection of the class represented by it. This is not connected in any way with the altar or the Holy or Most Holy, and its use is not stated. It answers the description of such a class of beings as the angels.—Ezek. 41:12-13.
Chambers for the Levites.—Certain chambers will be set apart for the activities of the Levites. Near the outer door of the north gate of the inner court (a work done by the spirit phase of the Kingdom) on the upper pavement will be a chamber where the Levite will wash the burnt offerings of the people. In the porch or lobby of the same gate will be four tables of hewn stone, each 1-½ cubits square by a cubit high, on which will be laid the instruments for slaying the sacrifices, and whereon the sacrifices will be slain and their flesh laid out. In the outer court outside the inner court gate and beside the steps [pg 583] leading up to the gate, will be the four more tables for slaying the sacrifices, two on each side of the steps. In antitype, the offerers will make or renew the consecration of themselves, under the various required conditions, and will be accepted by the Great Company (Levites) who will act between the people and the Little Flock (priests). The utter consecration of the persons, typed by the death of the animals, will be supervised and directed by the Great Company, and the offerers will endeavor to conform themselves to the character pattern, suggested by the cut stone of the tables and the resting of the flesh and the slaughter instruments upon the tables. Those offering themselves in heartfelt consecration as an expression of their thankfulness to God (burnt offering) will be cleansed in character by the teachings of the Word of God (washed with water) imparted by the Great Company (Levites).—Ezek. 40:39-43.
Certain of their offerings the people are to eat, figuring their assimilation in their very beings of the consecrations made. This process will not be without fiery trials, ameliorated by the Word of God (hot water), chastenings at the hands of the Great Company (Levites)—typed by the boiling of the sacrifices by the Levites preparatory to their being eaten by the people. This activity of the Great Company is typed in the boiling places at the courts in the corners of the lower pavement.—Ezek. 46:21-24.
Further activities by the Levites of thirty kinds in behalf of or in cooperation with the people, may be typed in the thirty chambers along the lower pavement of the outer court.—Ezek. 40:17-18.
Gates, Doors, Porches, etc.—In the Tabernacle the gate, the door and the veil, all facing the east, typed Christ and in a certain sense those in Him. None might enter these holy entrances except those having to do, as actual or probationary, participants in the sin offering. So in the Ezekiel Temple, in connection with the east gate of the outer and inner courts is pictured the entrance of those in previous ages having to do with the fiery sufferings connected with the sin offering—the Little Flock and the Ancient Worthies. The Little Flock is depicted as the glory of God entering by the east gate of the outer court and the east gate of the inner court, and finally into the Temple (Ezek. 43:1-5), typing the progress of the Christ Body through Christ Jesus, as the way (gate) into imputed human perfection (outer court) through the “change” to the Spirit plane (inner court) and up to the immeasurable exaltation of the nature of God (Temple). After the full entrance of the Body of Christ the outer [pg 584] gate shall be shut, and no one shall enter except the Ancient Worthies, who were privileged to enter their honorable estate by the door of self-sacrifice unto death. (Ezek. 44:1-3.) In the condition of being in Christ, in the mind of Christ, the Ancient Worthies shall “sit”, communing with Christ and with God, assimilating the Word of God (eating), which shall strengthen them for their stupendous task of the government and regeneration of the whole world of mankind.
The eastern gate of the inner court, the way to the Divine nature through sacrifice, will be closed after the entrance of the glory of God, the Body of Christ, in whom God dwells, and no one shall ever enter therein, as pictured in the parable of the foolish virgins. (Z. '05-267; Ezek. 46:1). In this gate, in Christ, at the very inner door of the gate, having met all the conditions qualifying for entrance upon the spirit nature, throughout the Millennium, God's seventh day (the Sabbath), and the day of the New Covenant (new moon), the Ancient Worthies will have their standing. There in intimate communion with the glorified Christ they will make their thankful consecrations of themselves and their vows fulfill (burnt and peace offerings), having their standing in Him Whom they preceded in suffering, and Whom they follow in time and place.—Ezek. 46:1-8, 12.
Entrance at the north or south gates of the inner or outer courts signifies, not participation in, but benefit from the Sin Offering. The gate looking toward the north (spirit phase) types the looking toward the Divinely provided ransom. It will be where the people will present their sacrifices, and figures their consecrations and their acknowledgment of the altar, the blood of Jesus Christ. The gate looking toward the south will look figuratively toward restitution. Those entering it, too, will acknowledge the blood, for in entering it they will face directly toward the altar. On the solemn feast days, the people and the Prince entering the north gate must not go out by the same gate, but by the south gate, and vice versa. This types that every one entering the plane of actual or heart perfection on the human plane must acknowledge that the restitution (south) blessings were brought by the spiritually (north) provided blood of the Redeemer.—Ezek. 40:20-31; 44:4-6; 46:9-10.
The typical importance of the gates, doors and porches is emphasized in Ezekiel 44:5 “Mark well, and behold with thine eyes (of understanding), and hear with thine ears (of spiritual hearing), all that I shall say (write) unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of Jehovah, and [pg 585] the laws thereof, and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the Sanctuary.”
The court gates (Figure 6) will be hallways crossing the 50-cubit pavements. The size will be 50 by 25 cubits. The outer court gate will be entered from a flight of seven steps over the outer threshold through a door. The narrow hallway will be flanked by six little chambers projecting out one cubit into the hallway, three in a side, and will end over an inner threshold in a porch or lobby, frequently translated “arch”, from which an inner door will open into the court. The inner court gate will be of identical but reversed construction, the porch or lobby coming first. The interior will be dimly lighted by narrow windows. The walls along the hallway—the posts—will be adorned with palm trees, reminders, antitypically, that the purpose of the entire sanctuary is to promote the glory of God by the restoration of mankind to perfection (palms). The six little chambers type six conditions to be complied with by those actually or at heart on the perfect human plane, the size of the chambers—one reed square—signifying that each of these conditions embraces the full measure of the Word of God (reed)—perfect requirement in that respect.—Ezek. 40:6-43; 43:1-4; 44:1-5; 46:1-12.
The porch of each gate and of the Temple types Christ, as the resurrection—“I am the resurrection.” In the outer court gates the person entering will pass the little chambers first and the porch afterward, typing that during the Times of Restitution the world of mankind will meet the conditions before being fully resurrected to perfection. In the inner court gates the porch will come first, signifying that the person is first raised to the spirit condition and then is developed. In connection with the Temple porch there will be no little chambers, typing that the Little Flock will have met all the conditions before their exaltation.—Ezek. 40:8-9, 16, 20-22, 24-26, 33-36, 39-43, 48-49; 41:23-26.