God’s Work is Finished - Ezekiel 44-48

Ezekiel 44:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
The Gate for the Prince
1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.

God’s Work if Finished

In this section of Ezekiel we have the description of a Temple, designed by God, built by God, to be used for God’s purpose and to be to the glory of God.  The description is given to Ezekiel by a holy angel.   He is once again, as the start of the book did, guided by an angel to understand the visions he is seeing and writing about for us.   The Temple that is being described is some time in the future.  Some might say it is the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth.   The point Ezekiel is making in the section is that their is going to be a Temple and God’s people are going to enjoy living in it.   In the above two verses we see that the “east” gate of the Temple is shut and not to be opened back up again.  There are as many interpretations as to the meaning of the Temple as their are commentators one would wish to read.   The text is not that clear to get a definitive meaning.   When this happens we ought to simply stick with wha the text does say and not try to read out theology into it.   What the text plainly stats is that the reason the gate is left closed is because the “God of Israel, has entered by it.”   The clean implication is that since God entered by it and it is not to remain shut, God has no plans to leave.   That is the point of the text.   This “city/temple” that is being built is built for God and His people.   God is saying in this text, “I will enter the Temple with you via the east gate and you can lock it behind me, since I am not leaving.  What Ezekiel is recording for us is the future relationship with God.  That is the ultimate plan of God.  God is establishing a place and a time for us to enjoy Him and a relationship with Him.   This “closed” gate is an assurance for the people of God.   It is not meant to lock someone out, but to assure the people of God that He is not leaving them.   Take heart that God has designed a place for us to be with Him.  Praise God that He has stated He will not leave that place.