The Temple’s Chambers
Ezekiel was led toward the north and taken to the chambers that were opposite the separate yard and the building. The different areas, like the galleries and chambers, and all their dimensions were explained in cubits and breadth. There were three stories, but they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle ones.
Then Ezekiel was told about the holy chambers that were opposite the yard where the priests who approached the Lord would eat the most holy offerings. There they would put the most holy offerings, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, for that place was holy.
When the priests entered the Holy Place, they would not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the garments in which they ministered, for they were holy. They were to put on other garments before they went near to what was for the people.
When they had finished measuring the interior of the temple, they went out of the gate and measured the temple area all around with the measuring reed. The cubits of each area was listed here, being 500 cubits all around its four sides. It had a wall around it too, 500 cubits long and 500 cubits broad, to make a separation between the holy and the common.
The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple
Ezekiel was led to the gate facing east, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east.
“The sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” -Ezekiel 43:2-4
Ezekiel heard one speaking to him from the temple and said, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of my people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places, by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.” -Ezekiel 43:7-9
The Lord continued speaking to Ezekiel and said, “As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statues and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.”
-Ezekiel 43:10-12
The Altar
Then the measurements of the altar were explained by cubits, and the Lord spoke to Ezekiel, saying,
“Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it, you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord God, a bull from the herd for a sin offering.”
-Ezekiel 43:18-19
They were to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. They would purify the altar and make atonement for it. The bull for the sin offering would also be burned in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sacred area.
On the second day they would offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar would be purified, as it was purified with the bull. When they were finished purifying it, they would offer a bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. Those would be presented before the Lord. The priests would sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.
For seven days they would make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and consecrate it. When they had completed those days, then from the eighth day onward, the priests would offer on the altar burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the Lord would accept them.