Commentary - Ezekiel 40:48-49

Bird's-eye view

Here, at the end of Ezekiel 40, we are brought to the very entrance of the visionary temple proper. After a meticulous tour of the outer and inner courts, the gates, and the chambers, the angelic guide brings the prophet to the porch of the main house. This entire section, from chapter 40 to 48, is not a blueprint for some future millennial temple to be built by human hands. Dispensationalists get tangled in the curtains here, imagining a reinstitution of sacrifices after Christ has already declared "It is finished." No, this is a glorious, symbolic vision of the New Covenant reality, the Christian Church. As John tells us in Revelation, which is largely a Christian rewrite of Ezekiel, the new Jerusalem is the bride of Christ. This temple is us.

Therefore, the measurements we are given are not for contractors; they are for catechumens. They are theological numbers, divine arithmetic. The porch is the grand entryway into the presence of God. Its dimensions, its pillars, its very structure, all speak of the stability, grandeur, and accessibility of the gospel. We are moving from the general courts of the people into the heart of worship, and this porch stands as a magnificent and sturdy declaration of the way God has made for His people to approach Him, a way that would ultimately be revealed as His Son.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel has been a prophet in exile, ministering to a people whose central point of worship, Solomon's temple, had been destroyed as a consequence of their covenant infidelity. The first part of his book is a searing covenant lawsuit, demonstrating why this judgment was necessary. The glory of the Lord had visibly departed from the corrupt temple (Ezek 10). But God does not abandon His people. After the pronouncements of judgment, the book turns to promises of restoration, culminating in this breathtaking vision of a new temple. This vision, given to Ezekiel fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem, is a profound encouragement to the exiles. It assures them that God's presence will once again dwell with His people, but in a way that is far more glorious and permanent than what they had lost. This temple is not the second temple of Zerubbabel, which was a pale shadow of Solomon's, but rather the spiritual house built of living stones, the Church of Jesus Christ, from which the river of life flows to heal the nations (Ezek 47).

Key Issues

The Divine Architecture

When we read through these chapters, it is easy for our eyes to glaze over at the sheer volume of measurements. Cubits here, cubits there. But we must resist the temptation to treat this like a dry architectural manual. God is the architect here, and every detail is pregnant with meaning. The precision itself is a theological statement. The old temple had been defiled by man's sin and sloppy additions. This new temple is perfect, ordered, and divinely designed from the ground up. Its symmetry and mathematical harmony reflect the perfection and holiness of God Himself.

This is a vision of the Church as God conceives her, not always as she appears in her earthly struggles. It is a portrait of the bride in her ideal state, the way her Husband sees her. The numbers are not arbitrary; they are the measurements of our salvation, the dimensions of grace. They declare that God's plan is not haphazard, but is a masterfully designed structure, with Christ as the cornerstone. As we approach this porch, we are approaching the entryway to this divine mystery.

Verse by Verse Commentary

48 Then he brought me to the porch of the house and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side.

The angelic guide, the "man whose appearance was like bronze," now leads Ezekiel from the inner court to the very porch of the temple itself. This is a significant transition. The porch, or ulam, is the vestibule, the formal entrance hall. It is the space one passes through to enter the holy place. The first thing measured are the side pillars, the jambs of the doorway. They are massive, five cubits on each side. A cubit is roughly eighteen inches, so we are talking about pillars over seven feet thick. This speaks of immense strength and stability. The entrance to God's house is not flimsy. It is founded on something solid and immovable. The gospel is not a rickety gate; it is a fortress door. The width of the gate itself is described as three cubits on each side, which is a confusing phrase. It likely means the opening was six cubits wide, with three cubits of wall on either side before you get to the five cubit pillars, making the total width of the gate structure fourteen cubits. The point is that the entrance is both strong and definite.

49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits; and at the stairway by which it was ascended were columns belonging to the side pillars, one on each side.

The porch is a substantial room in itself, twenty cubits long (about 30 feet) and eleven cubits wide (about 16.5 feet). This is a grand entrance hall, a place of preparation before entering the sanctuary. We are told it was ascended by a stairway, indicating that the temple proper was on a raised platform, elevated above the courts. To approach God is always to go up. It requires effort and signifies reverence. Then we are told of columns, one on each side. These are likely freestanding pillars, reminiscent of the two great pillars in Solomon's temple, Jachin ("He will establish") and Boaz ("In Him is strength"). These pillars are not just decorative; they are proclamations. They declare the character of the God who dwells within. Our access to God is established by Him, and it is an access maintained by His strength, not our own. In the New Testament, the apostles are described as pillars in the church (Gal 2:9), and believers are promised to be made pillars in the temple of God (Rev 3:12). These pillars represent the foundational truths and the foundational people upon whom the Church is built, all resting on the chief cornerstone, who is Christ.

Application

So what does a thirty-foot porch and a couple of pillars have to do with us? Everything. This porch is the entryway to the presence of God, and the New Testament tells us plainly that the way into the holiest of all has now been made manifest through the flesh of Jesus Christ. He is the door. To come to God is to come through Him.

The sturdiness of the pillars reminds us that the promises of God are not flimsy. The gospel is not a suggestion; it is a declaration of something God has firmly established in history. The pillars are named Jachin and Boaz. He will establish; in Him is strength. When you feel your faith is weak, when you feel unstable, look to the pillars of the porch. Your standing before God does not depend on your own strength, but on His. He has established your salvation, and He has the strength to keep you.

Furthermore, we are being built into this temple. We are "living stones" being fitted into a spiritual house (1 Pet 2:5). This means our lives are part of a grand, divine architectural plan. Your life is not a random assortment of events; it is a measured, designed space in the temple of the Holy Spirit. And as part of that temple, we collectively form the porch. Our churches should be this grand, stable, and welcoming entryway for the world. People should look at us and see the strength and beauty of Jachin and Boaz. They should see a clear, accessible, and glorious way to the Father, which is the Lord Jesus Christ whom we proclaim.