Bird's-eye view
In this section of Ezekiel's vision, the prophet is led from the intricate details of the inner temple complex to the measurement of the entire outer perimeter. The angel with the measuring reed, who has been guiding Ezekiel, now defines the grand scale of the holy precinct. The measurements are vast and perfectly symmetrical, a massive square of 500 reeds on each side. This is not a blueprint for a literal building to be constructed by Zerubbabel or Herod, or some future millennial monarch. The sheer size of this complex would dwarf the historical city of Jerusalem. Rather, this is a symbolic vision. The perfect symmetry and immense scale are intended to communicate the glory, perfection, and universal scope of what this temple represents: the New Covenant church of Jesus Christ. The vision concludes by stating the explicit purpose of the surrounding wall, which is to make a clear separation between the holy and the profane. This is the architectural embodiment of the church's calling to be a distinct and holy people, set apart from the world for the glory of God.
What we are seeing here is theology rendered in architecture. It is a vision of the City of God, the New Jerusalem, which is the Bride of Christ. The meticulous measuring is God's way of saying that His church is not an accident, not a chaotic assembly, but a divinely designed and ordered reality. Its boundaries are definite, its nature is holy, and its scope is global. This passage, therefore, is not for architects but for saints. It is a picture of our corporate identity in Christ, a holy nation and a royal priesthood, measured and defined by God Himself.
Outline
- 1. The Measurement of God's New Creation (Ezek 42:15-20)
- a. The Exterior Survey Begins (Ezek 42:15)
- b. The Four-Square Perfection (Ezek 42:16-19)
- c. The Great Wall of Separation (Ezek 42:20)
Context In Ezekiel
These closing verses of chapter 42 serve as a transition. Up to this point, the vision in chapters 40-42 has focused on the intricate details of the temple proper: the gates, the courts, the chambers for the priests, and the Most Holy Place. It has been an inside-out tour. Now, the perspective shifts from the internal layout to the external boundary. This measurement of the outer perimeter sets the stage for what is to come. In chapter 43, the glory of the Lord, which Ezekiel witnessed departing from the old temple (Ezek 10), will return to this new house through the east gate. The establishment of these vast and holy boundaries is a prerequisite for the return of God's presence. The sheer scale and perfection of the measured area demonstrate that this is a new and greater reality than the temple that was destroyed. It is a vision of restoration that far surpasses a mere physical rebuilding, pointing to a spiritual reality that will be inaugurated by the Messiah.
Key Issues
- The Symbolic Nature of the Temple Vision
- The Identity of the Temple as the Church
- The Meaning of the Measurements
- The Wall of Separation: Holy vs. Profane
- The Relationship to the New Jerusalem (Rev 21)
A Temple Not Made with Hands
It is a fundamental mistake of interpretation, common in many dispensationalist circles, to read these chapters in Ezekiel as a literal blueprint for a future, physical temple in Jerusalem. The text itself resists such a reading. The dimensions described here are enormous, encompassing an area far larger than the entire city of Jerusalem in Jesus' day. A square of 500 reeds, with a reed being about 10.5 feet, is over a mile on each side. This is not a building project; it is a theological statement.
The New Testament provides the key to unlock this vision. The true temple of God is no longer a building of stone and mortar, but is rather the person of Jesus Christ (John 2:19-21) and, by extension, His body, the church (1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:19-22). The New Jerusalem that John sees in Revelation is not a physical city but the Bride, the Lamb's wife (Rev 21:9-10). That city is also measured, and it is a perfect cube, just like the Holy of Holies. Ezekiel's temple vision is an Old Covenant adumbration of this same spiritual reality. He is being shown the church, the dwelling place of God by the Spirit, in the architectural language that he and his audience would understand. The measuring reed is defining the shape of the gospel age.
Verse by Verse Commentary
15 Then he had finished measuring the inner house; he brought me out by the way of the gate which faced toward the east and measured it all around.
The tour of the interior is complete. Now, the angel leads Ezekiel out through the east gate, the primary entrance, to survey the outer boundary. The movement is significant. We have seen the inner logic of God's house, and now we are to see its relationship to the world around it. The measuring is comprehensive, "all around." God leaves nothing undefined. His work is precise and complete. The east gate is the gate of the rising sun, the gate through which the glory of the Lord will return (Ezek 43:2). This measuring of the perimeter is a preparation for the arrival of the King.
16-19 He measured on the east side with the measuring reed 500 reeds by the measuring reed. He measured on the north side 500 reeds by the measuring reed. On the south side he measured 500 reeds with the measuring reed. He turned to the west side and measured 500 reeds with the measuring reed.
The text is deliberately repetitive, almost liturgical. East, north, south, west. Each side is measured, and each side is the same: 500 reeds. The result is a perfect square. This is not the language of a surveyor, but the language of theology. The number four represents the earth, the four corners of the world. The perfect symmetry signifies the universal reach of this new temple. It is not a provincial or ethnic entity; its gates are open to all four directions. This is the great commission in architectural form. The church of Jesus Christ is to extend to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The perfection of the number, 500, speaks of divine completeness and order. There is no lopsidedness in God's plan. His new creation, the church, is a balanced, stable, and perfectly ordered reality in His eyes, no matter how chaotic it may appear to us on the ground.
20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length 500 and the width 500, to divide between the holy and the profane.
This final verse summarizes the measurement and then gives its explicit purpose. The perfect square, 500 by 500, is enclosed by a wall. And the function of this wall is not primarily for military defense, but for theological definition. It is there "to divide between the holy and the profane." The word for holy, qodesh, means set apart, dedicated to God. The word for profane, or common, chol, refers to that which is outside this sphere of dedication. This is the fundamental task of the church: to be a distinct community, a visible representation of the holiness of God in the midst of a fallen world. The priests of the old covenant had failed precisely at this point, failing to teach the difference between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean (Ezek 22:26). In this new temple, the church, that distinction is foundational. The wall is not to keep people out, for the gates are open. The wall is to define what it means to be in. To be inside is to be part of the holy people of God; to be outside is to be in the realm of the common, the profane. This is not a physical separation, but a moral and spiritual one. The church is walled by the covenant of grace, by the truth of the gospel, and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
Application
This vision is for us. We are the temple of the living God. And this passage teaches us three crucial things about ourselves as the church. First, we are divinely measured. Our existence is not a historical accident. The church is God's building project, and He has laid out its dimensions with perfect wisdom. We are part of something vast, symmetrical, and beautiful in His sight. We should therefore live with a sense of our high calling and the dignity of our citizenship in this holy city.
Second, we are universal. The four-square layout reminds us that our mission is to the ends of the earth. The gospel is for every nation, and the church is to reflect that global reality. Any form of Christianity that becomes insular, provincial, or ethnically exclusive is violating the architectural plan laid out here by God Himself.
Third, and most pointedly, we are to be separate. The great wall is there to distinguish between the holy and the profane. In an age that despises distinctions and seeks to blur every line, the church is called to be defiantly different. We are not to be holy in a way that is Pharisaical and repellent, but in a way that is winsome and attractive, like a beautiful and well-ordered city on a hill. But we must maintain the distinction. We are set apart by what we believe, how we live, how we worship, and whom we serve. When the church forgets this, when it tears down the wall and lets the standards of the profane world dictate its life, the glory of the Lord departs. Our task is to live within this holy square, inviting all who are thirsty to come in through the gates and join us in the holy presence of God.