Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): Rr ch. 13 paras. 7-14 and Box 13A.
Did Ezekiel see the great spiritual temple?
7, 8. a) What clarification has been made recently? b) How are the temple Ezekiel saw different from the spiritual temple Paul wrote about?
For many years our publications have said that the temple Ezekiel saw was Jehovah's great spiritual temple of which Paul spoke by inspiration in his letter to the Hebrews. But thanks to a deeper analysis of the subject we see that it is not possible that Ezekiel saw the great spiritual temple.
b) How are the temple Ezekiel saw different from the spiritual temple Paul wrote about?
First of all: The temple Ezekiel saw does not match Paul's inspirational explanation. The apostle wrote about the Blessed Sacrament saying that it was a place "made by human hands, a copy of reality." And when he said reality, he meant heaven. And Ezekiel's vision does not imply that he was seeing heavenly things, as is indicated in other visions.
9, 10. What is the difference between the type of temple sacrifices Ezekiel saw and that of the great spiritual temple?
Ezekiel received very detailed instructions on how to offer sacrifices. These were for the people, the chiefs and the priests. They were to offer sacrifices for themselves for their sins. In the great spiritual temple there is only one sacrifice, that of Jesus Christ himself the Great High Priest. In Hebrews 9: 11,12. It is said that "he entered once and for all in the Holy place, with his own blood and obtained an eternal Liberation for us".
11. In Ezekiel's time, why was the time not yet ripe for God to reveal truths about the great spiritual temple?
Ezekiel's vision was directed first to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. They had to obey the Mosaic law. At the end of the exile, they were to return to Jerusalem and put into practice what the law said about pure worship. If they had been shown the spiritual temple they would have thought that the high priest would sacrifice his own life. And possibly they no longer needed to obey the law.
12-14. What is the relationship between the temple Ezekiel saw and Paul's explanation of the spiritual temple? (See the box “Different Temples, Different Meanings”).
Although Paul does mention some elements that were in the vision of Ezekiel and in the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel, Paul concentrates on different aspects. As the note says it focused on the high priest and what he did each year on the Day of Atonement. In Ezekiel's vision nothing is said about the high priest or the day of atonement.
However we can say that these two stories are related to each other. Paul teaches us what the system for worshiping God consists of, and Ezekiel tells us about Jehovah's standards for worshiping him. Paul explains the meaning of some elements of the spiritual temple such as the high priest, the sacrifices, the altar, and the Blessed Sacrament. Whereas Ezekiel highlights Jehovah's high standards for pure worship.
INFORMATIVE BOX 13A: Different Temples, Different Meanings
Animals for sacrifices made in the temple of vision.
The temple of Ezekiel's vision
It was described by Ezekiel for the Jewish exiles in Babylon
It has an altar in which many sacrifices are offered
Highlight Jehovah's Righteous Standards for Worship
It focuses our attention on the spiritual restoration that began in 1919
The great spiritual temple
It was explained by Paul and addressed to the Hebrew Christians
It has an altar on which a single sacrifice is offered “once and for all” (Heb. 10:10)
Explains a spiritual reality that the tabernacle and literal temples long represented - the system that Jehovah has established for pure worship based on the sacrifice of Christ
It focuses our attention on the work that Christ did in his role as Great High Priest from AD 29 to 33.
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