Why were the windows covered? (Ezekiel 41:16)
Ezekiel 41:15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits. The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court, 16 as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows and galleries around the three of them—everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood.
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Asked October 09 2022
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
By my understanding, the symbolism associated with the covers was related to a representation of how impenetrable the separation was between the glories on one side of the cover and the state of being on the other side of the cover. (A similar imagery is used in Revelation 22:15, which speaks of an absolute separation between the redeemed within the heavenly city's gates, and the lost on the outside of the gates.)
Shirley H
Supporter
The temple of Ezekiel was a vision. Moses received a similar vision about the tabernacle in Exodus 25 and 26. In Moses’ tabernacle, the ark of the Lord contained the testimony with the mercy seat on the top. God was basically locked in and unapproachable. Ezekiel’s temple vision was a foreshadow of the new, holy temple. This temple was to become the "body of Christ." The church. So, why were the windows in Ezekiel's temple covered? John 2:19,21: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.'" He spoke of the temple of His body. In Stephen's address in Acts 7:48-50, note this: "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. ‘Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me?’ Said the Lord, or ‘What is the place of my rest? Has my hand not made all these things?’” In Matthew 27:51, when Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. 1 Corinthians 3:16: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" God's light shines deep within believers. Matthew 5:14,16: We are to shine God's light in a dark world. Habakkuk says, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Ezekiel's vision of the covered windows is speaking of the dark days before Christ came. The Lord could not be approached in a personal way. Remember that only the priest could go near to God. And there was many rules for that to happen. BUT - now Jesus has told us that wherever two or three are gathered, He is in the midst of them. Matthew 6:6: "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door (closed out the world) pray to your Father, who sees in secret, and will reward you openly." A personal relationship. Private, accessibility.
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