The bright Glory of God poured into the Temple through the east gate.
The Spirit put me on my feet and led me to the inside courtyard and—oh!
the bright Glory of God filled the Temple! Ezekiel 43:4-5 (TM)
Today’s chapter highlights the ancient conflict that still reverberates through Jerusalem and Israel. It’s clear in verses 4-5 that the east gate of Jerusalem that leads into the temple is an important place where God’s glory will appear. Jewish scholars believe that when their messiah comes, he will come into the temple through the east gate. The problem is that the temple was destroyed, and for centuries a mosque has sat in it’s place in Jerusalem. Knowing Ezekiel’s prophecy, the Muslims bricked up the east gate (You can see it just to the left of my head in the picture. This picture was taken from the Garden of Gethsemene). This is one of the myriad of reasons that the "temple mount" in Jerusalem, to this day, is one of the hottest political hot-spots – some say the hottest – in the world.
The Old Testament isn’t irrelevant. It’s very, very relevant today.
