Temple Prophecy of Ezekiel 37 Part 2

After prophesying that in the Last days, that God would establish his sanctuary and tabernacle in Israel, Ezekiel sees a vision of an enormous temple in later chapters. The size of the temple Ezekiel is shown would encompass a state or even a nation. So, some use this to support the idea that Ezekiel's prophecy does not apply to LDS temples and the whole thing altogether is figurative.

Ezek 43:10-12 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

Ezekiel is being shown Enoch's temple in the original city of Zion. The entire city was a temple city and that is why the whole city was taken up to heaven and Christ's presence "Shechinah" was there, and Christ himself could walk among them in His glory. Those of the city of Enoch will return with Christ at His Second Coming. In the rapture we will meet each other in the air. Zion from below will meet Zion from above.

D&C 84: 100 The Lord hath redeemed his people;And Satan is bound and time is no longer.The Lord hath gathered all things in one.The Lord hath brought down Zion from above.The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.

Moses 7:63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;

Ezekiel is describing Enoch's temple. Other temples are patterned after this temple but obviously cannot be exactly the same because they fit the circumstances and needs of the people a the time. You will notice that even after seeing this vision, the second temple was not created exactly like it. And in a way Earthly temples are not perfect. The perfect temple would encompass the entire Earth. The entire Earth would be the temple and God could walk in His glory upon the entire face of it. Therefore, the perfect temple would be no temple. There would be no place set aside as holy, everywhere and everyone would be holy.

The temple built in the city of New Jerusalem will be more like this temple in that the entire city will be a temple city. Also, modern day temples are not exactly like Enoch's temple. They are of the same pattern, but Christian temples have no need for animal sacrifice. Christ is the final and infinite sacrifice and the temple ceremony is fully focused on administering that sacrifice and the everlasting covenants associated with Christ. There is no need for priests to offer their own animal sacrifices any more. Those who have been sealed, washed, anointed, clothed, named and ordained as kings and lords (priests), are to minister Christs sacrifice and not their own. Those priests do not represent themselves and nothing man can do can forgive sin. Priests in Christian temples represent Christ and His infinite sacrifice.

Again, the temple Ezekiel was seeing is the temple of Enoch. There is not temple in Heaven because all of heaven in holy. The future temples of New Jerusalem and Old Jerusalem might be as big. But with temples; bigger is better. If it were up to God, the size would envelop the entire Earth. Remember the pattern of the temple is scalable. It can apply to the individual soul, marriage, home and family, a holy building, a temple city, a royal priesthood, holy nation and peculiar people, and the eventual Celestial Earth.

Dan 2:34-35, 44 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. . . . and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain (a temple), and filled the whole earth. . . . And in the days of these kings (iron and clay = European nations in the Last Days) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

And so the kingdom of God will. In the days of those kings, (Last Days, European nations = iron mixed with clay) It is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that will grow until it becomes a great mountain (temple) and fill the whole Earth.

Mark 14: 58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
Heb. 9: 11, 24 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; . . . For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Acts 17: 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

I know what Paul is saying about God dwelling in our hearts. Remember the context of who Paul is speaking too who is trying to teach them about the Holy Ghost. But that doesn't mean that the prophecies about the literal restoration of Christian temples in Old Jerusalem and New Jerusalem will not also happen. God will literally rebuild the temple but it will not be made after the manner of men and it will not be made after the order of the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood but it is to be made ofter the eternal and everlasting order of the Melchizedek. God Himself will build His Holy House.

The pattern of the temple is scalable from the individual, to the holy building, to the holy city, to the holy nation, to the Celestial Earth. The perfect temple would be no temple at all. The entire Earth would be celestialized. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands would become a great mountain (temple) and fill the whole Earth. So, that when John was shown the Celestialized Earth, he saw no temple. There was not place set aside for God. The entire Earth will be made holy and will be God's dwelling. It doesn't make sense to refer to a heavenly temple either, because all of God's kingdom is holy, not just one part of it. Temples on Earth are a finite representation of the kingdom of God in the heavens.

Rev. 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.