Page 223 - NOTES ON EZEKIEL

CHAPTER XL. 217
ing Shechinah shall once more find its place in their
midst, the seal of glory never to be broken, till means
melt away before blessing complete and everlasting, and
judgment sees no more evil to be judged.
Beyond a doubt, the main stumbling-block in this
section to most Christians is the plain prediction of
sacrifices, feasts, and other ordinances according to the
Levitical law. These, they conceive, must be explained
(that is, are really to be explained away), so as not to
clash with the Epistle to the Hebrews. But the argu­
ment assumes that there can be no change of dispensa­
tion—that, because we are Christians, those whom the
prophecy contemplates must be in the same relation­
ship. This however is nothing but error. For the
Epistle referred to looks at believers since redemp­
tion while Christ is on high till He comes again
in glory; the prophecy of Ezekiel, on the contrary, is
occupied with the earthly people and supposes the
glory of Jehovah dwelling once again in the land of
Canaan. The truth is that to bless Israel as such and
the Gentiles only mediately and subordinately to the
Jews, as this prophecy and almost all others suppose
and definitely declare, is a state of things in distinct
contrast with Christianity, where there is neither Jew
nor Gentile but all are one in Christ Jesus. Hence
the whole ground and position here are quite different
from what we see in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Earthly priests distinct from the people, with a posi­
tion quite peculiar to the prince, a material sanctuary with
tangible sacrifices and offerings, are distinctly predicted
by Ezekiel; but these are evidently wholly foreign to
Christianity. One as much as the other would be in­