Page 244 - Through New Eyes

244 THROUGH NEW EYES
It is often overlooked that the restoration establishment was
indeed a new covenant, and an advance in glory beyond the
Davidic establishment. Whether we call the post-exilic establish-
ment a new covenant or simply a “covenant renewal ,“ the fact is
that there were very great changes involved in the new cosmos,
changes equivalent to the changes involved in previous new cov-
enants. Also, the point of Zechariah 3 is that the Davidic cove-
nant had become so defiled that it could not be renewed, and
thus what is shown in Zechariah 3 is the establishment of a New
Covenant. We shall return to this when we consider Zechariah’s
night visions later in this chapter.
The book of Ezekiel is a useful place to see the Restoration
heavens and earth portrayed in prophecy. The message of Eze-
kiel to the first group of exiles was that even though the Temple
was going to be torn down, the true Temple was in heaven and
was with them wherever they went. As Solomon had made
clear, God Himself did not dwell in the Temple, only His
“name” (1 Kings 8:27-29).
In the first chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet is given a vision of
the Cherubic Chariot that had been symbolized by the four
cherubim in the Most Holy Place. Only High Priests ever
entered the Most Holy, and this alerts us to the possibility that
Ezekiel will be the High Priest of Israel during the exile. The fact
that Ezekiel is addressed as “son of man,” that is, as a second
Adam, highlights this. Daniel, Ezekiel’s friend and co-worker in
Babylon, saw the Messiah as the Son of Man. Ezekiel, as High
Priest, typified the true Second Adam to come.4
In Chapter 1, Ezekiel sees the Chariot in Babylon. This
meant that God was with His people in exile. He had not aban-
doned them, though He was chastising them. In Chapters 8-11,
Ezekiel sees the Chariot of Glory get up and move out of the
Temple, and fly away. The Temple, now abandoned and “deso-
late,” has become an “abomination: and God will destroy this
“abomination of desolation.” After the destruction of the Temple
comes the exile of the prince, the king of Israel (Ezekiel 12), but a
twig of the Davidic house will be preserved (Ezekiel 17:22).
In Ezekiel 24:16-27, God told Ezekiel that He was going to
take away his wife. The death of Ezekiel’s wife was a symbol of
God’s judgment against Israel, His own bride. From the time of