The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 462

the spiritually healthful Bnd vivifying offered to the exiles, after the V1s1on of influences of the gospel. The equal di vision their moral and spiritual resuscitation and of the !Bud Bmong the tribes, Bnd the intro- establishment in their own land, with David, duction of the sons of the stranger to equBI Jehovah's Serv11nt and King, ruling over privileges with the Israelite, mBy have been them, and in close connection with, if not designed to intimBte that when the new immediately after, the fine.I conflict with condition of things Brrived to which the Gog, which leads up, one should say, quite vision looked forwBrd, i.e. when the Christian naturally to the complete blessedness of erB dBwned, the distinction between Jew the future life. Then the correspondence Bnd Gentile should no more exist (Eph. ii. between the river in John's description of 14-16), Bud 11ll the membe1s of the new the heavenly JeruMlem, and this temple- IsrBel should shBre Blike in the inheritance stream in Ezekiel's vision, renders it im- of which CBnllBu WBS the eBrlhly emblem. possible to exclude from the latter all The sepe.rBtion of the temple from the city allusion to the heavenly state. At the so.me may hBve pointed to the fBct thBt in thBt time, there a.re points, even on Keil's showing, coming Bge the Ohurch should be Bn insti- that cannot well be harmonized with the tution Bltogether distinct from BDd no theory that only the heavenly and glorified longer identica.I with the stllte, as under the form of the Church is symbolized by the Hebrew dispensBtion it hBd been. These, vision. One of these has been mentioned, with other instances that might be given, the perpetuation of the sin offering; another show how eBBily the whole symbol may be is the precept concerning the hereditary understood of the Christian Churh on eo.rtb, property of the prince and its transmission which WBB the view commonly entertained to his sons ; e. third is the separation be- by the Reformed theologiBns, who did not, tween the temple and the city; a fourth is except indirectly, employ it as typical of the the invasion of Gog, whioh, as Keil hBS kingdom of God in its perfect or heavenly obsen-ed, is represented BS occurring after condition. Israel hBB taken possession of the lnnd. 3. This, however, is the view taken of Hence probably it is wrong to restrict the the vision by both Kliefoth Bud Keil, the significance of the "vision" so exclusively first of whom does not, while the second as Keil does to the heavenly world. does, exclude all allusion to the present or Upon the whole, it seems best to find n historical condition of the Christian Church. place for ea.oh of the above views in any In the vision Kliefoth, while discovering interpretation of the vision ; and this may some things, BB for instance the sin offerings, be done by supposing that the vision wu that can only be applied to the present or designed by its real Author-the Spirit ot temporal form of the Church, finds others, Bs Obrist (1 Pet. i. 11)-to set forth, by means e.g. the temple-river, which he holds oan of Old Testament imagery, a pioture of th11t only h11ve its oounterpsrt in the river of the perfoot service whioh ought to have been Apocalypse (Rev. xxii I). On the other rendered from the first by Israel (after the hand, Keil 11rgues that only one thing pre- flesh) to JehovBh, but wns not, and whioh it supposes that Israel hBB still to take posses- w11s Jehov11h's promise to the exiles would sion of (the he11venly) Cane.an, viz. " the ultimately be rendered by thnt new Israel directions concerning the boundaries and (according to the Spirit) he was soon to call the division of the l11nd," and proceeds to out of the ruins of tl10 old. In this wny, ns BllY, "It follows from this that the pro- setting forth the ideBl of I\ perfect worship phetio picture does not furnish a typicBl which will not be completely realized until exhibition of the Ohurch of Christ in its Israel reaohes the henvenly CRne.an, the gradual development, but sets forth the "vision" admits of Keil's interpretation; kingdom of God established by Christ in but innsmuoh o.s this idenl worship will not its perfect form." In short, Keil regards be ntte.incd to there unless the worship the whole" vision" as 11 symbolic representa- ilselfbegins on earth in the Christian Church tion, in Old Testament language Bnd ideo.s -to which not a few fe11tures in the symbol -the only w11y in which suoh representation point-the vision is also susceptible of could have been given so BS to be intelli- K.liefoth's exposition ; while as the first gible to Ezekiel's readem-of the intro- step towardll the calling out of the new duction of God's spiritual Israel into their Israel was taken when God turned again hoovenly Canaan, and of the perfect service the captivity of the exiles, the view of they sho.11 there render to Jebov11h. That Hengstenborg ce.nnot be e.xoludod. the heavenly oondition of the Church of God was designed to be depicted it seems A few words may bo added on the bee.ring necessary to hold, both from the position of which the view just t11ken of the eignificunce the vision in Ezekiel's book and from the of the templo-vision has upon the chief contents (in part) of the vision itself. 'fhe critical question of the day ns to the v~iol} occurs, "8 the last noti, of consol11~io11 ptrqcture of th~ Pent11tc1.1ch, •r~e mod,crD 478 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL, [oa. XLvm.1-36,