The Mystery of Ezekiel’s Temple Liturgy: Why Ezekiel's Temple Practices Differ from Levitical Law
by Hilary Arthur Nixon, Ph.D.
Westbow Press
book review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
"By the time Messiah builds Ezekiel’s Temple, there is a renewed cleansing, atonement and consecration of the court altar and its more restricted priesthood."
Nixon, a biblical scholar who has dedicated himself to an analysis of the interconnection between the Old and New Testaments, here presents a detailed analysis of the significance of Ezekiel’s temple. The prophet Ezekiel, exiled after Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, was given a vision: a man carrying a cord and a measuring rod walks off a new, huge temple, explaining each room and its purposes. The vision includes not merely the structure itself, to be created by the Messiah, but practices to be followed within the temple in the future. For example, priests will have a more formal role in formalized religious rituals. God will reign supreme, and the Messiah will preside. Also, certain sacrifices—their character and timings—will be restored, including the daily blood sacrifice of unblemished animals such as cattle and sheep.
Nixon writes with erudition and conviction. His treatise is a radical one in these current times, asserting that Ezekiel’s temple provides a portrait of a realizable future in which temple ritual will re-emerge as the model for sound religious practice. He plunges into his subject matter with laudably knowledgeable detail and depth. He often makes reference to the writings of others who have delved into the same possibilities, either to refute or to support their theories. He has supplied numerous tables delineating such matters as differences between the tabernacle of Moses and the temple described in the Book of Ezekiel, the sacrifices and offerings required in Ezekiel’s vision, the variance between Levitical and future religious festivals, and other relevant materials corroborating his central belief that Ezekiel’s temple will become a reality, fundamentally changing Mosaic tenets and altering the way that Bible-believing peoples perceive the worship of God. Nixon’s book will doubtless attract both those new to the central themes and those already immersed in them.
