Ezekiel 40:1-48:35
“In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain... and the glory of the LORD came into the house... And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.”
King James Version
Ezekiel's vast closing vision — a meticulously measured future temple, the return of God's glory, the river flowing from the sanctuary, the reapportioned land, and the city named 'The LORD is there' — one of the most debated passages in all eschatology.
Fulfillment References
Revelation 21:1-22:5 Ezekiel 43:1-5 John 7:38 Revelation 22:1-2
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe glory of the LORD fills the house and the river flows from His presence; the New Jerusalem needs 'no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it' (Rev. 21:22) — the one God Himself dwelling with His people: 'The LORD is there.'
JewishRead variously as a blueprint for the Second Temple (largely unbuilt to spec), an idealized future temple of the Messianic age, or a symbolic vision; the river and restored land are central restoration imagery.
CatholicGenerally read symbolically/typologically — the temple, river, and glory fulfilled in Christ and the Church, consummated in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21-22).
ProtestantThe crux of a major divide: a literal future temple versus a symbolic portrait of God's restored dwelling with His people, the latter pointing to Revelation 21-22.
OrthodoxRead typologically of Christ and the heavenly temple; the returning glory and life-giving river fulfilled in the Church and the new creation.
DispensationalA literal millennial temple with a (memorial) sacrificial system; the river and land allotment taken concretely as features of the coming kingdom.
AcademicCritical scholars read chs. 40-48 as a post-exilic restoration program (priestly/Zadokite) never implemented as described; the literal-vs-symbolic question, and the tension of its animal sacrifices with Hebrews, are central scholarly and theological debates.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.