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REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT.

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A.-The Hill of Zion is the future Throne of the Lord.

Ps. ii. 6.—“ Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion." By general consent this prophecy applies to Christ, and undoubtedly refers to the time when Christ will "reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously."

Ps. cii. 13-22.-"Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon
Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set
time, is come.
When the LORD shall

build up ZION, then He shall appear in His glory.

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To declare the name of the LORD in ZION, and His praise in Jerusalem. When

the people are gathered together, and THE KINGDOMS, to serve the LORD."

Ps. xlviii. 1, 2, 9.-" Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. We have thought of Thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple."

B.-Zion and Jerusalem and the Temple one. Ps. lxxxvii. 1-3.-" His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of Elohim."

Ps. cxxii.-"I was glad when they said unto me, LET US GO INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.

OUR FEET SHALL STAND WITHIN THY GATES, O JERUSALEM.

Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:

Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.

For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

FOR MY BRETHREN AND COMPANIONS' SAKES, I WILL NOW say, Peace be within thee.

Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good."

Isa. xxxiii. 20.-"Look upon ZION, the city of our solemnities: Thine eyes shall see JERUSALEM a quiet habitation, A TABERNACLE that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken." (The building exhibited in Ezekiel's specifications will be the crowning piece of God's work in connection with the development of the Adamic race, and will last for ever; i.e., for the Messianic age. It should also be noted that "Jerusalem" and the "Tabernacle" are montioned in the above testimony as one.)

Ps. lxviii. 29.—"Because of Thy Temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto Thee." (Verses 16, 18, and 22, prove this psalm to be prophetic.)

C.-Zion and Jerusalem in their future glory a place for Sacrifice.

Ps. li. 18-19.-"Do good in Thy good pleasure unto ZION build Thou the walls of JERUSALEM.”

"THEN shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, WITH BURNT OFFERING, and whole burnt offering: THEN shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.”

Ezek. xx. 40.-"For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me; there will I accept them, and THERE WILL I REQUIRE YOUR OFFERINGS, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things." (Verses 35-38, 41-42, prove this to be yet future.)

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Mal. iii. 1, 3, 4.-"Behold, I will send My messenger and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His Temple He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, AS IN THE DAYS OF OLD, AND AS IN FORMER YEARS."

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REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT.

D.-The Altar and the Most Holy in the future. Ps. xliii. 3-4.-"O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy HOLY HILL, and to Thy tabernacles. THEN WILL I GO UNTO THE ALTAR OF GOD, unto God my exceeding joy."

Ps. xv. 1.-" Lord, who shall abide (or sojourn) in Thy
Tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill ?"
Ps. xxiv. 3.-"Who shall ascend into the hill of the
Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place ?"
E.-Christ the High Priest in the Temple.

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Zech. vi. 12-13.-" Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH He shall build the Temple of the Lord even He shall build the Temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both" (i.e., between the priestly and kingly office, as manifested in Christ and His bride in the kingdom of God).

F.-Christ the Supreme Ruler in the Courts of the Temple.

Zech. iii. 6-7.-"The angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua (Jesus), saying :

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts." (This is affirmed of Jesus, who is the BRANCH referred to. See verse 8).

G.-Christ the Prince who offereth Memorial Sacrifice. Ps. cxvi. 18-19.-"I will pay my vows unto the Lord

now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O JERUSALEM." (This prophecy cannot be said to have been fulfilled at the first appearing of Christ.)

H.-Christ and the Saints in the Eastern Court. Cant. ii. 9." My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart:

behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice." (Spoken of the sons of Zadok in their exalted position in the Temple of the age to come.)

Cant. v. 1.-"I (Christ) am come into My garden, My sister (Matt. xi. 50), My spouse (2nd Cor. xi. 2); (Matt. xxv. Eat, O friends (John xv. 14.); drink

1-13).

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J.-The Immortal Race in the Temple and on Mount Zion.

Ps. cxxxiii.-" Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for THERE the Lord commanded THE BLESSING, EVEN LIFE FOR EVERMORE."

Ps. xxiii. 6.-"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in THE HOUSE OF THE LORD for ever;" (i.e., David, speaking in spirit, foretold his official connection with the house of God in the age to come. His words, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever," could not apply to any period of his natural life, for he never dwelt in such a house).

Ps. xxvii. 4.-" One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and inquire in His Temple." (This psalm is also prophetic.)

Ps. lxv. 1-4.-"Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion: and unto Thee shall the vow be performed. O Thou that hearest prayer, UNTO THEE SHALL ALL FLESH COME. Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, THAT HE MAY DWELL IN THY COURTS: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy Temple."

K.-The desire expressed by the Prophets to see this Temple commensurate with the outcome of the Ezekiel Prophecy.

Ps. lxxxiv. 2, 4, 10.—" My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord."

"Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house: they will still be praising Thee."

"A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wicked

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yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." (Spoken Ps. xcix. 1-6.-"The Lord reigneth: let the people

of Christ and His multitudinous spouse breaking bread and drinking wine in the "inclosed garden" in the kingdom of God.)

tremble: He sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion; and He is high above all the people. Exalt ye

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the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool (the place of His feet), for He is holy. MOSES and AARON among His priests, and SAMUEL among them that call upon His name." (Moses, Samuel and Aaron, raised from the dead, will yet praise God, and worship at His holy hill, and administer judgment sitting between the cherubim." Verse 9).

M.-The Entrance of the Glory of Yahweh through the East Gate.

Ps. cxviii. 19." Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord: this gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter."

Ps. xxvi. 7.-Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." (See context.)

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THE reader has now been "shewn the house," so far as it can be seen by mental eyesight. By the aid of the prophet's description he has been shewn "the wall" which was seen by Ezekiel-an extraordinary structure of unusual dimensions surrounding the house in its extent of from four to five miles-and by the aid of this exegetical examination of the prophecy, he may know the reason of its height and breadth, i.e., he may perceive that the wall is a necessary foundation for the magnificent structure built upon it. He has been taken to the gate, caused to ascend its steps, has crossed its thresholds, and, with a glance upwards, has passed on through its massive folding doors into the outer court. There he has beheld a vista of majestic pillars, and a broad expanse of galleried buildings which may well inspire the beholder with awe. Such indeed has been the effect upon some who have been shewn the large drawings from which the plates in this book were reproduced. He has been made to pass along each side of the sanctuary in the outer court, noting its length and breadth, and the use of

all its appointments. He has been allowed a glimpse of those truly "cloud-capped towers" which form an imposing and perfect finish to the mighty structure. He has been told their use, and permitted to dwell on the character of their construction. He has been taken into the inner court, shewn its buildings, and the mystery of its subdivisions. Has he understood the grand feature of the house-the tent and the tabernacle of the Most High? and has he realized the magnificence of that circle-building, with its cherubim and its lofty heights, unparalleled in all previous earthly architecture? And the altar-does he see what the Deity intends to do ere long? Is he ready to drink of the living stream which issues from the side thereof; and will he (like Ezekiel) go through its waters, and so enter the house? If the reader is a son of Abraham (after the flesh), let him remember that this prophecy is addressed to him. "Son "of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that

they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let "them measure the pattern" (chap. xliii. 10). Let him not suppose this means that he is to be shewn the actual house in order to bring him to repentance; that cannot be the meaning, as he should know; for then the expression, "let them measure the pattern," would be out of place. How can he "measure a pattern" that is not before him? Let him look at the matter as it stands, and accept it as a message from the Deity Himself to a member of the outcast race, shortly to be once again replanted in the divine favour. Ah! he may recoil at this under the impulse of his traditional hatred of the name of Jesus. He will dispute the likelihood that any dog of a Gentile" can be the means of explaining the vision to him.

Let him think again. May not Jesus be his Messiah after all? Has he ever looked the question in the face? Has he ever given the argument for his claims due consideration? Let one epitomise it to you from the prophets :

Does not Jeremiah affirm that the name of your Messiah'shall be The Lord our righteousness?' (Jer. xxiii. 6). Question: In what way is your Messiah to become your righteousness? Why not search and look for the answer in the records? Yea, let us also reason together a little. If a man is himself righteous, he does not require another to be his righteousness. If a nation is itself righteous, there is no necessity for a Messiah to deliver him from sin, desolation, and death. Now, a Jew witnesseth that there is not a man that sinneth not' (1 Kings viii. 46). Therefore, there is neither individual nor national righteousness for thee, O Israel! unless ye partake of the righteousness of another. And since your law (which is given to you by the Creator of all things) permits a woman to be a partaker of the privileges which come through the circumcision of her father, though not her

THE EXHORTATION,

self circumcised, why may not a Jew partake of benefits which come through the righteousness of another? Search and look! Then the question arises, In what way is such a righteous medium of blessing to be provided? Listen. Isaiah testifies, chapter xlix. 8, that Messiah shall be given for a covenant () of the people. How understandest thou this? Do not the records of thy fathers show, that when two or more parties enter into a covenant, a third something is required to seal the transaction, and make it sure? Now, between God and man this something is a sacrifice, else what is the meaning of all the beasts on Jewish altars slain ? To give Messiah, then, for a covenant, is to give Him as a sacrifice. Turn not from us in disgust, and say, 'Ye are Gentile dogs,' and 'know not the law.' Remember that your father Abraham was called of God when yet a Gentile, before circumcision was commanded. And, if dogs do partake of the crumbs which fall from the children's table (Matt. xv. 26-27), remember that the neck of the children has been long under Gentile heel; and learn the lesson which the Father teaches thereby. Let not tradition cause thee to despise Peter, Paul, James and John, nor deter thee from considering the things written by them. Have you been persecuted, hated, and hounded from city to city by some who call themselves followers of those worthy men and their Master-Jesus-the Anointed One-Messiah? Remember such professors are not the disciples of Him whose name they profess to bear. True disciples love thee, and would not hurt a hair of thy head. Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. How fully endowed with wisdom would you esteem us, if we formed our opinion of your nation by degraded and grovelling specimens of your race? Are we to estimate the character of those worthy men, who prophesied to you in the days of old, by what we read of Saul, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram? Neither do you adjudge the word of the gospel unworthy of regard because of the wickedness which is perpetrated in the name of Jesus Christ. Search the records! not only of your fathers, but also the things that are written by the apostles, lest you fail to learn the meaning of your prophets and miss the blessings of the Messiah.

As for you, Israel after the spirit (whether Gentiles or Jews), to you also is this message sent: "Son of man, "show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be "ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the "pattern." Pause and consider, ye giddy ones; ye who dally with the world's pleasures, who try to live on its insidious sweets; who rest on its consolations; who put your trust in silver and gold, and lean on an arm of flesh! If ye are ashamed of the iniquity of all that you have done, and henceforth serve God faithfully-Listen! this will be the result:-Ye shall be shewn the

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form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: in order that ye may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, AND DO THEM (chap. xliii. 10-11); that is to say, you will be allowed to enter the house with Ezekiel, and take part with him in the administration of its ordinances, and, as constituents of the spiritual house of Israel, it will be your business to "keep all the ordinances of the house, and do them." You will, in fact, become constituent elements of the "Son of Man," to whom "the Lord God" says: "Thou shalt take of the "blood of the bullock, and put it upon the four horns of "it (ie., of the altar), and on the four corners of the "settle, and upon the border round about" (chap. xliii. 20). You will be of those who, being found righteous, "ascend into the hill of the Lord," and will for ever remain in that glorious condition of immortality unto which you have been exalted.

But if you, O Israel, will not hearken to the exhortation which comes from the Father to His children, then in the day of Christ ye will be made ashamed of your "stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and "mincing as ye go. The Lord will smite with a scab "the crown of the head, and will discover your secret "parts. In that day the Lord will take away the "bravery of your tinkling ornaments," your laces and your “tiaras"; "the chains and the bracelets, and the 'spangled ornaments; the bonnets and the ornaments "of the legs; and the head-bands, and the tablets and "the ear-rings;" the changeable suits of apparel, and the "mantles and the wimples, and the crisping pins; "the glasses and the fine linen, and the hoods and the "veils. And it shall come to pass, instead of sweet "smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a "rent; instead of well-set hair, baldness; instead of a "stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead. "of beauty" (Isa. iii. 16-24). Oh, Israel, remember thy solemn assemblies! Do ye, indeed, bite and devour one another? Are your hands free from blood? Do ye not slander your own mother's son; and hating your brother in your heart, are ye not murderers ? (Ps. 1. 20; 1 John iii. 15.) Have ye forgotten the exhortations?"Speak not evil one of another" (James iv. 11); "Avenge not yourselves" (Rom. xii. 19); "Resist not evil" (Matt. v. 39); "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile" (Ps. xxxiv. 13). And ye, O wanderers from the right way, Do ye shew your faces where folly reigns and vanity is enthroned? Are ye found in the house of mirth rather than with the mourner for Zion ? Will ye be conformed to this world? (Rom. xii. 2; 1st Cor. vii. 31-33). Do ye forget that "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him ?" (1st John ii. 15). Can you, with the

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approbation of Christ, visit the sepulchres of the dead, and bow before the shrine of harlot Rome, or any of her progeny? Can ye guiltlessly partake of the table of devils? "Do ye provoke the Lord to jealousy ?" "Are you stronger than He?" (He did not so), and Christ hath said, "Ye cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of devils" (1st Cor. x. 1-22). "What concord "hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that "believeth with an infidel ?" (2nd Cor. vi. 14-15.) "WASH YOU, MAKE YOU CLEAN; PUT AWAY THE EVIL OF YOUR DOINGS before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; "learn to do well. Come now, let us reason together, "saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they "shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa. i. 16-18).

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Know ye not, that ye should " earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints?" (Jude 3). "Awake, thou that sleepest" (Ep. v. 14). Return ye, return ye, "to your first love" (Rev. ii. 4). "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God" (Heb. xii. 15). Take heed, "Lest there be any profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright' (Heb. xii. 16). Will ye still suffer Jezebel and Balaam to teach in the church? Will ye still sustain false apostles and spurious Jews, to blaspheme before God? (Rev. ii. 2, 9, 14, 20), who "by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" (Rom. xvi. 18). Will ye still be carried about with divers and strange doctrines?" (Heb. xiii. 9). Know ye not, "That they that are unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures unto their own destruction ?" (2nd Peter iii. 16). "Beware of evil workers" (Phil. iii. 2); and of " murmurers, complainers, walkers after their own lusts" (Jude, verse 16). Are you not ashamed of growing cold and lukewarm and tired? (Rev. iii. 11, 15, 16). "I counsel thee to buy of Ime gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; "and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and

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"the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint "thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see" (ibid. 18). "That women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety" (1st Tim. ii. 9); that they have for "ornament a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price" (1st Peter iii. 4). That wrath, strife, envyings, and murmurings be put away. Is it not written, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings" (Phil. ii. 14; Gal. v. 20-21). "Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned" (James v. 9); "Neither be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another " (Gal. v. 26). "Sow not to the flesh, but to the Spirit" (Gal. vi. 8), Love, and envy not; be humble, be not puffed up, be not easily provoked, think no evil" (1 Cor. xiii. 4-5). "Forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you" (Eph. iv. 32). "Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not" (Gal. vi. 9). "Be not deceived, evil com"munications corrupt good manners. Awake to right"eousness, and sin not, for some have not the knowledge "of God: I speak to your shame" (1st Cor. xv. 33-34). "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded" (James iv. 8). "Faith without works is dead" (James ii. 26). "Remember, our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. xii. 29); and “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" (1st Pet. iv. 18).

"BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK: if "any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come "in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in

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EXPLANATION OF PLATE XII.

THIS explanation is intended to show the course of Ezekiel's journey through the house, as indicated by red letters and a red line. Some of the letters are repeated thus, A-A., in order to shew the full extent of the prophet's movement in those cases where a single sentence implies a broad interpretation, such as the sentence, "He brought me to the east gate," the meaning of which, in most cases, is that he caused him to traverse the side of the sanctuary, and pass all the eastern gate openings :

A." In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, whereon was, as it were, the frame of a city on the south." Point A would be a long Point ▲ would be a long distance from the building northward; but the letter is placed on the diagram, although Ezekiel

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