THE TWO BOILING PLACES
At the end, toward the rear of the temple, there are the two places for the priests to boil their offerings and to prepare and bake the meal offerings (46:19-20). These are the priestly kitchens. The kitchens for the people are at the four corners of the outer court, and the kitchens for the priests are these two places within the holy place.
THE LAND SURROUNDING THE TEMPLE
After the measuring of the temple was completed, Ezekiel was brought outside of the compound where the man measured the land outside the wall (42:15-20). The measurement of the land was not 500 cubits but 500 reeds. One reed equals six cubits. This means that land outside of the wall is 3000 cubits square, making a total of nine million square cubits. In the center, a square of only 5000 cubits was used, leaving a wide, spacious land surrounding the temple compound.
CONCLUSION
The design of the temple compound gives a strong impression of separation. There was a wall around the spacious piece of land. That wall separated what was holy from what was common. Altogether, there were at least four walls: the wall around the entire lot, the wall around the outer court, the wall around the inner court, and the wall around the temple. They enclosed the temple and separated what was holy from what was common. The walls signify separation and sanctification. Thus, when a person enters into the temple, he has passed through a fourfold separation. What a great margin of separation there was! On every side of the temple compound, there was a spacious suburb of 1250 cubits reaching to the wall. This indicates the spaciousness of the separation in Christ.
Furthermore, the design of the temple gives an impression of progression. The further you travel inward, the higher you become. The higher you become, the broader and wider you also become. Thus, it is progressive. When you are in the temple, you are fifteen cubits higher than the ground level.
In the appearance of the temple there is also a clear impression of balance. There is nothing unbalanced. Rather, everything is square and upright. Nothing is crooked. This is the church life. The church life is a life of absolute separation, a life of progression, and a life of balance. It is upright, square, and straight.
(The Visions of Ezekiel, Chapter 20, by Witness Lee)
