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Ezekiel chapters 40-48 are often referred to as a prophecy regarding a future third Jewish temple in Jerusalem. While chapters 47 and 48 are yet to be fulfilled, chapters 40-46 really describe the second temple which was destroyed in AD 70. The key to understanding whether the temple is the second temple or the third one is the sacrifices mentioned in this section of the Bible. The ceremonies observed in chapters previous to chapter 47 are all functions that the priests were commanded to perform. For example, Ezekiel 44:17 says, "And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within." They are not religious activities that were just observed but not approved by God. They were offerings directed by God. Following the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, no other sacrifices of this nature were ever required, desired or allowed. Hebrews 10:17-18 points out, "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." Here are the verses that show the different offerings as witnessed by Ezekiel. Also, the altar is mentioned numerous times. Without sacrifices, there would be no need for an altar.
There is not a date given by Ezekiel 40-46 but we know it is not the future because God is commanding the animal sacrifices to be performed for the forgiveness of sins. Ezekiel 40-46 does not necessarily follow chapters 38 and 39. Consecutive chapters are not necessarily associated with each other. Ezekiel 40-46 does not have to occur after Ezekiel 38-39 because it follows it. Isaiah 17 is about the future of Damascus while Isaiah 53 is about Jesus who already came. Even passages in the same chapter are not linked. Isaiah 14 starts with what people think is the fall of Satan, incorrectly translated as Lucifer, but is really the death of the Anti-Christ. The last five verses are about the future destruction of Gaza. Ezekiel 47 focuses on the future. Verses 1-10 mention water flowing from the threshold of the temple and increasing more and more as it goes downstream. It will even reach unto the sea as mentioned in verses 8 and 9 and heal it. Verse 12 talks about trees that do not lose their leaves but serve as medicine. This has not happened before. Starting at verse 13 and continuing through the end of the book in chapter 48 the passage turns to the division of the land of Israel. Ezekiel 47:1 starts off, "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house ..." The words afterward and again help us to understand that chapters 40-46 are separate from 47-48.
Ezekiel 45:1 commands, "Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Exodus 40:5 shows a reed was six cubits. "And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed." What God commanded the Jews to rebuild left a large portion of land for the temple and the priests. The temple was only part of it. This holy oblation would have bigger than the original temple mount and surrounding areas providing more room for Levites but they did not listen to him. This was not built which has confused readers. The word reeds is not found in the commandment given in 45:1. That is why it is italicized. It is not there but the translators thought it was implied. Without specifying a reed the passage would imply a cubit. The translators, however, chose a bigger unit making the temple complex an area even larger than required as though it is something in the future. They translated the passage based on what they thought it was about rather than translating the passage to see what it was about.
In Ezekiel 43:1-9 the glory of LORD appeared in the temple and God said the temple would no more be defiled. Some believe this places this passage in the millennium. Verse 3 compares it to the glory that Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar in Ezekiel 10:4. That time was not in the millennium. Ezekiel 43 does not have to be in the millennium either. Verse 9 says, "Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever." Jesus put an end to the need for a temple made of stone when he died on the cross. John 2:18-20 says, "Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body." Jesus rebuilt the temple in three days. Now he lives in the believers. Hebrews 9:11 adds, "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;" 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Because Christians are his temple, unbelievers can no longer defile it. This transfer and new covenant happened when the second physical temple was standing. It will not happen in the future when a third temple is in place. The temple not defiled is Jesus and his followers. Jesus is the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-22 reads, "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Jesus explained in Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Faith is the focus of the new temple not the flesh.
Ezekiel 45:2 commands, "In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering." Here the prince is offering a sacrifice for his sins because he is a sinner and not Jesus. Ezekiel 45:25 follows, "In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil."Ezekiel 46:1-2 tells us, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening." People often claim this is the Messiah in this verse and that the east gate is standing today in Jerusalem. Instead this speaks of the men who led the country during the second temple. Chapter 46:16 adds to the proof, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance." Jesus does not have physical sons. Spiritually, Christians are his brothers and sisters. Also verse 18 requires, "Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession." Jesus would never take anything by oppression. Also, it was anticipated that the prince would have sons. This does not apply to Jesus.
Matthew 2:1-2 reads, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." We he was crucified, Matthew 27:37 records that on the sign above him was written, "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS". 1 Timothy 1:17 uses the title "King eternal". 1 Timothy 6:15 has the phrase "King of kings, and Lord if lords;" While rarely spoken by some, Revelation 15:3 addresses Jesus as the "King of saints" Towards the end Revelation 19:16 also proclaims Jesus as "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS". Zechariah 14:17 informs us that Jesus will reign as king when he returns. From the beginning to the end Jesus is king. What does Ezekiel say? The title king does not appear in Ezekiel chapters 40-46. The word prince appears 13 times in 12 verses (Ezekiel 44:3, 45:7, 45:16, 45:22, 46:2, 46:4, 46:8, 46:10, 46:12, 46:16, 46:17 and 46:18).
The purpose of Ezekiel 40-46 is for Ezekiel to understand and show Israel how to build the second temple. Why give detailed instructions in Ezekiel chapters 40-46 on how to build a temple if it were not God's desire? This system is not God's desire for the future. It was his desire in the past. There was a time where Ezekiel was shown events that were not God's pleasure but instead instances of disobedience. In Ezekiel 8:7-12 God showed Ezekiel the temple where priests were not following God's commandments. "And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. The vision is observed and directed as a commandment of God." The text about Ezekiel's vision is entirely different. In Ezekiel 44:15-20 we see what God commanded. "But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads." This section of the Bible is what God directs the priests to do and not a condemnation of what they are doing. This piece of prophecy has multiple sacrifices for sin. There are at least fourteen references to sin offerings and four trespass offerings which are commanded by God. This is about the times before Jesus Christ who offered himself once for all per Hebrews 10:10. There is now no longer a need for a sin sacrifice because Jesus, "after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10:12). 1 Peter 3:18 tells everyone Jesus Christ suffered once for sins; "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:". Now if the Ezekiel temple is in the future then then blood of Jesus would be replaced and it would have an end. Ezekiel 40:4 explains, "And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel." God let Ezekiel know that he was to show Israel how to build the temple. If this were a temple in the millennium why would Ezekiel need to explain to Israel how to build it when Jesus would be reigning as the Messiah? Zechariah 6:12-13 prophesies, "And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and 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." The Lord Jesus Christ is the Branch at he will build the Millennial temple. Also, see Jeremiah 23:5-6. Therefore, there will be no need to have Ezekiel show people how to build a temple. Will Jesus come again? Absolutely. Why give seven chapters, 40-46, if Jesus is coming back? Does he need help knowing what to do? Will he forget what is supposed to be done or will he just be ignorant? Not at all. Jesus knows everything. Look at Ezekiel 43:10. "Thou 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. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the 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: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." Who was to show whom? It was Ezekiel with respect to the second temple. If this were the future, Ezekiel would be coming back and teaching people in the millennium what to do instead of Jesus. How does that sound? Ezekiel was to give instructions for the second temple, not Jesus. It does not make sense that this is a temple to be built after Jesus Christ returns.
There will not be a new gospel in the future or a new, New Testament. A future sin offering requires changes to the plan of Salvation. Jesus Christ is not on his way out. The ceremonial law is not coming back. Romans 10:4 says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." There will not be sacrifices for sin in the tribulation or in the millennium that replace the final work that Jesus did on the cross. There is not a reason to abandon a perfect sacrifice and institute an imperfect one. Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and forever according to Hebrews 13:8. Now that Jesus is king why would he change? Why back off from a superior sacrifice? How can Jesus be Lord if sacrifices are necessary for sin? Jesus gave a complete sacrifice. Romans 6:9-10 tells us, "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." On the cross Jesus said "It is finished", meaning the sin debt was paid in full. There is no more atonement needed. Romans 10:12 says, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." There is only one plan of salvation or gospel. Race and gender do not matter neither does time. The person today is saved from their sins and can spend forever in Heaven with Jesus the same way the person in the tribulation and or millennium can. Therefore we know the temple in Ezekiel 40-46 is the second, not the third. Jesus is the finisher of our faith. Daniel 9:24 says, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." At the end of the seventy weeks (seven periods of time) there will be an everlasting righteousness, not one where sacrifices are still required. The priesthood is now with Jesus from the tribe of Judah. Matthew 5:17 says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Jesus Christ fulfilled the sacrifices on the cross. With Jesus the sacrifices stop. Jesus has an unchangeable priesthood as he is consecrated for evermore. Hebrews 5:6 tells us, "As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." Hebrews 7: 21 follows up, "(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)" In the future, Jesus will be the priest, not the Levites. If Jesus is a priest forever that means his sacrifice will always be what matters not a sin offering in the temple. Hebrews 13:20-21 says, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." The new covenant of Jesus' blood replaces the old covenant and this new covenant is an everlasting one. Isaiah 9:6-7 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." If the sacrifices prevail for sin will Jesus' government increase or decrease? Here Jesus's justice is forever. Hebrews 10:10 says, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
Zechariah 14:16-20 says, "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts." It does not say here that there will be sacrifices for sin in the millennium. That is something that people read into it. Jesus celebrated the passover the night before he was crucified. We still celebrate today every time we take observe the Lord's Supper. We do not, however, celebrate it with animal sacrifices because Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the last to be sacrificed. The sacrifice in Zechariah 14:21 does not mention sacrifices for sin, instead it talks about seething. Why? Isn't this for food and not sin? Ezekiel 44:29 says, "They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs." Jeremiah 33:14-18 says, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually." Regardless of the meaning of the burnt offerings it does not say here that the Levites will be offering sin offerings, guilt offerings or trespass offerings in the future. There are other types of offerings. Jeremiah 33:10-11 says, "Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD." Hebrews 13:15 exhorts us, "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Mark 12:41-44 tells of sacrificial giving. "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." 1 Peter 2:5 reads, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." The sacrifice of praise, the living sacrifice, sacrificial giving and spiritual sacrifices are New Testament sacrifices that are not for sin.
There will be a new physical temple in the tribulation but it will not be ordained by God. Ezekiel 38:19-20 prophesies "For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." It appears that at the beginning of the tribulation every building and wall will collapse in the whole land of Israel. Whatever is there now will have to be built up again. It won't last long, though. Daniel 8:11-12 tells us the sanctuary will be cast down. Daniel 8:19 explains that this passage is in the "last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end". That means it is in the tribulation. In Matthew 24:15-18 Jesus prophesied, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes." Revelation 11:1-2 says, "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." What should be God's will be polluted because of the false religion and the unordained sacrifices which are contrary to the gospel. Daniel 9:26 says, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Putting it all together we can see that every wall will fall in Israel. A new temple will be built. People will wrongfully sacrifice animals for sin. In the middle of tribulation the anti-Christ stop the sacrifice, destroy the temple and set himself up as God. When Christians incorrectly teach that the the temple in Ezekiel is a future temple they encourage people in the tribulation to believe that there is forgiveness of sin through animal sacrifice. These people will tragically follow through with their false beliefs.
If a false teaching for forgiveness of sins is justified for the millennium it will support the false teaching in the tribulation. If people are offering sin sacrifices they must believe they will have their sins forgiven through those sacrifices. The temple during the tribulation will be part of a false system for forgiveness of sins and serve the Anti-Christ. Any temple built in the tribulation would not be for God. It would be to continue in a rejection of Jesus as Savior, Lord and Messiah. Everyone must know and understand there is only one way to be forgiven of sins in the tribulation and the thousand year period after it called the millennium. Revelation 7:9-14 says, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The believers in the tribulation are saved by the blood of the lamb meaning they have put their faith, hope and trust in Jesus. They call upon him to save them and not an animal sacrifice. They believe Jesus' death on the cross washed away their sins and not a religious ceremony. They believe Jesus is Lord. Revelation 12:7-11 says, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." They overcame by the blood of the lamb. See how to get to heaven and also know people can get saved in the tribulation as well.
One way hold onto the Third Temple theory is to claim the sacrifices are memorials and not actual offerings for sin. During the Last Supper, however, what did Jesus Christ say? "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). The Lord's Supper is the memorial. Sacrifices are not. In addition, look at Ezekiel 45:21-22, "In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering." The prince is commanded to prepare a sin offering, not a memorial.
In the Old Testament God accepted the sacrifice of animals for sin. This stopped after Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. If the offerings in the temple were ordained by God, then the temple described in Ezekiel 40-46 must be the second temple not a third temple yet to be built. Teaching that the temple in Ezekiel is a future temple is not just incorrect it builds a foundation for the false doctrine that will mislead millions or billions into placing their faith in sacrifices which will send them to hell.
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