Measure with attention
Read in your Bible: Ezekiel 40–41.
Ezekiel is brought in vision to a temple whose gates, courts and rooms are carefully measured. He is told to observe, hear and set his heart upon what he is shown. After the destruction earlier in the book, the vision gives form to hope and restored order.
The architectural detail should not be hurried into a speculative construction timetable. Adventist reading considers the vision within its restoration setting and the Bible's wider sanctuary teaching. Its call to attentive observation also challenges our habit of reaching a conclusion before we have listened carefully.
Read a difficult passage slowly, noting what it actually says before consulting an interpretation. Identify one question you need to investigate. Practise the same care when listening to a person whose account you are tempted to summarise too quickly.
Related reading and source notes.
Read the Bible passage first. These notes identify related Ellen G. White chapters; a related reading is not a claim that she wrote this interpretation. Any direct quotations are marked separately. The explanations and applications are The Earl Project’s own.
1Prophets and Kings · Chapter 60—Visions of Future GloryPK, chapter 60
White's chapter on visions of future glory is related reading on the prophetic hope of restoration, rather than an architectural prediction about present events.
Read alongside: Ezekiel 40–41
Read the original chapter on EGW Writings ↗A question to sit with
Where has haste made me mistake an assumption for something the text actually says?
Write down the observations and questions from one difficult paragraph before choosing an interpretation.
Let us pray
God of wisdom, teach me careful attention. Help me observe before assuming, listen before answering and approach difficult Scripture with reverence, patience and honesty about what I do not yet understand. Amen.
Your quiet reflection
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An original interpretation from The Earl Project, written from an Adventist understanding of Scripture. It is not an official church publication. Read alongside the beliefs that inform these reflections. Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Ellen G. White sources are cited separately from The Earl Project’s original interpretation.