Old/New Testament

A New House of God

40 It was the twenty-fifth year since the people of Israel were taken away to a strange land, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, and fourteen years since Jerusalem was taken in battle. On that day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. ² In a special way God brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. There were some buildings on its south side that looked like a city. ³ He took me there, and I saw a man who looked like he was made of brass. In his hand was a linen rope and a stick to find how long something is. He was standing at the gate. ⁴ And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and think about all I am going to show you. For you have been brought here so that I may show it to you. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

The East Gate

⁵ I saw a wall all around the outside of the house of the Lord. The stick in the man’s hand was six cubits long (with the width of a hand being added to the length of each arm). And with it he showed that the wall was one stick wide and one stick high. ⁶ Then he went up the steps of the east gate, and showed me with his stick that the gateway was one stick wide, and the other gate was also one stick wide. ⁷ The rooms for the watchmen were each one stick long and one stick wide, and they were five cubits apart. And the gateway next to the porch toward the Lord’s house was one stick wide. ⁸ Then he showed me with his stick that the porch of the inside gate was one-tenth stick wide. ⁹ The porch of the gate was eight cubits and its side pillars two cubits wide. The porch of the gate was on the inside. ¹⁰ There were three rooms for the watchmen on each side of the east gate. They all had the same length and width. And the pillars on each side were the same in width. ¹¹ Then he showed me that the opening of the gateway was ten cubits wide and thirteen cubits long. ¹² There was a wall one-tenth cubit wide in front of the watchmen’s rooms on each side. And the watchmen’s rooms were six cubits wide and six cubits long. ¹³ Then he showed me that it was twenty-five cubits from the roof of one room to the roof of the room across from it. ¹⁴ He showed me that it was twenty cubits around the walls inside the gateway, up to the porch facing the open space. ¹⁵ It was fifteen cubits from the front of the outer gate to the front of the porch of the inner gate. ¹⁶ There were narrow windows looking toward the watchmen’s rooms and toward their side pillars, all around inside the gate and also in the porches. And pictures of palm trees were cut on each side pillar.

The Outside Open Space

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer open space, and I saw rooms and a stone floor all around it. Thirty rooms were around the stone floor. ¹⁸ The lower stone floor was beside the gates, and was as wide as the gates. ¹⁹ Then he showed me how far it was from the inside of the lower gate to the outside of the inner open space. Both east and north sides were 100 cubits each.

The North Gate

²⁰ He then showed me the length and width of the north gate of the outer open space. ²¹ It had three rooms on each side for the watchmen. Its side pillars and porches were as long and as wide as the first gate. It was as long as fifty cubits, and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows, its porches, and palm tree pictures were the same length and width as those of the east gate. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them. ²³ Across from the north gate was another gate leading to the inner open space, just as there was for the east gate. He showed me that it was 100 cubits from gate to gate.

The South Gate

²⁴ Then he led me to the south, and I saw a gate toward the south. He showed me the length and width of its side pillars and its porches, and they were the same as the others. ²⁵ The gate and its porches had windows like the others all around and was as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, and its porches were in front of them. And it had pictures of palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side. ²⁷ The open space had a gate toward the south. He showed me that it was 100 cubits from gate to gate toward the south.

The Inside Open Space

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner open space by the south gate, and showed me that this gate had the same width as the others. ²⁹ Its watchmen’s rooms, side pillars and porches were also the same as the others and had windows all around. It was as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ³⁰ (There were porches all around, as long as twenty-five cubits and five cubits wide) ³¹ and its porches were toward the outer open space. Pictures of palm trees were on its side pillars, and leading up to it were eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner open space toward the east. He showed me that it was as wide as the others. ³³ Its watchmen’s rooms, side pillars and porches were also the same as the others and, there were windows all around which were as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ³⁴ Its gateway was toward the outer open space. Pictures of palm trees were on its side pillars, on each side. And going up to it were eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and showed me that it was the same width as the others. ³⁶ Its watchmen’s rooms, side pillars and porches were also the same as the others. There were windows all around and it was as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its side pillars were toward the outer open space. Pictures of palm trees were on its side pillars, on each side. And going up to it were eight steps.

Where the Burnt Gifts Were Made Ready

³⁸ There was a room with its door by the side pillars, where the burnt gifts were washed. ³⁹ And there were two tables on each side of the porch. On these tables the animals were killed for the burnt gifts, the sin gifts, and the guilt gifts. ⁴⁰ On the outer side of the gateway, by the north gate, were two tables. And there were two tables on the other side of the gate. ⁴¹ So there were four tables on each side of the gateway, eight tables in all, where they killed the animals for the altar. ⁴² There were four tables for the burnt gifts. They were made of cut stone, and were one-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide, and one cubit high. The objects used for killing the animals for the burnt gifts were kept on these stone tables. ⁴³ Hooks as long as a man’s hand hung on the wall all around. The tables were for the meat of the burnt gifts.

⁴⁴ Then he brought me from the outside into the inner open space and there were two rooms for the singers. One was at the side of the north gate which faced the south, and the other was at the side of the south gate which faced the north. ⁴⁵ And he said to me, “This room which faces the south is for the religious leaders who take care of the Lord’s house. ⁴⁶ The room which faces the north is for the religious leaders who take care of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who are the only Levites who may come near the Lord to do His work.”

The Inside Open Space and the House of God

⁴⁷ He showed me that the inner open space was as long as 100 cubits and as wide as 100 cubits, the same on all four sides. And the altar was in front of the Lord’s house.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the Lord’s house. He showed me that each side pillar of the porch was five cubits wide. And each side of the gate was three cubits wide. ⁴⁹ The porch was as long as twenty cubits, and six steps wide. Ten steps led up to it, and there was one pillar on each side.

41 Then he brought me into the center room, and showed me the width of the side pillars. They were six cubits wide on each side. ² The doorway was ten cubits wide, and the side walls on each side of it were five cubits wide. The center room was as long as forty cubits and as wide as twenty cubits. ³ Then he went into a smaller room. Each side pillar of the doorway was two cubits wide, and the doorway was six cubits high and seven cubits wide. ⁴ The room was as long as twenty cubits and as wide as twenty cubits, at the far end of the center room. He said to me, “This is the most holy place.”

⁵ Then he showed me that the wall of the Lord’s house was six cubits in width. And the side rooms all around the house on every side were four cubits wide. ⁶ The side rooms were on three floors, one above the other, and thirty on each floor. The outside wall on each floor was not as wide as the one below it, so the side rooms could sit upon the wall without being nailed to it. ⁷ The side rooms at the top were larger than the ones at the bottom, all around the Lord’s house. The house became wider as it went higher. There were steps leading up from the first floor all the way to the third floor. ⁸ I saw that the house had a raised base all around it, which made the base for the side rooms six cubits high. ⁹ The width of the outside wall of the side rooms was five cubits. But the open space between the side rooms ¹⁰ and the center rooms was as wide as twenty cubits all around the house on every side. ¹¹ There were doorways to the side rooms from this open space, one on the north and another on the south. The width of this open space was five cubits wide all around.

¹² The building in front of the open space of the Lord’s house, on the west side, was as wide as seventy cubits. The width of the building wall was five cubits, and it was as long as ninety cubits.

¹³ Then he showed me that the Lord’s house was as long as 100 cubits. The open space and the other building and its walls were also as long as 100 cubits. ¹⁴ And the front of the Lord’s house and its grounds on the east side were as wide as 100 cubits.

¹⁵ He showed me the length of the building to the west, with its walkways on each side. It was as long as 100 cubits.

The center room, the most holy place, and the outer porch, ¹⁶ all had roofs of wood. And all three had windows with wooden cross-pieces all around. The inside walls of the house were covered with wood from the floor up to the windows, and from the windows to the roof. ¹⁷ There was wood covering the wall above the door, and all the way to the most holy place, and all the walls both inside and out. ¹⁸ Pictures of cherubim and palm trees were cut into the wood. A palm tree was between every two cherubim, and each cherub had two faces. ¹⁹ The face of a man looked toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion looked toward the palm tree on the other side. These pictures were cut into the wood all around the Lord’s house. ²⁰ There were cherubim and palm trees from the floor to above the door, and on the wall of the center room.

²¹ The pillars beside the door of the center room were the same width on all four sides, and they looked alike. ²² There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits long. Its corners, base, and sides were made of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” ²³ The center room and the most holy place each had two doors. ²⁴ And each of these doors had two parts that opened and closed. ²⁵ Pictures of cherubim and palm trees were made on the doors of the center room, like the pictures on the walls. And there was a roof of wood over the front of the porch outside. ²⁶ There were windows with wooden cross-pieces and palm trees cut on each side wall of the house porch. It was the same on the side rooms of the house and their roofs.

The World Will Be Destroyed

3 Dear friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. In both of them I have tried to get you to remember some things. ² You should remember the words that were spoken before by the holy early preachers. Do not forget the teaching of the Lord, the One Who saves. This was given to you by your missionaries.

³ First of all, I want you to know that in the last days men will laugh at the truth. They will follow their own sinful desires. ⁴ They will say, “He promised to come again. Where is He? Since our early fathers died, everything is the same from the beginning of the world.” ⁵ But they want to forget that God spoke and the heavens were made long ago. The earth was made out of water and water was all around it. ⁶ Long ago the earth was covered with water and it was destroyed. ⁷ But the heaven we see now and the earth we live on now have been kept by His word. They will be kept until they are to be destroyed by fire. They will be kept until the day men stand before God and sinners will be destroyed.

⁸ Dear friends, remember this one thing, with the Lord one day is as 1,000 years, and 1,000 years are as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow about keeping His promise as some people think. He is waiting for you. The Lord does not want any person to be punished forever. He wants all people to be sorry for their sins and turn from them. ¹⁰ The day of the Lord will come as a robber comes. The heavens will pass away with a loud noise. The sun and moon and stars will burn up. The earth and all that is in it will be burned up.

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, you should think about the kind of life you are living. It should be holy and God-like. ¹² You should look for the day of God to come. You should do what you can to make it come soon. At that time the heavens will be destroyed by fire. And the sun and moon and stars will melt away with much heat. ¹³ We are looking for what God has promised, which are new heavens and a new earth. Only what is right and good will be there.

¹⁴ Dear friends, since you are waiting for these things to happen, do all you can to be found by Him in peace. Be clean and free from sin. ¹⁵ You can be sure the long waiting of our Lord is part of His plan to save men from the punishment of sin. God gave our dear brother Paul the wisdom to write about this also. ¹⁶ He wrote about these things in all of his writings. Some of these things are hard to understand. People who do not have much understanding and some who are not strong in the faith change the meaning of his letters. They do this to the other parts of the Holy Writings also. They are destroying themselves as they do this.

¹⁷ And so, dear friends, now that you know this, watch so you will not be led away by the mistakes of these sinful people. Do not be moved by them. ¹⁸ Grow in the loving-favor that Christ gives you. Learn to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. He is the One Who saves. May He have all the shining-greatness now and forever. Let it be so.