It’s not something I would have expected. Not something that would have been intuitive to me. Not something that, if I were laying out the plans for the Millennial Kingdom, I would have necessarily thought to include. In fact, it’s something that causes me to pause . . . something which, at first, seems out of place . . . something that I feel I need to re-read it to make sure I’m getting it . . . and then, to sit back in wonder . . .

“And he said to me: ‘Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances for the altar . . . ‘ ” (Ezekiel 43:18 ESV)

This morning I continue to “power my way” through this detailed description of what appears to be a future temple of God . . . the temple that’s rebuilt during “The Millennium”, that future time, after Christ’s return, when He rules as King on the earth for 1,000 years. Ok . . . so during the Millennium there’ll be a temple . . . no problem so far. The temple and its surrounding structures are big . . . they are precisely designed and described . . . you can imagine them to be magnificent . . . and, no surprise, the temple is the filled with the glory of God and is the center piece of millennial worship. Again, so far, so good . . . just what I might expect.

But then . . . and here’s where my head starts to hurt . . . I get to Ezekiel 43:13 and it starts to describe the dimensions of really big altar that is present . . . and my brow furls . . . and the question marks start popping over my head. Isn’t the altar the place where sacrifices are made? Yup! And that’s just what you read about in 43:19-27 . . . sacrifices and burnt offerings. So . . . if Christ is the “once for all sacrifice” (Heb. 7:27, 9:12, 10:10) — and He is — then why are there sacrifices during His Millennial reign? Why the offerings and shedding of blood after the cross? Hmmm . . . so I sit back in wonder.

Maybe they serve the same purpose as the Old Testament sacrifices . . . they are a shadow, a divine object lesson, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Heb. 9:22, 10:18) But, unlike the OT sacrifices which foreshadowed Christ to come as the final sacrifice for sin, these future sacrifices look back and serve as a vivid portrayal and reminder of the price paid by the King who now sits enthroned over His kingdom. Kind of like a “Lord’s Supper” . . . maybe like Communion . . . but bigger . . . more vivid . . . less left to the imagination.

Think about it. How powerful a reminder would that be? Seeing blood sacrifices made on the altar outside the Holy of Holies and then looking over to Your King and realizing that He who sits on the throne was, Himself, the sacrifice for you so that your sins might be atoned for . . . that you might have a place with the redeemed . . . that you might now boldly enter His Holy presence!

And I’m wondering if it isn’t an indication that God intends that His people never get too far from remembering that a price was paid for their salvation . . . that a sacrifice was required for their redemption . . . that blood was shed that they might be given garments of righteousness.

And if that’s true . . . and I think it is . . . how important and how precious should the Lord’s Supper be for us today? Whether we gather around bread and wine every week, or once a month, or four times a year . . . as often as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, we are to recall a sacrifice . . . we are to remember an altar . . . we are to focus afresh that without the shedding of blood we would be strangers to the realities of being part of His kingdom . . .

And when we take time to consider blood poured out on altar for us, it should cause us to sit back in wonder . . . and then bow down in worship . . . amen?