St. Irenaeus Ministries

The book is divided into parts: It describes a mechanism God gives to heal our brokenness through sacrifice. It describes a priesthood provided to the people as a buffer between humanity and God's awesome holiness. Finally it oultines a standard for how we can know what is true or false, helpful or hurtful even today.

Metaphors of holiness are discussed, especialy the relationship between whole and holiness. God is calling us back to holiness and wholeness. The main theme of Leviticus is that God is holy: that is, separated from evil and all defect. His holiness is not mere supreme ethics but supreme divinity. Finally there are some notes on skeptical critical scholars who suggest Leviticus was written long after Moses.

Leviticus is a difficult book. It is seemingly a tedious book of regulations. However, each rule is an example of how we are called to holiness. It is concrete guidance from God that is still relevant to Christians today.

Ezekiel illustrates a life-giving river flowing from the Temple. Overall This description of a Temple encourages us to read more from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy to understand Jewish worship to appreciate the description of the Temple and the Mass. This is the last episode of the Ezekiel study, thank you for listening.

God will place the Levites who presided over idolatry in the lesser roles of his temple, whereas the loyal sons of Zadok will minister directly to God. There will be strict separation between what is holy and what is common.

God came from the East, the earth shone with His glory. He notes how the Israelites have disrespected the temple in multiple ways, and asserts that things will change from now on.

The Temple as described is a specifically Hebrew temple, where access to God is limited and well protected. The imagery and measurements represent categories of holiness, not a secret code for conspiracies.

Ezekiel receives the vision of the new Temple a quarter century into exile. It mirrors the vision of God departing from the Temple earlier in the book.

Ezekiel's final chapters describe a vision of a Temple of God in great detail. It does not match Solomon's Temple (not destroyed), the second Temple, or Herod's renovation of the second Temple. Is this description of a physical temple to be realized, or something symbolic? The existence of a Temple is a primary concern for Jews both historical and contemporary.

We believe that this prophecy of Gog will be fulfilled, but how and when it will happen is a subject of much debate. Ultimately however it will be God's might that achieves Gog's defeat rather than our efforts.