The Millennial Sacrifices

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday February 26, 2025

The Day of the Lord Series: The Millennial Sacrifices

Lesson # 60

Ezekiel 44:1-46:24 discusses the various laws, which will regulate the millennial system of priesthood and sacrifice.

These three chapters have been very controversial and confusing to many expositors and theologians alike throughout the centuries.

As we will note, the sacrificial system instituted during the millennial reign of Christ is not a reinstitution of the Mosaic Law as some have suggested.

However, it does have some features similar to the Mosaic sacrificial system but it also has many new laws, which have not been given to God’s people in the past.

In fact, there is no ark of the covenant in the millennial temple because this ark in the Old Testament was a picture of the person and work of the future Messiah.

Also, the Messiah will be dwelling bodily in the midst of the Jewish people during His millennial reign.

Therefore, the sacrificial system of the millennial reign of Christ will have both old and new features.

However, the purpose of this system is different than the purpose of the Levitical sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law.

A big part of the problem in interpreting these three chapters in Ezekiel is the insistence of some theologians and expositors that they must not be interpreted literally since the Messiah has already come and suffered the wrath of God on the cross in place of all of sinful humanity.

They argue that if the death of Christ propitiated the Father, reconciled sinful humanity to a holy God and redeemed them as well, how could the animal sacrifices in the millennial sacrificial system be taken literally.

However, if these chapters are not interpreted literally, then the details presented in these chapters are absolutely meaningless.

In fact, if the details presented in these chapters are to be interpreted symbolically, then why does Ezekiel never explain these alleged symbols.

The result is a very subjective interpretation of these chapters.

Thus, I abide by a literal interpretation of Ezekiel 44-46.

We must remind ourselves that Hebrews 10:4 and 11 assert that the Mosaic sacrificial system never removed sins but only covered them until the Messiah came and offered Himself up to the Father as the propitiatory sacrifice for every sin committed in human history-past, present and future.

Isaiah 53:10-12 indicates that the purpose of the Mosaic sacrificial system was to present a physical and visual picture for the Israelites with regards to what their Messiah would accomplish for them in the future.

In the same way, the Lord’s supper was instituted for the church in order to provide a physical and visual picture, which looks back to what the Christ accomplished for them on the cross of Calvary.

Therefore, the church has an historical Christology and soteriology whereas the nation of Israel had a shadow Christology and soteriology (Col. 2:17).

The purpose of millennial sacrifices are therefore to provide the nation of Israel the same thing, namely a visual and physical picture of what their Messiah accomplished for them at the cross.

However, the sacrificial system instituted during the millennial reign will present this visual and physical picture rather than the communion elements of bread and wine, which are used by church age believers.

Therefore, the communion service during the church age and millennial sacrificial system have same purpose, namely, to bring into remembrance the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

However, the purpose of the Mosaic system of sacrifice was not only to prepare the Jews for their future work of their Messiah but also served as the basis for their experiential sanctification or in other words, their ritual cleansing.

The basis for the sanctification of the church age believer is based upon a historical Christology and soteriology.

In other words, the sanctification of the church age believer is Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father (Col. 2-3).

The Mosaic system was not for eternal salvation but rather the experiential sanctification of the Israelites because they were already saved as a result of obeying Moses directions related to the passover lamb.

Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 that all the Israelites who left Egypt under Moses were believers.

Thus, in the same way the Mosaic system of sacrifice was for the experiential sanctification or ritual purity of the Israelites, so the millennial sacrificial system will be for the experiential sanctification or ritual purity of the Israelites.

It is also extremely important that the reader understand that regenerate Jews and Gentiles who survive the events of the tribulation and Second Advent of Christ will enter the millennial kingdom without resurrection bodies because they will be used to repopulate the earth.

Thus, they will possess an old Adamic indwelling sin nature.

Also, Old Testament Jewish believers were not in their resurrection bodies.

However, they will possess one during the millennial reign.

Consequently, Old Testament Jewish believers possessed an old Adamic sin nature.

Therefore, Old Testament Jewish believers needed a sacrificial system which would serve as the basis for their experiential sanctification or ritual purity while living in the presence of the Lord without a resurrection body.

Correspondingly, Jewish believers living during the millennial reign will also need a sacrificial system which will serve as the basis for their experiential sanctification or ritual purity while living in the presence of the glorified Christ without a resurrection body.

Therefore, the millennial sacrificial system will not only serve as a memorial like the communion service during the church age but also serve a ceremonial purpose.

Specifically, they will be for the ritual purity of Jewish believers who will not yet possess a resurrection body while the Lord dwells bodily in their presence like the Mosaic sacrifices were for Jewish believers who did not yet possess a resurrection body while the Lord dwelt bodily in their presence.

Thus, this ritual purity under the Mosaic system was necessary because the Lord bodily dwelt in their midst.

This ritual purity under the millennial system of sacrifice will also be necessary because the glorified resurrected God-man, Messiah will be bodily dwelling the midst of the Jewish people who are yet without a resurrection body.