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Dr. Whitcomb's answer doesn't mention a couple additional points that I think further bear on construing Ezekiel's temple (and the sacrifices) as millennial:
Ezekiel doesn't record or reveal (as it likely was kept hidden from him) who is the 'prince', other than by title. Suppose, then, that the 'prince' of millennial Israel is Jesus, and thus Jesus is providing the sacrifices. Not that Jesus is the animal sacrifice but Jesus merely provides it somehow, much like how God provided the ram in the bush to Abraham as a substitute for Isaac.
It would seem the sacrifices are animal, but if Jesus is providing them, they may no longer have the same significance of being mere "flesh of bulls or blood of goats" (Psalm 50:13) which the Lord declares inadequate. If Jesus provides the sacrifices on behalf of millennial Israel, perhaps they are largely instructive of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and not intended to truly 'cover'?
Why would Jesus continue the temple sacrifical system, merely substituing sacrifices He provides, rather than eliminating it altogether? Well, it would appear that aside from the voluntary 'worship' type of sacrifices of Ezekiel 46:13-15 (and we saints similarly voluntarily 'tithe' and bring a 'sacrifice of prase' as worship), the sin and guilt covering sacrifices brought by individuals for themselves have been eliminated, and replaced by sacrifices brought by Jesus (if and only if He is the 'prince' of Ezekiel 45, 46, etc.).
Why would Jesus continue any temple sacrifices at all? I don't know. The fact we must accept is that scripture states they do continue. But we can better understand how.
Here then are two charts I made providing a visual comparison of the sacrifices of Ezekiel versus Levitiucs:
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Ezekiel Temple Offering Types and Purposes
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Voluntary Worship
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Mandatory Atonement
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Offering |
Atonement
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Burnt atone for unintentional sin, worship, comittment & surrender to God |
Grain worship, recognize God's provision, devotion |
Peace (Fellowship) worship, thanksgiving, fellowship with others usually at a meal |
Sin unintentional sin, confession, forgiveness, cleansing |
Guilt for sin requiring restitution , forgiveness, cleansing |
Elements |
Bull, male sheep or goat, male/female dove or pidgeon,
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flour or grain
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Bull, male/female sheep or goat
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Bull, male/female goat
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ram or lamb
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Ezekiel Temple Offer Providers |
Prince for House of Israel |
Eze 45:17 | "It shall be the prince's part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel." | ||||
Eze 45:18-20* | 1/1, 7th each month | ||||||
Eze 45:21-24 | 1/14 7days | 1/14 7days | 1/14 1st -7th day | ||||
Eze 45:25 | 7/15 7 days | 7/15 7 days | 7/15 7 days | ||||
Eze 46:4-5 | Sabbath | Sabbath | |||||
Eze 46:6-7 | new moon | new moon |
???
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Eze 46:11 | festivals & feasts | ||||||
Eze 46:12 | Sabbath | Sabbath | |||||
People for themselves |
Eze 46:13, 15 | continually | |||||
Eze 46:14, 15 | continually |
* Priests perform the sacrificial cleansing of the temple, but the Prince provides the sacrifice.
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Levitical Offering Types and Purposes
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Voluntary Worship
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Mandatory Atonement
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Offering |
Atonement
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Burnt atone for unintentional sin, worship, comittment & surrender to God |
Grain worship, recognize God's provision, devotion |
Peace (Fellowship) worship, thanksgiving, fellowship with others usually at a meal |
Sin unintentional sin, confession, forgiveness, cleansing |
Guilt for sin requiring restitution , forgiveness, cleansing |
Elements |
Bull, male sheep or goat, male/female dove or pidgeon,
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flour or grain
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Bull, male/female sheep or goat
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Bull, male/female goat
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ram or lamb
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Levitical Offering Providers |
People for themselves |
Lev 1:3 if his offering is a burnt offering ... he shall offer it | Lev 2:1,2 ...when anyone presents a grain offering...He shall then bring it | Lev 3:1 if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings ... he shall offer it |
Lev 4:3 if the anointed priest sins ... let him offer |
Lev 5:6 'He shall also bring his guilt offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, | |
Priests cleanse the temple, & for themselves |
Ex 29:39-42 | daily, and feasts | |||||
Nu 28:9-10 | double on Saabath |
I assume we are all familiar with the fact that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim which received an alottment of the promised land by Joshua, do not appear in the list of twelve tribes in Revelation 6 - the 144,000 Israelites sealed for God.
Note further, that the alottments prophecied by Ezekiel do match the tribes sealed in Rev 6. Plus, it would appear that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim have been restored. Thus it is possible, that again, God not only preserved a remnant of Israel in Revelation 6, but his promise to Israel includes Dan and Ephraim as well, and collectively they are Ezekiel's tribes who then receive a new alottment in the millennial 'camp of the saints and the beloved city' (Rev 20:9):
Joshua's divison of promised land
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Sealed tribes of Revelation 6
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Ezekiel's division of holy land
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Jos 15:1 Judah | Rev 6:5 ...tribe of Judah, 12,000, | Eze 48:7 ...Judah, one portion. |
Num 32:29 Reuben | ...tribe of Reuben 12,000, | Eze 48:6 ...Reuben, one portion. |
Num 32:29 Gad | ...tribe of Gad 12,000, | Eze 48:27 ...Gad, one portion. |
Jos 19:24 Asher | Rev 6:6 ...tribe of Asher 12,000, | Eze 48:2 ... Asher, one portion. |
Jos 19:32 Naphtali | ...tribe of Naphtali 12,000, | Eze 48:3 ...Naphtali, one portion. |
Jos 17:1 Manasseh | ...tribe of Manasseh 12,000, | Eze 48:4 ... Manasseh, one portion. |
Jos 19:1 Simeon | Rev 6:7 ...tribe of Simeon 12,000, | Eze 48:24 ...Simeon, one portion. |
Jos 18:7 Levites none -priestly service | ...tribe of Levi 12,000, | Eze 48:13 ...Levites have 25,000 [by] 10,000 cubits |
Jos 19:17 Issachar | ...tribe of Issachar 12,000, | Eze 48:25 ...Issachar, one portion. |
Jos 19:10 Zebulun | Rev 6:8 ...tribe of Zebulun 12,000, | Eze 48:26 ...Zebulun, one portion. |
Jos 16:1 Joseph | ...tribe of Joseph 12,000, | Eze 47:13 ...Joseph shall have two portions. |
Jos 18:11 Benjamin | ...tribe of Benjamin, 12,000 | Eze 48:23 ...Benjamin, one portion. |
Jos 16:5 Ephraim | Eze 48:5 ...Ephraim, one portion | |
Jos 19:40 Dan | Eze 48:1 ...Dan, one portion |