The first item we need to see concerning the temple is the wall. The temple has a wall on all four sides. The wall is for separation, separating what belongs to God and what can never belong to God. The wall is a separating line. According to the measurement of the wall, we can realize that the wall is Christ Himself as a separating line. Whatever is within Christ belongs to God's interest and to God's building. Whatever is outside of Christ is excluded from God's interest and God's building. Christ Himself is the separating line. In a city of millions of people, how can we know who are of God and who are not of God? How can we separate them? It must be by Christ as the separating line. Whoever is in Christ belongs to God. Whoever is outside of Christ is separate from God. Whoever belongs to Christ is within the wall, and whoever is outside of Christ is outside of the wall. Thus, the wall is Christ as the separating line.
The measurement of the wall is very unusual. I do not think that through all the centuries of human history there has ever been another such wall. It is six cubits high and also six cubits thick. It is six by six. If you look at a cross section of this wall, you will see a square. What is the meaning of the number six? Man was created on the sixth day. This wall is Jesus as a square, upright, perfect, and complete man. Jesus, as a square, upright, perfect, complete, and even resurrected man is the separating line. He is fully qualified because He is square and upright. In Him there is no imperfection and no shortage. In Him there is nothing crooked; with Him everything is straight. Such a man is the separating line. If only Jesus is such a man, we are all excluded. We are not square. It may be that we have twenty-eight corners. Furthermore, we are crooked, not upright, and incomplete. If Jesus alone is this wall, we are excluded. After reading the four Gospels, some people in poor Christianity try to imitate Christ. The more they try to imitate Christ, the more they collapse. Who can imitate Christ? It is impossible! There is no possibility for any fallen human beings to follow or imitate Christ. Christ is too square! too upright! too perfect! too complete! We simply cannot imitate Him. When we come to Him, we are judged and condemned. When we read the four Gospels concerning His life, we are condemned. For example, in Luke 2, when Jesus was a child of twelve years, He obeyed His parents in the flesh regardless of how much He was for His Father in the heavens. Young people, when you read those verses, do you not feel that you are condemned? You are not obedient to your parents while you are seeking after the Father's interest, but Jesus was. The life history of Jesus is a condemning factor to us.
Hallelujah! He is not only the wall; He is also the gate. As the wall He excludes and condemns us, but as the gate He brings us into God's building. If you are in the sphere of God's building today, it is because Christ as the gate has brought you in. Praise the Lord! Christ is our gate, our door (John 10:9). In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus said that He was the way. Apart from Him, no man can come to the Father. He is not only the wall, but also the gateway for us to get into God and into God's kingdom. He is the gate for us to enter into God's interest and into God's building. Many Christians realize that Christ is the door, but few know Christ as the door in a detailed way. Only Ezekiel saw the details of Christ as the gate. If we had the time, I would like to spend ten days to get into all the details of the gates.
The depth of the gate, from the front to the rear, is fifty cubits. The breadth of the gate from side to side is twenty-five cubits. These numbers are composed of five times five. Fifty cubits is ten times five; twenty-five cubits is five times five. Again, we have five, the number of responsibility.
In front of the gate is a stair of seven steps. The steps of ascent are quite high, meaning that when you go into the building, you must go up. Whenever a person believes in Jesus, he has the feeling that he is going up. If someone were to go to Las Vegas to gamble, he would have the sensation that he is going down, or if someone were going to a movie or to participate in some kind of sport, he would have the sensation that he is going down. Even when the sisters go shopping, they sense that they are going down. But, when we come to the Lord Jesus, our sensation is that we are on a staircase going up.
The gate is composed of four sections: the outer threshold, the passage, the inner threshold, and the porch. It has a total of three thresholds. There is the outer threshold, the inner threshold, and between these two there is a passage called a hallway. The middle part, the passage, is also called a threshold. But, in order to help people to realize the difference, we use another word, the passage. Thus, it has the outer threshold, the passage, then the inner threshold, and last, it has the porch. The porch is somewhat like a lobby to the temple. After you pass through the outer threshold, the passage, the inner threshold, and the lobby, you enter into the outer court of the temple. At that time you must take another flight of stairs of eight steps. This time the ascent is even higher, being eight steps rather than seven.