" Now this vision cannot be
said to be fulfilled in Zorobabel's temple, as I proved before, only here
take notice that the second destruction of the temple by the Romans was
worse than the first by the Babylonians,--that desolation was repaired, but
this could never be repaired, though the Jews did attempt the building
again of the temple,(1393) first under Adrian the emperor, and afterward
under Julian the apostate. The hand of God was seen against them most
terribly by fire from heaven, and other signs of that kind; and about the
same time (to observe that by the way) the famous Delphic temple was
without man's hand, by fire and earthquake, utterly destroyed and never
built again,--to tell the world that neither Judaism nor paganism should
prevail, but the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Where then must we seek for the accomplishment of Ezekiel's vision, I mean
for the new temple in which the Lord will dwell for ever, and where his
holy name shall be no more polluted? Surely we must seek for it in the
days of the gospel, as hath been before abundantly proved; but that the
thing may be the better understood, let us take with us, at least, some
few general observations concerning this temple of Ezekiel, as it
representeth what should come to pass in the church of Christ.

First of all, there is but one temple, not many, showed to him,--which is
in part, and shall be yet more fulfilled in the church of the New
Testament, according to that, Zech. xiv. 8, "And it shall be in that day,
that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem;" which is the same that we
have, Ezek. xlvii. 1. Then follows, "And the Lord shall be King over all
the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one." The
like promise we find elsewhere: "I will give them one heart, and one way,"
Jer. xxxii. 39; Ezek. xi. 19. It is observed, that for this very end of
uniformity, the heathens also did erect temples, that they might all
worship the same idol-god in the same manner. The plague of the Christian
church hitherto hath been temple against temple, and altar against altar,
"But thou, O Lord, how long?" Psal. vi. 3.

Secondly, Ezekiel's temple and city are very large and capacious, as I
showed in the beginning; and the city had three gates looking toward each
of the four quarters of the world, Ezek. xlviii. 31-34: all this to
signify the spreading of the gospel into all the earth; which is also
signified by the holy waters issuing from the thres