“Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory… The glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, and the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”
Ezekiel 43:1–5
Through the Bible: Ezekiel 43-45.
In Ezekiel 10, Ezekiel watched as God’s glory rose above the eastern gate and moved to the Mount of Olives — and then the Lord’s presence was gone.
God had left the building.
For thirty-three chapters, Ezekiel has been living with the heartbreak of exile and abandonment.
And then, suddenly, in chapter 43, everything changes. God brings Ezekiel to the east-facing gate and lets him see something breathtaking: the glory of the Lord returning. Ezekiel hears the sound — like rushing waters — and sees the earth shining with God’s presence.
The eastern gate isn’t an arbitrary detail. It foreshadows the coming of Christ. In chapter 43, God’s glory comes back through the east. Then, in Ezekiel 44, God tells Ezekiel that this gate will remain shut because the Lord Himself has entered through it. A few decades later, Zechariah picked up the same promise:
“Behold, your king comes to you; righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
And then, in Matthew 21, it happens. Jesus descends the Mount of Olives, riding on a donkey, approaching Jerusalem from the east — the same direction Ezekiel saw. He enters the city, walks into the temple courts, and begins driving out the money changers.
Just days later, in Matthew 26, He shares a sacrificial meal with His disciples — a quiet echo of Ezekiel’s vision of the prince who would dine in the eastern gate before the Lord (Ezekiel 44:3).
Do you see it? Ezekiel’s vision wasn’t random. The glory of God that left the temple in Ezekiel’s first vision has now returned — not on wheels within wheels, not carried by cherubim, not on a mobile throne surrounded by lightning.
God’s glory entered Jerusalem on a donkey.
This is the gospel hidden in plain sight in Ezekiel 43. God wasn’t coming back to Jerusalem in power and might to crush Rome, as many hoped. He came in humility, riding low, carrying peace, on His way to the cross.
Ezekiel had seen the most heartbreaking thing imaginable — the glory of God leaving His temple, His city, and His people. For decades, there was silence. No throne. No cherubim. No presence.
But in chapter 43, everything changes. The glory comes back.
And we see the fulfillment generations later when Jesus descends the Mount of Olives, riding on a donkey, entering the temple courts from the east. The God who had left in judgment returned in mercy.
This is the story of the gospel. The same God who departs because of sin comes back to redeem His people. The same Jesus who entered Jerusalem humbly will one day return in glory, and the whole earth will shine with His presence.
From heartbreaking to breathtaking — that’s the hope of Ezekiel 43. That’s the hope of the gospel. And it’s still our hope today.
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