Ezekiel 40:2

At first sight, Ezekiel thought that he saw a city. But actually, this was just the *temple and the *holy buildings that surrounded it. The old *temple was in a city, that is, Jerusalem. But Ezekiel saw a *temple which was not in a city. All the area round the *temple was very *holy (43:12). And the capital city was separate from it (45:1-6). This was for a reason. It was necessary to separate this land from other land. Something that belongs especially to God deserves the greatest honour. One must never confuse *holy things with things that are not *holy. God protested about the wicked behaviour of the *Israelites when their doors were next to the door of his *temple (43:8). So in Ezekiel’s *vision, the *temple and the city were separate.