Ezekiel 43:9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.

This one phrase is why that glorious Kingdom temple that was so aptly described in Ezekiel will never be built. Conditional promises lay within the grasp to those to whom those conditions are placed. They were made to men, and men failed.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda, is the saddest of phrases ever rendered. They are uttered from a place of regret. They are uttered from a place of expired deadlines. They are uttered from a state of failure. Why would God give Ezekiel such a detailed description of something so grand and marvelous if it was never going to be built?

There are two types of people represented here. The first is a type to which the prophesy of that Kingdom is achievable and will eventually be built because he has faith in mankind’s ability to obey. The second is the type who sees the futility of man’s ability to obey and looks for God’s promises which are not based on conditions of man’s compliance.

Matthew 19:25-26 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

A free gift is both free and a gift. There are no conditions in the offering. All you have to do is accept the gift. Yet here again is the sadness in the giving. There is the shoulda, woulda, coulda of man’s willingness to receive something he didn’t earn. Like the first example of Ezekiel there is a time constraint involved. You have to accept the gift before you die.

Do not live in regret, accept the free gift and end regret.

Exodus 19:22 And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.

Before we can properly address the total significance of the resurrection of Christ we need to examine the demands of service within the priesthood. Aaron’s sons presented strange fire before the Lord and were consumed in fire. Leviticus 10:1 in the Amplified version calls it unacceptable fire. Two hundred and fifty Levites rebelled against Moses claiming their rights to serve the Lord, they were consumed by fire.  (Numbers 16:35)

At issue here is two key elements; that all the ordinates of service had to be performed with perfection or the sacrifice was not accepted and that only God’s chosen could perform those ordinates. The significance of acceptance of the sacrifice was shown in the high priest returning from the Holy of Holies alive.

Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

While it is extremely important that Christ’s resurrection demonstrated His power over death, it is just as significant to understand that His resurrection also demonstrated God’s acceptance of that blood offering. The significance is that we who are in Christ not only have redemption of sins, but power over death, i.e. eternal life.

Now for the last little connective tissue. The high priest wore an Ephod with the twelve stones, one representing each tribe of Israel. The Ephod represented the high priest standing in service of ordinances for the people of Israel. When the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies to offer up the blood of sacrifice, he removed the Ephod and entered in wearing only pure white linen. He did not represent just Israel but all who sought redemption from God.