Ezekiel and the Temple

Question

I have recently watched Dr. Pratt's video series "He Gave Us Prophets" and have a question for you regarding Ezekiel's temple. Dr. Pratt said that two of the main points of Ezekiel's message were: 1) the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple; and 2) directions for rebuilding the temple.
The temple Ezekiel describes does not fit the description of the actual rebuilt temple. What I am wondering is if Ezekiel 43:10-11 might explain why this temple was not rebuilt. Is it possible that because the people didn't repent from "all they had done" that the temple Ezekiel describes was not rebuilt to the specifications God gave?

Answer

Yes, I think you are right. If the people had repented and followed God with gusto, then the temple would have been rebuilt to those specifications (which apparently would have exceeded the glory of the first temple). But as we see in Ezra-Nehemiah (e.g. Ezra 10), the people didn't repent and obey. As a result, the rebuilt temple did not compare to the glory of the first (Ezra 3:11-13; Hag. 2:2). Even so, as Haggai 2 indicates, even after the temple was rebuilt, God still offered to increase its glory if only his people would be faithful to him. But again, they failed to be faithful, so that the restoration attempt never flourished.