There occurs yet one later mention of some of the vessels that had been made for the service of Jehovah,--when they were brought out to crown the triumph of Belshazzar in his heathenish feast. Then was manifest the displeasure of the Lord, and the trembling king heard from the lips of Daniel his doom,--for he had been unmindful of the fate that had overtaken his father, and had lifted up himself against the Lord of heaven; and had brought out the vessels of the house of God that he and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink wine therefrom; and he had praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; but the God in whose hand was his breath and whose were all his ways had he not glorified. He had been weighed in the balances and was found wanting; and his kingdom was taken from him. That night, Belshazzar the king was slain.[62] THE TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL'S VISION In the twenty-fifth year of the Babylonian captivity, while yet the people of Israel were in exile in a strange land, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel; the power of God rested upon him; and he saw in vision a glorious Temple, the plan of which he minutely {44} described.[63] As to whether the prophet himself considered the design so shown as one to be subsequently realized, or as but a grand yet unattainable ideal, is not declared. Certain it is that the Temple of the vision has not yet been builded. In most of its essential features Ezekiel's ideal followed closely the plan of Solomon's Temple; so close, indeed, is the resemblance, that many of the details specified by Ezekiel have been accepted as those of the splendid edifice destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. A predominant characteristic of the Temple described by Ezekiel was the spaciousness of its premises and the symmetry of both the Holy House and its associated buildings. The area was to be a square of five hundred cubits, walled about and provided with a gateway and arches on each of three sides; on the west side the wall was to be unbroken by arch or portal. At each of the gateways were little chambers regarded as lodges,[64] and provided with porches. In the outer court were other chambers. The entire area was to be elevated, and a flight of steps led to each gateway. In the inner court was seen the great altar, standing before the House, and occupying the center of a square of one hundred cubits.[65] Ample provision was made for every variety of sacrifice and offering, and for the accommodation of the priests, the singers, and all engaged in the holy ritual.[66] The main structure comprised a Porch, a Holy Place, and an inner sanctuary or Most Holy Place, the last named elevated above the rest {45} and reached by steps. The plan provided for even greater exclusiveness than had characterized the sacred area of the Temple of Solomon; the double courts contributed to this end. The service of the Temple was prescribed in detail; the