2/12/06. Introduction To Ezekiel

Transcription

1 1 2 2/12/06 Introduction To Ezekiel The prophet Ezekiel is one of the most interesting prophets, as he is called by God to act out his messages in a theatre type atmosphere. The purpose of this was to insure that the people of God understood that their captivity was due to their sin against Yahweh and that Jerusalem would be destroyed. The entire nation would go into captivity for 70 years, so they were not to believe the false prophets, yet the future hope was their restoration to the land, short-term and long-term in the last days. I. The man Ezekiel. A. Ezekiel was of the priest line. 1. He is called Ezekiel the priest. Ezk. 1:3a; 24:24 a. Ezekiel means God strengthens significant of the difficult task ahead. c. Both he and Jeremiah were of the priestly line called to be prophets. 2. His father s name was Buzi, who serve under Josiah s reform, 622 B.C. Jer. 1:3b 3. He was a called by in the fifth year after Jehoiachin s captivity, 592 B.C. Ezk. 1:2 4. He was among the captives by the River Chebar. Ezk. 1:1d 5. He was called to be a prophet to the nation. Ezk. 2:5c a. He is one of the five post-exilic prophets, the others are Daniel, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. b. The other twelve are pre-exilic. c. He is also one of the four Major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. d. There are twelve Minor prophets. B. Ezekiel lived in a particular historical time. 1. He was born during the great reformation of Josiah, after the discovery of the book of the Law, 622 B.C. 2. He certainly heard and most likely saw some of the cleansing and overthrow of the alters of Baal and Asherah, in view that he was of the priestly family. 3. Assyria was to the north-east, a dominant power for nearly two centuries and Pharaoh went to her aid, but Josiah intervened and was killed in battle at Migiddo 608 B.C. 2Kings 23: Nebuchanazzar crushed the Egyptian army at Carchemish on the Euphrates in 605 B.C.

2 The Babylonians had already taken the first captives in B.C. 6. Daniel, Ezekiel were taken in the second siege, in B.C. coinciding with the ascension of Zedekiah to the throne. * Ezekiel was one of the ten-thousand captives, the cream of the crop. 2Kings 24: Zedekiah ruled for eleven year till the third and final one in 586 B.C., with the burning of the city and temple. 2kings 24:8-16; Jer. 24:1; 25:1-2; Dan. 1: Ezekiel confirms that he had been in captivity for eleven years when the final siege took place. Ezek. 40:1 C. Ezekiel had a rich culture and influence. 1. He had seen the reformation of Josiah but also the superficiality of it, as the prophet Jeremiah called the people to repentance at the temple. Jer He had been exposed to the ministry of Jeremiah, perhaps even some personal contact with Jeremiah prior to being carried off to Babylon. a. Jeremiah was around years old at the death of Josiah, Ezekiel about fourteen or fifteen. b. That would make Ezekiel twenty-five when taken captive in 597 B. C 3. He had been waiting to be trained as a priest, the time of apprenticeship was from twenty-five to thirty, followed by being inaugurated into his office, it never took place. Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 39 * Both John the Baptist and Jesus began their ministry at thirty. Lk. 3:23 5. There are some similarities between the two prophets. a. Jeremiah was sent to a people who would not hear the message of repentance and Ezekiel to people who had been a rebellious nation against God. Jer. 1:19; 20:18 ; Ezk. 2:3 b. Jeremiah said that he found God s word and he did eat them rejoicing the heart and we see Ezekiel called to eat the scroll to prophecy to the people, being like honey, sweat in his mouth. Jer. 15:16; Ezk. 3:1-2 c. Jeremiah proclaimed the personal responsibility for sins, rejecting the saying, Our father s have eaten sour grape and our teeth are on edge and Ezekiel picks up the same proverb calling for it not to be declared any more. Jer. 31:29; Ezk. 18:1-3 This was the man Ezekiel! II. The call of Ezekiel as a prophet.

3 5 6 A. The location of the call of Ezekiel was while in captivity. Ezk. 1: He began his prophetic ministry in the fifth year after his being taken captive, therefore the recording of the thirtieth year has to be his age at the time. Ezk. 1: He was called on the fourth month, July, the fifth day, the fifth year 592 B.C. of the captivity of Jehoiachin, Vs. 1b-c, 2 * The latest date is the 27th year of exile, 22 years, which would make him 52 years old, 570 B.C. Ezk. 1:2; 29:17 3. He was in the land of the Chaldeas by the River Chebar with the captives at Tel Abib. Ezk. 1:1d; 3; 3:15 a. Tel Abib means hill of corn ears or mound of young barely heads, perhaps referring to the fertility of the district, at the ancient Tilabubu, mounds of the deluge or flood. 1) Small settlements and communities were established with freedom to worship. Ezra 2:59; Neh. 7:61 2) Daniel and Ezekiel were about the same age, who was in the palace. b. The River Chebar, known as the Kabour, near Nippur between the Euphrates and the Tigris, which flowed into the Euphrates 50 miles south-east of the city of Babylon, called also the great canal. 4. The captives appear to have organization and freedom to worship. 1) Ezekiel was one of the notable figures among the captivity! 2) The elders are mentions often. Ezk. 8:1; 14:1; 20:1 3) Ezekiel had his own house. Ezk. 3:24 4) Ezekiel was married and his wife as a sign died a the very fall of Jerusalem. Ezk. 24:16; 18; ) Remember that one of the reasons many did not return to Jerusalem at Cyrus command was due to their prosperity in the land of Babylon. B. The method God used for the call of Ezekiel was through a vision. Ezk. 1:1e 1. He saw the heavens open and saw a vision of God. being among the captives at the River Chebar. Vs. 1d-e a. Isaiah saw a vision of God at his call, John saw Jesus glorified. Is. 6; Rev. 1 b. A vision is when a person is awake, a dream is when one is asleep. c. The vision is recorded in the first three chapter. d. Thirteen times Ezekiel dates his prophecies and visions and they are all in relation to the year of his exile.

4 7 8 Ezk. 1:1; 8:1; 20:1; 24:1; 26:1; 29:1, 17; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1, 17; 33:21; 40:1 2. He describes the affects and influence of God upon his person to reveal it is the revelation of God not his own by using many different phrases. a. The hand of the Lord was upon him there. Ezk. 1:3d b. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. Ezk. 3:14 c. Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you. Ezk. 3:22 d. As I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. Ezk. 8:1 e. Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening... He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute. Ezk. 33:22 f. The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Ezk. 37:1 g. In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there. Ezk. 40:1 C. The call of Ezekiel was characterized by constantly falling on his face. 1. He first fell on his face due to the glory of the Lord. Ezk. 1:28, 3:23 2. He fell on his face when the wicked man Benaiah died by God s judgment and asked, Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel? Ezk. 11:13 3. He fell on his face as he was shown the glory of God returning to the new temple. Ezk. 43:3 4. He fell on his face when the glory of God filled the house of the Lord. Ezk. 44:4 5. The focus was the glory of God, it is both bitter and sweet. a. The bitter experience was in seeing the departing of God s glory from the temple over the mount of Olives. Ezk. 10:18; 11:23 * Twenty-four times the word glory appears.

5 9 10 b. The sweep experience was in the returning glory in the future temple. Ezk. 43:4-5; 44:4 D. The manner Ezekiel was to carry out his call was through symbolic acts. 1. He was to sketch the city of Jerusalem and it s siege on a tile. Ezk. 4:1 2. He was to was to lay on his side for certain number of days according to the years of their guilt. Ezk. 4:4 3. He was to eat his food by measure and water to represent the defiled bread Israel would eat among the Gentiles. Ezk. 4: He was to cut some of his hair and beard and strike on third with the sword, one third to the wind and a few were to be bond in the edge of his garment, symbolic of God s judgment. Ezk. 5: He was to dig through the wall with a pack on his back, cover his eyes, representing the carrying away of those in Jerusalem by Nebuchaddnezzar and the king Zedekiah but he would not see the city, for his eye would be gouged out. Ezk. 12; 2Kings He was to write the name of Judah and Israel and join the two sticks to indicate the oneness of Judah and Israel in the future. Ezk. 37:15-17 This was the call of Ezekiel as a prophet! III. The ministry of Ezekiel. A. Ezekiel was to officiate the priestly office. 1. He would have no temple to officiate in, he was to speak to them as prophet in a foreign land. Ezk. 2:5 2. He would be a faithful priest of God and declare to them the abominations of Jerusalem. Ezk He would be the intercessor as the elders came and ask him to inquire of God. 20:1 4. He would instruct them on the holy and profane, having neglected the distinction and the Sabbaths. Ezk. 22:26 5. He would remind the foolish prophet and shepherds of their judgment. a. Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Ezk. 13:1-3 b. Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ezk. 34:1-2 B. Ezekiel was to officiate the prophetic office. 1. They would know that there was a prophet among them, even if they did not obey. Ezk. 2:4-5

6 11 12 * The problem was their hearts were uncircumcised towards God. Jer. 4:4 2. He was not to fear them, regardless of their look nor be rebellious like them. Ezk. 2: Their impudent hard hearts would be met by Ezekiel s adamant stone character, harder than flint. Ezk. 3: His message was presented as a scroll which he was to eat, that he might receive all of God s word into his heart and deliver it faithfully. Ezk. 3: The false prophets were giving false hope, declaring they would soon return to Jerusalem, to which Jeremiah wrote to the captives to settle down and seek the peace of the city. Ezk. 13:16, 19; Jer Shemaiah had sent a reply to Zephaniah in Jerusalem to imprison Jeremiah because he was discouraging the captives. Jer. 29: Ezekiel s ministry was to confirm the judgment of God over Jerusalem and the captivity, recorded in the first twentyfour chapters of Ezekiel. 8. He was told by God that God would answer the people according to the multitudes of their idols. Ezk. 14:4 9. He was told by Yahweh that if Noah, Daniel and Job were in the city the would only deliver themselves. Ezk. 14:14, 20 C. Ezekiel was to officiate the pastorate office. 1. He is called by the title Son of man. a. The title appears ninety-thee times in the book of Ezekiel. b. The title signifies the humanity and frailty of Ezekiel and oneness with the people and used also of Daniel the prophet. c. The title was also a common one for our Lord Jesus, for His humanity, appearing eighty-one times in the Gospels and only four in t rest of the New Testament, one in Acts, one in Hebrews and two in Revelation. 2. He was called to be the watchman of the house of Israel. Ezk. 3:17; 33:2, 6, 7 a. The word means a keeper or guard like a centennial, to warn of God s judgment and need of repentance. b. God would hold Ezekiel responsible for proclaiming to the people the revelation of God for his day. c. The massage was not his but God s. d. The authority was not his but God s. e. The responsibility for their response was not his but each individual had that responsibility. f. He was in tune with the people and confronted their popular proverbs and corrected their bad theology. Ezk. 11:13; 12:22, 27; 18:2

7 He was to communicate to the house of Israel God s attitude of love. Ezk. 18:20, 22, 23, 25, a. They were accusing God of judging a man for the sins of another. Vs. 20 b. They were to know that the wicked could repent. Vs c. They were to know that the righteous could turn away from his righteousness. Vs. 24 d. The heart of God is revealed. Vs. 23 * Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the Lord GOD, and not that he should turn from his ways and live? e. The Lord rebuked Israel for accusing the Lord s ways of being unfair and Yahweh called them to repent that iniquity not be their ruin. Vs f. God s heart pleads through Ezekiel, listen. Vs * For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. Therefore turn and live! 4. The purpose of the book is two-fold. a. To promote repentance and faith in view of the judgment of Jerusalem. b. To promote hope of restoration in the future with a new temple. This was the ministry of Ezekiel! IV. The theology of Ezekiel. * This is not an exhaustive view but a mere sketch! A. Man is rebellious towards God. 1. The people had rebelled against God as their fathers. Ezk. 2:3 2. The elders had secret places of idolatry. Ezk. 8: The false prophets had seduced God s people. Ezk. 13: Their sin was against God s love, as an unfaithful wife. Ezk The city of Jerusalem is called a bloody city. Ezk. 22:2 * Their punishment was due to braking the covenant. Lev. 26; Deut The dumbness of prophets Ezekiel and sign-sermons were not only to predict future events. a. They were to indicate God s withdrawal from a people who would not hear Him, so God would open the prophet s mouth when God spoke to him. Ezk. 3:26-27 b. Ten of theses sign-sermons are found in the first twenty-four chapters. * They were to provoke inquiry of the people. Ezk. 12:9; 24:19 c. There is only one other in the remaining chapters, the two sticks of

8 15 16 Judah and Israel to be joined in the future as one. Ezk 37:16 d. God told Ezekiel that He would make his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth and be dumb. Ezk. 3:26-28 e. Four and a half years later God told Ezekiel that He would open his mouth on the day one would come and tell Ezekiel of the final overthrow of Jerusalem. Ezk. 24:27 * The fulfillment is found in chapter thirty-three. Ezk. 33:21-22 B. God is the One who directs and rules in man s history. 1. God is revealed to Ezekiel as the all knowing, all present and all powerful God in the visions riding in a heavenly chariot. Ezk. 1-3; 8-11; a. Predicting the destruction of Tyre 250 years before, by Alexander the Great, to the very detail of building a causeway out to the city by dumping the ruins of the city into the sea. Ezk. 26 b. The prediction about Egypt becoming a base kingdom, while Babylon and Assyria would be done away with. Ezk c. The rebirth and future re-gathering of Israel. Ezk. 25;27; 29; God reveled Himself to Ezekiel so that the people would know that He was the one true God was three-fold. a. By declaring His judgment of Jerusalem beforehand. Ezk b. By declaring His judgments of the Gentile nations beforehand. Ezk * The one behind all deception of people and nations is Lucifer the, Satan, the god of this world, the covering Cherub that rebelled against God in heaven, leading a third of the angels in rebellion. Is. 14:12-15; Ezk. 28:11-19; 2Cor. 4:4 c. By declaring His preservation of the Jewish, the remnant. Ezk God holds every person responsible for their sins. Ezk. 18, 33 * Remember God never violates man s free-will! C. God s character and glory is based on His holiness. 1. God is unapproachable and perfect in holiness, even as Ezekiel falls on his face constantly at His presence. Ezk. 1:28; 3:23; 11:13; 43:3; 44:4 2. The word glory is related to His holiness, appearing twenty-four times.

9 The glory of God is seen as departing from above the Cherub, the threshold of the temple, over the east gate and over the Mount of Olives. Ezk. 10:18; 11:23 4. The Lord God is gracious, merciful and full of compassion and takes no pleasure over the death of one person but prefers they repent and live. Ezk. 18: The Lord their God promises to sprinkle clean water on Israel and make them clean, give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them. Ezk. 36:25-27; Jer. 31: The Messiah would come and reign. Ezk. 17:22-24; 21:27; 34:23-24 This is some of the theology of Ezekiel! V. The visions of Ezekiel. * Ezekiel s visions can be grouped into three. A. The vision of their judgment by God, resulting in captivity, dealing with their past sins! Ezk The purpose was to reveal that it was the sovereign God who was bringing judgment to His people. * The vision was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin s captivity, 592 B.C. Ezk. 1:2 2. The vision is of a furious whirlwind out of the north, a great cloud and a raging fire engulfing itself with the color of amber, a luminous metal color. Ezk. 1:4 a. This has been used by many to identify U.F.O s, a great mistake. b. The north was from where Babylon would come as God s instrument of judgment. 3. The vision was the appearance of four living creatures. Ezk. 1: The vision revealed the creatures were cherubim. Ezk. 1:15-25 * They are Cherubim, Ezekiel identifies them for us. Ezk. 10:20 5. The vision emphasized God who sits on His throne, Who is ready to judge His people, not the angels. Ezk. 1:26-28a-c * Angels are impressive until you see God, nothing should ever take the place of God in our lives! 6. The vision was the way Ezekiel received his call to be a prophet. Ezk. 2-3 B. The vision of their sin against God, resulting in the departure of God s glory, dealing with the reason for their present judgment! Ezk The purpose for the vision was to reveal the guilt of Judah.

10 19 20 a. The vision was in the sixth year, in the sixth month, from his captivity. Ezk. 8:1a-c b. Five years before the final overthrow of Jerusalem. 2. The vision came to Ezekiel as he sat in his house and the elders of Judah sat before him and the hand of the Lord God fell upon him there. Ezk. 8:1d-e 3. The vision was of God in His glory as before as a hand took Ezekiel by his hair and the Spirit lifted him between heaven and earth, taking him to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court. Ezk. 8:2-3a-e 4. The vision had four parts. a. The first revealed the profaning of the temple. Ezk. 8 1) God showed him the image of Jealousy of idols, the elders worshipping in the room of his idol. Ezk. 8:1-12 2) God showed him a greater abomination at the door of the north gate as women were sitting weeping for Tammuz, the son of Sameramis. Ezk. 8: ) God showed him greater abominations in the inner court of the Lord s house where 25 men of the priesthood faced the east and worshipped the sun. Ezk. 8: ) God declares that due to this abominations and violence in the land, He would act in His fury, not spare, have pity or hear them. Ezk. 8:17-18 b. The second revealing the Judgment of the people. Ezk. 9 1) God called for the men who had charge over the city to come forth with their deadly or shattering weapons in their hands. Ezk. 9:1 2) Six men appeared, one was clothed in linen, with inkhorn and they all stood by the bronze alter and calling the man clothed in lines to go through the city and mark all who sighing over the abominations. Ezk. 9:2-4 * These are the one who had been faithful in the midst of a corrupt and depraved generation! 4) God told the others to go through the city a kill all without the mark on their foreheads, not sparing any not having pity and to begin in His Sanctuary. Ezk. 9:5-6 * The 144,000 Jews have their fathers name on their foreheads

11 21 22 also, during the Great-tribulation! Rev. 14:1 5) God commanded the desecration of His temple with the dead bodies, to which Ezekiel cried out to God, if He was going to destroy the remnant of Israel and God declared judgment would not be averted, confirmed by the man clothed in linen and the inkhorn, that judgment had been executed. Ezk. 9:7-11 c. The third revealing the glory of God leaving the temple. Ezk. 10 1) God spoke from His throne to the man clothed in linen to go among the wheels under the Cherub, fill his hands with fire and scatter them all over the city and Ezekiel watched and the Lord went up from the Cherub over the threshold of the temple and the command was executed. Ezk. 10:1-8 3) The Cherub and the wheel within the wheel and the four faces are again repeated, tying chapter one and ten together, identifying them as Cherubim. Ezk. 10:9-15, ) God s glory now over the east gate of the Lord s house. Ezk. 1:16-19 d. The fourth revealing the glory of God leaving the city. Ezk. 11 1) The Spirit lifted Ezekiel up to the East Gate of the Lord s house where the twenty-five men were and told him to prophesy judgment for their deed and their evil thoughts. Ezk. 11:1-13 2) The Lord told Ezekiel to declare God would be a sanctuary to those in captivity and re-gather them one day and give them a one heart and a new spirit. Ezk. 11: ) The glory of the Lord departed from the city over the mount of Olives and Ezekiel was brought back to the River Chebar and he spoke all he saw to the captives. Ezk. 11:22-25 C. The vision of their sins removed by God, resulting in the restoration of God s glory and kingdom, dealing with their future reconciliation from their sins. Ezk The purpose of the vision was to reveal the future glory and the new temple. * The vision was in the twenty-fifth year of their captivity. Ezk. 40:1 2. The vision of God took Ezekiel to Jerusalem to a high mountain and he saw

12 23 24 to the south a structure like a city. Ezk. 40:2 3. A man appeared to Ezekiel the likeness of bronze with a line of flax, a measuring rod in his hand standing at the gateway and he told Ezekiel to look and listen to everything for he was to declare it to the house of Israel. Ezk. 40: Most believe that this is the temple during the millennial reign of Christ on the earth. 5. The literalness of the temple is hard to comprehend in view of the present day Jerusalem, it is the thousand year reign and Jesus is on earth. 6. The boundaries of the land are the Mediterranean on the west and the Jordan on the east and the 47 mile square area can not be placed between these two. Ezk. 47:18 7. Some see a the problem with the sacrifices during this time period, since Jesus is last sacrifice. Ezk. 43:13-27 * The only way to explain them is that they are in commemoration of the Lord s sacrifice, much like communion! 8. The sure thing is that the glory of the Lord will return, never to depart again. Ezk. 43: The Lord s throne will be there and He will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. Ezk. 43:l7 10. The name of the city from that day on will be THE LORD IS THERE. Ezk. 48:35 These are the visions of Ezekiel! VI. The book of Ezekiel. A. The authorship and unity. 1. The book of Ezekiel was considered unfragmented in unity, containing orderliness and development until the second quarter of the twentieth century. a. Based on critical analysis. b. Ewald in 1875 said there were multiple authors. c. Kraezschmar in 1900 argued that the book contained inconsistencies of style, parallelisms, etc. d. Gustav Hoelscher in 1924 concluded that only 143 verses out of 1273 were authentic of Ezekiel. e. C. C. Torry in 1930 argued on historical and geographical grounds, saying that a fictitious pseudoauthor wrote the book in 230 B.C.

13 25 26 f. The majority of conservative contemporary authors except the book to be from Ezekiel. g. The majority of Ezekiel is written in prose and some poetry. 2. Ezekiel has been excepted as authentic from him by the following. a. It is balanced in structure. b. It is autobiographical in nature. c. It has clear chronology. d. It has consistency of the message. e. It has uniformity of language and style. f. It bears Ezekiel s consistent personality throughout. B. The peculiar elements of the book. 1. Key phrases. a. Rebellious house, sixteen times. b. House of Israel, eight-three times. c. Two time the phrase the whole house of Israel is stated to insure both north and south are included. Ezk. 37:11, 39:25 d. The phrase, I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. Ezk. 17:24; 22:14; 24:14; 36:36; 37:14 e. This phrase, That they may know that I Am Jehovah, appears seventy times in the book. f. The title Son of man appears ninety-thee times in the book of Ezekiel, signifies humanity and frailty of Ezekiel, oneness with the people. g. The title is used also of Daniel the prophet, also a common one for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for His humanity, appearing 81 times in the Gospels. h. The word of the LORD, fifty-eight times. 2. Key related concepts. a. Twenty-nine times in connection with Jehovah s punishment of Jerusalem. b. Twenty-four times in connection with the governmental judgments of Jehovah on the Gentile nations. c. Seventeen times in connection with the coming restoration and final blessing of the elect nation. 3. The book contains. a. Visions. b. Acted out sermons. c. Allegory. d. Proverbs. e. Parables. This is the book of Ezekiel! VII. The outline of the book of Ezekiel.

14 27 28 A. The vision and commission of the Ezekiel. Ezk Introduction. Ezk. 1: The vision. Ezk. 1: The call of Ezekiel. Ezk. 2:1-3:3 4. The instructions. Ezk. 3:4-27 B. The present judgment of God on Judah and Jerusalem, prior to the fall. Ezk Jerusalem s ultimate doom due to her sins acted out in sign sermons. Ezk. 4-7 a. The severe judgment of Jerusalem. Ezk. 4 b. The various forms of the judgment of the people in Jerusalem. Ezk. 5 c. The judgment on the mountains of Israel. Ezk. 6 d. The judgment of the land of Israel. Ezk Jerusalem s defilement by her abominations. Ezk a. The particular abominations. Ezk. 8 b. The slaying of the wicked. Ezk. 9 c. The glory of God departs. Ezk. 10 d. The judgment of the elders. Ezk Jerusalem s beginning judgments. Ezk a. All these deal prior to the fall of Jerusalem. b. The last chapter closes this first division with the announcement of the fall of Jerusalem. Ezk. 24:1-2 c. Ezekiel s wife dies on the very day as a sign to not mourn for Jerusalem. Ezk 24:15-24, 27; 33:21-22 C. The future judgment of the Gentile nations. Ezk Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia. Ezk Tyrus and Zion. Ezk Egypt. Ezk D. The future destiny of Israel. Ezk Ezekiel is re-commissioned as the watchman. Ezk The false shepherds versus the true Shepherd, God and future glory if Israel. Ezk The Judgment of Edom. Ezk The restoration of land and fruitfulness. Ezk The judgment of Gog. Ezk a. The rebirth of the nation of Israel. Ezk. 37 b. The allied attack of God against Israel. Ezk. 38 c. The deliverance of Israel by God against Gog. Ezk. 39

15 E. The final vision of the future temple. Ezk The new temple and glory detailed. Ezk. 40:1-43:12 2. The new worship and service described. Ezk. 43:13-47:12 3. The new tribal divisions and city of God declared. Ezk. 47:13-48:35 This is the outline to the book of Ezekiel! 29 30