1. Covenant Future Ezekiel’s Exilic Visions

2. What we need to know about Ezekiel Ezekiel was born into a family of priests in Jerusalem in 622, just as the Babylonians were beginning their revolt against the Assyrians In 597, at the age of 25, when he should have begun his preparation for priestly duties (5-year apprenticeship), Ezekiel was taken into captivity by the Babylonians In 593, when he was 30 (the age when he should have begun functioning as a priest in his own right), Yahweh first began to speak to Ezekiel in visions that made him a prophet Ezekiel’s visions are dated at 15 points which connect them to a 20-year period (593-573) Most of the visions are recorded in chronological order

3. Dates mentioned among Ezekiel’s Visions 1:1 – July 593 1:2 – July 593 3:16 – July 593 8:1 – August/September 593 20:1 – July/August 591 24:1 – January 588 26:1 – March 587 to March 586 29:1 – January 587 29:17 – March-April 571 30:20 – March-April 587 31:1 – May-June 587 32:1 – February-March 585 32:17 – February-March 585 33:21 – December 586- January 585 40:1 – March-April 573

4. An Outline of Ezekiel’s Visions Ezekiel’s Call & Commissioning (1-3) –The Glory of Yahweh comes to Babylon (1) –Ezekiel’s Call (2:1-3:15) –Ezekiel’s Commission & Message (3:16-27) Judgment on Jerusalem & Its People (4-24) –Graphic Prophecies of Jerusalem’s Destruction (4-7) –Sins of the People & Their Leaders (8-9) –God’s Glory leaves the Temple (10-11) –Prophecies of the Captivity/Exile (12-24) Judgment on the Nations around Judah (25-32) –Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, Egypt Visions of Renewal & Restoration (33-48) –Taking Responsibilities and the Fall of Jerusalem (33) –The Spiritual Revival (34) –The Destruction of Edom (35) –The Restoration of Israel (36-37) –The Final Battle between Good & Evil (38-39) –Symbolic Pictures of the Age of Restoration (40-48) The Temple and Return of God’s Glory (40-46) Blessings of the Land and the City of God (47-48)

5. Notes on Ezekiel’s Visions Because of Ezekiel’s priestly heritage, much of what he sees & writes is shaped in terms of the Temple & its ceremonies: –The Glory of Yahweh (1) –The rehearsal of sins (8-11) –The future age of restoration dominated by visions of a magnificent and expansive Temple (40-48)

6. Notes on Ezekiel’s Visions The strange vision in chapter 1 is not an ancient UFO sighting, but rather a vision of Yahweh’s Glory on the move. This has two implications: –T–T–T–Those who are already in exile have not been forgotten or abandoned by Yahweh –T–T–T–Those who are still in Jerusalem are not safe because they have Yahweh trapped in the Temple. Yahweh will not be tied down

7. Ezekiel filtered the messages of Yahweh through graphic “Show & Tell” images: –T–T–T–The wheels & eyes & living being images (1) –E–E–E–Eating a scroll (3) –T–T–T–The brick siege game (4) –L–L–L–Lying on sides (left—390; right—40) (4) –E–E–E–Eating junk food cooked over manure (4) –S–S–S–Shaving beard & destroying hairs in 3 ways (5) –H–H–H–Hand-clapping & Foot-stomping (6) –D–D–D–Digging through a wall and leaving with baggage (12) –S–S–S–Soap Opera tales—Oholah & Oholibah (23) –E–E–E–Ezekiel’s wife dies, he may not mourn (24)

8. The prophecies of Judgment on the nations of Judah’s world (25-32) communicated two significant messages: –Yahweh is not a tribal or national god who is now defeated by the Babylonians; Yahweh remains sovereign over all nations, and can be trusted even though it seems right now like other gods and nations are more powerful –Also, although these other nations have had a part in the divine plan to punish Judah, they will themselves be held accountable for their actions

9. Notes on Ezekiel’s Visions The “New Covenant” (33) is not a different covenant than the Sinai Covenant, but a new commitment to that covenant in the hearts of a renewed people The restoration of Judah after the Exile (36-37) is understood as a restoration of the entire nation of Israel The “sprinkling” of some Christian Church baptism ceremonies is in part based on the sprinkling in the cleansings of chapter 36 “Dry Bones” vision – 37

10. Notes on Ezekiel’s Visions The cataclysmic battle of 38-39 (“Gog & Magog”) is hard to pin down, and seems to be a symbolic confrontation between good and evil that precedes the ultimate restoration of Yahweh’s spreading kingdom (40-48) Many of the images in the book of Revelation are directly taken from Ezekiel, including: –The vision of Yahweh’s glory (1) –The scroll eaten (3) –The judgment on the nations (25-32) –The great battle (38-39) –The restored City & Temple (40-46) –The River of Life and the renewal of Creation (47-48)

11. Notes on Ezekiel’s Visions Ezekiel is an “Exilic” prophet of the 6 th century B.C. (along with Obadiah & Daniel) Ezekiel’s prophecy is significantly shaped by his priestly heritage The closing scenes of Ezekiel’s prophecy are intended to make the exiles homesick not only for their old homeland in Palestine, but for Yahweh and the Covenant and the Temple and the age of Renewal and Restoration when life will be fully shaped by the glory of Yahweh