St. Irenaeus Ministries

The Temple as described is a specifically Hebrew temple, where access to God is limited and well protected. The imagery and measurements represent categories of holiness, not a secret code for conspiracies.

Ezekiel receives the vision of the new Temple a quarter century into exile. It mirrors the vision of God departing from the Temple earlier in the book.

Ezekiel's final chapters describe a vision of a Temple of God in great detail. It does not match Solomon's Temple (not destroyed), the second Temple, or Herod's renovation of the second Temple. Is this description of a physical temple to be realized, or something symbolic? The existence of a Temple is a primary concern for Jews both historical and contemporary.

We believe that this prophecy of Gog will be fulfilled, but how and when it will happen is a subject of much debate. Ultimately however it will be God's might that achieves Gog's defeat rather than our efforts.

Ezekiel, Joel, and Revelation all tell of an invading army from the north who will attack the Israelites and yet be destroyed by a cataclysm.

Ezekiel has a vision of a battle at the end times, where a horde of barbarian horsemen from many faraway nations seek to invade Israel. While striking one must be careful about speculating about specific political events through this vision.

God shows Ezekiel a vision of a valley of dry bones that symbolize Israel. He promises to raise up these bones and breathe new life into them, resurrecting the nation of Israel and foreshadowing the promise of everlasting life in Christianity.

The Lord promises to clean the Israelites from their idol worship and to return them to a culture of carefully obeying his Law. This is not a new covenant, but a new spirit of faithfulness to the original covenant. Likewise Christians have had their new covenant through Christ, but to realize the promises we must allow God to work through us to carefully carry out His work.

It sometimes appears that God's promises are not fulfilled. But it is not because God is not faithful, but oftentimes because the people to whom he makes his promises are not faithful themselves and must be punished. However ultimately God will be more faithful than his people for the sake of his name.

The Lord turns to judge Edom, the nation from the line of Esau. Edomites have held a perpetual hatred against the Israelites, and their opportunistic attack against Israel enraged the Lord. Even though the Lord was punishing Israel, He ultimately promised this land to them, and it was not Edom's to take, nor Edom's right to indulge their violence and hate.

The Lord promises that both He and the Son of David will be a Shepherd for His people, prophesying the future Messiah.

Ezekiel prophecies against the "Shepherds:" politicians, religious leaders, and teachers who do not care for their flock spiritually or physically and instead only enjoy the privileges of leadership. Christianity has many modern examples among the clergy today.

Jerusalem has fallen, but the few survivors have not learned to change their ways. Just because they survived this onslaught does not mean they are free from God's wrath if they continue to sin.

God takes no pleasure in killing the wicked, but in the wicked turning back from their evil ways. It's not that we are trying to achieve a net positive when comparing sin and virtue, but whether we are turned toward Him or away from Him at the end.

The Lord offers hope beyond the punishment. He sets Ezekiel as a watchman, responsible for warning people if their sins will lead them to destruction. Whether or not they repent, if Ezekiel knows that they are in danger of destruction, and does not warn them, he is responsible. So are we also set as watchmen.

Egypt was one of the most prosperous ancient civilizations. The Lord plans on punishing Egypt for their duplicity in their military agreements with Israel. Babylon will come through and plunder Egypt, leaving it to forever be a shadow of its former glory.

The Lord compares the King of Tyre to Lucifer. The King's hubris will lead him to challenge Babylon and lose. The Lord will judge all nations that coerce or attack innocent countries. He will deliver the innocent from the thorns that attack them, though this may not happen in this lifetime.

Tyre had vast access to many markets: Persia and many Africans. Tyre produced a royal purple dye from shellfish that was very valuable. Their markets had all kinds of exotic goods. Among other things, Tyre is a center for slave trade. The King of Tyre considers himself a god, and will soon find out how incorrect this is.

Tyre will suffer the rather of many nations as part of God's punishment for their perverse pleasure in Israel's demise. This prophecy is controversial, partially because Tyre is able to survive long sieges. However, over the course of history it faces opponent after opponent, eventually succumbing to Alexander the Great.

God intends to punish the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Phillistines. Some of them are punished merely for an attitude of malicious glee at the punishment of Israel. This should make us think twice about our own attitudes about our enemies.

God reminds the "Prince" of Israel of his country's many sins, and how he will not escape punishment. Ultimately the nation will be shown mercy though, despite its long history of sin. Ezekiel is ordered to perform several signs of Israel's coming punishment, including being ordered not to mourn the death of his wife.

Angry at the elders of Israel demanding prophecy, God reminds them of their continual inclination toward idolatry, even back in Egypt. He chastises them for distorting the Law of Moses to commit evil. For example some Israelites construed their firstborns belonging to God as an excuse to sacrifice and kill them out of convenience. We are warned that any ostensibly Christian activities that turn us...

God tells Israel a series of allegories. He warns Israel of its upcoming punishment for not only breaking His covenant but their political covenant with Babylon. He gains no pleasure from the death of His children and seeks their return to Him.

God reminds Judah that Sodom was synonymous was evil in Israelite culture, but that Judah's actions are worse because they should know better. They are a prosperous nation steeped in Scripture that is turning around and attacking those loyal to God.

God tells Ezekiel to compare Israel to a child disposed of in a wasteland, who God takes in, raises, and marries before she turns around and becomes a harlot. Israel "plays the field" by worshipping other pagan gods and making child sacrifices.