Ezekiel

Ezekiel Background

Ezekiel spans, like Jeremiah, through the destruction of Judah.

Ezekiel is a mix of visions, prophesies, and instructions.

The overarching theme of Ezekiel is that God’s presence has left Jerusalem and is now with His people in Babylon.

Then God uses the wickedness of Jerusalem, then springboards to the surrounding nations, then to Egypt, finally culminates all evil in this ultimate manifestation of wickedness that he calls GOG. God judges GOG and brings in a new kingdom. From which flows life. That place is called, “The Lord is there”

The nature of God in prophesy

What do these visions mean?

(S1) then (S2) then these (S3)

Instead of going through the best argument for each vision we’re going to learn one principle that always works when interpreting prophesy.

Instead of looking for the meaning of the prophesy we are going to look for God’s nature.

What does this prophesy tell us about God? Because whether Gog and Magog are Russia, China, Hitler, or some future terminator robot - or if they are allegories for evil incarnate...The truths we learn about God’s character do not change and are verifiable in the rest of scripture.

For us, who just want to be able to get comfortable with these scriptures this is our first step.

God hold’s prophets responsible for preaching their message

Ezekiel 3:16–21 (NIV)

At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.

“Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

Ezekiel 13:8–16 (NIV)

“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

“ ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ’

Ezekiel 13:22–23 (NIV)

Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Ezekiel 33:1–11 (NIV)

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

“Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” ’ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

Application: How does that relate to us?

Ezekiel was given a message. A judgement of death. If he did not proclaim that judgement of death so that people could know to turn God was going to hold him responsible.

1 Corinthians 6:7–11 (NIV)

The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 5:19–21 (NIV)

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I don’t want to preach these verses. But the bible also says this...

Revelation 21:8 (NIV)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

A sword is coming for the wall and we have been given a word from God. Whether people live a long life and meet God at judgement or the tribulation is scheduled for 1pm this afternoon, the result is the same.

It’s not enough to stand aside as darkness runs rampant. We are commanded to stand opposed.

Ephesians 5:8–20 (NIV)

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Example: I’m not saying God is going to hold you responsible

This is the other error you can make. God did it here so He’s always doing it to everyone. I don’t know that God is going to hold you responsible for telling the people in your life that eternal separation from God is real, and that if they celebrate sin that is where they are headed. The bible doesn’t say that.

In fact none of those verses say that God is going to hold you responsible for them if you don’t.

But He might. There is precedent in the scripture, that God may hold you accountable if he prepares a conversation for you to proclaim truth about sin and you don’t take it.

Here’s the word I got from Ezekiel. If you don’t preach this message I am going to hold you accountable for every one of their sins from this day forward.

I did not want to preach this sermon. I have another one for next week called, “God’s ultimate goal is for us to know Him”. That’s the kind of sermon I want to preach. But this is what God gave me.

Action: What if they won’t/don’t want to listen? Mourn

Ezekiel 9:3–11 (NIV)

Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.

Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’ So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”

Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”

Outro

Here’s the point, our culture celebrates greed, sex, pride, the murder of children, the hatred of God, and the worship of self.

Not just accepting that other people aren’t going to live the way God tells them, but celebrates when people do.

If God gives you a platform to stand in opposition to that it might not be a choice. He held Ezekiel responsible for his message, he’s holding me responsible to preach this message, he may hold you responsible as you see the sword coming.