What are the teachings of prophet Ezekiel?

Answer 1

This chapter refers to God judging the nation of Israel and scattering them among the nations because of their evil, Godless, and unholy behaviour.

Eze 22:2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

Eze 22:4 Thou art become guilty ... and hast defiled thyself ...

Eze 22:8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

It was prophesied that they would be scattered:-

Eze 22:14-15 KJV Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. (v.15) And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries,and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

This was partially fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity, and again in the Diaspora following the destruction of the Temple and the sacking of Jerusalem in 70AD, but they still had "filthiness" [ie unholiness] so it was not completely fulfilled and is yet future.

It will be fully fulfilled in their yet-future defeat and scattering because of their apostasy until their national repentance when they realize they killed their Messiah the first time He came, and their consequent seeking of holiness and eshewing of the profane following the return of Christ at His Second Coming.

It was prophesied they would be gathered out of all countries and freed from captivity where they had been scattered:-

Jer 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

Zep 3:20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

However this is again only a partial fulfillment and is yet future because they are certainly not living in safety and being praised all over the world today!

Although this 22nd chapter refers to the judging, scattering, and restoration of national Israel upon cleansing, it also means it refers to the judging, punishment, and restoration and forgiveness of spiritual Israel [ie Christians] upon their repentance.

Answer 2

The book of Ezekiel is separated into several distinct parts. Chapters 1-24 contain Ezekiel's prophecies of warning made before the fall of Jerusalem. Using stern language, he condemns the Jews for arrogantly rebelling against God, and he warns them that judgment day is coming soon".

Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, and they will possess their houses; I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled. (7:24NKJV).

After the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel's message changes completely. He delivers good news for Judah. First, in chapters 25-32, he pronounces doom on the wicked countries that destroy the Jewish nation. Then in the final 16 chapters, 33-48, he promises the exiles that they will one day return to Jerusalem.

Answer 3

The message God gave Ezekiel to deliver was one of warning to repent of one's destructive lifestyles... and to turn to the Righteous ways of God before the Day of God's wrath comes.

But, Ezekiel's message didn't get delivered, fully, until The Bible was published, printed and bound for the general public, centuries later.

Ezekiel was told: "...Son of man, go, get thee unto the House of Israel, and speak My Words unto them." (Ezek.3:4)

The Truth is... the "House of Israel" had been taken into captivity by Assyria some 130 years earlier, removed from their homes and land, and scattered among the nations of their enemies long before Ezekiel was born.

Plus... when Ezekiel recorded his "inspired vision" from God in his "testimonial message"... he, himself, was one of the Jewish captives of the House of Judah living by the River Chebar [probably the equivalent of; 'Hebrew River'] in Babylon.

In other words... although Ezekiel's message reached a few of his Jewish brothers [the House of Judah] there in Babylon... He was virtually a captive in their concentration camp by the River Chebar, writing his visions down. He never got away to scour the world looking for the scattered tribes of the House of Israel to hand out "fliers" of his book.

The message of Ezekiel is being delivered TODAY... to anyone reading it in the Bible. Anyone, that is, whose heart isn't hardened to the message therein:

"But the House of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto Me: for all the House of Israel are impudent and hardhearted." (Ezek.3:7)

"And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, Thus saith the Lord; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." (verse 11)

Ezekiel was also told to give the message to his own people, the Jews, of whom he was among their number in Babylonian captivity.

Ezekiel's message has to be read... because it entails "visions" of our future yet ahead of us. Prophecies of future events of global import. Visions of the coming Kingdom of God... of the coming resurrection and Judgment Day and the "...valley which was full of bones... can these bones live?..." (Ezek.37:1-3).

It contains prophecies of the Battle of God Almighty [Armageddon], when Jesus Christ returns:

"...I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand... Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured... for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God." (Ezek.39:3-4; compare with Revelation's chapter 19; the vision of Jesus' return to earth, making war]:

"...I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying unto the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the Great God..." (Rev.19:17-21).

Ezekiel is still delivering his message to all the nations of the world, today, among whom the descendants of the "lost ten tribes [nations] of the House of Israel" reside in these last days.

Ezekiel has "gotten himself" to the "House of Israel"... and "speaks God's Words to them" through the world's bestselling book, the Bible -- to all who read it... whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
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Answer 4

Ezekiel was one of many Jews who went into Babylonian captivity. Only he was called out by God during this captivity, to write down profound prophecies... visions that he saw and words that he heard... that would take many books of background information to explain to a confused and deceived world that knows and understands little regarding the Truth of God and the true history of the two scattered houses [or kingdoms] of Israel and Judah.

While some of Ezekiel's record is historical in nature... the majority of it pertains to the "future" [the future yet ahead of us, today]; with Ezekiel's vision jumping from the past to the future [as mentioned above, 'changing dramatically from chapter to chapter' -- and I would add; sometimes from paragraph to paragraph]... back and forth in what is generally perceived as in a nonsensical and chaotic manner.

It isn't, of course, but God caused the Bible to be written in such a way that the general public should not understand it... like Christ always preached to the masses in "parables" so that they wouldn't understand what He was saying; then explain everything to His disciples "intimately and privately" after the crowds were dispersed.

Prophetically, Ezekiel is writing to BOTH houses of Israel: to the ten "lost" tribes of the House of Israel led by the two tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, that were scattered by Assyria some 130 years before Ezekiel was born: and to the Jews, the House of Judah, who remained extant following Israel's dispersion, and went into Babylonian captivity during Ezekiel's lifetime.

Ezekiel is writing about the "future reuniting" of the two "deceived and scattered" houses of Israel; Israel and the Jews. When Christ will return to the earth in Power and Glory... and as He did before in Egypt, gather the scattered children of Abraham together and return them to their original land holdings in the Promised Land:

"...son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it: For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the House of Israel his companions: and JOIN THEM ONE TO ANOTHER into ONE STICK; and they shall become one in thine hand... Thus saith the LORD God; 'Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah [the Jews], and make them ONE STICK, and they shall be ONE in Mine hand... I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land... and I will make them ONE NATION in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and One King shall be king to them all: and they shall be NO MORE TWO NATIONS, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all." (Ezek.37:16-22 KJV)

Christ will rule the nations of the earth from Jerusalem for a thousand years... where a new Temple will be built [the place of the throne of His father, David - see Isa.9:6-7 & Luke 1:32]; which will be the Headquarters of the Kingdom of God on earth [the specifications and prophecies of this future Temple compose Ezekiel's vision from chapter 40 to the end of his book].

Ezekiel is preaching about the prophetic "gospel" [Good News] of the coming Kingdom of God to the earth with Jesus Christ as its King. It's the same message and theme throughout the Bible that Daniel preached in his 2nd and 7th chapters... and the "Good News" that all of the minor prophets of God preached.

God told Ezekiel: "... Get thee unto the House of Israel [the scattered 'lost ten tribes of Israel;' long-gone for some 130 or so years before Ezekiel was born], and speak with My Words unto them." (Ezek.3:4)

But Ezekiel was a Jewish captive in Babylon... and he never "made it to the lost, long-scattered tribes of Israel" in his day! But the descendants of those scattered tribes are extant among the nations of the world today. Nations that arose in the world professing Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham. Nations that have God's Word in their homes, and in hotels, and online. And Ezekiel's anciently recorded Words of God are available, today, to any of those descendants whose hearts and minds God has opened to receive them.

Ezekiel IS PREACHING, today, about and to those servants whom God is calling out of the world to rule His coming Kingdom with Him for a thousand years. He's preaching about that future time. And about the Last Great Day of God's plan of Salvation; Judgment Day:

"Then when I have brought you home to the land I promised your ancestors, you will know that I AM the LORD. You will look back at all your sins and hate yourselves because of the evil you have done. You will know that I AM the LORD, O people of Israel, when I have Honored My Name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness, says the Sovereign LORD." (Ezek.20:42-44 NLTNew Living Translation)

"I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops, and I will abolish famine in the land... never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. Then you will remember your past sins and hate yourselves for all the evil things you did. But remember, says the Sovereign LORD, I AM not doing this because you deserve it. O My people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done! ...When I cleanse you from your sins, I will bring people to live in your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt..." (Ezek.36:29-33 NLT).

Ezekiel is a "major prophet" of God who is preaching the main message of the Bible: the coming of the future Kingdom [Government] of God to the earth. His "Old Testament" book may be compared to the "New Testament" book of Revelation. Especially in his description of the Temple that comes at the end of both books. The Temple and throne from which Christ will rule the nations:

"In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year [for a thousand years] to WORSHIP THE KING, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters [Feast of Tabernacles]." (Zech.14:16 NLT)

Ezekiel is preaching about something that hasn't happened, yet. There has been no great battle fought... or plague as described in Zechariah 14 -- yet. There is no "King" in Jerusalem to worship -- yet. And what nation in the world [much less, all of them] would even consider going to Jerusalem every year to observe the "LORD's" [the world thinks "Jews' "] "Feast of Tabernacles? "

Ezekiel has finally "gotten to the lost House of Israel" here and now... today! He's preaching to the long-lost descendants of that House... as well as to the scattered House of Judah [the Jews]. To any who will listen and believe what he's saying to them. He's preaching about OUR IMMEDIATE FUTURE! The time just ahead of us. He's preaching the "gospel" [Good News] of the coming Kingdom of God.

"The distance around the entire city will be six miles. And from that Day the name of the city will be 'THE LORD IS THERE.'" (Ezek.48:35 NLT)

Answer 5

Ezekiel ministered to his fellow-exiles immediately before and during the first twenty-some years of the captivity. They falsely expected to return to Jerusalem, so he taught them that they must first return to the Lord.

Ezekiel's prophecy can be divided into three parts. First, he rehearses the sins of Judah and warns of God's impending judgment in the captivity of the people and the destruction of the capital.

In the second section, Judah's neighbors are condemned because of their idolatry and their cruel treatment of God's people.

Finally, in the last section, Ezekiel tells of the restoration and reunion of the entire nation-both Israel and Judah.

Answer 6

Ezekiel was a priest in the temple at Jerusalem towards the end of the monarchy in Judah, and was then deported to Babylon in 597 BCE, and wrote his book there. The role of prophets in ancient Jewish society was to pass on messages from God, usually received as visions or dreams. The Book of Ezekiel is notable for the careful way in which the author regularly tells us the exact date on which he receives his visions. Either Ezekiel was attempting to assure his sceptical readers that he really did experience these visions before the related prophecies came to pass, or he kept a series of journal notes, dating each one as written, for future reference.
One message in the Book of Ezekiel is that Jerusalem should never form alliances with other nations. Ezekiel uses extreme pornography and of images of death and destruction to express this message. For example, chapter 16 begins by portraying a gracious and compassionate God, who symbolically rescues Jerusalem, an abandoned infant, from near-certain death. After she grew symbolically into a beautiful woman, she played the harlot, making alliances with and paying tribute to Egypt, then Assyria, then Babylon. There follows an intensely pornographic depiction of Jerusalem like a harlot who invites everyone to her, refusing payment and even bribing men to come to her. Chapter 23 is the most difficult chapter in the entire Book of Ezekiel, as it is full of extremely pornographic images representing Israel, even when the words are revised in English translation to allow for modern sensibilities.

At times, Ezekiel appears to blur the distinction between Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah, whereas his slightly older contemporary Jeremiah stringently observed the distinctions between the separate nations of Israel and Judah, especially in the early chapters which otherwise bear comparison with aspects of Ezekiel's historical allegories. Ezekiel several times prophesied the imminent return of all the Israelites scattered by the Assyrian conquest in 722 BCE, but this never happened and, after intermarriage and assimilation, can never happen. Too many of Ezekiel's prophecies were never fulfilled, or only partially so, for them to have been of divine origin, but his emphasis was on the return of both Israelites and Jews, who would be reunited under Jewish leadership.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-book-of-ezekiel-explained

Answer 7

He is being sent to a disobedient people. The Bible reflects how the Israelites (all 12 tribes) were a rebellious people. In reality, all people who don't have God's Spirit in their lives are rebellious by nature (see Romans 8:7). However, it appears the Israelites were generally more independent and self-willed than many gentile nations (see Ezekiel 3:6-7). With this in mind, Ezekiel is told to give them (captive Judah and metaphorically through his book, the Lost 10 tribes taken in captivity about 130 years earlier) God's warning message even if they refuse to listen. When the people see the prophecies come true they will surely know that a prophet of God had been among them - this is a recurring theme in the book of Ezekiel. Indeed, this would be a witness to them - basically denying them the common excuse of mankind that they were never warned but also for providing them with a context of later coming to an understanding of their predicament and perhaps, hopefully repenting then.

Answer 8

The Book of Ezekiel has been identified as one of the most difficult to study. The theme often changes dramatically from chapter to chapter, returning in a later chapter to a previous theme. Some of the symbolism is obscure, and some of it extremely offensive to modern readers, such that much of the vocabulary, especially in chapters 16 and 23, has been toned down in English translations. Sharon Moughtin-Mumby (Sexual and Marital Metaphors in Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel) finds the undercurrent of warranted sexual violence and the depiction of the female as a necessary polluting force to be most chilling, and suggests Ezekiel 16’s assumption that sexual violence can be a means towards healing a broken relationship to be particularly disturbing.
Several times, Ezekiel prophesied the imminent return of all the Israelites scattered by the Assyrian conquest in 722 BCE, but this never happened. Too many of Ezekiel’s prophecies were never fulfilled, or only partially so, for them to have been of divine origin. Ezekiel 8:16 criticises solar worship in the Jerusalem temple in the final decades of the Judahite monarchy: we have to bear in mind that monotheistic Judaism only really became the rule for Jews during the Babylonian Exile.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-book-of-ezekiel-explained

Answer 9

Like Isaiah, Ezekiel's message was both warning and consoling. In ch.1-24 he warns about the imminent First Destruction, which happened in his own time, and then he prophesies better times in the distant future, when the Third Temple will be built (ch.36-48). In between (ch.25-35), he prophecies about Gentile nations.
(In certain passages of warning to the Israelites, Ezekiel speaks in graphic and explicit terms when referring to those who had become besotted with idolatry. Since some of them had become almost hopelessly entrenched in their forbidden practices, only the most shocking language had any chance of waking them.)

See also the Related Links.

Link: The Destruction

Link: The function of the Prophets

Answer 10

Like Isaiah, Ezekiel's message was both warning and consoling. In ch.1-24 he warns about the imminent First Destruction, which happened in his own time, and then he prophesies better times in the distant future, when the Third Temple will be built (ch.36-48). In between (ch.25-35), he prophecies about Gentile nations.See also:

The function of the Prophets