The Book of Ezekiel: Overview, part I

TRUE LOVE WAITS

By Johnny Tatum

The following overview of the book of Ezekiel presents the six stages in the three levels.

 

Stage One: God's presence is with the nation of Israel - with the human race - with every human being at the beginning.

Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. (Ezekiel 10:4)

Ezekiel was talking about his vision of the eternal heaven, the picture of the throne, and the picture of God and Ezekiel. However, this also pictures God's presence:

But then…

Stage Two: God is rejected by the nation of Israel, by the human race, and by every human being.

So…

Stage Three: God leaves in stages.

Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim (or "cherubs"). When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord's house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. (Ezekiel 10:18-19)

Book of Ezekiel: This is a picture of God leaving, but do you see how He leaves in stages? He leaves the threshold of the Temple, and moves to the courtyard; however, He is still hovering and watching. At that point of rejection, the presence of God leaves gradually; He steps back, He watches, He steps back, He watches, and so forth. Why is He gradually leaving and watching? The God of Israel is always looking back to see if anybody accepts Him!

Nation of Israel: The God of Israel left the Holy of Holies; He gradually withdrew protection, but He was always watching them.

Human Race: In the centuries since Messiah Jesus was here on earth, Holy Spirit has been gradually withdrawing from the human race, but He is always watching. Of course, He will totally withdraw from the human race once the rapture occurs, because humanity has definitively rejected Him.

Human Beings: He gradually withdraws protection from individuals [until the moment the individual has definitively rejected the Lord God or at the end of the individual's physical life], but He is always watching to see if anyone will accept Him.

 

Book of Ezekiel: The glory of the God of Israel was inside the Holy of Holies. He leaves, but He hovers. He moves to the courtyard and to the east gate of the Temple, and then, He moves again…

Then the cherubs lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain (Mount of Olives), which is east of the city. (Ezekiel 11:22)

The God of Israel was gradually leaving; His glory was hovering, and He was looking.

Nation of Israel: That is what happened to Israel; Israel rejected the God of Israel and that rejection was definitive. Therefore, God's presence left the Temple [and never returned]; however, His glory continued to hover and look.

Fulfillment by Messiah Jesus: In Messiah's last few days and at His triumphal entry, He went into the Temple and did something very strange. Mark records that He looked all around (see Mark 11:11). Why was that mentioned? To show Messiah Jesus was looking to see if the leaders there had accepted Him as King, specifically, King of the Jews. So Messiah Jesus went into the Temple, looked around, and left. How did He leave? He went to the east gate, down to the Kidron Valley, and over to the Mount of Olives. Thereafter, Messiah Jesus was not seen in the Temple anymore.

 

Then there is the Either-Or stage…

Stage Four: [Either] Some individuals continue to reject God, and God stays away forever.

Book of Ezekiel: Ezekiel continues to follow the sequence, because at this point he presented an outside force in the relationship between God and man. Who is that outside force? It is Satan. At this point, Ezekiel gives the origin of Satan.

[Or] Some individuals repent ("change their mind"). When they do, God comes back and rebuilds the Holy of Holies.

Book of Ezekiel: The picture of the new Temple (the eternal one) is pictured in the last chapters of Ezekiel. The Temple is permanent, and the God of Israel never leaves again.

Nation of Israel: The Temple will be rebuilt. Interestingly, there was nothing ever built on the area where the Holy of Holies was located; the original site was abandoned.

Human Race: The human race will be restored. In eternity there will be a human race, which is regenerated and perfect.

Individuals: When an individual accepts (believes) God, God rebuilds (regenerates) the Temple/Holy of Holies (spirit) where the site was abandoned:

Your body is a temple of Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Then God's presence comes back into the human being where He never leaves again, because:

The temple is permanent.

 

Stage Five: Brings us to regeneration; God makes a new creation.

Nation of Israel: That corresponds to the new Temple in the millenium and on into eternity. That is one of the parts of Ezekiel that people often skip because it is long and tedious. Take a look; just scan the book from Ezekiel 40 on:

Ezekiel 40 through 43 — endless details about cubits, people measuring things, exactly how the Temple will be built.

Ezekiel 45 & 46 — how the land is allotted.

Ezekiel 47 — continuing details about the Temple.

Ezekiel 48 — again, how the land is divided.

While scanning it, you might thing I am not going to read this, because you feel justified in thinking Of what importance is it to me - right now - exactly what this Temple is going to look like and exactly how the Land of Israel is going to be parceled out?

Why would I want to read these chapters?

God put this information in the Book of Ezekiel to give us a picture of what He has built inside every regenerated individual. God is looking inside the regenerate, and He is describing what He Himself has built; obviously, it is worth the work to plow through (work on with purpose and vigor) these passages.

 

There are many passages in the New Testament referring to the child of God:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Messiah Jesus our Savior. (Titus 3:5)

For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of Light. (Ephesians 5:8)

For since we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:5-7)

However, there is not much description of regenerate individuals in the Old Testament.

Ezekiel, Chapters 40 through 48 is the place where they are described. Unfortunately, few people ever explore this area. However, if we understand that He is describing His own [right now], undoubtedly, we will find jewels that we have never seen before. We will have a fuller understanding of who the regenerate are.

For now let us just a glimpse of one aspect of the regenerate.

 

Next:

Ezekiel Overview, Part II: GOING DOWN, DOWN, DOWN…

 

Back To: Ezekiel Home Page

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