1-16. Bodily resurrection is the glorious hope of the Christian life, and it is gloriously tucked away throughout the Old Testament. “Ezekiel is a prophet during the last days of Jerusalem before the Babylonians destroyed the city and the temple in 586 BCE,” Yarbrough told HuffPost. This lengthy vision has been the subject of much speculation and various interpretations through the years. In Ezekiel 40–48 Ezekiel sees a detailed vision of a grand and glorious temple. Theological symbolism A third element in the story that is helpful is the multidimensional meaning of the Hebrew xwr (ruach). Comparing his vision to Babylonian iconography reveals that Ezekiel saw a divine “throne chariot” of the heavens—widely described in the ancient biblical world. Symbolic action #1 1. Ezekiel began his prophetic ministry before Jerusalem and … Jesus, however, announced to the Samaritan woman that the time of centralized worship was soon to end and to be replaced with spiritual worship, which does not depend on being in any particular place (John 4:21–24; cf. This act of Ezekiel represented the previous centuries of Israel and Judah’s spiritual failure. One day for each year. Ezekiel obeyed, the bones came together, flesh developed, skin covered the flesh, breath entered the bodies, and they stood up in a vast army. Ezekiel 4:5 " For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. " This word can mean “spirit” (as in God’s spirit… spiritual in looking forward to the time in which the prophesied Messiah would come and establish His eternal kingdom in which would be found life. God tells Ezekiel to eat his food in fear 19-20. Ezekiel was commended to pray – to boldly prophesy to the Spirit – calling on the Spirit to come upon those upon whom the word of God has worked. First the bones come together and are clothed with flesh, and then they are covered with flesh and skin. Just as human kings had chariots, so did deities. Symbolic action #2 17. Chapters 40-48 of The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel comprise one of the most controversial passages in the entire Bible. Ezekiel’s message is the promise that God’s spirit will reach out and bring the people back from exile. Introduction 2-6. As a descriptive exercise, his attempt failed for his words could not manage to convey with any sense of clarity what his spiritual eye had seen. Godly scholars throughout the centuries have differed on the interpretation of this passage. In this section, “God [is] sending Ezekiel out into the plain ― into a wilderness beyond the city ― and gives to him a series of directions that Ezekiel is supposed to enact.” Ezekiel follows God’s order 8-16. Introduction 18. It's only after the reconstitution of their bodies that the breath of life is breathed into them. Meaning: the people will live in fear 21-25. The prophet had an overwhelming experience that he tried to convey to others. There are other places where the form of religion is there, but the spirit … Ezekiel was to tell the bones that God would make breath enter the bones and they would come to life, just as in the creation of man when He breathed life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). Introduction. God tells Ezekiel to go into exile 7. Gen. 2:7 ). Meaning: Jerusalem’s leaders will be exiled 17-20. Jeremiah back in the homeland, Daniel in the Babylonian court, and Ezekiel in the exilic land each delivered the divine message so as to provide the hope so desperately needed in these troubled days. Still, asking just exactly what Ezekiel had seen is asking the wrong question altogether. Acts 7:48–50). The Spirit who gives God's people new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27) and returned Israel to the land (Ezekiel 37:14) is the same Spirit who will raise God's people to life at the last day (Romans 8:11). i. “The second action was tantamount to praying, as Ezekiel besought the Spirit of God to effect the miracle of re-creation, to breathe into man’s nostrils the breath of life (cf. In Ezekiel’s vision, the Levites and Aaronic priesthood are seen in their former places of service. Ezekiel had his vision in Babylon as one of the captive exiles (Ezek 1:1–3). But Ezekiel sees a two-stage miracle. After the reconstitution of their bodies that the breath of life is breathed into them the.... 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