Ezekiel, A Man Of Deep Faith And Great Imagination

Good day Saints of God in Christ Jesus. You are all welcome to another new day. Glory to God for the gift of life. Happy weekend to you all.

In our today’s episode 540 of studying and understanding the Bible, we shall be looking into the book of Ezekiel titled:

Ezekiel, A Man Of Deep Faith And Great Imagination

The book of Ezekiel was written around 593 and 568 BC. According to the vision recorded in Chapter 1, it was during the time King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon and Ezekiel was among those captives. Precisely, King Jehoiachin spent just 3 months on the throne in Jerusalem in the year 598 BC.

Adding 5 years to 598 BC according to verse 1, we will have 593 BC. So, he saw the vision right there in captivity. Since his visions were not received in a single year, so definitely the documentation cannot be in a single year. Hence, majority of Bible Scholars agreed the writing spanned through from 598 to 568 BC and of course Ezekiel was the Author.

Ezekiel was a man that operated as both a Prophet and a Priest. He said it himself in verse 1.

The same theme we saw in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentation is what Ezekiel’s visions and prophecies revolves around. It’s all about Salvation from sin and warning people against the consequences of sin.

If we are to divide the book of Ezekiel into parts, we will have the followings:

Part 1: The call of Ezekiel – you will find this within Chapter 1 through to Chapter 3. This is where he saw in a vision the throne of God figuratively.

Part 2: Prophecies about the downfall of Jerusalem because of their terrible sins. We have examined these sins while studying the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. You will find these prophecies between Chapters 4 till Chapter 24.

Part 3: Other nearby nations were not left out as well. They all received their own share of the judgement. You will find this from Chapter 25 through Chapter 32.

Part 4: The promise of restoration to those who believe in God. You will see this from Chapter 33 till Chapter 37.

Part 5: The prophecies against Gog – Chapter 38 and 39

Part 6: A vision of the future Temple and land – 40 till Chapter 48

Prophet Ezekiel’s messages were presented in the form of visions, prophecies and symbols that requires proper interpretation for proper understanding.

Please, do not forget our mandate in DDMI and also on this platform: If Jesus or any of His Apostles did not teach it, then we have no right to make it a church doctrine. We can only read and study for knowledge sake.

Looking for what to use to form church doctrines, we should go straight into the Epistles and observe how the early churches were able to do it and we should follow suit and build on that foundation.

I hope we still remember what Apostle Paul wrote in his first Epistle to the Corinthians Chapter 3:11?

He says: For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.

We must always remember that so that we do not do a disservice to the body of Christ.

I so much cherish Ezekiel’s core message which anchors around the need for inner renewal of the mind and the spirit and that our Christian life and relationship with God should be personal and we must take responsibilities for our sins and receive forgiveness that God offers. He also emphasized holy living. The truth is, when your mind is renewed, definitely, it will reflect on the way you behave.

No wonder Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:2 that we should not conform ourselves to the standard of this world, but we should let God transform us inwardly by a complete change of our mind.

We can now see that the emphasis is on mind renewal. The reason is because many are born again but not everyone has been renewed in the mind and that’s why we see a lot of those who claim to be born again still misbehaving. The Bible says as a man thinketh in his heart (the subconscious mind), so is he. Proverbs 23:7

Let’s ruminate over this and amend where necessary.

To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.

Let us pray. Please declare the followings with me:

My mind is renewed through the Holy Spirit. I refuse to allow the standard of this world to corrupt me. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I love the Lord and the things of God. I am blessed eternally, in Jesus name.

Bible Readings For Today: Job Chapters 31, 32 & 33 with Isaiah Chapter 6

I call you blessed now and always.

Saturday September 19, 2020 (DDMI)

Short Quiz:

How old was Ezekiel when he was commissioned for the prophetic ministry?