What did Ezekiel prophecy about?

In this vision, Ezekiel is shown a ‘great abomination’, an ‘image of jealousy,’ set up at the entrance to the temple court. This was an idol god, erected in a place dedicated to the worship of Yahweh.  (8:5-6)

While still in vision Ezekiel is permitted to see the ‘wicked abominations’ committed by ‘seventy elders’, who, in great secrecy, were offering sacred incense to their idols carved into the walls of the temple chambers. (8:9-12)

Still ‘greater abominations’ were revealed in vision. At the gate of the Lord’s house, ‘there sat women weeping for Tammuz’, the god of vegetation and pasture. Under various names, this god was worshipped by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Palestinians. (8:13-14).

But even greater abominations than these awaited the view of the prophet. At the very door of the temple, twenty-five men had their backs to ‘the temple of the Lord . . . and they worshipped the sun towards the east’. (8:15-16). 

In Chapter 9, Ezekiel is shown the sealing of those who sigh and cry over all these abominations. This seal was a mark of protection when God’s order to slay the wicked went out. The lesson is for God’s people today. In Revelation chapter 7 we read of a seal of protection that God will place on a faithful remnant while the plagues of Revelation 16 are poured out upon the wicked.

The vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). The next three major visions were given after the fall of Jerusalem and offered hope and encouragement for the people. In them, God pictured a revived and obedient people restored to their homeland and worshipping in a magnificent new temple, far exceeding the glories of Solomon’s temple.  They were likened to dried bones brought back to life by the Spirit of God. “They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols . . . I will deliver them . . .  and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God” (37:23)

The Prophecy against Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38-39).

This is a fascinating prophecy that has caused much speculation regarding the identity of Gog and Magog.  A careful reading of these chapters will reveal that Gog and Magog describe a vast combination of Israel’s enemies. Satan would use these powers to invade the land and attempt to destroy God’s people. God here declares that He will protect Israel from her enemies and utterly destroy Gog and the land of Magog. This prophecy has not been fulfilled, so why was it given?

Prophecies respecting the future glory of Israel and Jerusalem are primarily conditioned on obedience. (Reference:  Jeremiah 18:7-10).  However, the persistent refusal of Israel to fulfill the conditions given by the prophets following its return from captivity, meant that the wonderful picture of God’s protection and the subsequent prosperity of Israel was never realized.

This does not necessarily imply that these prophecies have no further significance.  In Revelation 20:8, we find the only direct New Testament reference to Ezekiel’s prophecy. Here John reveals that this prophecy will have a degree of fulfillment in the final struggle against God by vast hosts of the wicked called ‘Gog and Magog’. 

As Satan influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the end-times he will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God. At the end of the millennium, this agelong struggle between good and evil will ultimately be terminated by the destruction of Satan and his hosts (symbolized by Gog and Magog). (Read Revelation chapter 20 carefully and prayerfully).

The vision of the new temple (Ezekiel 40-48) Chapters 40 – 48 constitute one continuous prophecy of a unique character. They present a vision of a new temple in careful detail, a new and remarkable plan for the division of the land, and a vision of life-giving waters issuing from that magnificent temple. 

This temple vision would have been literally fulfilled if the people had been faithful to their trust, but because they failed, the prophecy could not be fulfilled in its original intent. The fact that post-exile Bible writers never refer to this prophecy and the temple builders paid no attention to the plan, is probably because they were fully aware that the conditions had not been met. 

So why did God take the trouble of providing such a detailed pattern of the future state?  This is because God left no method untried to induce Israel to accept the high destiny originally planned for them. Despite repeated failures, God now offered them another opportunity to begin again. 

To convince the Jews of the certainty of His promises, God directed Ezekiel to draw up an exact blueprint of the temple that was to be the centre of worship for the new state. Nine chapters are devoted to this temple and its services, as well as to details concerning the city and the division of the land.  Unfortunately, this temple will never be built. 

This is Ezekiel’s last important vision, and its magnificence and grandeur are a fitting climax to his prophetic career.