The Chariot Throne of God E-Book

Dr. Brian J. Bailey

• Herausgeber: Zion Christian Publishers
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Dr. Brian Bailey’s book, the Chariot Throne of God, is an excellent verse by verse exposition of the Book of Ezekiel. The four main divisions of this book are: Prophecies against Judah and Israel (1:1-24:27) Prophecies against Foreign Nations (25:1-32:32) Restoration of Israel (33:1-39:29) Vision of the New Temple and the Millennial Reign (40:1-48:35) This study examines the revelation of God’s holiness given through the visions of the prophet and recorded in the Book of Ezekiel, as well as the prophecies contained in that book, particularly those indicative of events that take place in the last days, and even in the Millennial reign of Christ.

Leseprobe

THE CHARIOT THRONE OF GOD

An Exposition of the Book of Ezekiel

Dr. Brian J. Bailey

“The Chariot Throne of God”

© 2001 by Brian J. Bailey

All rights reserved.

Version 1.1

Previously reprinted August 2009 (Version 1.0)

The image used herein (front cover) was obtained from the Learning Company’s Clickart Christian Graphics Deluxe product, 1999 The Learning Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries, 88 Rowland Way, Novato CA 94945 USA.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the

King James Version Bible unless otherwise stated.

Published by Zion Christian Publishers

Revised and reprinted May 2010 in the United States of America

Published as an e-book on August 2017

in the United States of America

E-book ISBN 1-59665-690-5

ISBN 1-59665-026-5

For more information, please contact:

Zion Christian Publishers

A Zion Fellowship ® Ministry

P.O. Box 70

Waverly, New York 14892

Phone: [phone]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Editorial team: Carla Borges, Mary Humphreys, Sarah Humphreys, David Kropf, Justin Kropf, Lois Kropf, Hannah Schrock, Hilary Sigsby, and Caroline Tham.

We wish to extend our thanks to these dear ones for without their many hours of invaluable assistance, this book would not have been possible. We are truly grateful for their diligence, creativity, and excellence in the compilation of this book for the glory of God.

INTRODUCTION

The prophet Ezekiel lived during the period known as the Babylonian Captivity, between 605 and 536 B.C. There were two other major prophets who ministered at this time, Jeremiah and Daniel. Daniel gave counsel to princes and ordered the movements of the empire; hence, he was more of a seer. He lived in Babylon and directed the affairs of the empire during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and later during the Persian era under Darius the Mede. He was given extraordinary understanding of political events right until the end of the Church dispensation and into the Millennial reign of Christ. Jeremiah, however, was the weeping prophet who lived in Jerusalem and spent much time in prison prior to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

All prophecy begins with the revelation of a particular aspect of the character of God to the prophet in question. Thus, to Ezekiel the holiness of God is revealed through visions of the Four Living Creatures. Indeed, God often calls Ezekiel by the title of “son of man,” alluding to one of the faces of the Four Living Creatures, and to the work of Christ represented in the face of a man. Ezekiel was to know the depravity of man’s capabilities and the greatness of the gospel of Christ to redeem fallen and rebellious Israel and the Church. His title of “the son of man” was also emblematic of the compassion of Jesus as a pastor. We see this in Hebrews 2:16 18, “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

Ezekiel was commissioned to speak to a rebellious house, whether they would hear or not. He was commanded to eat the roll, in essence, to become the message. Ezekiel was called to be a watchman to the house of Israel, and as such he was to warn the sinners to turn from their iniquity and the righteous to remain steadfast in righteousness and not commit sin. He would be as a watchman called to warn the prophets that they were not standing in the gap, but were rather seducing God’s people with vain divinations. Ezekiel had the priest’s sense of holiness, the prophet’s sense of the message entrusted to him, and the pastor’s sense of responsibility to the people. Ezekiel had a personal revelation of God’s holiness through the visions of “The Chariot Throne of God,” “The Man,” “The Throne of God,” “The Firmament of Crystal,” and “The Four Living Creatures.” His prophecies are also indicative, as are Jeremiah’s and Daniel’s, of the events that take place in the last days, and even beyond, well into the Millennium. There is significance in the place of his visions, which initially is the river Chebar, because Chebar means, “a great while.” The fulfilments of many of his prophecies were indeed a great while off.

OUTLINE

I. PROPHECIES AGAINST JUDAH AND ISRAEL – 1:1–24:27

A. Call and Commission (1:1 – 3:27)

1. The Vision of the Chariot Throne of God

  a. The Four Living Creatures

  b. The Wheels

  c. Description of the Sapphire Throne and the Likeness of God

2. The Rebellious House

  a. The Commissioning of the Prophet

  b. The Hand with the Roll of the Book

3. The Watchman Ministry

  a. The Eating of the Roll

  b. The Face of the Prophet Made Strong

  c. To Sit Where They Sat

  d. The Appointment as Watchman to the House of Israel

  e. Ezekiel Made Dumb

B. Fate of Jerusalem (4:1 – 11:25)

1. The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

  a. The Tile that Represented Jerusalem

  b. God’s Judgment upon the “Staff of Bread” in Jerusalem

2. Divine Judgment upon Jerusalem

  a. Sign of the Hair

  b. The Sins of Jerusalem

  c. The Interpretation of the Three Parts

3. Judgments upon the Land

  a. The Destruction of the Idolatrous Altars

  b. A Remnant Preserved

  c. The Desolation of the Land

4. The Babylonian Invasion Described

  a. The End Decreed upon the Land of Israel

  b. The Day of Trouble Near to Come

  c. Buying and Selling

  d. The Army of Israel to be Weakened by God

  e. The Babylonians to Take All the Treasures

  f. Their Houses and Their King to be Taken

5. The Abominations in Jerusalem

  a. Visions of the Glory of God

  b. First Abomination – The Image of Jealousy

  c. Second Abomination – Carvings of Idols and Animals

  d. Third Abomination – The Weeping for Tammuz

  e. Fourth Abomination – Worshipping the Sun

  f. The Fury of the Lord upon Those Who Have Filled the Land With Violence

6.The Man in Linen with the Writer’s Inkhorn

  a. The Six Men

  b. The Slaying of the Wicked

  c. Ezekiel’s Intercession for Israel

7. The Glory of the Lord and the Living Creatures in the Lord’s House

  a. The Coals of Fire

  b. The Description of the Living Creatures

8. The Twenty-Five Wicked Princes

  a. The Wicked Counsellors

  b. The Prophecy Against the Wicked Counsellors

9. The Restoration of Israel

10. The Departure of the Glory of God

C. Exile (12:1-28)

1. The Portrayal of Judah’s Captivity

  a. The Sign of the Removal of Baggage

  b. Jerusalem’s Warning Concerning Their Flight into  Babylonian Captivity

  c. King Zedekiah to Be Captured

2. The Strait Circumstances of Those Who Remained in the Land

3. The False Proverbs to Cease

4. Ezekiel’s Words in Particular, Now to Be Fulfilled

D. Condemnation (13:1 – 16:63)

1. The Wall of Untempered Mortar

  a. Woe to the False Prophets and Prophetesses

  b. The Lord’s Judgment upon These False Prophets

2. Those Who Set Up Idols in Their Hearts and Inquire of the Prophet for a Word from the Lord

  a. The Lord to Answer According to the Multitude of  Their Idols

  b. Three Righteous Men

   1) The Righteous Preserved in Time of Judgment

    a) Righteousness Defined

    b) Noah – a Righteous Man

    c) Daniel – a Righteous Man

    d) Job – a Righteous Man

   2) Few to Be Preserved

  c. The Promise of a Remnant

3. Jerusalem the Useless Vine

  a. Israel Denoted as a Vine Throughout Its Spiritual History

   1) Visualization of Israel as the Vine that Disappointed, according to Prior Prophets

   2) The Vine that Brought Forth Wild Grapes

   3) The Degenerate Vine

  b. Another Vine Shall Devour Them - The Final Siege in 586 B.C.

4. Jerusalem - The Beautiful Woman Who Became a Harlot

5. Condemnation of the More Righteous Sodom by Jerusalem

6. Restoration for Jerusalem

E. Allegory (17:1-24)

F. Punishment (18:1 – 19:14)

1. “The Soul that Sinneth, It Shall Die”

2. Lamentation for the Prince of Israel

G. Restoration (20:1 – 21:32)

1. God’s Dealings With Israel

  a. The Statutes of the Lord

  b. Because of Israel’s Rebellion, the Lord Would Not Hear Them

2. Jerusalem to be Chastised and then Restored 

3. Prophecy Against Negeb

4. The Sword of the Lord to be Drawn Forth Against Jerusalem

  a. The Prince

  b. After the Judgment upon Jerusalem

H. Indictment (22:1 – 24:27)

1. The Abominations of the Bloody City

2. The Two Wayward Women

3. The Parable of the Boiling Pot

4. The Sign of Ezekiel’s Bereavement

II. PROPHECIES AGAINST FOREIGN NATIONS – 25:1 – 32:32

A. Judgments upon Four Nations – 25:1-17

1. Judgment upon Ammon

2. Judgment upon Moab

3. Judgment upon Edom

4. Judgment upon Philistia

B. Proclamation Against Tyre (26:1 – 28:19)

1. Judgments upon Tyre

2. The Lamentation for Tyrus

3. The Prince of Tyre as a Type of Satan and the Antichrist Who Is to Come

C. Proclamation Against Zidon (28:20-36)

1. Judgments upon Zidon

2. Future Blessing for Israel

D. Proclamation Against Egypt (29:1 – 32:32)

1. Prophecy Against Pharaoh, King of Egypt

2. Continuation of the Judgments upon Egypt

3. The Egyptians Compared to the Assyrians

4. Further Lamentations Upon Pharaoh

III. RESTORATION OF ISRAEL – 33:1-39:29

A. Oracles of Responsibility (33:1 – 34:31)

1. The Watchman Ministry

2. The Restoration of Speech to the Prophet

3. The Nation of Israel Rebuked

4. The Shepherds of Israel

  a. Responsibility of the Shepherds

   1) Woe Unto the Shepherds Who Feed Themselves

   2) Keys to the Release of Provision in Our Own Lives

  b. Scattering: the Work of the Wicked Shepherds

  c. Healing, Binding, Gathering: the Ministry of the  Good Shepherd

B. Judgment upon Edom (35:1-15)

C. Restoration of Israel (36:1-38)

1. The Ultimate Restoration of Israel

  a. The Enemy Mocks

  b. The Mountains of Israel Are to be Restored to Their Former Splendour

2. Israel’s Continuation of Sin in the Land of Their Captors

3. Promise of Restoration for Israel

4. Promise of Spiritual Restoration

5. The Complete Deliverance

6. The Desolate Places to be Made Like the Garden of Eden

D. Visions and Oracles (37:1 – 39:29)

1. Valley of Dry Bones

  a. Spiritual Application of the Valley of Dry Bones

2. Restoration of Israel

3. Judgments Against Gog

  a. Two Future Battles of Gog and Magog

   1) The Final Battle—at the End of the Millennium

   2) In the Time of the Latter Days

4. Gog and Magog

  a. Time Period for Ezekiel’s Temple

  b. The Burial of Gog and Magog

  c. The Restoration of Israel to the Land

IV. VISION OF THE NEW TEMPLE, THE MILLENNIAL REIGN – 40:1-48:35

A. The New Temple (40:1 – 44:14)

1. The Vision of the New Temple

  a. Seven Reasons Ezekiel’s Temple is Literal

  b. A Review of Israel’s Temple

  c. Purpose of the Temple of Ezekiel

  d. Measurements

  e. The East Gate of the Outer Court

   1) The Walls Between the Guard Chambers

   2) Guard Chambers

   3) Porch of the East Gate

   4) Width and Length of the East Gate

   5) Threefold Inspection and Threefold Testimony

  f. The Outer Court

   1) Pillars of the Porch

   2) Seven Steps

  g. South Gate of the Inner Court

  h. The East Gate of the Inner Court

  i. The North Gate of the Inner Court

  j. The Four Tables

  k. The Porch of the House

  l. Ten Steps

2. The Temple

  a. The Floor Plan of the Inner Temple

   1) The Posts of the Temple

   2) The Door

   3) The Floor Plan of the Temple

   4) The Purpose of Suffering

   5) Three Attitudes in Suffering

   6) The Post of the Door

   7) The Most Holy Place

   8) The Temple Walls With Their Side Chambers

   9) The Base of the Temple 

   10) The Walls

   11) The Doors

  b. The West Building

  c. The Temple

  d. The Altar of Wood

3. The Holy Chambers and Outer Wall

  a. The Chambers for the Priests

  b. The Outer Walls of the Outer Court

4. Return of the Divine Glory to the Temple

  a. The Glory of the Lord Enters the Temple

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER ANALYSIS

Part One

Prophecies Against Israel and Judah

Chapter 1 – The call of Ezekiel and the vision of the four living creatures. This is an awesome exposure to the holiness of God as he sees One seated upon the throne.

Chapter 2 – The commission of the prophet to a rebellious household full of briers and thorns and scorpions. He is told not to be like those to whom he is sent. A roll is placed before him.

Chapter 3 – The prophet is told to eat the roll full of lamentations, then speak unto the house of Israel. He comes in the spirit to those of the captivity, as he sits where they sit. He is called to be a watchman, to give warning from the Lord. God causes the prophet’s tongue to cleave to the roof of his mouth.

Chapter 4 – Portrayal of the siege of Jerusalem: 390 days for Israel and 40 days for Judah. He is commanded to eat his food by weight, speaking of breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem.

Chapter 5 – The prophet is told to cut his hair and divide it into three parts, speaking of the threefold judgment - the pestilence, the sword, and a scattering of God’s people Israel. A few hairs were tucked into the skirt of the prophet to be cast into the fire, for a fire would come forth into all the house of Israel.

Chapter 6 – The prophet is told to prophesy against the mountains of Israel. The dead carcasses of the children of Israel would be laid before their idols, yet the Lord would have a remnant. The prophet is to smite with his hand and stamp with his foot and speak against the abominations of Israel.

Chapter 7 – The end is decreed upon the children of Israel. All hands would be feeble and all knees weak as water. The Lord said He would turn His face from them. The worst of the heathen would possess their houses.

Chapter 8 – Ezekiel is lifted up by a lock of his hair and carried to the door of the inner gate of the temple in Jerusalem. He is shown the abominations done there—the image of jealousy at the gate of the altar, the idolatry of the 70 elders, the women weeping for Tammuz, and the 25 men in the inner court worshipping the sun. “Though they cry unto me with a loud voice I will not hear them,” says the Lord.

Chapter 9 – Six angels, one with a writer’s inkhorn, are sent to destroy the city, sparing only those with the mark on their foreheads. Ezekiel pleads for the people, but because the iniquity of the house of Judah and Israel is exceedingly great, the Lord will not hear.

Chapter 10– Here we have a revelation of the Throne of God, as well as a further revelation of the Four Living Creatures. From the cherubim, coals of fire are to be scattered over the city, and the glory of the Lord is to depart from the temple.

Chapter 11 – The Spirit brings the prophet into the east gate. He sees the 25 wicked princes who are giving wrong counsel. The analogy of the caldron is given to Ezekiel. Pelatiah falls dead. The restoration of Israel is promised. “I will take away the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” The glory of God departs from the city to the Mount of Olives.

Chapter 12 – In this chapter, we have the sign of the removal of baggage. The prince in Jerusalem is to be brought blinded to Babylon. Ezekiel is commanded to eat his bread and drink with trembling, for so would Israel. Then they would know that God is the Lord. There would be no more vain vision or flattering divination. “My words will not be prolonged but it will happen soon,” declares the Lord.

Chapter 13 – The foolish prophets prophesy out of their own spirit, saying “Peace,” when there is no peace. The wall of untempered mortar shall fall. Likewise, the prophetesses prophesy out of their own hearts, as the women are hunting souls, too. However, God will deliver His people out of their hands.

Chapter 14 – God will answer the elders of Israel, who set up the stumbling blocks before their eyes, according to their idols. The Lord appeals to them to repent and turn from their idols. Mention is made of the righteousness of Noah, Daniel, and Job. They would only save themselves by their righteousness (from noisome beasts, from the sword, and from pestilence) if they were in the city. There is a promise of a remnant’s coming forth.

Chapter 15 – The vine tree is given for fuel to be burned, a symbol of the inhabitants of Jerusalem being given for fuel, making the land desolate. “I will make the land desolate because of their trespasses,” says the Lord.

Chapter 16 – Jerusalem is transformed from an unwanted baby to a beautiful woman by the comeliness of the Lord. She then gives herself to harlotry. God will give her into the hands of her lovers, the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans. Nevertheless, God will remember His covenant with Jerusalem in the Latter Days.

Chapter 17 – Here we have the riddle of the great eagle. The king of Babylon will lop off the head of Zedekiah, King of Judah, because he despised the covenant that he made with Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord will abase the high and exalt the low.

Chapter 18 – The proverb that the fathers had eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth have been set on edge shall no more be used. The soul that sinneth shall die. Ezekiel gives the qualifications of a just man. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

Chapter 19 – Ezekiel calls for lamentations for the princes of Israel, and speaks of the lioness and her whelps. “Thy mother is like a strong vine, but I plucked her up in my fury and cast her to the ground.” This speaks of the Queen Mother Hamutal who had two of her sons, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, made kings of Judah.

Chapter 20 – “Cause the elders to know the abominations of Israel. I took them out of the land of Egypt to bring them to a land that flows with milk and honey, yet they rebelled against me in the wilderness. Therefore, I gave them statutes that were not good. I will bring them into the wilderness of the people. I will cause you to pass under the rod,” saith the Lord.

Chapter 21 – “I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.” The king of Babylon uses divination to come against Jerusalem, yet the Lord allows and uses it to His own purposes. God is against the wicked and profane prince of Israel.

Chapter 22 – The city is guilty of shedding innocent blood and of dishonest gain. The inhabitants of Jerusalem are as dross in the Lord’s sight. Therefore, the fire of the Lord’s wrath is upon them. Prophets, priests, and princes oppress the poor wrongfully. God said, “I sought for a man to stand in the gap before me but I found none.”

Chapter 23 – God addresses the two sisters, Aholah, which is Samaria, and Aholibah, which is Jerusalem. After seeing Samaria judged, Jerusalem did not turn from her ways. Therefore, Jerusalem is to be given into the hands of the Babylonians.

Chapter 24 – The parable of the pot, speaking of Jerusalem. The filthiness has not been purged, and it shall not be purged until God’s fury rests upon them. Ezekiel’s wife dies and he is not permitted to mourn for her. Likewise, in Jerusalem there will not be strength to mourn in the time of God’s Judgment. They shall not weep at the death of their sons and daughters.

Part Two

Prophecies Against Foreign Nations

Chapter 25 – Ammon is judged because they said “Aha!” against the sanctuary when it was profaned, and because they clapped their hands and rejoiced. Moab is judged because they said “The house of Judah is judged like the heathen.” Therefore, God is going to open them up to the men of the East. Edom is judged because they took vengeance on the house of Judah. God will execute great vengeance on them. Philistia is judged because they dealt with revenge. Thus God will deal with great vengeance on them, too.

Chapter 26 – Tyrus is judged because they said that Jerusalem is broken. God said, “I will break her walls down and make her like the top of a rock where fishermen will dry their nets.” (It is so today.) God further declared, “I will bring thee down with them that descend to the pit.”

Chapter 27 – Here we have the lamentation for Tyre. Because Tyre has said, “I am of perfect beauty,” that merchant city will be judged. “The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee.”

Chapter 28 – The prince of Tyre, called wiser than Daniel, set his heart as the heart of God. He is a type of Satan in the garden of Eden, and is called the “anointed cherub.” His heart was lifted up in his beauty, yet strangers would bring him down to the pit. Judgment is pronounced upon Zidon: “I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord .”

Chapter 29 – Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is pictured as the great dragon who says, “My river is my own.” The land of Egypt shall be desolate because Pharaoh has said this. “After 40 years I will bring again the captivity of Egypt and it shall become the basest of the nations.” The land of Egypt will be spoiled by Nebuchadnezzar.

Chapter 30 – Ezekiel reemphasizes that the multitude of Egypt shall cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord says that He will break the arms of Pharaoh and they shall not be healed. He will scatter the Egyptians among the nations.

Chapter 31 – Pharaoh, like Assyria of old, shall go down into the nether parts of the earth. “Assyria was like the cedar in Lebanon; the waters made him great therefore his height was above all the trees of the forest, yet I have driven him out for his wickedness,” saith the Lord.

Chapter 32 – “I will gather many nations with you in my net, and the uncircumcised nations shall have their graves in the sides of the pit along with Pharaoh,” declares the Lord.

Part Three

Restoration Promised to Israel

Chapter 33 – Ezekiel is established as a watchman unto the house of Israel. News that the city of Jerusalem has been smitten reaches those in captivity. The prophet’s tongue is released, and he is no more dumb. The people are saying that since they are many, they can take the city back. However, it shall not be. The people hear the words of Ezekiel as a lovely song, but they do not want to obey.

Chapter 34 – Indictment is given against the shepherds of Israel. They were not meeting the needs of the people, but were feeding themselves instead of the flock. The Lord declares, “I will search for my sheep; I will feed my flock; I will set up one shepherd over them, even David.”

Chapter 35 – The perpetual hatred of Mount Seir (Edom) against Israel shall be judged. “I will judge you according to your attitude towards my people, and I will give to them what you envy, after I have judged you,” the Lord warns.

Chapter 36 – This chapter deals with a great restoration. The desolate mountains of Israel shall shoot forth branches. “I will cause men to walk upon the mountains of Israel again. I will take you from the heathen among whom I have scattered you, and I will bring you into your own land again. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you will be clean from all your uncleanness; I will give you a new heart and cause you to walk in my statutes. In the day that I cleanse you I will bring you into the land. This land shall be like the garden of Eden. Yet I will be inquired of for this,” saith the Lord.

Chapter 37 –  Ezekiel  is given a vision of a valley of dry bones. God gives the promise of restoration: “I will open your graves and ye shall live and become a great and mighty army.” Israel and Judah shall become one stick in God’s hand. David is going to be their prince forever; God promised to make His tabernacle with them forever.

Chapter 38 – In prophecies against Gog and Magog, the Lord says, “I am against thee. In the latter days I will come against thee, saith the Lord. In the day that my people dwell safely you will come up against them and I will destroy thee before the heathen and I will be sanctified in you before their eyes.”

Chapter 39 – In judgment, Gog and Magog shall fall, slain upon the mountains of Israel. The burying of Gog and Magog shall take seven months. The Lord will call the birds to partake of the Lord’s sacrifice. “I will bring again the captivity of Jacob and [will have] mercy upon the whole house of Israel.”

Part Four

Vision of the New Temple of the Millennial Reign

Chapter 40 – In the 14th year after the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel is taken to the land of Israel in the Millennium. He is commanded to declare all he sees to the house of Israel. He is told to measure the temple with a reed. The sons of Zadok are the “keepers of the charge,” for they are the faithful priests.

Chapter 41 – Ezekiel is brought to the temple to continue measuring the dimensions of the temple.

Chapter 42 – Ezekiel is taken to the outer court to measure it. He is shown the garments of the priests. There is a separation of 500 reeds all around to separate the sanctuary from the profane place.

Chapter 43 – Ezekiel is shown the glory of God coming in from the east. He sees the place of the throne of God. He is told to show all of this to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. He is shown the measurements of the altar. He is told the ordinances of the house; the law of the house shall be most holy.

Chapter 44 – Ezekiel is shown the gate of the prince, the east gate. The Lord compares the faithful sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of God, with the compromising priests who did not. The faithful sons of Zadok may minister unto the Lord, while the unfaithful priests minister only to the people (and not to God).

Chapter 45 – Ezekiel is shown the Lord’s portion of land, which is for the priests of the Lord. There is a portion given to the children of Israel, a portion to the prince, and a portion to the tribes. The princes are commissioned to oppress God’s people no more.

Chapter 46 – The prince offers sacrifices to the Lord. The gate of the outer court is shut for six working days, and opened only on the Sabbath. The people who come in from the north go out by the south, and the ones who come in the south go out by the north.

Chapter 47 – Ezekiel is shown the river coming out of the throne of God and is told to measure it. It is a fountain opened up for cleansing and for the healing of the nations. Further mention is made of the boundaries and the divisions of the land. Provision is made for the stranger in the land.

Chapter 48 – Ezekiel is told the names of the tribes and the divisions of the land. He is told the name of the city, “THE LORD IS THERE” (Jehovah Shammah).

Historical Note

The Last Five Kings of Judah

1) JOSIAH   640-609 B.C.

2) JEHOAHAZ  609 B.C.

3) JEHOIAKIM  609-597 B.C.

4) JEHOIACHIN  597 B.C.

5) ZEDEKIAH  597-587 B.C.

Three Major Prophets

1) JEREMIAH – prophesied from the 13th year of Josiah in Jerusalem until the remnant went to Egypt.

2) DANIEL – prophesied from 605 B.C. (3rd year of Jehoiakim and also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar) until the destruction of Babylon.

3) EZEKIEL – prophesied from the 5th year of Jehoiachin, for 22 years in Babylon.

MAIN TOPICS

Topic  –  Chapter

1) The Four Living Creatures  –  1, 10, 11

2) His Message  –  2

3) The Watchman Ministry  –  3, 33

4) The Iniquity and Ensuing Judgments on Jerusalem  –  4, 5

5) The Remnant  –  6, 8

6) The Foolish Prophets  –  13

7) The Three Righteous Men  –  14

8) Jerusalem as a Woman  –  16

9) Parable of the Eagles  –  17

10) “The Soul That Sinneth, It Shall Die”  –  18

11) The Lioness and Her Whelps  –  19

12) The Lord’s Statutes and Judgments  –  20

13) The King of Babylon  –  21, 24

14) The Two Women: Aholah and Aholibah  –  23

15) Ammon, Moab, and Edom  –  25, 35

16) Tyre  –  26

17) Egypt  –  29-32

18) The Shepherds of Israel  –  34

19) Restoration of Israel – The New Heart  –  35

20) The Valley of Dry Bones  –  37

21) Gog and Magog  –  38, 39

22) The Millennial Temple  –  40–48

PART ONE

PROPHECIES AGAINST JUDAH AND ISRAEL

1. Call and Commission  (1:1 – 3:27)

2. Fate of Jerusalem  (4:1 – 11:25)

3. Exile  (12:1-28)

4. Condemnation  (13:1 – 16:63)

5. Allegory  (17:1-24)

6. Punishment  (18:1 – 19:14)

7. Restoration  (20:1 – 21:32)

8. Indictment  (22:1 – 24:27)

Call and Commission (1:1-3:27)

Vision of the Chariot Throne of God (1:1–2:8)

1:1-3 -“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.”

Although the age of the prophet is not expressly stated, it is assumed (because of the reference to thirty years) that this was Ezekiel’s age when he began to prophesy. Also, often in the book certain years are mentioned relative to the time of king Jehoiachin’s captivity. The thirtieth year of the prophet coincides with the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, which would have meant that Ezekiel was taken prisoner in his 25th year.

The prophecy was given by the river Chebar, which (by interpretation) means, “a long time.” This is significant because much of the prophetic intent of the book takes place in the last days of the Church Age and into the Millennium, some 2,500 years after Ezekiel received the vision.

Ezekiel had:

1.) The priest’s sense of holiness.

2.) The prophet’s sense of the message that had been entrusted to him.

3.) The pastor’s sense of responsibility to the people.

This inaugural vision may be specifically calculated to have been given on July 31, 593 B.C.

The Four Living Creatures (1:4-14)

1:4-14 -“And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.”

These creatures which surround the throne of the Holiest on High were first introduced to us in Isaiah 6. They also have a very prominent part in the book of Revelation during the events of the Last Days before the return of Christ. Revelation 4:7-9 declares, “And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever…”

Being associated with the Throne of God and dwelling in close proximity to Him, it is natural that their habitation would be associated with fire, for our God is a consuming fire. We find this in Deuteronomy 4:24: “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Hebrews 12:29 says, “For our God is a consuming fire.” It is quite natural for the four living creatures to dwell in the midst of clouds, for the Lord Himself will return in the clouds (cf. Dan. 7:13, Mt. 24:30).

They are like unto men, having the same physical form. Each, however, has four faces:

1.) The face of a man

2.) The face of a lion on the right side

3.) The face of an ox on the left side

4.) The face of an eagle

These faces reveal their nature and character, which in turn reflect the Divine Nature and character. This is amplified in the four gospels as follows:

Matthew - portrays Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, or the King of Kings.

Mark - portrays Christ as the ox, or the vicarious offering made on behalf of mankind. Thus, He is seen as the Priest of God.

Luke - portrays Christ as the Son of Man, who manifests the compassion of the Godhead towards the fallen human race.

John - portrays Christ as the eagle, the one who soars into the heavenlies as the Son of God.

Each has four wings, speaking of the ability to move in any desired direction. The feet of the living creatures were straight feet, signifying that they went straight forward, not turning to the right or the left. They were formed like the foot of a calf, speaking of a sacrificial, dedicated walk. They were like burnished brass even as were Christ’s in Revelation 1:15: “And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.” This speaks of judgment. Their four hands of a man speak of universal service to God and man. Again, when flying, they go straight, signifying that they do not delay when sent at the bidding of the Holy One.