The Vision, Day 9 The mark. Read Ezekiel chapter 9. As we go through Ezekiel, I’m also reading through Revelation right now, and it is amazing to me how many similarities there are between the book of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation. Here we see one that most people think of when they think of Revelation. Revelation discusses the mark of the beast that people will have on their foreheads. Here we see God ordering a mark of repentance on the people of Israel. God is about to execute judgment on all of the people, and he goes through and has the hearts of each person tested. If those…

The Vision, Day 8 Dig a little deeper. Read Ezekiel chapter 8. Ezekiel has another vision from the Lord. Through that vision, we see that he is taken to various areas and shown Israel’s sin. When he first arrives at the place, he just sees a wall. But then, the Lord tells him to dig a little deeper and that’s when he uncovers the doorway to their sin. That decision to tell him to dig deeper is a reminder to all of us that when we are looking through our lives and understanding where we’re at, we need to dig deeper. We need to understand more about what God is…

The Vision, Day 6 Complete judgment. Read Ezekiel chapter 6. God’s judgment is coming and it will impact everyone. You see, Ezekiel has been portraying the vision of the coming judgment of God. The people didn’t necessarily believe that was coming because they couldn’t see it, and it wasn’t happening right now. Yet that doesn’t change the fact that God was going to completely wipe out the people for their sin and idolatry. God wants us to follow him and God makes ways and time for us to be able to come to repentance, but that time will run out. We are to be the warning to those around us…

The Vision, Day 5 Harsh reality. Read Ezekiel chapter 5. God walks Ezekiel through more very specific demonstrations that he is to do to share the upcoming judgment with the people of Israel. These seem harsh and difficult. God tells him that he’s going to make the people a reproach among the nations. It’s a reminder that God is ultimately the one in charge of our reputation. If we are obedient to him and are following him, then God can protect our reputation. If we are not obedient to him, then God is going to allow the other nations to know that we are not following him so they are…

The Vision, Day 3 Responsibility. Read Ezekiel chapter 3. God is explaining to Ezekiel his responsibility. God is going to give him a message and he is to share that message with the people. God goes so far as to explain to Ezekiel the true depth of his responsibility. Because the Ezekiel knows the truth, if Ezekiel does not share it with the people, he is also responsible for their sin and judgment. We have a responsibility to share God’s message with everyone who needs it. If we do not warn them, then we must realize that we are accountable for their judgment as well. We must share what we…

The Vision, Day 2 Obedience in spite of the response. Read Ezekiel chapter 2. After showing Ezekiel all his glory in the last chapter, God now calls him to be the one to share his message. God reminds him that the people he is coming to are rebellious. Those people may respond to God’s message or they may not. That’s really not Ezekiel’s concern. Ezekiel is to be obedient to God. Now that he’s seen God’s glory, he knows just how amazing God is. He has to share the message, no matter the response. Do we feel that way? Have we encountered God in such a way that we truly…

The Vision, Day 1 Thanks for the suggestions on next books. Looked like prophecy was the common theme of the requests. Prophecy books can be challenging to understand and apply to our lives. We’ll start through Ezekiel and focus on the vision that God gives for what is coming. Seeing God’s glory. Read Ezekiel chapter 1. God doesn’t waste any time. He starts out the book of Ezekiel with a vision that the prophet received. This vision was vastly complex and difficult to describe. Ultimately at the end of the chapter we see that this is a vision of God’s glory. We can learn so much about his glory from…