Ezekiel 12:26 -28

 

In Ezekiel 12 the Lord spoke to Ezekiel five times  12;  1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house

 

12;17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with shaking and anxiety.

 

12; 21 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel, which goes:The days keep passing by, and every vision fails?

 

Ezekiel 12:26 -28 The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel: 27 “Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now; he prophesies about distant times.’ 28 Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. 

 

The  Ezekiel received his call to prophesy in 593 B.C. (1:2), in Babylon (“the land of the Chaldeans”), during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, which began in 597 B.C.   Ended in 571 b.c. with a message on God’s coming judgment upon Egypt at the hand of the same Babylonian monarch. 

 

The prophet Ezekiel had the thankless job of proclaiming God’s message on the crowded and hostile streets of Babylon. At the same time that Jeremiah was warning the citizens of Jerusalem of the coming destruction of that holy city, Ezekiel was preaching the same message to the exiles in Babylon. Although these exiles were hundreds of miles away from the Promised Land and the temple. Another example of speed of the prophecies is the handwriting on the wall found in Daniel 5:26-28 where the Medes and Persians   took over city the city of Babylon predicted by Jeremiah in Jer. 50:18

 

Prophetically, false prophets deceived the exiles with assurances of a speedy return to Judah (13:3, 16; Jer. 29:1). From 593–585 B.C., Ezekiel warned that their beloved Jerusalem would be destroyed and their exile prolonged, so there was no hope of immediate return. In 585 B.C., an escapee from Jerusalem, who had evaded the Babylonians, reached Ezekiel with the first news that the city had fallen in 586 B.C., about 6 months earlier (33:21).

 

 Reformed Bible Study wrote,”The preeminent criterion for true or false prophecy is the fulfillment of the prophet’s words (Deut. 18:21, 22). His message must not contradict earlier revelation (Deut. 13:1–5). The message of a true prophet often ran against popular sentiment, and the prophets were persecuted because of their unpopular pronouncements (Jer. 20:7–10; 38:1–13; cf. Matt. 23:34, 35).”

 

 John MacArthur wrote10:6 there should be delay no longer. This initiates the last plagues of the Day of the Lord (11:15), indicating that the time the disciples anticipated has come (Matt. 24:3; Acts 1:6). The prayers of the saints will be answered (6:9–11; Matt. 6:10).

 

Reformed Bible Study wrote. 12:27 times far off. The people scoff that the prophecy will not be fulfilled in their lifetimes. In the New Testament, a similar attitude of disbelief does not change the certainty of the return of Christ (2 Pet. 3:3, 4, 10; Rev. 10:6). 

 

As Christian we not business prediction when Jesus coming back as Jesus had declared in Acts 1; 7-8 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Declaring that Jesus died cross and took mankind sins, and once you believe in His atoning works than He will take your sins and replace with His righteousness. That being said we need to be attentive to the sign of the times found in Joel 3:2 and Joel 3:14 The there is enough warning found in the Bible and we need to be attentive to them. As Jesus and the Apostle Paul declared in Matthew 24:43 and 1 Thessalonians 5:2,    

 

  As Christian we need to continue to pray for the lost and  declared the gospel. As scripture declares we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.  For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.