Page 3 - February 2026 - Truth & Tidings

he book of Ezekiel contains many even to scare us into spiritual action. Ulti-
unique features. There are the mately, prophecy is given so that we may
Tstrange apocalyptic visions of eye- know that God alone is God. He knows
filled wheels, four-faced beings, and dry what’s going to happen, when it’s going
bones coming to life in the middle of a to happen, how it’s going to happen and
valley. Then there are Ezekiel’s peculiar why it’s going to happen. He knows all
symbolic acts of enacting a siege with a things and no one else does. “There is no
clay tablet, lying on his side for 430 days, other god besides me, a righteous God and
eating bread baked on burning dung, not a Savior; there is none besides me. ‘Turn to
mourning when his wife suddenly dies, me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
etc. More positively and far less bizarre, For I am God, and there is no other’” (Isa
Ezekiel is the only prophet to give us a 45:21-22).
blueprint of the future Millennial Temple When He judges the sin of nations (25:17)
and the only one to see the glory of God or the sin of Israel (7:4,9), God does so “that
appearing, departing and returning to the they may know that I am the LORD.” When
land of Israel. He scatters His people or brings them back
But of all the book’s exclusive character- again (39:28), He wants them to know that
istics, it is hard to miss the phrase scattered He is LORD. When He preserves a remnant
72 times (ESV) throughout – variations of (6:8-10) or rescues His people from the jaws
“that you may know that I am the LORD.” of their enemies (38:16; 39:7), His desire is
Recorded only 16 other times in the Old that they know He is the LORD. And when
Testament, this phrase continually grabs He puts His sanctuary in their midst in a
our attention as prophecy after prophecy is day to come (37:28), He will do so that all
detailed. Sometimes the target audience is may know that He alone is the LORD.
the nation of Israel (or groups within it). At
times, other nations are named (e.g., 29:6: Ezekiel’s refrain was repeated often be-
“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall cause the idolatry of His people was repeat-
know that I am the LORD”). Still other ed often. And the bulk of his prophecies
1
times, God’s objective is much larger: “And were related to Israel’s judgment because
all flesh shall know that I am the LORD” she had turned to idols so frequently. Eze-
(21:5). In a book with literally hundreds of kiel’s New Testament counterpart, John,
specific prophetic statements, we need to seemed to share the same concern about
remember the primary reason they have God’s people today. And though we’re not
been provided. It is not to give us the the subjects of prophetic doom and gloom,
inside scoop on the future, not to turn us John still exhorts us, “Little children, keep
into mathematicians using calendars and yourselves from idols” (1Jn 5:21). It is just
numerology to unlock coming events, nor another way of telling us what Ezekiel
already did so often: remember that God
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the ESV. alone is God.

TruthandTidings.com I February 2026 35 35