When I first read the account of Jerusalem’s destruction in 1969, I never questioned why the Jews were removed in two stages. As I started to look at the prophet Ezekiel and his role in instructing the Judeans about God’s way, I realized that he was still preaching repentance to the remaining Jews in Jerusalem.

As I dug deeper, I noticed that the first removal took place in 597 B.C. and the second with Jerusalem’s destruction in 587 B.C. This is a period of ten years. Then the Holy Spirit opened up my understanding that there had been a grace period of ten years. The Godhead intended to give Judah a shock treatment when its king and a large portion of the citizens were taken to Babylon.

If King Zedekiah, the princes, the priests and the general population had repented, God would have spared them and the Kingdom of Judah would have continued unabated until Jesus was incarnated in Bethlehem.

This grace period was kept a secret. God wanted the Judeans to repent because they loved God, not to save their lives. These extended grace periods are found throughout history, but most of them were ignored by the people. 

This brings us to Ezekiel. He was a priest who called to be a prophet. Just like Daniel, he was taken to Babylon in the first exile.

No other prophet in the Old Testament comes close to the glory revealed when Jesus arrived in a craft from heaven that contained a portable throne and was surrounded by a number of other craft manned by holy angels.

Jesus wanted Ezekiel to know that the spirit world is real, heaven is real, and that God is almighty with breathtaking power that is beyond human understanding.

After the shock and awe treatment was over, Ezekiel was called to be a watchman on the wall. Then Jesus put him through a rigorous training program that no other man had endured.

If you want to know more about God, study the Old Testament and you will see what He has done, how He thinks and what His future plans are. Join me this coming Sunday as we look at these amazing facts from the Bible.

Print out the sermon outline and let's examine the Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John S. Torell