Page 245 - Through New Eyes

The Worlds of Exile and Restoration 245
her death until word reached the exiles of the destruction of
Jerusalem, Ezekiel would be dumb, unable to speak. When the
first of the new refugees arrived, Ezgkiel would once again be
able to prophesy (Ezekiel 33:1-22). The intervening chapters of
Ezekiel are taken up with prophecies against the nations of the
world. It seems that during his period of muteness, Ezekiel
wrote these prophecies. The fact that they are bracketed by the
destruction of Jerusalem means that the judgment on Jerusalem
entails judgment on the whole world. Tyre, once allied with
Jerusalem when her king helped build the Temple, would be de-
stroyed. All the nations would be brought into the new World
Imperial system, and be subjected to Nebuchadnezzar: Ammon,
Moab, Edom, Philistia (Ezekiel 25), Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28), Egypt,
Ethiopia, Put, Lud, Arabia, Libya (Ezekiel 29-32), Assyria,
Elam, Meshech-Tubal, and Sidon (Ezekiel 32). God was laying
hold on the world and tearing it apart, so that He could rebuild
it as a new heavens and earth.
After the judgment on the sanctuary, on Eden, and on the
world, Ezekiel sets out the nature of the restored world. Ezekiel
focuses on the renewal of the land, which he even calls Eden
(Ezekiel 36:35). After discussing the coming Restoration and
peace (Ezekiel 34-37), he tells them that there will come a time of
severe trouble (Ezekiel 38-39). An army made up of people from
many nations, under the leadership of a prince named Gog, will
invade the land, but will be defeated. The immediate fulfillment
of this prophecy was the invasion of Palestine by Antiochus
Epiphanes during the inter-testamental period. According to
Revelation 20, however, this war provides a picture of the
Church’s conflict in all eras. Ezekiel uses symbolic and exag-
gerated descriptions to highlight the fact that not only literal bat-
tles but also spiritual warfare was to be involved in this conflict.
For that reason, Christian expositors have always seen the battle
of Gog and Magog as having spiritual relevance. 5
Housebuilding follows an exodus from captivity and the de-
struction of an enemy. The destruction of one nation, E~pt, led
to the building of the Tabernacle. The destruction of several ene-
mies in Canaan and Philistia led to the building of Solomon’s
bigger Temple. Now Israel defeats all the nations of the world,
organized by Prince Gog. Thus, in Ezekiel 40-48 we have a de-