When you come to the close of the prophetical book of Ezekiel in your reading you’ll face a tremendous turnaround. God had departed from the temple and Jerusalem as described in Ezekiel 9-11. The temple was destroyed, the city laid waste, and Ezekiel was in exile with many fellow Israelites. The future looked dim.
But God had promised a future for Israel, and Ezekiel was given a glimpse of that future scene in chapter 43, “Then the man brought me to the gate facing east and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters and the land was radiant with His glory.
The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city, and like the visions I had seen by the Kebir River, and I fell face down. The glory of the Lord entered the Temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple.”
In the remaining chapters of the book, Ezekiel reviews what God’s people had forgotten about the details of the temple and the care with which they were to follow the guidelines for worship. Ezekiel closes His prophecy by declaring: “The name of the city from that time on will be: The Lord Is There.” What a glorious promise. God plans to be with His people.
The New Testament declares He wants to be in your life as well. If you turn to Jesus and trust in Him he will be there.
