The End of Prophesy?

Ezekiel 12-13

            These chapters begin with another enacted prophecy. If the covering of the prophet’s eyes seems strange, remember that Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, had his eyes put out by the Babylonians. So, that is one very specific prophecy!

            The more interesting thing to me is in verse 22, when the proverb, “The days go by and every vision comes to nothing.” Jeremiah began prophesying some 30 years before the first round of exiles were taken to Babylon in 597 BC. Ezekiel himself was in that first exile, but it would be 11 years until the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. With that kind of delay, a biblically literate Israelite must have thought about Deuteronomy 18:21-22, “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.” I mean, how long do you give a prophet to have his words proven true?

            In the face of this doubt, Ezekiel goes on the attack, just as Jeremiah had. False prophets are assuring them of peace and deliverance. If Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s threats seem a long time coming, the theologically observant Israelite should still recognize the sins they are condemning. Those things are happening right now for everyone to recognize. And because those sins are right there for the seeing, the Lord—through His real prophets—doubles down on the impending doom.