For centuries the Temple stood as the visible reminder that the Lord had chosen to dwell among His covenant people. His glory had filled the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Later it filled Solomon's Temple with such overwhelming majesty that the priests could not continue their ministry. "For the glory of the LORD filled the house of God." The Temple was never merely a magnificent building. It was the place where heaven touched earth. But now Ezekiel sees something else.

After exposing the idols hidden within the hearts of Jerusalem's leaders, the Lord now reveals what those hidden sins will bring. The vision becomes even more solemn. Six executioners approach the city, while a seventh figure, "clothed in linen," carries a writer's inkhorn at his side. Before a single stroke of judgment falls, something remarkable happens. God marks His own.

Isaiah (700s BC, Ussher) stands at the head of the prophetic books as the first of the major prophets, not because he was the earliest chronologically, but because of the scope, depth, and spiritual reach of his vision. Through Isaiah, God shows us why prophecy is necessary, and why His people cannot live by history, ritual, or memory alone. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Is