The setting for this lesson is that—time has run out. After hundreds of years of warnings and challenges, it’s over for Judah.
Daniel and Ezekiel are in Babylon taken there in an early deportation before the end came in Jerusalem. What seemed horrible to them at the time was a great blessing in disguise— they were kept from the horrors of the siege, the total destruction of Jerusalem, and final deportation. Daniel and his 3 friends were taken to the palace; Ezekiel was relocated with the captive people, near the river. [Read more…]
When we read through the Prophets in the Old Testament, particularly when we get to Ezekiel and Daniel we are introduced to fantastic images, whirling wheels, fantastic beasts, and world-shaking prophecies. This type of writing is what is known as “apocalyptic” and it’s useful to take some time to understand this type of writing, this genre in the Bible to understand the books that contain it.