In Ezekiel 2:4 God tells Ezekiel that he is being sent to the children of Israel, “a rebellious nation,” to say to them, “thus says the Lord.” Ezekiel, throughout the entire book of prophecy bearing his name, states the same thing: thus says the Lord. (See Ezekiel 6:1, 12:17, 22:33, etc.) This is a very important statement made in Ezekiel, and he is not alone among the prophets in its use. Jeremiah begins his book stating these were the words of the Lord (1:2,4).
Tag: bible
Over the last sixty years there has been a drastic increase in the number of available Bible translations. By my count, there have been at least fifty full (both Old Testament and New Testament) English Bible translations published since 1949, and at least twenty-five of those fifty were published after 1990. It appears this trend will continue with more translations being published every year. There is no doubt that the Bible being translated from the original languages (Old Testament was written in Hebrew and New Testament was written in Greek) into other languages is a praiseworthy event.
Undoubtedly, this concept is especially pertinent to Christianity and the Bible. Why believe the Bible over other holy books and texts? The Bible makes some very extraordinary claims about salvation and even the creation of the universe, but why should we believe it? When we read the Bible, can we trust it to be reliable, accurate, and credible?
I thought it was a divine revelation, a visitation from the Holy Spirit. A skeptic challenged me and a long conversation ensued. I found myself saying things I had never put into words and a rapid shift in perception occurred. I had this certainty, the Lord was moving me to a higher plane. It seemed to have been from the Lord. . . until I started reading the Bible and found out differently.
The word of God teems with imagery. From Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dreams, to Revelation’s well-known apocalyptic symbolism, to Jesus’ many memorable parables (“The kingdom of heaven is like…”), God employs imagery throughout Scripture to reveal His will. Speaking to the mind’s eye, the Bible’s imagery encourages us to first envision its truths that we might then be enlightened by them.