Book of Ezekiel Quiz: Visions, Judgment, and the Glory of God

1. Where was Ezekiel when he received his inaugural vision, and who was he?

1. Ezekiel was among the exiles by the River Chebar in Babylon — a priest who had been deported in the first wave of Babylonian exiles under Jehoiachin. He saw the heavens open and received the vision of the living creatures and the divine chariot
2. Ezekiel was in Egypt where he had fled with Jeremiah — he received his call while mourning in the synagogue by the Nile
3. Ezekiel was in Jerusalem during the siege — he received the vision while serving in the temple
4. Ezekiel was in the wilderness of Judah — he had been fasting forty days when the vision appeared to him at dawn

2. What did Ezekiel see in the vision of the divine chariot (the Merkabah), and what were the four living creatures?

1. Ezekiel saw a golden chariot pulled by four white horses — the horses represented the four winds of heaven going throughout the earth
2. Ezekiel saw a great sea with seven spirits arising from it — each spirit had a different form corresponding to the seven churches
3. Ezekiel saw a storm cloud coming from the north with brilliant light — four living creatures, each with four faces (human, lion, ox, eagle) and four wings, moving with wheels that could go in any direction without turning. Above them was a vault like crystal, and above that a throne with one seated on it like gleaming metal
4. Ezekiel saw four angels in white robes standing at the four corners of the temple in Jerusalem

3. How was Ezekiel called, and what was he told to eat?

1. Ezekiel was called in the temple during a Sabbath service — he heard God's voice from behind the altar and was commissioned by the high priest
2. Ezekiel was called while ploughing a field — he heard the voice of God and immediately left his oxen to report to the temple for commissioning
3. Ezekiel was given bitter water to drink — its bitterness reminded him of the bitter message of judgment he must deliver to a rebellious people
4. God told Ezekiel to open his mouth and eat the scroll he was given — it contained words of lament and mourning and woe, but it tasted sweet as honey. He was sent as a watchman to Israel — whether they listened or not, he was to speak God's word

4. What sign acts did Ezekiel perform at the beginning of his ministry (chs. 4-5)?

1. Ezekiel built a model temple from clay and then smashed it publicly — this was a sign that the current temple would be destroyed and a new one built
2. Ezekiel drew Jerusalem on a clay tablet and enacted a siege against it; lay on his left side for 390 days (Israel's years of sin) and right side for 40 days (Judah's); cooked food over dung; and shaved his head — burning, striking, and scattering the hair as a sign of Jerusalem's fate
3. Ezekiel planted a vine and an almond tree side by side and then uprooted them — the death of the vine was Jerusalem, and the fruitful almond survived as the remnant
4. Ezekiel walked barefoot and naked for three years as a sign against Egypt and Assyria

5. What was the vision of the abominations in the temple (ch. 8), and what was its significance?

1. Ezekiel saw foreign merchants trading within the temple courts — the commercial corruption of sacred space was the abomination being condemned
2. Ezekiel saw the Babylonian army defiling the temple with foreign idols — it was a prediction of what would happen when Jerusalem fell
3. Ezekiel saw the high priest Aaron wearing Babylonian garments — the syncretism had reached the highest priestly office
4. Ezekiel was transported in a vision to Jerusalem and saw four progressive abominations: an idol at the north gate, elders burning incense to wall carvings, women weeping for Tammuz, and men bowing to the sun with their backs to the temple of the LORD

6. What happened to the glory of the LORD in Ezekiel's visions (chs. 10-11)?

1. The glory of the LORD appeared in Babylon, showing the exiles that God was present with them while Jerusalem was judged
2. The glory of the LORD descended and filled the temple — this was a new consecration of the temple before the Babylonian siege
3. The glory of the LORD progressively departed: from above the cherubim to the threshold of the temple, then to the east gate, then to the mountain east of Jerusalem — it paused at each stage, as if reluctant to leave. This departure explains why no divine protection came when Babylon attacked
4. The glory of the LORD was sealed within the Most Holy Place — it remained in the temple even when Babylon took the outer courts

7. What did Ezekiel's parable of the vine (ch. 15) teach about Israel?

1. If wood from a vine is useless among trees even when intact, how much more so when partially burned? Israel, like a charred vine branch, is now fit only to be completely consumed — she had been unfaithful despite privilege
2. The vine of Israel had been neglected — with proper pruning and care, it would yet produce abundant fruit for God
3. The vine of Israel was a young plant — with time and patience, God would train it to grow up the wall of the new temple
4. The vine represented the true remnant within Israel — those who bore fruit while the majority withered. The parable encouraged the faithful minority

8. What is the allegory of the two sisters Oholah and Oholibah (ch. 23)?

1. Oholah represents Samaria/Israel and Oholibah represents Jerusalem/Judah — both are described as prostitutes who lusted after foreign nations (Assyria, Babylon, Egypt). Their political alliances are portrayed as sexual unfaithfulness to God, and both will face judgment
2. The two sisters are two individual women in Jerusalem whose immoral behaviour is used as an example of the city's general corruption
3. The two sisters represent the two stages of Israel's history — the Mosaic era (Oholah) and the Davidic era (Oholibah), showing progressive corruption over time
4. The two sisters represent the two tablets of the law — one for priests (Oholah) and one for the people (Oholibah)

9. What was the 'watchman' responsibility given to Ezekiel, and what were its implications?

1. Ezekiel was appointed as a watchman for Israel — if he warned the wicked and they didn't turn, their blood was on their own hands; but if he failed to warn them, God would hold Ezekiel responsible for their death. The moral responsibility for response lay with the hearer; the moral responsibility for speaking lay with the prophet
2. Ezekiel was to watch for approaching Babylonian armies and warn Jerusalem so the people could flee
3. Ezekiel was to watch for signs of repentance in the exiles and report back to God which individuals were turning to him
4. The watchman role meant Ezekiel was to watch for the arrival of restoration — he would be the first to announce when God's blessing was returning to Israel

10. What did Ezekiel do when his wife died (ch. 24), and what was the significance?

1. Ezekiel buried his wife outside the city as a sign that the exiles would not return to Jerusalem to bury their dead
2. Ezekiel wept openly for seven days — his grief became a public symbol of God's grief over Jerusalem
3. Ezekiel's wife survived when all predicted she would die — this was a sign of God's mercy that would spare a remnant from complete destruction
4. God told Ezekiel his wife would die — the delight of his eyes, taken with a single blow. He was not to mourn or weep. When the exiles asked why, he explained: God was about to desecrate the temple (the delight of their eyes) and they would not be able to mourn their sons and daughters. His silent grief was the sign

11. What does Ezekiel's oracle against the shepherd-rulers of Israel declare (ch. 34)?

1. 'Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?... I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock... I myself will search for my sheep... I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them'
2. The shepherds are Ezekiel's colleagues among the exilic prophets — he condemns the false prophets who told the exiles everything was fine
3. The shepherds of Israel are praised — even imperfect leadership had maintained the flock through difficult times
4. The shepherds will be replaced by foreign rulers — God was giving Israel into Babylonian hands permanently as a more competent management

12. What did the vision of the valley of dry bones (ch. 37) depict, and what was God's interpretation?

1. The dry bones were the armies of Babylon — they would be defeated and their bones would bleach in the valley as a sign of God's judgment on the oppressor
2. The dry bones were the house of Israel in exile — saying 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone.' God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy; breath entered the bones and they became a vast army. God's interpretation: 'I will open your graves and bring you up from them... and bring you back to the land of Israel'
3. The dry bones were the Israelites who had died in the siege of Jerusalem — Ezekiel's vision assured the living exiles that the dead would not be forgotten
4. The dry bones were the righteous dead awaiting resurrection — Ezekiel's vision is the clearest OT statement about individual resurrection at the last day

13. What does the oracle of Gog and Magog (chs. 38-39) describe?

1. Gog (leader) of the land of Magog will lead a great coalition against restored Israel in the distant future. God will supernaturally destroy this invasion with earthquake, plague, hailstones, and fire — making his holiness known among the nations. This becomes the greatest display of divine power since the exodus
2. Gog and Magog are Ezekiel's symbolic names for the false prophets — the spiritual enemies within Israel who must be defeated before restoration can come
3. Gog and Magog are historical nations that attacked Israel in the Persian period — the oracle records an actual military event
4. Gog and Magog represent Babylon and Assyria — the oracle is a post-event reflection on how God defeated these two empires to restore Israel

14. What is the individual responsibility principle in Ezekiel 18?

1. Ezekiel 18 addresses the proverb 'The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' God declares: 'The one who sins is the one who will die' — each person is responsible for their own choices. The wicked can turn and live; the righteous can fall into wickedness and die
2. Ezekiel 18 establishes collective guilt — all Israel is guilty because some have sinned, and the whole community must suffer together
3. Ezekiel 18 establishes that children always bear their parents' sins — the sins of the fathers are visited to the third and fourth generation
4. Ezekiel 18 establishes that wealth determines moral standing — the wealthy are more righteous than the poor because God has blessed them

15. What is the great vision of the new temple in Ezekiel 40-48?

1. Ezekiel saw a vision of heaven itself — the celestial temple where God eternally dwells, contrasted with the earthly temple that had been destroyed
2. Ezekiel saw a vision of Solomon's original temple — preserved in heaven as a model for the restored community to replicate exactly
3. Ezekiel was shown blueprints for the second temple — these specifications were given to Zerubbabel and followed in constructing the physical building
4. Ezekiel was transported to a high mountain and shown a man with a measuring rod who measured every dimension of an idealized temple complex — representing the perfection of God's dwelling with his people in the restoration era. The glory of God returns through the eastern gate

16. What does the river flowing from the new temple (Ezekiel 47) represent?

1. A river flowed from under the temple threshold eastward — ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, then too deep to cross. Wherever it flowed, swarms of living creatures appeared and the Dead Sea became fresh. The river represents the life-giving power of God's presence flowing out from his dwelling to bring life to the world
2. The river is the water of purification — it flows through the new temple to cleanse any defilement that might make the dwelling of God unclean
3. The river represents the Jordan — in the restored land it would flow through Jerusalem, making the city central rather than peripheral to the water supply of Canaan
4. The river represents the returning exiles — they would flow back to Jerusalem from Babylon like a mighty river, increasing in volume until they filled the land completely

17. What is the final word of the book of Ezekiel, and what does it signify?

1. 'I am the LORD' — the book ends with God's self-declaration as it had begun, showing the unity of Ezekiel's message
2. 'Return to your tents, O Israel' — a command to the exiles to begin the journey home, connecting the end of the book to the decree of Cyrus
3. 'The LORD is there' (YHWH shammah) — the name of the restored city. The book ends with the promise that God's presence will permanently dwell with his people in the city
4. 'Then they will know that I am the LORD' — the conclusion of Ezekiel's mission: universal knowledge of God's identity

18. What does the repeated phrase 'Then they will know that I am the LORD' accomplish in Ezekiel?

1. It functions as a closing formula — like 'amen' it signals the end of each individual oracle without theological significance
2. It is a pastoral reassurance — the exiles are told that God's actions, however painful, will result in Israel knowing him more deeply than before
3. It is a threat — God will make himself known to his enemies in terrifying judgment, but his own people already know him and need no further revelation
4. It is the book's theological motor — appearing over 70 times, it declares that everything God does (judgment AND restoration) has the same ultimate purpose: that Israel and the nations will know the LORD's identity. Judgment reveals him; restoration reveals him. History is the arena in which God makes himself known

19. What does Ezekiel 36:26-27 promise about God's transforming work in the restoration?

1. 'A new covenant I will make with the house of Israel... I will write my law on their hearts'
2. 'I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities'
3. 'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws'
4. 'I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you'

20. How does Ezekiel's message complement and differ from Jeremiah's?

1. Both share the message that Jerusalem's fall was divine judgment for sin and covenant unfaithfulness. But Ezekiel, as a priest writing from Babylon, emphasises the departure and return of God's glory, temple theology, individual responsibility, and elaborate visions. Jeremiah, remaining in Jerusalem, emphasises the personal cost of prophecy, the new covenant of the heart, and pastoral letters to the exiles
2. Ezekiel and Jeremiah contradict each other — Ezekiel believed the exile would be short while Jeremiah said 70 years. Their disagreement was part of the prophet's controversy in the exile
3. Ezekiel corrects Jeremiah — Jeremiah overstated the people's guilt whereas Ezekiel reassured the exiles that God had not abandoned them. The two prophets represent optimist and pessimist wings of the prophetic tradition
4. The two prophets are interchangeable in their message — they both ministered in Jerusalem and delivered identical warnings with only stylistic differences in presentation