Now the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. (v.1-2)

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you what is precious to your eyes with a fatal blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. Groan silently; do no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your mustache, and do not eat the bread of other people.” So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. (v.15-18)

So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God. (v.24)

As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, that on that day the one who escapes will come to you with information for your ears? On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord. (v.25-27)

As we read the book of the prophets in the OT, we realize that God made them signs to other Israelites. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Ezekiel had to do the things that seemed strange to others. Those chosen by grace understood the signs. Others did not understand them, and ignored and ridiculed the prophets.

We do not know anything about Ezekiel’s wife. Many Christians interpret the Bible from a moral point of view. But there is no reason mentioned why God put her to death. God took away Ezekiel’s pride, desire and delight as Jerusalem fell. God did not want Ezekiel to rebuke people so made him mute earlier (Ezekiel 3:26). And now that the Jerusalem is destroyed, Ezekiel’s muteness stops as written in Ezekiel 33:22.

Jerusalem is the visible church. In earlier days, she was crowned with glory because her husband, God, was with her. But she went and served other gods. It was not that she completely left God. The temple was still there. People still mentioned of God. But she was no longer loyal to her husband. She broke the covenant with her husband. She brought her lovers to their house. He saw all her adulterous acts. And she was proud. That does not mean Ezekiel’s wife was the same. Ezekiel’s wife was a symbol. God killed what the Israelites considered delightful, desirable, and precious.

The fall of Jerusalem that happened in 587 BC and in 70 AD tells us that God’s Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. God’s temple is not a building that we can see.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21:22)

There are many Christians who think they should build a temple on the earth or a Christian nation. Many ministers and theologians promote such ideas. They often focus on politics and law-making. What they really desire is political power. John Owen was a politician. Even though the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) explains the role of the civil governments, he and his followers did not take the WCF and wrote their own confession called the Savoy Declaration. They also wrote on the active obedience of Christ in their confession, which the king forbid them to do. Thus, he rebelled against God. Owen influenced Cromwell greatly. And what Cromwell built was not God’s kingdom. But God let them do what they were destined to do. They lured people to believe in false assurance.  People like Abraham Kuyper desired to become like John Owen. And what we now call the Reformed faith is not orthodox. It is derived from ideas of John Owen and his friends, who chose people over God. They chose political power over God. Therefore, the Protestant church (Jerusalem) we see is a harlot. God will not look kindly on those who try to go back to Egypt. God is against those who try to build an earthly kingdom.