Ezekiel Explained: A Bible Study

Why did God tell Ezekiel to eat a scroll? In Ezekiel 2:1 through 3:15, God commissions the prophet by handing him a scroll — and telling him to eat it. Dr. Toby Holt explains this strange command and what it teaches about God's Word.

God calls Ezekiel to preach to a stubborn, rebellious people who likely will not listen. He gives him a scroll filled with "lamentations and mourning and woe," and commands him to eat it — t...

What is a spiritual watchman?

In Ezekiel 3:16-21, God appoints the prophet as a "watchman" for His people. Dr. Toby Holt explains the watchman's solemn duty — and what it means for us.

A watchman had two jobs: to watch and to warn. If he saw danger and stayed silent, the people's blood would be on his hands. God tells Ezekiel the danger is not a foreign army but God's own judgment on sin, and he must warn both the wicked and th...

What does Ezekiel 6 teach us in You Will Know That I Am the Lord?

In this expository sermon on Ezekiel, Dr. Toby Holt of New Geneva Theological Seminary teaches that God brought covenant judgment upon His own people, Jerusalem, so that a surviving remnant would 'know that I am the Lord' — the most repeated phrase in Ezekiel. Holt shows that Israel's abominations and idolatry, after centuries of patient warning, provoked God's ...

What does Ezekiel 10 teach us in The Glory of God Departs?

In this sermon on Ezekiel 8-11, Dr. Toby Holt of New Geneva Theological Seminary teaches that the glory of the Lord departed from the Jerusalem temple because God's covenant people had defiled His house with idolatry and spiritual adultery. Holt shows that God's judgment was not surprising but long-delayed by His patience, that only those marked by God are spared His wrath, ...

How can you spot a false teacher?

In Ezekiel 13, God confronts the false prophets who tell people what they want to hear. Dr. Toby Holt explains how to recognize false teaching — and why it is so dangerous.

These prophets spoke "out of their own heart" while claiming, "Thus says the LORD." They cried "Peace, peace" when judgment was coming, like men whitewashing a flimsy wall that cannot stand the storm. The mark of a true mini...

Why does pride lead to a fall? In Ezekiel 26-28, God pronounces judgment on the proud, wealthy city of Tyre — and in doing so, gives a startling glimpse of the devil himself. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt traces the deadly path of pride.

Tyre gloated over Jerusalem’s fall and trusted in its wealth and island fortress. God judges the “prince of Tyre,” a human ruler who claimed, “I am a god.” Then, d...

Can God change a hard heart? In Ezekiel 36, God promises to remove His people's "heart of stone" and give them a "heart of flesh." Dr. Toby Holt explains the great doctrine of regeneration — the new heart only God can give. Israel had broken covenant and disgraced God's name, yet God promises to act — for the sake of His own holy name, not their merit. He will sprinkle them clean, give them a new heart, and put His Spir...

Can dead, hopeless things live again? In Ezekiel 37, God sets the prophet down in a valley full of dry bones and asks, "Can these bones live?" Dr. Toby Holt unpacks one of the Bible's most vivid pictures of hope.

The bones picture God's people in exile, who said, "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost." As Ezekiel preaches God's word over them, the bones come together, take on flesh, and the breath of God brings them to life as a grea...

Will there be a temple in heaven?

In Ezekiel 40-48, the prophet is given a sweeping vision of a vast, measured temple. Dr. Toby Holt explains what that future temple really is — and why it is not a building made of bricks. Taken to a high mountain, Ezekiel sees a glorious temple measured out in detail, and the glory of God returning to fill it. It reads like a guided tour, not a blueprint — a picture, not a construction ...