Crossing the Threshold

Ezekiel had a vision of God that should cause us in the Church today to fear. In this vision, Ezekiel saw God leaving the temple, the very place where His name was to dwell on the earth. In Ezekiel's vision, God did not just leave, He was driven away by what was occurring in the temple and in the hearts of people. In the vision of Ezekiel, after God left the temple, the temple still carried on with its many sacrifices, services, meetings, and functions. However, while the temple continued to function, the presence of God was not a part of the temple activities. Is Ezekiel's vision relevant for us today? When you consider that many, if not all, the same practices which drove God out of the temple are occurring within the Church today, the answer is yes. Thus, Ezekiel's vision of God leaving the temple is of utmost importance for us today. What we have to understand is that the functioning of both the temple in Ezekiel's day and the Church today is no evidence of the presence of God amongst us. Because of what is occurring within the Church today, we are left with this: Is God leaving the church or has God already left?