Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): rr chap. 22 paras. 1-9 and video.
1, 2. (a) What decision must we all make? b) How did a faithful angel react when John tried to worship him?
Each of us must answer a very important question: "Who am I going to worship?" Many people would say that since there are so many religions, it is difficult to answer. But the truth is that there are only two alternatives: either we worship Jehovah God or we worship Satan, the Devil.
What Satan wants most is to be worshiped. And that was very clear when he tempted Jesus. As we saw in chapter 1 of this book, the Devil offered him an extraordinary reward: authority over all the kingdoms of the Earth. And what did he want in return? He asked Jesus to perform before him “a single act of worship” (Matt. 4:9). Instead, the angel who conveyed a revelation to the apostle John did not want to be worshiped (read Revelation 22:8, 9). When John attempted to worship the angel, this spiritual son of God was humble and responded, "Don't do that!" Instead of asking for worship, the angel commanded him: "Worship God."
3. a) What has been the objective of this book? b) What are we going to focus on now?
The purpose of this book has been to strengthen our resolve to do as the angel commanded—to worship Jehovah God alone (Deut. 10:20; Matt. 4:10). Now let's briefly review what Ezekiel's prophecies and visions have taught us about pure worship. Then, with the help of the Bible, we'll peer into the future, a time when everyone living on Earth will face a final test. Those who pass this decisive test may live to witness the complete and final restoration of the pure worship of Jehovah.
Three teachings that stand out in the book of Ezekiel
4. What three teachings stand out in the book of Ezekiel?
The book of Ezekiel teaches us that pure worship is not about performing mere solemn ceremonies. Rather, it involves 1) giving Jehovah exclusive devotion, 2) remaining united in the pure worship of Jehovah, and 3) showing love to others. Let's see how the prophecies and visions we've discussed in this post highlight those three teachings.
First Teaching: Give Jehovah Exclusive Devotion
5-9. What have we learned about giving Jehovah exclusive devotion?
Chapter 3. Let us remember the impressive vision in which Jehovah appears surrounded by a rainbow and directing very powerful spiritual creatures. That image etches in our minds a fundamental truth: only the Almighty deserves our worship (Ezek. 1:4, 15-28).
Chapter 5. And how awful was the scene where the Israelites were polluting the temple! This vision shows that nothing can be hidden from Jehovah. God can see disloyalty even when evil things are done in secret , such as when his people worshiped idols. All this hurts him very much, and he punishes those who do it (Ezek. 8:1-18).
Chapter 7. Jehovah's condemnation of neighboring nations who treated Israel with “gross contempt” confirms that he will hold accountable those who mistreat his people.—Ezek. 25:6. On the other hand, Israel's relationship with other nations also teaches us another lesson: our loyalty to Jehovah is above anything else. Let us never lower our standards in order to please relatives who do not worship Jehovah; neither let us put our trust in money nor give up our neutrality by supporting human governments; that loyalty we owe only to Jehovah.
Chapters 13 and 14. The vision of the temple on the high mountain teaches us that we must live up to Jehovah's high standards and recognize that he is far above any other god (Ezek. 40:1-48:35) .
Chapter 15. Prophetic descriptions that portray Israel and Judah as prostitutes remind us of Jehovah's disgust with spiritual adultery (Ezekiel chapters 16 and 23).
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