What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "In Ezekiel 4:1-8, Ezekiel's prophetic action is understood in the Seventh-day Adventist context as follows: 1. **Symbolic Meaning:** The days are not understood merely as a literal schedule of 390+40 consecutive days lying down, but as a symbol of years. In Ezekiel 4:6, God declares: "I have appointed you each day for a year." 2. **The Total Period:** Adding the periods together, we have 390 years (representing the time of the iniquity of the house of Israel) plus 40 years (representing the time of the iniquity of Judah), totaling 430 years. This period is often associated with the time of God's people turning away from Him and the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the exile. 3. **Historical Context:** The action served as a visual sign to the people of Jerusalem of the siege that would come against the city. For Adventists, this reinforces God's sovereignty and His advance warning of future events, including the destruction of Jerusalem and the need for repentance. 4. **Spiritual Application:** Although the literal time is symbolic, the principle remains: there is an appointed time for discipline and, afterward, for restoration. Ezekiel's obedience to God's unusual command demonstrates the importance of taking divine warnings seriously."
Answer
In the Seventh-day Adventist context, Ezekiel's prophetic action in Ezekiel 4:1-8 is understood as a symbolic sign in which the days represent years, according to the divine declaration that 'each day is a year.' The period of 390 days symbolizes 390 years of iniquity of the house of Israel, and the 40 days represent 40 years of iniquity of Judah, totaling 430 years of estrangement from God. This representation served as a visual sign to the people of the siege that would come upon Jerusalem, reinforcing God's sovereignty and His advance warning. The principle endures: there is an appointed time for discipline, followed by restoration, and Ezekiel's obedience demonstrates the seriousness of divine warnings.
The day-for-a-year principle in Ezekiel
»As to the first, we note that Ezekiel was commanded to ‘lie on his left side 390 days, to bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.’ This was a typical action constituting a symbolic prophecy, and as to its chronological purpose, Jehovah Himself adds: ‘I have appointed each day for a year.’ Ezekiel, in this transaction, is a miniature hieroglyph of Israel; one man representing a nation. Just as the man represented the nation in miniature, so the 390 days represented the period of 390 years in miniature. Likewise, his lying on his right side for forty days symbolized the foretold iniquity of Judah over a period of forty years.«
The visual sign of the brick and the siege
»To give a vivid impression of the miserable condition of Jerusalem, Ezekiel was directed to draw on a brick a representation of a besieged city. In this sign, the prophet lay 390 days on one side and 40 on the other. On the brick, or large brick, the prophet probably drew a rough map of the city. It must have been a painful ordeal for the prophet to remain so long on one side, but the Lord would sustain him in obedience to His command. The temple and the city were set on fire and completely destroyed.«
Spiritual application and warning
»Ezekiel, a priest, was himself exiled in Babylon before the final fall of Jerusalem. He sought to warn and encourage his fellow exiles and his countrymen still in Judah, shortly before the end of the kingdom. Through object lessons, the prophet depicts the siege in miniature on a brick, lies on one side and then the other for many days, representing many years, and dramatizes the hardships of the siege and the departure of the exiles.«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
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