Ezekiel was a priest who lived in Jerusalem during the first Babylonian attack on the city and was one of the first prisoners to be taken into exile. The book begins 5 years later and we find Ezekiel sitting near his Israelite refugee camp on his 30th birthday and suddenly he has a magnificent vision of the glory of God (Ez. 1: 29). After the message of judgment and destruction of Chapters 1-33 the rest of the book focuses on the promise from God that there is still a future beyond exile. There is still hope for Israel, for the nations and for all of creation.