Ezekiel 20:47
And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
The forest of the south is figurative language for a land visited with severe calamities. The fire that is not quenched is fire that no outside means puts out prematurely but that is left to burn until it has entirely devoured and consumed what it burns, and that generation perished and those judgments long since ceased. By devouring every green tree and every dry tree alike and burning all faces from south to north until all flesh sees that the Lord kindled it, it pictures complete destruction and total consumption, not preservation in suffering. It therefore shows that the unquenched fire of hell is the complete destruction of the wicked and not their immortality in eternal torment, while the chapter joins that judgment to Israel's idolatry and polluting of God's Sabbaths which brought dispersion and captivity.
Context and Symbolism
Ezekiel prophesied to the captives in Babylonia while Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem, and his visions teach that God rules over the nations. The forest of the south is figurative language for a land visited with severe calamities. That forest imagery represents the supremacy of Gentile rule over Israel.
The green tree is a symbol of Christ and the dry tree a symbol of the wicked. The chapter shows Israel polluted God's Sabbaths and practiced idolatry throughout the wilderness years, so that the rebellious generation that left Egypt was excluded from the promised land. Before the Babylonian captivity the nation had gone into idolatry and gave little regard to the Sabbath and polluted it, and idolatry combined with Sabbath desecration brought troubles, dispersion and captivity. The Sabbath was made a sign to Israel so they might know the One who sanctifies them and that their God is the Creator, not enjoined as a sign on account of the unrighteousness of Israel and their fathers.
Unquenchable Fire and Judgment
The phrase about flame that shall not be quenched means a fire that no outside power puts out prematurely but that is left to burn on until it has entirely devoured and consumed what it burns, not a fire that burns forever without finishing its work. To quench is to put out before the work is done, while not quenched is to allow the fire to keep burning until the material is consumed and then to go out when its office-work is done. The figure is of severe calamities falling on a land called the forest of the south, and its unquenched fire is judgment that continues until it has consumed what it is set against. That generation under judgment perished many ages ago and those judgments long since ceased to exist, which proves the fire does not burn eternally.
By devouring every green tree and every dry tree alike, the image supports complete destruction, not endless suffering. The flaming flame burns all faces from the south to the north until all flesh sees that the Lord kindled it, and not quenched means not put out by any outside means but left to burn till it has entirely consumed what it preys upon, not that it burns forever. The picture is therefore of total consumption, with fire that cannot be stopped until it has consumed what it burns. The unquenched fire of hell is thus the symbol of the complete consumption and total destruction of the wicked, not their preservation in eternal torment or torture, and not immortality.
Consuming fire is an image of judgment in which sin must be forgiven or it will be consumed. The fire consuming both trees presents judgment, which by comparison with Luke 23:31 applies to the just judgment awaiting those who filled up their cup of iniquity. The Lord's kindled, unquenched fire consuming every green and dry tree and burning everyone from south to north applies to the worldwide, real destruction of the wicked when Christ comes, not merely a figure of speech. The threat will be completely fulfilled, with all flesh seeing that the Lord kindled the fire.
Sabbath Apostasy and Warning
Ezekiel 20 establishes the weight of the Sabbath by joining terrible curses to disobedience to it. Profaning the Sabbath draws divine judgment, and the fire threatened against the forest of the south stands as an example of the punishment brought upon Israel for Sabbath breaking.
The chapter preserves the record of the Dark Ages of the Jewish church, a season of apostasy in idolatry in which the faithful were persecuted. That apostasy was followed by the captivity of the Jews. This history parallels the Dark Ages of the Christian church, when the apostate church persecuted and slew the conscientious.