Scripture
Ezekiel 38:10-12, 17-23 ESV
”Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. “Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.“
AI Prompt
An impressionistic and abstract oil painting where the bright part in the center subtly suggests the shape of a cross. The surrounding darkness should be dense along the borders, creating a strong contrast. The glowing center, shaped like a cross, should be softly ethereal, with the surrounding thick, dark, swirling clouds emphasizing the symbolic and dreamlike quality. The brush strokes should convey an abstract, impressionistic feel, focusing on the symbolic representation of light and hope.
Process/Reflection
The battle that Ezekiel describes in this passage is the same battle that John describes in Revelation 20. It is not a political or military battle against an earthly nation, but a spiritual assault led by Satan and the forces of darkness against the people of God who have been gathered from all nations (i.e., the Church). Although God's holy people are surrounded by this darkness, in the end they are not overcome. The light of Christ--represented by the cross--overcomes the darkness and wins the victory for God's people. I felt that an impressionistic/abstract image would better convey the spiritual reality that Ezekiel describes rather than trying to create an image that looked like the battle of Helm's Deep from The Lord of the Rings.