According to the prophecy of Ezekiel, all souls belong to

Answer Details

In Ezekiel 18:4, God declares: "Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine." According to this prophecy, all souls belong to God.

This declaration is foundational to the teaching of Ezekiel 18, which addresses the principle of individual moral responsibility. The Israelites in exile had been quoting a proverb: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Ezekiel 18:2), meaning they blamed their suffering on the sins of their ancestors rather than their own wrongdoing.

God rejected this reasoning. By declaring that all souls belong to Him, God established that He is the sole judge of every individual. Since every soul is His, He holds each person accountable for their own actions: "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). A righteous person will live, regardless of their parent's wickedness, and a wicked person will die, regardless of their parent's righteousness.

Souls do not belong to individuals themselves, to families, or to angels. God's ownership of every soul is the basis for His authority to judge each person according to their own conduct.