The Prophets:
Ezekiel 26
THE JUDGMENT ON TYRE
1 On the first day of the month in the eleventh year, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
Since an element is missing in the date formula here, scholars have reconstructed this probable reading: In the eleventh [month of the twelfth] year, on the first day of the month. This reading would put this message on Jan. 14th, 585 b.c. RABBI DAVID however reasonably supposes that Tyre uttered her taunt at the close of the fourth month, as her nearness to Jerusalem enabled her to hear of its fall very soon, and that Ezekiel met it with his threat against herself on "the first day" of the fifth month.
2 Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, 'Ha! She who controlled the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been destroyed, I will become wealthy!'
Tyre--( Joshua 19:29 , 2 Samuel 24:7 ), literally, meaning "the rock-city," Zor; a name applying to the island Tyre, called New Tyre, rather than Old Tyre on the mainland. They were half a mile apart. "New Tyre," a century and a half before the fall of Jerusalem, had successfully resisted Shalmaneser of Assyria, for five years besieging it (MENANDER, from the Tyrian archives, quoted by JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 9.14. 2).
3 So this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I am against you, Tyre. I will bring many nations against you as the waves on the sea rise.
4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. Then I will sweep up the dust and turn Tyre into a bare rock.
5 {The island of Tyre will become uninhabited.}It will become a place by the sea where people spread their fishing nets. I have spoken, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). It will become a prize for the nations,
6 and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).
7 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: From the north I'm going to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against you, Tyre. He is the king of kings. He will bring horses, chariots, war horses, many people, and many troops.
king of kings--so called because of the many kings who owned allegiance to him ( 2 Kings 18:28 ). GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) had delegated to him the universal earth-empire which is His ( Daniel 2:47 ). The Son of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) alone has the right and title inherently, and shall assume it when the world kings shall have been fully proved as abusers of the trust ( 1 Timothy 6:15 , Revelation 17:12-14 , Revelation 19:15 Revelation 19:16 ). Ezekiel's prophecy was not based on conjecture from the past, for Shalmaneser, with all the might of the Assyrian empire, had failed in his siege of Tyre. Yet Nebuchadnezzar was to succeed. JOSEPHUS tells us that Nebuchadnezzar began the siege in the seventh year of Ithobal's reign, king of Tyre.
8 He will destroy the villages on your mainland. He will set up blockades, put up dirt ramps, and raise his shields against you.
9 He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and he will cut down your towers with his axes.
10 He will have so many horses that their dust will cover you. The noise from the war horses, wagon wheels, and chariots will shake your walls when he enters your gates. He will enter as people enter a conquered city.
11 His horsemen will trample every street in the city. They will butcher your people, and your famous pillars will topple.
12 His troops will loot your riches and take your goods as prizes. They will destroy your walls and tear down your delightful homes. They will throw your stones, wood, and soil into the water.
13 I will stop the music of your songs. No more will the sound of harps be heard among your people.
14 I will make your island a bare rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD (Jesus), have spoken! This is the word of the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
15 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says to Tyre: The whole coastline will tremble at the sound of your fall, as the screams of the wounded echo in the continuing slaughter.
16 All the seaport rulers will step down from their thrones and take off their royal robes and beautiful clothing. They will sit on the ground trembling with horror at what they have seen.
17 Then they will wail for you, singing this funeral song: 'O famous island city, once ruler of the sea, how you have been destroyed! Your people, with their naval power, once spread fear around the world.
18 Your defeat will make the people who live by the coast tremble. Your end will terrify the islands in the sea.
19 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will turn your city into ruins like cities that have no one living in them. I will bring the deep ocean over you, and the [Mediterranean] Sea will cover you.
20 I will send you to the pit to lie there with those who descended there long ago. Your city will lie in ruins, buried beneath the earth, like those in the pit who have entered the world of the dead. Never again will you be given a position of respect here in the land of the living.
21 I will turn you into a terror, and you will no longer exist. People will look for you, but they will never see you again," declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
Ezekiel 27
1 The LORD (Jesus) spoke to me:
2 Son of man, sing a funeral song about Tyre.
3 and say to Tyre, 'You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): "O Tyre, you have said, ' I am perfect in beauty.'
4 You extended your boundaries into the sea. Your builders made you glorious!
Here The Netherlands come to mind!
5 Your builders made all your boards from pine trees on Mount Hermon. They took cedar trees from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6 They made your oars from oaks in Bashan. They made your deck from pine trees on the shores of Cyprus. It had ivory set in it.
7 Your sails were made out of fine embroidered linen from Egypt. They were like your flags. Your awnings were violet and purple. They came from the coasts of Elishah.
8 Your oarsmen came from Sidon and Arvad; your helmsmen were skilled men from Tyre itself.
9 Wise old craftsmen from Gebal did all the caulking. Ships came with goods from every land to barter for your trade.
10 Those from Persia, Lydia, and Libya Were in your army as men of war; They hung their shields and helmets inside you. Their victories made you look good.
11 Men from Arvad and from Helech stood on your walls as sentinels. Your towers were manned by men from Gammad. Their shields hung on your walls, perfecting your splendor.
12 Tarshish was your agent, trading your wares in exchange for silver, iron, tin, and lead.
13 People from Greece, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you. They exchanged slaves and bronze items for your goods.
Tubal, Meshech (Moscow) and greece. This is Russia today, and their connection to the nation of Greece is their common Christian faith, as all Russians are Orthodox Christians – we call Greek Orthodox.So the Turkish harems are supplied with female slaves from Circassia and Georgia.
14 People from Beth Togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise.
Togarmah--Armenia: descended from Gomer ( Genesis 10:3 ). Their mountainous region south of the Caucasus was celebrated for horses.
15 Merchants came to you from Dedan. Numerous coastlands were your captive markets; they brought payment in ivory tusks and ebony wood.
16 Aram sent merchants to buy your wares. They traded turquoise, purple dyes, embroidery, fine linen, and jewelry of coral and rubies.
17 Judah and Israel traded with you. They exchanged wheat from Minnith, baked goods, honey, olive oil, and balsam for your goods.
18 Damascus traded for your rich variety of goods, bringing wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar.
19 Danites and Greeks from Uzal traded for your merchandise. They exchanged wrought iron, cassia, and sugar cane for your goods.
20 Dedan traded saddle blankets with you.
21 Arabia and all the officials of Kedar traded with you. They traded lambs, rams, and male goats.
22 The merchants from Sheba and Raamah traded with you. They traded the finest spices, precious stones, and gold for your merchandise.
23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants from Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad traded with you.
Haran--the dwelling-place of Abraham in Mesopotamia, after he moved from Ur ( Genesis 11:31 ).
Canneh--Calneh, an Assyrian city on the Tigris; the Ctesiphon of the Greeks
Eden--probably a region in Babylonia (see Genesis 2:8 ).
Chilmad--a compound; the place designated by PTOLEMY "Gaala of Media." The Chaldee version interprets it of Media. HENDERSON refers it to Carmanda, which XENOPHON describes as a large city beyond the Euphrates.
Canneh--Calneh, an Assyrian city on the Tigris; the Ctesiphon of the Greeks
Eden--probably a region in Babylonia (see Genesis 2:8 ).
Chilmad--a compound; the place designated by PTOLEMY "Gaala of Media." The Chaldee version interprets it of Media. HENDERSON refers it to Carmanda, which XENOPHON describes as a large city beyond the Euphrates.
24 They brought choice fabrics to trade – blue cloth, embroidery, and many-colored carpets bound with cords and made secure.
25 The ships of Tarshish were your ocean caravans. Your island warehouse was filled to the brim!
England, Ireland and America
26 Your rowers took you out to the high seas, and an east wind wrecked you in the sea.
27 Everything is lost – your riches and wares, your sailors and helmsmen, your ship builders, merchants, and warriors. On that day of vast ruin, everyone on board sinks into the depths of the sea.
28 When your sailors cried out, people on the shore trembled.
29 All the rowers, the sailors, and all the mariners came down from their ships and stood on the shore.
30 They cried loudly and bitterly over you. They put dust on their heads and covered themselves with ashes.
31 They shaved their heads because of you and put on sackcloth. They cried over you with bitterness and with bitter mourning.
32 They sang a funeral song for you with loud crying: "Who is like Tyre, the city destroyed in the sea?"
33 Your merchandise was sent overseas. You filled many people with your great wealth and your goods. You made the kings of the earth rich.
34 Now you are wrecked in the sea, at the bottom of the sea. Your goods and your whole crew sank with you.
35 All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you; Their kings will be greatly afraid, And their countenance will be troubled.
Isles: British Isles and America
36 The merchants among the nations laugh at you. You have come to a terrible end, and you will never exist again.'
Ezekiel 28
1 The LORD (Jesus) spoke to me:
2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, 'I am a GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,' Yet you are a man, and not a GOD (Elohim-The Family of God),
3 You think that you are wiser than Daniel and that no secret can be hidden from you.
4 Because you are wise and understanding, you've made yourself rich. You saved gold and silver in your treasuries.
5 Because of your great skill in trading, you've made yourself very wealthy. You have become arrogant because of your wealth.
6 So his is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: You think you are wise like GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, The most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor.
8 They will throw you into a pit, and you will die a violent death in the sea.
9 Will you still say before him who slays you, 'I am a GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)'? But you shall be a man, and not a GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), In the hand of him who slays you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised By the hand of aliens; For I have spoken," says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
11 Moreover the word of the LORD (Jesus) came to me, saying:
SATAN'S FALL FROM HEAVEN:
12 Son of man, weep for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign LORD (Jesus): You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty.
This is the storty of SATAN! Lucifer's fall from heaven!
13 You were in Eden, the garden of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). You were covered with every kind of precious stone: red quartz, topaz, crystal, beryl, onyx, gray quartz, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your settings and your sockets were made of gold when you were created.
every precious stone--so in Eden ( Genesis 2:12 ), "gold, bdellium, and the onyx stone." So the king of Tyre was arrayed in jewel-bespangled robes after the fashion of Oriental monarchs. The nine precious stones here mentioned answer to nine of the twelve (representing the twelve tribes) in the high priest's breastplate ( Exodus 39:10-13 , Revelation 21:14 Revelation 21:19-21 ). Of the four rows of three in each, the third is omitted in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the Septuagint. In this, too, there is an ulterior reference to Antichrist, who is blasphemously to arrogate the office of our divine High Priest ( Zechariah 6:13 ).
14 I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) and walked among the stones of fire.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
Satan, as Luicfer ('angel of light') was made perfect, but he chose to break God's law!
16 Your great wealth filled you with violence, and you sinned. So I banished you from the mountain of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.
17 You became too proud because of your beauty. You wasted your wisdom because of your greatness. So I threw you to the ground and left you in front of the kings so that they could see you.
18 You dishonored your own churches because of your many sins and dishonest trade. So I set fire to you to burn you up. I turned you into ashes on the ground in the presence of all who saw you.
19 All the nations who knew you are horrified because of you. You have come to a terrible end, and you will never exist again.'
20 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said,
21 Son of man, turn to Sidon and prophesy against it.
22 Tell it, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): I'm against you, Sidon. I will show my greatness through you. Then people will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), because I will punish you and show you how holy I am.
23 I will send a plague against you and make blood flow in your streets. Your people will fall dead. People with swords will attack you from every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).
24 The nation of Israel will no longer be hurt by prickly thorns or sharp briars from everyone around them. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
25 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they were scattered, I will show that I am holy as the nations watch. The people of Israel will live in their own land, the land I gave to my servant Jacob.
26 They will live there in safety. They will build homes and plant vineyards. They will live in safety when I punish all the surrounding people who treat them with scorn. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus) their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
Ezekiel 29
Final Judgement of Egypt:
This is the last of the world kingdoms against which Ezekiel's prophecies are directed, and occupies the largest space in them, namely, the next four chapters. Though farther off than Tyre, it exercised a more powerful influence on Israel.
1 On December 25 (the twelfth day of the tenth month) in the tenth year{of the king's reign}, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
2 Son of man, turn toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy him and all the people of Egypt.
3 Speak, and say, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): "Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers, Who has said, 'The Nile River is mine; I made it for myself!'
4 I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish in the Nile River stick to your scales. I will pull you out of your river with all the fish in the Nile sticking to your scales.
5 I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish from the Nile. You will fall in an open field. No one will pick you up or bury you. I will feed you to wild animals and birds.
6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), for you collapsed like a reed when Israel looked to you for help.
7 When they {Israel} grabbed you, you splintered and tore up their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke, and they wrenched their backs.
8 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I am going to attack you with a sword. I will kill people and animals.
9 Egypt will become a wasteland and a pile of rubble. Then you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus). You said, "The Nile River is mine. I made it."
10 Indeed, therefore, I am against you and the Nile River. I will turn Egypt into a pile of rubble. It will become a wasteland, from Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Sudan.
11 No human or animal will walk through it, and no one will live there for 40 years.
forty years--answering to the forty years in which the Israelites, their former bondsmen, wandered in "the wilderness" (compare Note, JEROME remarks the number forty is one often connected with affliction and judgment. The rains of the flood in forty days brought destruction on the world. Moses, Elias, and the Saviour fasted forty days. The interval between Egypt's overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar and the deliverance by Cyrus, was about forty years. The ideal forty years' wilderness state of social and political degradation, rather than a literal non-passing of man or beast for that term, is mainly intended (so Ezekiel 4:6 , Isaiah 19:2 Isaiah 19:11 ).(Jamieson)
12 I will make Egypt the most desolate country in the world. For 40 years Egypt's cities will lie in ruins. They will be ruined more than any other city. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and force them into other countries.
13 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: After 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they have been scattered.
14 I will bring back the Egyptian captives and return them to Pathros, the land they came from. There they will be a weak kingdom.
15 They will be the weakest kingdom, and they will never rule the nations again. I will make them so weak that they will never rule the nations again.
16 The nation of Israel will never trust Egypt again. The people of Israel will remember how wrong they were whenever they turned to Egypt [for help]. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
17 On March 20th (the first day of the first month) in the twenty-seventh year, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
18 Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. Every soldier's head was worn bald, and every soldier's shoulder was rubbed raw. Yet, he and his army got no reward for their hard-fought battle against Tyre.
19 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I'm going to give Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, take its prized possessions, and loot it. That will be the pay for his army.
20 I have given him Egypt as pay for what he has done. Nebuchadnezzar and his army worked for me, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
21 In that day I will cause the glory of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD (Jesus).
Ezekiel 30
1 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
2 Son of man, prophesy. Say, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Cry for that day!
3 For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD (Jesus) is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. Acts 2:20 Revelation 11:2
4 There will be war in Egypt and anguish in Ethiopia. Many Egyptians will fall dead. People will take away Egypt's wealth, and its foundations will be torn down.
5 Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and Arabia, with all their other allies, will be destroyed in that war.
6 This is what the LORD (Jesus) says: All Egypt's allies will die. Egypt's strength will disappear. People will die in war from Migdol to Syene, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
7 Egypt will be desolate, surrounded by desolate nations, and its cities will be in ruins, surrounded by other ruined cities.
8 And the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD (Jesus) when I have set Egypt on fire and destroyed all their allies.
9 On that day I will send swift messengers in ships to terrify the complacent Ethiopians. Great panic will come upon them on that day of Egypt's certain destruction.
10 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will use King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to bring an end to Egypt.
11 He and his troops – ruthless among the nations – have been sent to demolish the land. They will make war against Egypt until slaughtered Egyptians cover the ground.
12 I will make the rivers dry, And sell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make the land waste, and all that is in it, By the hand of aliens. I, the LORD (Jesus), have spoken.
13 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will destroy the statues and put an end to the idols in Memphis. A prince will never rise again in Egypt. I will spread fear throughout Egypt.
14 I will destroy Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and bring punishment on Thebes.
15 I will pour out My fury on Sin, Egypt's fortress, and I will kill many people in Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt. Sin will be in much pain. Thebes will be broken into pieces, and Memphis will be in trouble every day.
17 The young men from Heliopolis and Bubastis will die in battle, and people from these cities will go into exile.
18 At Tahpanhes the day will turn dark when I break Egypt's power. Egypt's strong army will be defeated. Clouds will cover Egypt, and people from its villages will go into exile.
19 Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), because I will bring punishment on Egypt.'
20 On March 27th (the seventh day of the first month) in the eleventh year, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said,
Tammy's Birthday!!!!
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. His arm has not been put in a cast so that it may heal. Neither has it been bound up with a splint to make it strong enough to hold a sword.
22 Therefore this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I'm against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the healthy one and the broken one. I will make the sword fall from his hand.
23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and force them into other countries.
24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. I will put My sword in his hand, but I will break Pharaoh's arms. Pharaoh will groan like a person who is dying.
25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but Pharaoh's arms will fall. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), because I will put My sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. He will strike Egypt with it.
26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and force them into other countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus)."
Ezekiel 31
1 On May 19th (the first day of the third month) in the eleventh year {of the king's reign}, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
2 Son of man, say to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his many people, 'Was there ever anyone as great as you?
3 You are as Assyria was – a great and mighty nation. Assyria, too, was once like a cedar of Lebanon, full of thick branches that cast deep forest shade with its top high among the clouds.
4 Deep springs watered it and helped it to grow tall and luxuriant. The water was so abundant that there was enough for all the trees nearby.
5 This great tree towered above all the other trees around it. It prospered and grew long thick branches because of all the water at its roots.
6 All the birds made their nests in its branches. All the wild animals gave birth to their young under it. All the powerful nations lived in its shade.
7 So the tree was big and beautiful with its long branches. Its roots reached down to many sources of water.
8 This tree became taller than any of the other cedars in the garden of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). No cypress had branches equal to it; no plane tree had boughs to compare. No tree in the garden of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) came close to it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches, So that all the trees of Eden envied it, That were in the garden of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
10 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: The tree grew very tall, and its top reached the clouds. It became arrogant because it was so tall.
11 So I handed it over to a mighty ruler among the nations, and he surely dealt with it. I forced it out because of its wickedness.
12 A foreign army – the terror of the nations – cut it down and left it fallen on the ground. Its branches were scattered across the mountains and valleys and ravines of the land. All those who lived beneath its shadow went away and left it lying there.
13 All the birds perched on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived in its branches.
14 Then all the other trees growing by the water were kept from becoming arrogant because of their height, and their tops were no longer allowed to reach the clouds. So no tree, even if it is well-watered, will ever stand that tall. Every tree is going to die and go below the earth to join those who have died and gone down to the pit.
15 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: When the tree went down to the grave(sheol), I made people mourn. I covered the underground springs and held back the rivers. The many water sources stopped flowing. I made Lebanon mourn for the tree, and all the trees in the field fainted as they grieved over it.
16 I made the nations tremble in fear at the sound of the tree's crash. I brought the tree down to the grave(sheol) to join those who had gone down to the pit. Then all the trees in Eden, the choicest and best trees of Lebanon, and all the trees that were well-watered were comforted below the earth.
17 They had gone down with the tree in the grave(sheol) to join others killed in battle. All who lived in its shadow were scattered among the nations.
18 To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
Ezekiel 32
1 On February 15th (the first day of the twelfth month) in the twelfth year {of the king's rule}, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
2 Son of man, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this message: You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are really just a sea monster, heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet.
3 Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): 'I will send many people to catch you in my net and haul you out of the water.
4 I will leave you stranded on the land to die. All the birds of the heavens will land on you, and the wild animals of the whole earth will gorge themselves on you.
5 I will scatter your flesh on the hills and fill the valleys with your rotting corpse.
6 I will drench the earth with your flowing blood all the way to the mountains. Ravines will be filled with your dead body.
7 When I blot you out, I will veil the heavens and darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give you its light.
8 I will darken all the lights shining in the sky above you. I will bring darkness over your land, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
9 I will make many people troubled when I spread the news of your destruction among the nations to countries that you haven't heard of.
10 Yes, I will bring terror to many lands, and their kings will be terrified because of all I do to you. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall.
11 For thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): 'The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.
12 I will cut down your people with the swords of warriors. All of them will be the most ruthless warriors among the nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt and destroy its many people.
13 I will also destroy all the animals beside its many water sources. The feet of humans and the hoofs of animals won't stir up the water anymore.
14 Then I will make its water clear and make its streams flow like oil, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
15 I will turn Egypt into a wasteland. I will take everything in the land, and I will kill all the people who live there. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).'
16 Yes, this is the funeral song they will sing for Egypt. Let all the nations mourn for Egypt and its hordes. I, the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), have spoken!'
17 On March 2nd , which is the fifteenth day of the {12th}month in the twelfth year, the LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
18 Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, And cast them down to the depths of the earth, Her and the daughters of the famous nations, With those who go down to the Pit(sheol):
Pit- same as Grave – from the Hebrew “Sheol” meaning a hole in the ground.
19 [Tell them,] 'Are you more beautiful than anyone else? Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.'
20 They (the Egyptians) will lie among those who were killed in battle. A sword has been drawn. Drag Egypt and all its people away.
21 The mightiest warriors will say to Pharaoh from the grave(sheol), 'You and your defenders have gone down, They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'
22 Assyria is there with its whole army, and the graves(sheol) of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle.
23 Their graves are in the deepest parts of the pit. Assyria's army lies around its grave. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They once terrified people in the land of the living.
24 Elam lies there buried with its hordes who descended as outcasts to the world below. They terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in the pit and share the humiliation of those who have gone to the world of the dead.
25 A bed has been made for Elam among the dead. The graves of its soldiers are all around it - All of them uncircumcised. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. Now they suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. They lie among the dead.
26 Meshech and Tubal are there with all their soldiers, and the graves of their soldiers are all around them. Their soldiers were all godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living.
Moscow and all of Russia
27 They do not lie with the mighty Who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who went down to the grave(sheol) with their weapons – their iniquities will be on their bones, Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, And lie with those slain by the sword.
29 Edom is there with its kings and its princes. They used to be powerful, but now they lie with those who were killed in battle.
30 There are the princes of the north, All of them, and all the Sidonians, Who have gone down with the slain In shame at the terror which they caused by their might; They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31 When Pharaoh arrives, he will be relieved to find that he is not alone in having his entire army killed, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
32 I terrified people in the land of the living. Pharaoh and all his soldiers will be laid among the godless people who were killed in battle," says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
Matthew Henry: It becomes us to weep and tremble for those who will not weep and tremble for themselves. Great oppressors are, in GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)'s account, no better than beasts of prey. Those who admire the pomp of this world, will wonder at the ruin of that pomp; which to those who know the vanity of all things here below, is no surprise. When others are ruined by sin, we have to fear, knowing ourselves guilty. The instruments of the desolation are formidable. And the instances of the desolation are frightful. The waters of Egypt shall run like oil, which signifies there should be universal sadness and heaviness upon the whole nation. GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) can soon empty those of this world's goods who have the greatest fulness of them. By enlarging the matters of our joy, we increase the occasions of our sorrow. How weak and helpless, as to GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), are the most powerful of mankind! The destruction of Egypt was a type of the destruction of the enemies of Christ. ow are men deceived by Satan! What are the objects they pursue through scenes of bloodshed, and their many sins? Surely man disquiets himself in vain, whether he pursues wealth, fame, power, or pleasure. The hour cometh, when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of Christ, and shall come forth; those that have done good to the resurrection of life, and those that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.
Ezekiel 33
THE WATCHMAN:
1 The LORD (Jesus) spoke to me and said:
2 Son of man, give your people this message: When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose a watchman.
3 If he sees the enemy coming to attack the country, he will blow his horn to warn the people.
4 then whoever hears the sound of the shofar (alarm horn) and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.
5 They heard the sound of the shofar (alarm) but ignored its warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had taken the warning, they would have saved themselves.
6 But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn't sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their deaths. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman accountable.
7 Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.
8 If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to warn them about changing their ways, then they will die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their deaths.
9 But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent, they will die in their sins, but you will not be held responsible.
10 Son of man, give the house of Israel this message: You are saying, 'Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?'
11 Say to them: 'As I live, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), I don't want wicked people to die. Rather, I want them to turn from their ways and live. Change the way you think and act! Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'
12 Therefore son of man, say to the children of your people: 'The right things that a righteous person has done will not save him when he rebels. The wicked things that a wicked person has done will not make him stumble when he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person will not live when he sins.'
13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.
14 Again, when I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right,
15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
16 None of the sins that he has done will be remembered. He has done what is fair and right. He will certainly live.
17 But your people say, 'The LORD (Jesus)'s way is unfair.' Yet, their ways are unfair.
18 If the righteous person turns from the right things that he has done and does evil, he will die because of it.
19 If the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is fair and right, he will live because of it.
20 Yet, the people of Israel say, 'The LORD (Jesus)'s way is unfair.' I will judge each of you by your own ways, people of Israel."
21 On December 13th (the fifth day of the tenth month) in the twelfth year of our captivity, a refugee from Jerusalem came to me. He said, "The city has been captured."
22 The evening before the refugee arrived, the power of the LORD (Jesus) came over me. On the morning the refugee arrived, the LORD (Jesus) made me speak. So I spoke, and I was no longer quiet.
23 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
24 Son of man, the scattered remnants of Judah living among the ruined cities keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, and yet he gained possession of the entire land! We are many; surely the land should be given to us as a possession.'
25 Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): "You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
26 You rely on your swords. You do disgusting things. You dishonor your neighbor's wife. Should the land be given to you?'
27 Tell them, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): "As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence.
28 I will turn the land into a barren wasteland. People will no longer brag about its power. The mountains of Israel will become so ruined that no one will travel through them.
29 Then people will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), when I make the land a barren wasteland because of all the abominations which they have committed.'
30 As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, 'Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD (Jesus).'
31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.
32 To them you are nothing more than a singer with a beautiful voice who sings love songs or a musician who plays an instrument. They listen to your words, but they don't do them.
33 When all your words come true--and they certainly will come true--these people will know that a prophet has been among them.
THE WATCHMAN:
The prophet is a watchman to the house of Israel. The United States and Great Britain are the House of Joseph, which owns the rights of the name Israel! This book (Ezekiel) was written long ago, for our day, and the future days of our nations until Christ returns. Ezekiel business is to warn sinners of their misery and danger. He must warn the wicked to turn from their way, that they may live. If souls perish through his neglect of duty, he brings guilt upon himself. See what those have to answer for, who make excuses for sin, flatter sinners, and encourage them to believe they shall have peace, though they go on. How much wiser are men in their temporal than in their spiritual concerns! They set watchmen to guard their houses, and sentinels to warn of the enemies' approach, but where the everlasting happiness or misery of the soul is at stake, they are offended if ministers obey their Master's command, and give a faithful warning; they would rather perish, listening to smooth things.
Just as John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come, there are some who believe “another” Ezekiel is coming as well. Garner Ted Armstrong thought he was that man. Possibly, but I doubt it. However, he and his father were instrumental in the rise of this person, if he is to come...
Ezekiel 34
Israel's(our) Leaders Corrupt:
Having in the thirty-third chapter laid down repentance as the necessary preliminary to happier times for the people, He now promises the removal of the false shepherds as preparatory to the raising up of the Good Shepherd---Jesus Himnself!
1 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Jeremiah 23:1 and Zechariah 11:17 similarly make the removal of the false shepherds the preliminary to the interposition of Messiah the Good Shepherd in behalf of His people Israel. The "shepherds" are not prophets or priests, but rulers who sought in their government their own selfish ends, not the good of the people ruled. The term was appropriate, as David, the first king and the type of the true David ( Ezekiel 34:23 Ezekiel 34:24 ), was taken from being a shepherd ( 2 Samuel 5:2 , Psalms 78:70 Psalms 78:71 ); and the office, like that of a shepherd for his flock, is to guard and provide for his people. The choice of a shepherd for the first king was therefore designed to suggest this thought, just as Jesus' selection of fishermen for apostles was designed to remind them of their spiritual office of catching men (compare Isaiah 44:28 , Jeremiah 2:8 , 3:15 , 10:21 , Jeremiah 23:1 Jeremiah 23:2 ).
3 You eat the best parts of the sheep, dress in the wool, and butcher the finest sheep. Yet, you don't take care of the sheep{the people}.
4 You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the broken bones. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty.
5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd{leader}. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal.
scattered, because . . . no shepherd--that is, none worthy of the name, though there were some called shepherds ( 1 Kings 22:17 , Matthew 9:36 ). Compare Matthew 26:31 , where the sheep were scattered when the true Shepherd was smitten. God calls them "My sheep"; for they were not, as the shepherds treated them, their patrimony whereby to "feed themselves."
6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the whole earth. No one searched or looked for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD (Jesus):
8 As I live, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), because you abandoned My flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. Though you were My shepherds, you didn't search for My sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.
9 So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the LORD (Jesus).
10 Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): I am against the shepherds. I now consider them My enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to My flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, along with their right to feed themselves. I will rescue My flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.
11 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will search for My sheep myself, and I will look after them.
Here Jesus is speaking, proclaiming that HE would become the shepherd!
12 As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so I will look after My sheep. I will rescue them on a cloudy and gloomy day from every place where they have been scattered.
13 I will bring them out from the nations, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will take care of them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
Sounds like America, doesn't it????????????
14 Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in lush mountain pastures.
15 I will take care of My sheep and lead them to rest, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
16 I will search for My lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes -- feed them justice!
17 And as for you, My sheep, this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will judge disputes between one sheep and another, between rams and male goats.
18 Is it not enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Is it not enough for you to take the best water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
19 Must My sheep eat what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied?
20 Therefore thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) to them: I will judge disputes between the fat sheep and the skinny sheep.
21 For you fat sheep push and butt and crowd My sick and hungry flock until they are scattered to distant lands.
22 So I will rescue My flock, and they will no longer be abused and destroyed. And I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 Then I will place one shepherd over them, My servant David, and he will take care of them. He will take care of them and be their shepherd.
one shepherd--literally, "a Shepherd, one": singularly and pre-eminently one: the only one of His kind, to whom none is comparable ( Solomon 5:10 ). The Lord Jesus refers to this prophecy ( John 10:14 ), "I am THE Good Shepherd." Also "one" as uniting in one the heretofore divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and also "gathering together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and on earth" ( Ephesians 1:10 ); thus healing worse breaches than that between Israel and Judah ( Colossians 1:20 ). "God by Him reconciling all things unto Himself, whether things in earth or in heaven."
24 I, the LORD (Jesus), will be their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), and My servant David will be their prince. I, the LORD (Jesus), have spoken.
Jesus will be our God and david our king!
25 I will promise them peace. I will remove the wild animals from the land so that My sheep can live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
26 I will bless them and the places around My hill. I will send rain at the right time. These showers will be a blessing to them.
27 Then the trees in the field will produce fruit, the land will yield crops, and My sheep will live safely in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), because I will break off the bars on their yokes and rescue them from the people who made them slaves.
28 They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the wild animals will no longer eat them. They will live safely, and no one will frighten them.
29 I will give them a place that is known for its good crops. They will no longer experience hunger in the land, and they will no longer suffer the insults of other nations.
30 Then they will know that I, the LORD (Jesus) their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), am with them and that they, the people of Israel, are My people, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
31 You, My sheep, are the sheep in My pasture. You are mortal, and I am your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
Ezekiel 35
1 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me:
2 Son of man, turn to Mount Seir, and prophesy against it.
3 Tell it, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): I'm against you, Mount Seir. I will use My power against you, and you will become a wasteland.
4 I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a wasteland. Then you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).
5 You have always been an enemy of Israel. You deserted the people of Israel in battle when they were in trouble during their final punishment.
6 That is why, as I live, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), I will let you be murdered. Murderers will pursue you. Since you don't hate murdering people, murder will pursue you.
7 I will turn Mount Seir into a barren wasteland, and I will destroy everyone who comes or goes from there.
8 I will fill your mountains with those who have been killed. Those killed in battle will fall on your hills and in your valleys and ravines.
9 I will turn you into a permanent wasteland. Your cities will not be lived in. Then you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).
10 You said, "These two nations, Israel and Judah, along with their land, belong to us. We will take possession of them." But the LORD (Jesus) was there.
11 That is why, as I live, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), I will do to you what you did to them. When you were angry and jealous, you acted hatefully toward them.
12 Then you will know that I, the LORD (Jesus), heard all the insults that you spoke about the mountains of Israel. You said, "They have been deserted and handed over to us to use up."
13 You bragged and continually talked against me. I heard you.
14 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: The whole earth will be glad when I turn you into a wasteland.
15 You were happy when the land of Israel became a wasteland. I will do the same thing to you. You will become a wasteland, Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).'
Ezekiel 36
ISRAEL AVENGED
The distinction between Israel and the heathen (as Edom) is: Israel has a covenant relation to God ensuring restoration after chastisement, so that the heathen's hope of getting possession of the elect people's inheritance must fail, and they themselves be made desolate ( Ezekiel 36:1-15 ). The reason for the chastisement of Israel was Israel's sin and profanation of God's name ( Ezekiel 36:16-21 ). God has good in store for Israel, for His own name's sake, to revive His people; first, by a spiritual renewal of their hearts, and, next, by an external restoration to prosperity ( Ezekiel 36:22-33 ). The result is that the heathen shall be impressed with the power and goodness of God manifested so palpably towards the restored people ( Ezekiel 36:34-38 ).
1 Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Tell them, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the LORD (Jesus).
2 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Your enemies said this about you, "Aha! The ancient worship sites now belong to us."'
3 So prophesy. Say, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Your enemies turned you into ruins and crushed you from every side. You became the possession of the rest of the nations, and people began to talk and gossip about you.
4 Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, and to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have become prey and are mocked by the rest of the surrounding nations:
5 In My fiery anger I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all of Edom. The Edomites have taken possession of My land with wholehearted joy and with complete scorn. They forced out the people and took their land.'
6 So prophesy about Israel. Tell the mountains and hills and the ravines and valleys, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I am speaking in My anger and fury because you have been insulted by the nations.
7 So this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I raise My hand and swear that the nations which surround you will be insulted.
8 But you, mountains of Israel, will grow branches and bear fruit for My people Israel. My people will come home soon.
9 I am for you. I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted.
10 I will increase the number of people who live on you. All the people of Israel, all of them, will live on you. The cities will be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
11 I will increase the number of people and animals that live on you. They will grow and become many. I will let people live on you as in the past, and I will make you better off than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).
12 I will cause My people to walk on you once again, and you will be their inheritance. You will never again devour their children.
13 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: People say that you devour your people and take the children away from your nation.
14 So you will no longer devour your people or take the children away from your nation, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
15 I will no longer let you hear the insults from the nations. You will no longer suffer the disgrace of the people. You will never again take the children away from your own nation, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
16 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me. He said:
17 Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they dishonored it by the way they lived and by everything they did. Their ways were as unclean as a woman during her period.
18 So I poured out My fury on them because they poured out blood on the land and they dishonored the land with their idols.
19 I forced them into other nations, and they became scattered among the nations. I judged them based on the way that they lived and based on everything that they had done.
20 But wherever they went among the nations, they dishonored My holy name. People said about them, 'These are the LORD (Jesus)'s people, yet they had to leave his land.'
21 I became concerned about My Holy Name because My people dishonored it among the nations wherever they went.
22 So tell the house of Israel, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I am about to do something, people of Israel. I will not do this for your sake but for the sake of My Holy Name, which you have dishonored among the nations wherever you have gone.
23 I will reveal the holiness of My great name, which has been dishonored by the nations, [the name] that you have dishonored among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), because I will reveal My holiness among you as they watch, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from every country. I will bring you back to your own land.
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean instead of unclean. Then I will cleanse you from all your idols.
The promise of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn hearts and give you obedient hearts.
27 I will put My Spirit in you. I will enable you to live by My laws, and you will obey My Commandments.
The Holy Spirit is given to us to enable us to follow the Law!
28 Then you will live in the land that I gave your ancestors. You will be My people, and I will be your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
29 I will rescue you from all your uncleanness. I will make the grain grow so that you will never again have famines.
Uncleanness: Lawlessness! Jesus is coming to rescue us from Lawlessness
30 I will make fruit grow on the trees and crops grow in the fields so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famines.
31 Then you will remember your evil ways and the bad things that you did, and you will hate yourselves for all these wicked and disgusting things.
32 I want you to know that I'm not doing this for your sake, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). Be ashamed and disgraced because of your ways, people of Israel.
33 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: On the day that I cleanse you from all your wickedness, I will cause your cities to be lived in again, and your ruins will be rebuilt.
34 The wasteland will be plowed. It will no longer remain empty for everyone passing by to see.
35 People will say, "This wasteland has become like the garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed. They were empty and ruined, but now they are fortified and have people living in them."
36 The surrounding nations that are left will know that I, the LORD (Jesus), have rebuilt the ruined places and planted crops in the land that was empty. I, the LORD (Jesus), have spoken, and I will do it.'
37 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will also let the people of Israel ask me to make them as numerous as sheep.
38 They will be like the holy flock of sheep for sacrifices, like the sheep in Jerusalem during the appointed festivals. Their ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus)."
As the holy flock--the great flock of choice animals for sacrifice, brought up to Jerusalem at the three great yearly festivals, the passover, pentecost, and feast of the tabernacles, which are all returning during the millennium!
Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones:
Many Christians falsely assume that this prophecy came true in 1948 with the creation of the modern state of Israel. They are wrong, and the Bible proves it! This vision of the dry bones can only stand for the Resurrection of the dead at the End Time, when Christ returns and not a moment before. Revelation 20:8 is clear proof that this battle of Gog and Magog (Russia attacks the peaceful state of Israel) takes place AFTER the millennium ends and not before. As we read the following chapter, this becomes painfully clear.
1 The hand of the LORD (Jesus) came upon me and I was carried away by the Spirit(ruwach) of the LORD (Jesus) to a valley filled with bones.
2 He led me all around them. I saw that there were very many bones at the bottom of the valley, and they were very dry.
3 Then he asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live[again]?" I answered, "Only you know, LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)."
4 Then he said to me: Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, 'Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD (Jesus).
breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach) of life:
It should be noted that the word breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach) (ruwach) is the same that GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) uses for the Spirit(ruwach) (ruwach) showing again that the Holy Spirit(ruwach) is the breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach) OF GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) and NOT A GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). There is no Trinity ever even hinted at in the Bible. These people are not Christians, as they are not part of the first Resurrection of Revealtion20:4, but of the great general resurrection BACK TO MORTAL LIFE! The first resurrection is to Spirit(ruwach)(we will be Holy Spirit(ruwach)) and thus true immortal children of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)!
5 And this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says to these bones: I will cause {the}breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach){of life} to enter you[again], and you will live{again in mortal life}.
6 I will put ligaments on you, place muscles on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach) in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).'
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as they had been before.
8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach){of life} in them.
9 Then the LORD (Jesus) said to me, "Prophesy to the breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach)! Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach), 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Come from the four winds, breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach), and breathe on these people who were killed so that they will live.'"
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath(Spirit(ruwach)-ruwach) entered them. Then they came to life and stood on their feet. There were enough of them to form a very large army.
Physical life.
11 The LORD (Jesus) also said to me, Son of man, all the people of Israel are like these bones. The people say, 'Our bones are dry, and our hope has vanished. We are completely destroyed.'
12 So prophesy. Tell them, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: My people, I will open your graves and take you out of them. I will bring you to Israel.
13 Then, my people, you will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), because I will open your graves and bring you out of your graves.
The People (especially the Jews) will know that JESUS is the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)!
14 I will put my Spirit(ruwach) in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD (Jesus), have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD (Jesus).'
15 The LORD (Jesus) spoke his word to me again. He said,
16 Son of man, take a stick and write on it: 'For Judah and for the Israelites who are associated with it.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and for all the people of Israel associated with it.'
Judah= Jews Joseph=Israel= USA, Great Britain and the other “lost” tribes.
17 Then join both sticks together so that they will be one in your hand. Your people will say to you,
18 'Tell us what you mean by this.'
19 Then say to them, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will take Joseph's stick, which is in Ephraim's hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put them with Judah's stick. I will make them into one stick. They will be one in my hand.'
America, England and the other tribes become one with the JEWS!
20 When you hold the sticks in your hand, let the people see them.
21 Then tell them, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they've gone. I will gather them from everywhere and bring them to their own land.
22 I will form them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will no longer be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
23 They will no longer dishonor themselves with their idols, with their detestable things, or with their rebellious acts. I will forgive them for all the times they turned away from me and sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
24 My servant David will be their king, and all of them will have one shepherd. They will live by my rules, and they will obey my laws.
Is David ruling over modern Israel? Do they obey God's Laws? Do they know that jesus is their Lord? NO!! This proves that modern Israel is not in this prophecy!
25 They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live in it permanently. My servant David will always be their prince.
Has this happened?????
26 I will promise them peace. This promise will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in number, and put my holy place among them permanently.
Is the Temple standing?
27 My dwelling place will be with them. I will be their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), and they will be my people.
Is Jesus reigning over them with David?
28 Then the nations will know that I, the LORD (Jesus), have set Israel apart as holy, because my holy place will be among them permanently.'"
Reading this entire chapter makes it perfectly clear that this prophecy has not occurred and will not until after the Millennium! Those who teach that modern Israel fulfills this, simply do not understand who Israel is! The name of Israel belongs to Joseph and Not the JEWS! Joseph is The united States and Great Britain!
Ezekiel 38
Chapter 37 continues:
1 Now the word of the LORD (Jesus) came to me, saying:
2 Son of man, prophesy against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal.
Meshech is Moscow
3 Tell him, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
the chief prince--rather, "prince of Rosh," or "Rhos" [Septuagint]. The Scythian Tauri in the Crimea were so called. The Araxes also was called "Rhos." The modern Russians may have hence assumed their name, as Moscow and Tobolsk from Meshech and Tubal, though their proper ancient name was Slavi, or Wends. HENGSTENBERG supports English Version, as "Rosh" is not found in the Bible. "Magog was Gog's original kingdom, though he acquired also Meshech and Tubal, so as to be called their chief prince."
4 I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws to lead you out to your destruction. I will mobilize your troops and cavalry and make you a vast and mighty horde, all fully armed.
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya will join you, too, with all their weapons.
6 Gomer and all its hordes will also join you, along with the armies of Togarmah from the distant north and many others.
7 Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them.
8 A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be lying in peace after her recovery from war and after the return of her people from many lands.
This is after the millennium Revel 20....Revelation 20:7-9 states more definitely as to the anti-Christian confederacy which is to assail the beloved city.
9 You will attack like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. Your troops and the many armies will be with you.
10 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: At that time ideas will enter your head, and you will make wicked plans.
11 You will say, "I'll attack a land with unwalled villages. I will attack peaceful people who live safely. All of them live without walls, locks, or gates.
12 I will come to rob them and loot them. I will use my power against the ruins that people are living in again. I will use it against the people who were gathered from the nations. These people have cattle and property, and they live in the world."
13 But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, 'Who are you to rob them of silver and gold? Who are you to drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?'
14 So prophesy, son of man. Tell Gog, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: At that time my people Israel will live safely, and you will know it.{because Christ is reigning then}
15 You will come from your place in the far north and many armies will be with you. All of you will ride on horses. You will be a large crowd and a mighty army.
16 You will attack My people [Israel] like a cloud that covers the land. In the days to come, I will let you attack my land so that nations will know me. I will use you for my holy purpose as they watch.
17 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: You are the one I spoke about long ago through my servants the prophets of Israel. They prophesied in those days that I would bring you to attack them.
Gog, &c. are here identified with the enemies spoken of in other prophecies ( Numbers 24:17-24 , Isaiah 27:1 ; compare Isaiah 26:20 Isaiah 26:21 , Jeremiah 30:23 Jeremiah 30:24 , Joel 3:1 , Micah 5:5 Micah 5:6 , Isaiah 14:12-14 , 59:19 ). God is represented as addressing Gog at the time of his assault; therefore, the "old time" is the time long prior, when Ezekiel uttered these prophecies; so, he also, as well as Daniel ( Daniel 11:1-45 ) and Zechariah ( Zechariah 14:1-21 ) are included among "the prophets of Israel" here.
many years—ago.
many years—ago.
18 On the day that Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will be filled with burning anger, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
19 In my fiery anger I tell you this. On that day there will be a large earthquake in the land of Israel.
20 Fish, birds, wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and every person on earth will tremble in my presence. The mountains will be torn down, the cliffs will crumble, and every wall will fall to the ground.
21 I will declare war against Gog on all my mountains, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). Each person will use his sword against his relative.
22 I will punish Gog with plagues and death. I will send rainstorms, large hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on his troops and on the many armies with him.
23 I will show my greatness and my holiness. I will reveal myself to many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus).'
Ezekiel 39
Future Punishment (Revelation 20)
1 Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Tell it, 'This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I am against you, Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
2 I will turn you around and lead you. I will bring you from the far north and have you attack the mountains of Israel.
3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand and make you drop the arrows in your right hand.
4 You will die on the mountains of Israel with your troops and the armies that are with you. I will let you become food for every bird of prey and for every wild animal.
5 You will die in the open field because I said so, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Jesus). Revelation 20:9
7 I will make My Holy Name known among My people Israel, and I will never let them dishonor My Holy Name again. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD (Jesus), the Holy One in Israel.
8 It's coming! It will happen! says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). This is the day I have spoken about.
9 Those living in the cities of Israel will go out. They will set fire to weapons and burn them. They will burn small and large shields, bows and arrows, and war clubs and spears. They will burn them for seven years.
10 They will not need to get wood from the field or cut down trees in the woods. They will make fires with the weapons. They will loot those who looted them, and they will grab things back from those who grabbed their things, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
11 When that day comes, I will give Gog a burial place in Israel. It will be in Travelers Valley, east of the Dead Sea. It will block those who travel [through the valley]. Gog and his whole army will be buried there. So it will be called the valley of Gog's troops.
12 The people of Israel will be burying them there for seven months to make the land clean.
This seems to me that this destruction takes place around Passover and that the burying will end just before tabernacles!
13 All the common people will be burying them. The people of Israel will be honored on the day of my victory, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
14 People will be chosen to go through the land and make it clean. With the help of others they will bury the dead soldiers that are still on the ground. At the end of seven months they will begin their search.
15 Whenever they go through the land and see a human bone, they will set up a marker beside it until the grave diggers have buried that bone in the valley of Gog's troops.
16 (A city named Hamonah will also be there.) In this way they will cleanse the land.'
17 Son of man, this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild animal, 'Assemble, and come together from all around for the sacrifice that I'm preparing for you. It will be a huge feast on the mountains of Israel. You can eat meat and drink blood there.
18 You can eat the meat of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. All of them will be killed like rams, lambs, goats, bulls and all the best animals of Bashan.
19 You can eat the best meat until you are full and drink blood until you are drunk at the sacrifice that I am preparing for you.
20 At my table you will be filled with horses and riders, warriors, and soldiers of every kind, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).'
21 I will show my greatness among the nations. All the nations will see how I will turn My power against them to punish them.
22 From that day on, the people of Israel will know that I am the LORD (Jesus) their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
This is of course during or after the millennium.
23 Then the nations will know that the people of Israel went into captivity because they did wrong and rebelled against Me. So I hid My face from them and handed them over to their enemies. They were killed in battle.
24 I paid them back for their uncleanness and their sins, and I hid My face from them.
25 So this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Now I will bring back Jacob's captives and have compassion for the whole nation of Israel. I will stand up for My holy name.
26 When they live safely in a land where no one will frighten them, they will forget their shame and all the unfaithful things they have done against Me.
27 I will bring them back from the other nations and gather them from the countries of their enemies. Many nations will see that I am holy.
28 Then my people will know that I am the LORD (Jesus) their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). I sent them into captivity among the nations, and I brought them back again to their land. I left none of them behind.
29 I will no longer hide my face from them, because I will pour out my Spirit on the nation of Israel, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
Ezekiel 40
Ezekiel's Vision of the new Millennial Temple with sacrifices and Holy Days!
The arrangements as to the land and the temple are, in many particulars, different from those subsisting before the captivity. There are things in it so improbable physically as to preclude a purely literal interpretation. The general truth seems to hold good that, as Israel served the nations for his rejection of Messiah, so shall they serve him in the person of Messiah, when he shall acknowledge Messiah ( Isaiah 60:12 , Zechariah 14:17-19 ; compare Psalms 72:11 ). The ideal temple exhibits, under Old Testament forms (used as being those then familiar to the men whom Ezekiel. a priest himself, and one who delighted in sacrificial images, addresses), not the precise literal outline, but the essential character of the worship of Messiah as it shall be when He shall exercise sway in Jerusalem among His own people, the Jews, and thence to the ends of the earth. The very fact that the whole is a vision ( Ezekiel 40:2 ), not an oral face-to-face communication such as that granted to Moses ( Numbers 12:6-8 ), implies that the directions are not to be understood so precisely literally as those given to the Jewish lawgiver. The description involves things which, taken literally, almost involve natural impossibilities. The square of the temple, in Ezekiel 42:20 , is six times as large as the circuit of the wall enclosing the old temple, and larger than all the earthly Jerusalem. Ezekiel gives three and a half miles and one hundred forty yards to his temple square. The boundaries of the ancient city were about two and a half miles. Again, the city in Ezekiel has an area between three or four thousand square miles, including the holy ground set apart for the prince, priests, and Levites. This is nearly as large as the whole of Judea west of the Jordan. As Zion lay in the center of the ideal city, the one-half of the sacred portion extended to nearly thirty miles south of Jerusalem, that is, covered nearly the whole southern territory, which reached only to the Dead Sea ( Ezekiel 47:19 ), and yet five tribes were to have their inheritance on that side of Jerusalem, beyond the sacred portion ( Ezekiel 48:23-28 ). Where was land to be found for them there? A breadth of but four or five miles apiece would be left. As the boundaries of the land are given the same as under Moses, these incongruities cannot be explained away by supposing physical changes about to be effected in the land such as will meet the difficulties of the purely literal interpretation. The distribution of the land is in equal portions among the twelve tribes, without respect to their relative numbers, and the parallel sections running from east to west. There is a difficulty also in the supposed separate existence of the twelve tribes, such separate tribeships no longer existing, and it being hard to imagine how they could be restored as distinct tribes, mingled as they now are. So the stream that issued from the east threshold of the temple and flowed into the Dead Sea, in the rapidity of its increase and the quality of its waters, is unlike anything ever known in Judea or elsewhere in the world. Lastly, the catholicity of the Christian dispensation, and the spirituality of its worship, seem incompatible with a return to the local narrowness and "beggarly elements" of the Jewish ritual and carnal ordinances, disannulled "because of the unprofitableness thereof" [FAIRBAIRN], ( Galatians 4:3 Galatians 4:9 , 5:1 , Hebrews 9:10 , 10:18 ). "A temple with sacrifices now would be a denial of the all-sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ. He who sacrificed before confessed the Messiah. He who should sacrifice now would solemnly deny Him" [DOUGLAS]. These difficulties, however, may be all seeming, not real. Faith accepts God's Word as it is, waits for the event, sure that it will clear up all such difficulties. Perhaps, as some think, the beau ideal of a sacred commonwealth is given according to the then existing pattern of temple services, which would be the imagery most familiar to the prophet and his hearers at the time. The minute particularizing of details is in accordance with Ezekiel's style, even in describing purely ideal scenes. The old temple embodied in visible forms and rites spiritual truths affecting the people even when absent from it. So this ideal temple is made in the absence of the outward temple to serve by description the same purpose of symbolical instruction as the old literal temple did by forms and acts. As in the beginning God promised to be a "sanctuary" ( Ezekiel 11:16 ) to the captives at the Chebar, so now at the close is promised a complete restoration and realization of the theocratic worship and polity under Messiah in its noblest ideal (compare Jeremiah 31:38-40 ). In Revelation 21:22 "no temple" is seen, as in the perfection of the new dispensation the accidents of place and form are no longer needed to realize to Christians what Ezekiel imparts to Jewish minds by the imagery familiar to them. In Ezekiel's temple holiness stretches over the entire temple, so that in this there is no longer a distinction between the different parts, as in the old temple: parts left undeterminate in the latter obtain now a divine sanction, so that all arbitrariness is excluded. So that it is be a perfect manifestation of the love of God to His covenant-people (Ezekiel 40:1-43:12'); and from it, as from a new center of religious life, there gushes forth the fulness of blessings to them, and so to all people ( Ezekiel 47:1-23 ) [FAIRBAIRN and HAVERNICK]. The temple built at the return from Babylon can only very partially have realized the model here given. The law is seemingly opposed to the gospel ( Matthew 5:21 Matthew 5:22 Matthew 5:27 Matthew 5:28 Matthew 5:33 Matthew 5:34 ). It is not really so (compare Matthew 5:17 Matthew 5:18 , Romans 3:31 , Galatians 3:21 Galatians 3:22 ). It is true Christ's sacrifice superseded the law sacrifices ( Hebrews 10:12-18 ). Israel's province may hereafter be to show the essential identity, even in the minute details of the temple sacrifices, between the law and gospel ( Romans 10:8 ). The ideal of the theocratic temple will then first be realized. (Jamieson)
As you can read for yourselves, the Christians “experts” have a problem with Ezekiel 40! They clearly see a temple for sacrifice! Matthew Henry writes: “The Vision of the Temple. - Here is a vision, beginning at ch. 40, and continued to the end of the book, ch. 48, which is justly looked upon to be one of the most difficult portions in all the book of God. When we despair to be satisfied as to any difficulty we meet with, let us bless God that our salvation does not depend upon it, but that things necessary are plain enough; and let us wait till God shall reveal even this unto us. This chapter describes two outward courts of the temple. Whether the personage here mentioned was the Son of God, or a created angel, is not clear. But Christ is both our Altar and our Sacrifice, to whom we must look with faith in all approaches to God; and he is Salvation in the midst of the earth, Ps 74:12, to be looked unto from all quarters.”
1 In the 25th year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the 10th day of the month [Mrach 30th], in the 14th year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD(Yahweh) was upon me; and He took me there.
2 In visions, God(Elohim/Theos) brought me to Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On the south side of the mountain were some buildings that looked like those in a city.
3 As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a measuring tape and a measuring rod. Rev.11:1 – 21:15
man--The Old Testament manifestations of heavenly beings as men prepared men's minds for the coming incarnation.
4 He said to me, "Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen."
5 I could see a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man took a measuring rod that was 10 1/2 feet long and measured the wall, and the wall was 10 1/2 feet thick and 10 1/2 feet high.
6 Then the man went to the gateway that faced east. He went up its steps and measured the entrance to the gateway. It was 10½ feet wide.
7 There were also guardrooms. Each guardroom was 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide. The space between the guardrooms was 9 feet thick. And the entrance to the gateway by the entrance hall of the temple was 10½ feet wide.
8 He also measured the entrance hall of the gateway.
9 It extended 14 feet from the temple. Its recessed walls were 3½ feet thick. The gateway's entrance hall faced the temple.
10 Now, there were three guardrooms on each side of the eastern gateway. All three rooms on each side were the same size, and the recessed walls on each side were the same size.
11 Then the man measured the width of the entrance to the gateway. It was 17½ feet wide, and the gateway was 23 feet long.
12 There was a barrier about 21 inches in front of each guardroom. The guardrooms were 10½ feet square.
13 Then he measured the entire width of the gateway, measuring the distance between the back walls of facing guard alcoves; this distance was 44 feet.
14 He measured the dividing walls all along the inside of the gateway up to the gateway's foyer; this distance was 105 feet.
15 The total length of the gateway from the front of the outer part to the front of the inner part of the entrance hall was 87½ feet.
16 There were recessed windows that narrowed inward through the walls of the guard alcoves and their dividing walls. There were also windows in the foyer structure. The surfaces of the dividing walls were decorated with carved palm trees.
17 Then the man brought me into the outer courtyard[of the Temple]. I saw rooms there and pavement all around the courtyard. There were 30 rooms along the edge of the pavement.
18 The pavement in the lower courtyard ran alongside the gateways. It was as wide as it was long.
19 The man measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner courtyard. It was 175 feet from east to north.
20 There was a gateway on the north just like the one on the east, and the man measured it.
21 Its three guardrooms, its recessed walls, and its entrance hall were the same size as those in the east gateway. The gateway was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide.
22 Its windows, recessed walls, and palm tree pictures were the same size as those in the east gateway. Seven steps went up to it and led to its entrance hall.
23 The inner courtyard had a gateway opposite the north gate just like the east gateway. The man measured the distance from one gate to the other gate. It was 175 feet.
24 Then the man led me to the south side, and I saw a gateway that faced south. He measured its recessed walls and its entrance hall. They were the same size as those of the other gateways.
25 The gateway and its entrance hall had windows on all sides like the windows in the other gateways. It was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide.
26 Seven steps went up to it and led to its entrance hall. Pictures of palm trees were carved on the recessed walls, one picture on each side.
27 The inner courtyard had a gateway facing south. The man measured the distance from the gateway on the south side to its opposite gateway. It was 175 feet.
28 Then the man took me to the south gateway leading into the inner courtyard. He measured it and found that it had the same measurements as the other gateways.
29 Its guardrooms, recessed walls, and entrance hall were the same size as the other gateways. The guardrooms and the entrance hall had windows all around. The gateway was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide.
30 There were entrance halls all around the inner courtyard. They were all 44 feet long and 9 feet wide.
- This verse is omitted in the Septuagint, the Vatican manuscript, and others. The dimensions here of the inner gate do not correspond to the outer, though Ezekiel 40:28 asserts that they do. HAVERNICK, retaining the verse, understands it of another porch looking inwards toward the temple.
31 The foyer of the south gateway faced into the outer courtyard. It had palm tree decorations on its columns, and there were eight steps leading to its entrance.
32Then he took me to the east gateway leading to the inner courtyard. He measured it and found that it had the same measurements as the other gateways.
33 Its guardrooms, dividing walls, and foyer were the same size as those of the others, and there were windows along the walls and in the foyer structure. The gateway passage measured 87 1/2 feet long and 43 3/4 feet wide.
34 Its foyer faced into the outer courtyard. It had palm tree decorations on its columns, and there were eight steps leading to its entrance.
35 Then he took me around to the north gateway leading to the inner courtyard. He measured it and found that it had the same measurements as the other gateways.
36 Its guardrooms, recessed walls, and entrance hall had windows all around. The gateway was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide.
37 Its recessed walls faced the outer courtyard. Pictures of palm trees were carved on the recessed walls, and eight steps led up to the gateway.
38 There was a room with a door that opened toward the entrance hall of the gateway. This is the room where the priests washed the animals for the burnt offerings.
39 In the entrance hall of the gateway there were two tables on each side of the room. On these tables the animals were slaughtered for burnt offerings, offerings for sin, and guilt offerings.
40 On each side of the entrance to the north gateway there were two tables, and on the other side of the entrance hall of the gateway there were two tables.
41 So there were four tables on each side of the gateway, eight tables in all, on which they slaughtered animals.
42 There were four tables made of cut stone for burnt offerings. They were 3 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 21 inches high. On these tables the priests laid the utensils that were used to slaughter animals for burnt offerings and sacrifices.
43 Double-pronged hooks, three inches long, were attached to the wall all around the room, and the tables were for the meat of the animals.
44 Outside the gateways to the inner courtyard were the rooms for the singers in the inner courtyards. One room was at the side of the north gateway. It faced south. The other room was at the side of the south gateway. It faced north.
45 The man said to me, "This room that faces south is for the priests who serve in the Temple.
46 The room that faces north is for the priests who serve at the altar. These priests are Zadok's descendants. They are the only Levites who are able to come near the LORD(Yahweh) and serve him."
47 The man measured the courtyard. It was a perfect square--175 feet long and 175 feet wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.
48 Then the man brought me to the entrance hall of the temple and measured its recessed walls. They were 9 feet on each side. The gateway was 24½ feet wide, and the walls on each side were 5 feet wide.
49 The entrance hall was 35 feet long and 21 feet wide. Steps led up to it. Pillars stood by the recessed walls, one on each side of the entrance hall.
Ezekiel 41
Continuation of Chapter 40 THE NEW Temple:
1 Then he brought me into the Holy Place in the Temple and measured the recessed walls. They were 10½ feet wide on each side.
2 The entrance was 17½ feet wide, and on each side of the entrance the walls were 9 feet wide. Then he measured the length of the holy place. It was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide.
3 He went inside and measured the passageway. It was 3½ feet thick. The entrance was 10½ feet high and 12 feet wide.
4 The inner room was 35 feet square. "This," he told me, "is the Most Holy Place."
5 Then he measured the wall of the Temple and found that it was 10 1/2 feet thick. There was a row of rooms along the outside wall; each room was 7 feet wide.
6 The rooms were arranged on three different stories. There were 30 rooms on each story. These rooms had supports all the way around the Temple wall, but these supports were not fastened to the Temple wall.
7 Each level was wider than the one below it, corresponding to the narrowing of the Temple wall as it rose higher. A stairway led up from the bottom level through the middle level to the top level.
8 I noticed that the Temple was built on a terrace, which provided a foundation for the side rooms. This terrace was 10 1/2 feet high.
9 The outer wall of the Temple's side rooms was 8 3/4 feet thick. This left an open area between these side rooms
10 and the priests' rooms. It was 35 feet wide and went all around the Temple.
11 The doors in the side rooms were entrances into the open area. There was one door to the north and another to the south. The base of the open area was 9 feet wide all the way around.
12 At the far end of the open area, on the west side of the Temple, was a building 122½ feet wide. The wall of the building was 9 feet thick all the way around, and it was 157½ feet long.
13 Then he measured the Temple. It was 175 feet long. This included the open area with the building and its walls. All together it was 175 feet long.
14 The eastern side of the Temple, including the open area, was also 175 feet wide.
15 He also measured the length of the building facing the courtyard on the west side along with its corridors on both sides. It was 175 feet long. The holy place and the most holy place were paneled.
16 The doorposts, the small windows, and the corridors of all three stories were paneled. The walls, from the floor up to the windows, were paneled.
17 In the space above the door to the most holy place and on the walls all around it,
18 there were pictures of angels(Cherubim) and palm trees. Palm trees were positioned between each of the angels(Cherubim), and each angel had two faces:
19 the face of a man, which was turned toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a lion, which was turned toward a palm tree on the other side. These pictures were carved all around the Temple.
20 Pictures of angels(Cherubim) and palm trees were carved on the walls from the floor to the space above the door.
21 The doorframes in The Most Holy Place were square. In front of the most holy place was something similar.
22 There was a wooden altar, 5 feet high and 3½ feet wide. Its corners, its base, and its sides were made of wood. Then the man told me, "This is the table that is in the presence of the LORD (Jesus)."
23 Both the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place had double doorways,
24 Each of the doors were double doors that swung open.
25 Pictures of angels(Cherubim) and palm trees were carved on the doors of the Holy Place as on the walls. There was a wooden roof hanging over the outer entrance hall.
26 There were small windows and palm trees on both sides of the entrance hall, on the side rooms of the Temple, and on the roofs.
Ezekiel 42
Temple Continued
1 Then he led me out toward the north to the outer courtyard. He brought me to the side rooms opposite both the open area and the northern building.
2 The building that faced north was 175 feet long and 87½ feet wide.
3 Opposite the inner courtyard was an area that was 35 feet wide, and opposite the pavement of the outer courtyard were corridors facing corridors on all three stories.
4 In front of the side rooms was a walkway, 17½ feet wide and 175 feet long. The doors of these side rooms faced north.
5 The side rooms on the third story were narrower than those on the first or second stories of the building because the corridors took space away from them.
6 The rooms were in three stories. They didn't have pillars like the pillars in the courtyards. That is why the rooms on the third story were set farther back than those on the first and second stories.
7 There was a wall which ran parallel to the side rooms and the outer courtyard. It ran alongside the side rooms for 87½ feet.
8 The row of rooms in the outer courtyard was 87½ feet long. The rooms that faced the temple were 175 feet long.
9 These lower side rooms had an entrance on the east side. A person was able to enter the outer courtyard through them.
10 There were side rooms parallel to the wall of the courtyard on the south side. They faced the open area and the building.
11 There was a walkway in front of them like the one that was in front of the side rooms on the north side. These side rooms were as long and as wide as the northern rooms. They had the same exits, dimensions, and doors.
12 The doors to the south rooms were the same as the doors to the north rooms. There was a doorway at the other end of the walkway that was parallel to the corresponding wall that ran eastward. People entered through that doorway.
13 Then he said to me, "The northern and southern side rooms that face the open area are holy rooms. These rooms are where the priests who come near the LORD (Jesus) eat the holiest offerings. Because these rooms are holy, the priests keep the holiest offerings there: the grain offerings, the offerings for sin, and the guilt offerings.
14 When the priests leave the Holy Place, they must not go directly to the outer courtyard. They must first take off the clothes they wore while ministering because these clothes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building complex open to the public."
15 Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the east, and measured it all around.
16 He measured the east side with a measuring stick. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick.
17 He measured the north side. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick.
18 He measured the south side. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick.
19 He came around to the west side and measured it. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick.
20 So he measured all four sides. There was a wall all around it. The wall was 875 feet long and 875 feet wide; to separate the holy areas from the common.
No longer shall the wall of partition be to separate the Jew and the Gentile ( Ephesians 2:14 ), but to separate the sacred from the profane. The lowness of it renders it unfit for the purpose of defense (the object of the wall, Revelation 21:12 ). But its square form (as in the city, Revelation 21:16 ) is the emblem of the kingdom that cannot be shaken ( Hebrews 12:28 ), resting on prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone.
Ezekiel 43
The Temple Continued:
1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.
2 And behold, the glory of the GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.
3 It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw--like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; And I fell down before him with my face in the dust.
4 The LORD (Jesus)'s glory came into the Temple through the east gate.
5 The Spirit lifted me and brought me into the inner courtyard. I saw the LORD (Jesus)'s glory fill the Temple.
6 I heard someone speaking to me from inside the Temple while the man was standing beside me.
7 The voice said to me, Son of man, this is the place where My throne is and the place where My feet rest. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. Then the people of Israel and their kings will no longer dishonor My Holy Name by acting like prostitutes, nor will they dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings.
8 They put their doorway by My doorway and their doorposts by My doorposts. Only a wall separated Me from them. They dishonored My Holy Name because of the disgusting things that they have done. So I destroyed them in my anger.
9 Now they must stop acting like prostitutes and take the dead bodies of their kings far away from Me. Then I will live among them forever.
10 Son of man, describe this Temple to the people of Israel. Then they will be ashamed because of their sins. Let them study the plans.
11 Suppose they are ashamed of everything that they have done. Then show them the design of the Temple, its arrangements, its exits and entrances--its entire design. Tell them about all its rules and regulations. Then write these things down for them so that they can remember its design and follow all its rules.
12 This is a regulation of the Temple: The whole area all the way around the top of the mountain is most holy. Yes, this is a regulation of the Temple."
Royal Cubit is 21 inches: Like in Noah's day. The Standard Cubit is 18”
13 These are the measurements of the altar, using royal measurements. {The royal measuring stick was 21 inches long.} The base of the altar was 21 inches high and 21 inches wide. All around the edge of the altar was a rim measuring 9 inches wide. This was the height of the altar:
14 From the gutter the altar rises 3 1/2 feet to a ledge that surrounds the altar; this lower ledge is 21 inches wide. From the lower ledge the altar rises 7 feet to the upper ledge; this upper ledge is also 21 inches wide.
15 The top of the altar, the hearth, rises still 7 feet higher, with a horn rising up from each of the four corners.
16 It was square, 21 feet wide and 21 feet long.
17 The upper ledge was also square. It was 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide. It had a rim all the way around that was 10½ inches wide. Its base was 21 inches. The steps to the altar faced east.
18 Then the man said to me, "Son of man, this is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: These are the rules for sacrificing burnt offerings and for sprinkling blood on the altar after the altar is built.
19 Give a young bull to the priests as an offering for sin. These priests are Zadok's descendants, men from the tribe of Levi, who can come near me and serve Me.
20 Take some of the bull's blood, and put it on the altar's four horns, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all the way around the altar. When you do this, you will remove sin from the altar and make peace with the LORD (Jesus).
21 Then take a young bull as an offering for sin, and burn it in the place appointed near The Temple, outside The Most Holy Place.
This happens on the Day of Atonement
22 On the second day bring a male goat that has no defects as an offering for sin. Remove sin from the altar as you did with the young bull.
23 When you finish removing sin, offer a young bull and a ram that have no defects.
24 Offer them to the LORD (Jesus). The priests must throw salt on them and offer them as burnt offerings to the LORD (Jesus).
25 Every day for seven days you must sacrifice a goat, a young bull, and a ram from the flock as an offering for sin. They must be animals that have no defects.
26 For seven days the priests should make peace with the LORD (Jesus) at the altar, purify it, and consecrate it.
27 When those days are over, on the eighth day, the priests must sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept them, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).”
Ezekiel 44
Millennial Temple: CLEAN FOODS-PASSOVER and THE LAW:
1 Then the man took me back to the outer east gate of the holy place, and the gate was shut.
The KJV continues to use “he” and not “the man”. The reason is obvious. When this was written, there were not chapters and verses! Chapters 40-48 are really only one chapter!
2 The LORD (Jesus) said to me, This gate will stay shut and will not be opened. No one may enter through it because the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) of Israel entered through it. It must be kept shut.
3 Only the prince may sit there and eat food in the presence of the LORD (Jesus). He will enter through the entrance hall of the gateway and leave the same way.
the prince--not King Messiah, as He never would offer a burnt offering for Himself, as the prince is to do ( Ezekiel 46:4 ). The prince must mean the civil ruler under Messiah. His connection with the east gate (by which the Lord had returned to His temple) implies, that, as ruling under God, he is to stand in a place of peculiar nearness to God. He represents Messiah, who entered heaven, the true sanctuary, by a way that none other could, namely, by His own holiness; all others must enter as sinners by faith in His blood, through grace. It is my opinion that “the prince” is David Himself
4 He then took me through the north gate in front of the Temple. When I looked, I saw the LORD (Jesus)'s glory fill the LORD (Jesus)'s Temple. I immediately bowed down.
5 The LORD (Jesus) said to me, Son of man, pay close attention. Look, and listen to everything I'm going to tell you. Listen to all the rules and regulations for the LORD (Jesus)'s Temple. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
6 Tell the rebellious people of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): I've had enough of all the abominations that you have done, people of Israel.
7 When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it--My house--and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations.
8 You didn't take care of My holy things. You put foreigners in charge of My Temple.
9 Thus says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God): "No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.
10 And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols -They must be punished for their sins.
Yet they shall be ministers--So Mark, a Levite, nephew of Barnabas ( Acts 4:36 ), was punished by Paul for losing an opportunity of bearing the cross of Christ, and yet was afterwards admitted into his friendship again, and showed his zeal ( Acts 13:13 , 15:37 , Colossians 4:10 , 2 Timothy 4:11 ). One may be a believer, and that too in a distinguished place, and yet lose some special honor--be acknowledged as pious, yet be excluded from some dignity [BENGEL].
11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.
12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them," says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), so they must bear the consequences for their sins.
13 And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.
14 Nevertheless, I will assign them all of the less important work in the Temple.
15 But the priests who are Levites and descendants of Zadok took care of My Holy Place when the Israelites wandered away from Me. They may come near me and serve Me, and they may stand in my presence. They may bring fat and blood to Me, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
Zadok--The priests of the line of Ithamar were to be discharged from ministrations in the temple, because of their corruptions, following in the steps of Eli's sons, against whom the same denunciation was uttered ( 1 Samuel 2:32 1 Samuel 2:35 ). Zadok, according to his name (which means "righteous") and his line, were to succeed ( 1 Kings 2:35 , 1 Chronicles 24:3 ), as they did not take part in the general apostasy to the same degree, and perhaps the prophet, referring to their original state, speaks of them as they appeared when first chosen to the office. [FAIRBAIRN]
16 They may enter My Holy Place, come near my table to serve me, and take care of everything I gave them.
17 When they enter the gateways to the inner courtyard, they must wear linen clothes. They must have no wool on them while they serve in the gateways to the inner courtyard and in the Temple.
18 They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat.
19 When they return to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to Me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not harm the people by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing.
20 They must neither let their hair grow too long nor shave it off completely. Instead, they must trim it regularly.
21 None of the priests may drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard.
22 They must not marry widows or women who have been divorced. They may marry only virgins from the nation of Israel or widows of priests.
23 They must teach My people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.
24 In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
25 A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. But a priest may become unclean if the dead person is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister.
26 After a priest is made clean, he must wait seven days.
27 When he enters the inner courtyard of the Holy Place to serve in the Holy Place, he must bring his offering for sin, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
28 The priests will have no inheritance. I am their inheritance. Don't give them any possessions in Israel. The priests belong to Me.
29 They will eat grain offerings, offerings for sin, and guilt offerings. Everything in Israel that is devoted to the LORD (Jesus) will belong to them.
30 The priests should have the best of all the first ripened fruits. The best of every gift from all your contributions must go to the priests. The best of your dough must go to the priests. This will cause a blessing to rest on your home.
31 The priests must never eat any bird or animal that has died naturally or was killed by other wild animals.
In this chapter, during the millennium, we see Clean and Unclean, and circumcision!
Ezekiel 45
1 Divide the land by drawing lots for the property you will inherit. Set aside an area 43,750 feet long and 35,000 feet wide for the LORD (Jesus). The entire area will be holy.
2 An area of 875 feet square will be for the holy place with an open area 87½ feet wide.
3 Measure off an area 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide. In it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
4 This holy part of the land will belong to the priests who serve in the holy place, the priests who come near to serve the LORD (Jesus). They will use this place for their homes, and it will be the location for the holy place.
5 An area 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide will belong to the Levites who serve in the Temple. It will be given to them so that they have cities to live in.
6 Adjacent to the larger sacred area will be a section of land 8 1/3 miles long and 1 2/3 miles wide. This will be set aside to be a city where anyone in Israel can come and live.
7 Two special sections of land will be set apart for the prince. One section will share a border with the east side of the sacred lands and city, and the second section will share a border on the west side. Then the far eastern and western borders of the prince's lands will line up with the eastern and western boundaries of the tribal areas.
8 This land will belong to the prince in Israel. Then My princes will no longer oppress My people. They will give land to each tribe of the nation of Israel.
9 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: I've had enough of you, you princes of Israel. Stop your violence and looting, and do what is fair and right. Stop evicting My people, declares the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
10 You must have honest scales and honest dry and liquid measures.
11 The dry and liquid measures must always be the same: The ephah and the bath should hold the same as one-tenth of a homer. The homer must be the standard measure.
12 One shekel must weigh 20 gerahs. One mina must weigh 60 shekels.
13 This is the tax you must give to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every sixty you harvest,
14 and one percent of your olive oil,
15 And one lamb shall be given from a flock of two hundred, from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them," says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
16 All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel.
17 Then it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the New Months, the Sabbaths, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.
18 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: On the first day of the first month[March20th], take a young bull that has no defects and remove sin from the holy place.
19 The priest will take some of the blood of this sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple, the four corners of the upper ledge on the altar, and the gateposts at the entrance to the inner courtyard.
20 And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who unintentionally does something wrong and is unaware of it. So you must make peace with the LORD (Jesus) for the Temple.
PASSOVER IN THE MILLENNIUM! 7 Days Not 8!!!!
21 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month[April 2], you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
Passover is a SEVEN DAY FEAST—NOT 8!!!!
22 On this same day [the day of Passover] the prince will provide a young bull as a sin offering for himself and the people of Israel.
23 Each day during the seven days of the festival, he must prepare burnt offerings for the LORD (Jesus): seven young bulls that have no defects, seven rams that have no defects, and one male goat as an offering for sin.
24 He must also give as a grain offering a half-bushel for each young bull and a half-bushel for each ram. He must also give one gallon of olive oil for every half-bushel of grain.
TABERNACLES ALSO IN THE MILLENNIUM!
25 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at the Festival of Tabernacles, he must do the same as on those seven days. He must prepare the same offerings for sin, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and olive oil.
Ezekiel 46
Sacrifices, SABBATHS and New Months
Contrary to what many Christians want to believe, the Bible is clear that the Sabbath will be enforced, along with Sacrifices and GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)'s TRUE Calendar.
1 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: The east gateway of the inner wall will be closed during the six workdays each week, but it will be open on Sabbath days and the days of new month celebrations.
2 The prince must enter from the outside through the entrance hall of the gateway. He must stand by the doorposts of the gateway. Then the priests must prepare the prince's burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He must worship at the entrance of the gateway and then leave. The gate must not be closed until evening.
3 The common people must worship at the door of the gateway in the presence of the LORD (Jesus) on the weekly days of worship and on New Month Festivals.
4 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the LORD (Jesus) on the Sabbaths and the New Months.
5 The grain offering that is to be brought with the ram must be a half-bushel, and the grain offering that is to be brought with the lambs must be whatever the prince can bring. One gallon of olive oil must be brought with each half-bushel of grain.
6 On the first day of each month, [called the New Month Day] the burnt offering must be one young bull, six lambs, and one ram--all animals that have no defects.
7 With each young bull and each ram the offering must include a half-bushel of grain, and with each lamb the offering must be whatever the prince wants to bring. One gallon of olive oil must be offered with each half-bushel of grain.
8 When the prince enters, he must enter through the entrance hall of the gateway. He must enter and leave the same way.
9 The people will enter the LORD (Jesus)'s presence at the time of the appointed feast days. Those entering through the north gate to worship must leave through the south gate. Those entering through the south gate must leave through the north gate. They must not leave through the same gate they entered. They must leave through the opposite gate.
10 The prince must be among them. When they enter, he must enter. When they leave, he must leave.
11 At the festivals and the appointed feast days, a grain offering of a half-bushel must be brought with each young bull, and a half-bushel must be brought with each ram. But with the lambs, the prince may bring whatever he wants to bring. One gallon of olive oil must be brought with each half-bushel of grain.
12 Whenever the prince offers a voluntary burnt offering or peace offering to the LORD (Jesus), the east gateway to the inner courtyard will be opened for him to enter, and he will offer his sacrifices just as he does on Sabbath days. Then he will turn and leave the way he entered, and the gateway will be shut behind him.
13 Prepare a year-old lamb that has no defects every day as a burnt offering to the LORD (Jesus). Do this every morning.
MORNING DAYS!!!!!
14 With the lamb, a grain offering must also be given to the LORD (Jesus) -- about two and a half quarts of flour with a third of a gallon of olive oil to moisten the flour. This will be a permanent law for you.
15 Prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil every morning as a daily burnt offering.
16 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: Suppose the prince offers one of his sons a gift from his property. The gift will belong to his descendants because it is their inheritance.
17 But if he gives a gift of land to one of his servants, the servant may keep it only until the Year of Jubilee, which comes every fiftieth year. At that time the servant will be set free, and the land will return to the prince. Only the gifts given to the prince's sons will be permanent.
18 The prince must not take any of the people's property. He must not force them to give up their property. He must give his own property as an inheritance to his sons so that none of my people will be separated from their property.'
19 The man brought me through a passage beside the gateway to the side rooms that faced north. These rooms were reserved for the priests. He showed me a place on the west side of the rooms.
20 He said to me, "This is where the priests will cook the meat from the guilt offerings and sin offerings and bake the flour from the grain offerings into bread. They will do it here to avoid carrying the sacrifices through the outer courtyard and harming the people by transmitting holiness to them."
21 Then he brought me back to the outer courtyard and led me to each of its four corners. In each corner I saw an enclosure.
22 Each of these enclosures was 70 feet long and 52 1/2 feet wide, surrounded by walls.
23 Along the inside of these walls was a ledge of stone with fireplaces under the ledge all the way around.
24 And he said to me, "These are the kitchens where the ministers of the Temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people."
Ezekiel 47
A Stream Flows from the Temple (Revealtion 22:1):
1 Then he took me back to the door of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple threshold. This stream then passed to the right of the altar on its south side.
So Revelation 22:1 , represents "the water of life as proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." His throne was set up in the temple at Jerusalem ( Ezekiel 43:7 ). Thence it is to flow over the earth ( Joel 3:18 , Zechariah 13:1 , 14:8 ). Messiah is the temple and the door; from His pierced side flow the living waters, ever increasing, both in the individual believer and in the heart. The fountains in the vicinity of Moriah suggested the image here. The waters flow eastward, that is, towards the Kedron, and thence towards the Jordan, and so along the Ghor into the Dead Sea. The main point in the picture is the rapid augmentation from a petty stream into a mighty river, not by the influx of side streams, but by its own self-supply from the sacred miraculous source in the temple [HENDERSON]. (Compare Psalms 36:8 Psalms 36:9 , 46:4 , Isaiah 11:9 , Habakkuk 2:14 ). Searching into the things of God, we find some easy to understand, as the water up to the ankles; others more difficult, which require a deeper search, as the waters up to the knees or loins; others beyond our reach, of which we can only adore the depth ( Romans 11:33 ). The healing of the waters of the Dead Sea here answers to "there shall be no more curse" ( Revelation 22:3 ; compare Zechariah 14:11 ).
JAMIESON
2 And he led me through the north gate and around to the outer east gate. The water was flowing down the south side of the gate.
3 With a measuring line in his hand, the man went eastward. He measured off 1,500 feet and led me through the water. The water came up to my ankles.
4 Then he measured off another 1,500 feet and led me through the water. The water came up to my knees. He measured off another 1,500 feet and led me through the water. The water came up to my waist.
5 Then he measured another 1,500 feet. But the water had risen so much that it became a river which I couldn't cross. The river was too deep to cross except by swimming.
6 Then he asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?"
7 Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw many trees on both sides of the river.
trees--not merely one tree of life as in Paradise ( Genesis 3:22 ), but many: to supply immortal food and medicine to the people of God, who themselves also become "trees of righteousness" ( Isaiah 61:3 ) planted by the waters and ( Psalms 1:3 ) bearing fruit unto holiness.(Jamieson)
8 Then the man said to me, "This water flows through the land to the east, down into the Jordan Valley, and into the Dead Sea. When the water flows into the Dead Sea, it will replace the salt water there with fresh water.
9 Wherever the river flows, there will be many fish and animals. The river will make the water in the Dead Sea fresh. Wherever the river flows, it will bring life.
10 From En Gedi to En Eglaim people will be standing on the shore of the sea with their fishing nets spread out. As many kinds of fish will be there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea.
11 But the water in the swamps and marshes won't become fresh. It will remain salty.
12 All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves won't wither, and they won't fail to produce fruit. Each month they will produce fresh fruit because this water flows from the holy place. The fruit will be good food, and the leaves will be used for healing."
13 This is what the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) says: These are the borders of the land that is to be divided among the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph gets two parts. {for England and America}
14 Divide the land equally. I raised my hand and swore that I would give the land to your ancestors. So this land will be your inheritance.
15 This is the northern border for the land: On the north side the border will run from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to Hethlon and Hamath Pass. It will run through the city of Zedad and through
16 Berothah and Sibraim, which are between the borders of Damascus and Hamath. It will run to Hazer Hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.
17 So the border will run from the Mediterranean Sea to Hazar Enon on the border of Damascus. The border of Hamath will lie to the north. This is the north side.
18 On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus. The Jordan River will serve as the border between Gilead and the land of Israel. The border will continue from the Dead Sea down to Tamar. This is the east side.
19 On the south side the border will run from Tamar to the oasis at Meribah in Kadesh along the ravine to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the southern border.
20 On the west side the Mediterranean Sea is the border up to a point opposite Hamath Pass. This is the west side.
21 Divide this land among yourselves for each of the tribes of Israel.
22 Divide it by drawing lots. This land will be for you. It will also be for the foreign residents who live among you and have given birth to children while they lived with you. Think of them as Israelites. They will draw lots with you for their inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
23 Foreign residents will receive their share of the inheritance with the people of the tribe among whom they are living, says the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). ( Romans 10:12 , Galatians 3:28 , Ephesians 3:6 , Colossians 3:11 , Revelation 7:9 Revelation 7:10 ).
Ezekiel 48
Division of the Promised land
1 Here is the list of the tribes of Israel and the territory each is to receive. The territory of Dan is in the extreme north. Its boundary line follows the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and then runs on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north. Dan's territory extends all the way across the land of Israel from east to west.
Dan (Denmark)--The lands are divided into portions of ideal exactness, running alongside of each other, the whole breadth from west to east, standing in a common relation to the temple in the center: seven tribes' portions on the north, five in the smaller division in the south. The portions of the city, the temple, the prince, and the priesthood, are in the middle, not within the boundaries of any tribe, all alike having a common interest in them. Judah has the place of honor next the center on the north, Benjamin the corresponding place of honor next the center on the south; because of the adherence of these two to the temple ordinances and to the house of David for so long, when the others deserted them. Dan, on the contrary, so long locally and morally semi-heathen ( Judges 18:1-31 ), is to have the least honorable place, at the extreme north. For the same reason, St. John ( Revelation 7:5-8 ) omits Dan altogether. (Jamieson)
2 Asher's territory lies south of Dan's and also extends from east to west.
Asher--a tribe of which no one of note is mentioned in the Old Testament. In the New Testament one is singled out of it, the prophetess Anna.
3 Naphtali's land lies south of Asher's, also extending from east to west.
4 Then comes Manasseh south of Naphtali, and its territory also extends from east to west.
5 South of Manasseh is Ephraim,
6 And then Reuben.
7 and then Judah, all of whose boundaries extend from east to west.
8 South of Judah is the land set aside for a special purpose. It will be 8 1/3 miles wide and will extend as far east and west as the tribal territories, with the Temple at the center.
9 The area set aside for the LORD's [Temple] will be 8 1/3 miles long and 6 2/3 miles wide.
10 For the priests there will be a strip of land measuring 8 1/3 miles long by 3 1/3 miles wide, with the LORD's Temple at the center.
11 This land that has been set apart will belong to the priests who are descendants of Zadok. They took care of my holy place. They didn't wander away with the Israelites as the Levites did.
12 So they will have a special portion from the land. It will be the holiest part of land, next to the land belonging to the Levites.
13 Alongside the land belonging to the priests will be the land belonging to the Levites. It will be 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide.
14 None of this special land will ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the LORD; it is set apart as holy.
15 An additional strip of land 8 1/3 miles long by 1 2/3 miles wide, south of the sacred Temple area, will be allotted for public use -- homes, pasturelands, and common lands, with a city at the center.
16 The city will measure 1 1/2 miles on each side.
17 The city's pastureland will surround the city for 150 yards in every direction.
18 Outside the city there will be a farming area that stretches 3 1/3 miles to the east and 3 1/3 miles to the west along the border of the sacred area. This farmland will produce food for the people working in the city.
19 City workers from all the tribes in Israel will farm it.
20 This entire area -- including the sacred lands and the city -- is a square that measures 8 1/3 miles on each side.
21 Whatever is left on the east side and west side of the holy area and the city property will belong to the prince. This land will extend eastward from the holy area to the eastern border, and it will extend westward to the western border. Both of these areas are as long as one of the sections of the tribes. These areas belong to the prince, and the holy area with the holy place of the temple will be between them.
22 So the Levites' property and the city's property will be between the prince's part of the land. What is between Judah's and Benjamin's boundaries will belong to the prince.
23 This is what the rest of the tribes will receive: Benjamin will have one part of the land. It will extend from the eastern border to the western border.
24 Simeon will have one part of the land and border Benjamin on the south. It will extend from the eastern border to the western border.
25 Issachar will have one part of the land and border Simeon on the south. It will extend from the eastern border to the western border.
Simeon--omitted in the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:1-29 perhaps because of the Simeonite "prince," who at Baal-peor led the Israelites in their idolatrous whoredoms with Midian ( Numbers 25:14 ).
26 Zebulun will have one part of the land and border Issachar on the south. It will extend from the eastern border to the western border.
27 Gad will have one part of the land and border Zebulun on the south. It will extend from the eastern border to the western border.
28 The southern border of Gad will run south from Tamar to the oasis at Meribah in Kadesh, and it will run along the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29 This is the land you will divide as your inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their areas, says the LORD God.
30 These will be the exits for the city: On the north wall, which is 1 1/2 miles long,
31 The gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be Reuben Gate, Judah Gate, and Levi Gate.
32 On the east wall, also 1 1/2 miles long, the gates will be named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.
33 The south wall, 1 1/2 miles long, will have gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.
34 And on the west wall -1 1/2 miles long, the gates will be named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.
35 The distance around the entire city will be six miles. And from that day the name of the city will be 'The LORD (Jesus) Is There.' Revelation 22:3
