Ezekiel
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Ezekiel Chapter 5
We see here a sign that most of all Israel is completely destroyed. Only a small remnant survives to carry on the lineage. Notice that this is not persecution from other nations but God's judgment because of their sins. He uses other nations at times but it is usually his last resort. God prefers to see us repent from the time the very first prophet or messenger comes to us. When we write of God's judgment upon Israel we must remember that they are to be restored in the end. That nation will never be wiped out permanently. Other nations that come against them may be wiped out permanently but Israel will not be because of the promise made to Abraham years ago. The natural branches of the vine of Israel will be grafted into the vine again. They are already back in their land after being scattered abroad for nearly 2000 years. We must never forget the miracle of 1948 when Israel became a nation again. If just one of these that Ezekiel prophesied to would have repented, they could have been saved from judgment. The nation as a whole still had to go through the fire but the one could have been saved. Remember the story of Nineveh. Nineveh was a city very wicked and were enemies of Israel. Jonah did not want to go and preach to that city because he didn't want them to repent. God spared them at that time but they later were destroy because they returned to the sin the former occupants repented of. All God asks of us is to do right to keep from being destroyed as a nation. The trouble is that the world does not see right and wrong the same as God sees it. They ignore the word that shows them how to live righteously and that is why they end up calling evil good and good evil. Righteousness will save a nation but as individuals we need God's salvation on a personal level. To have eternal life and be saved, we must recognize that after the fall of Adam, all men and women over the age of accountability are lost and on their way to hell that was originally prepared for the devil and his followers. Adam was given dominion over the earth. When he sinned he unknowingly gave that dominion to Satan by following the lies of Satan by which Satan deceived Eve. God gave a command and Eve was deceived into believing lies. Adam chose to eat of the forbidding fruit willingly. Only a perfect man who never sinned even one time had to come and reverse that curse. This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus was God and dwelled with God from the beginning. He is everlasting. Although His name was not known as Jesus in the Old Testament, He was there with the children of Israel when they were leaving Egypt. This wonderful Son of God came into human flesh and was born of a virgin. He became a man that could suffer sickness, pain and heartbreak. He lived for 33 years among men and women without committing one sin. When Adam sinned the penalty of death came upon all human beings. All have sinned since then. Jesus did not sin one time. When He died, His death can count on behalf of those that sinned. The just suffered for the unjust. Just by turning from sin, renouncing sin and believing in this one God sent to us, we can inherit eternal life. Repentance is necessary. We can't say we believe in Jesus and not repent or turn from sin for it is the sin that separates us from God. To really believe is to know that the inbred sin in us is destroying our relationship with God. Our bodies still have to die a natural death but our souls which do not die can have eternal life and live forever with a new body that cannot die. To receive this new body, we must be without sin when we die. To be without sin is simple. Just believe in Jesus and the blood He shed cleanses us from all sin. If we sin after this occurs, simply stop sinning and repent. Sin is not to dwell in a child of God. We become covered with the righteousness of Jesus our Christ. We have no righteousness of our own. The whole pattern of the tabernacle in the wilderness, the brazen altar, the golden altar is a type of what is done when we come to believe in Christ. When we repent of sin and believe in Christ, God shows us mercy. He cleanses us from sin. We receive this into our lives. We become born again by the spirit of God. By continually receiving all God has for us, we become sanctified and set apart for His service and then if we continue on we are baptized in the Holy Ghost and fire. So many do not go on to be baptized in the Holy Spirit because they do not continue in all God wants them to have. This should all happen when they are first saved but we have trouble yielding completely to God and hold back many times. This is why so many go so far and then stop and do not become completely filled with God's spirit. Some of us take longer than others but the main desire of God is for all of us to be saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time. That happened to the group that gathered in the house of Cornelius in the book of Acts chapter 10. We need this power in order to reach the whole world for Jesus Christ. Whoever is not reached will be lost and lose their souls. The soul does not die so the soul will spend eternity in heaven or in hell. We have to reach them somehow.
God was severe with Israel because they had the law of God. They knew His law but they did not do them. They were supposed to teach the law to other nations. They knew better than this. Judgment begins at the house of God before judgment goes to the heathen. When Jesus came and brought us the way of salvation it was Jews that received this first. The church actually started out being Jewish. They were supposed to spread the gospel to the entire world. The gospel of Jesus had a Jewish begining. Its origins were Jewish. The nation of Israel rejected the gospel so through the apostle Paul who was a Jew also, the gospel went to the Gentiles. It was the Gentiles that began to spread it all over the world until some that got power over the people in their region went into apostasy and began to kill and persecute not only Jews but their own brethren that tried to get them back to the original gospel. Martin Luther and John Calvin opened the door a little but they didn't go far enough. It took years to get out of the mess that some did after the death of the apostles. There were some early church fathers that kept the faith but others departed from the original gospel and substituted the doctrines and commandments of men. The Anabaptists got a little closer to the truth. It wasn't until the time of John Wesley that some of the church began to get back to the original faith once delivered to the saints. It took until the late 1800s before a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit began to fall upon the church again. They had a rocky start but this spread all over the world. We are in danger now of apostasy again with so many getting into the prosperity teaching, entertainment instead of worship in spirit and truth, and the word of God being put on the back burner for the sake of a false unity. Some want to get the churches united as one whole group. If we do, we will have the same mess that they had in the Middle Ages. They began to use force and people started joining a religion called Christianity but souls were no longer being born again by the spirit of God. True faith in Jesus Christ cannot be legislated or forced on anyone. It has to be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever met a political Christian? There are many. Yes they are against abortion, Sexual immorality and are for prayer in schools. I stand for the same issues myself, but a political Christian has a danger of losing his compassion for the lost. They see liberal Democrats as evil instead of seeing them as souls that need to be saved from sin. We can't change a heart by legislation. They have to be born again, cleansed by the blood of Jesus and filled with the spirit of God. That doesn't mean that we should not encourage them to vote in people that believe in the freedom of religion and issues that are for good and not evil. It's heartbreaking to see so many in these modern times actually fight hard for the right to kill their own children while still in the womb if their mother. Some want laws to allow a newborn child to die if the mother doesn't want them. Israel was not different. They had the law of Moses. The law was good. It protected them. God only makes laws for our good. Just like us today though we can go the wrong way and that is rebel against God and allow sin. After a few generations evil will be considered good and good will be considered evil. Some get converted and see the light so to speak but can be in danger of becoming a Pharisee that appear to be righteous in outward religious duties but their inward heart is far from God. They still sin like the sinners but it is not in the open and is hidden. True religion is allowing the spirit of God to change us. We still hate sin but we are active in preaching, warning, teaching, instructing, praying, showing compassion, loving, giving, and not allowing bitterness to ruin our testimony. If Satan can't lure us back into sin, he will try to get us into a hateful religious spirit still believing all the right things but not having the love of God shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Israel had the law but had gotten so it was mechanical. They still kept the feasts, observed the sacrifices, ordinances and such but their hearts were far from God. Their children see this and it causes them to rebel and not have anything to do with God. Thus Israel went into sin and apostasy. Some in the church may do this also if they get away from true worship of God. God gave us the word in written form to instruct us in what is righteous and good.
Other nations saw all that was done to Israel. Some gloated and rejoiced. That was probably the worst humiliation was to see ruin in the sight of all other nations.
The famine and lack of food supply got so bad that they would resort to eating their own relatives.
The place we set aside for worship can be anywhere, a home, a separate building or a shoe store but it should become to us a place of reverance and respect, not for ungodly parties, and games. Let's keep it holy and in awe. A house of prayer.
This is exactly why Israel has been persecuted and hated by so many nations. In saying that though, there is no excuse for any nation or group of people to do evil to any Jew. This evil that befalls them is a result of a fulfillment of prophecy but we who know the word and know better also know that God blesses those that bless Israel and curses those that curse Israel. Someone who names the name of Christ has no business doing evil to any Jew. In fact we have no business doing evil to any human being. We have law inforcement to enforce the law against those that kill, steal and such but that should be done by impartiality and not according to someone's race or religion. We are not to be cruel to any human being on the basis of what he believes. If one breaks the law of the land as long as that law does not oppose God's higher law, then we have to enforce the law. We should never enter into any covenant whereby we agree not to share the gospel either. We are commanded by Jesus Himself to preach the gospel or the Jew or Gentile. It is not evil to share the gospel that saves the lost. To withhold the gospel is actually to hate and discriminate worse than if we are friendly, pat them on the back and say, hey your okay. Yet, we are never to force the gospel on anyone or threaten them in any way if they refuse it.
This prophecy literally came to pass many times throughout history. Even though it happened and still happens to Israel, believers in Jesus Christ should be no part of it. The tide is turning. Many Jews are coming to Christ. Most still have not, but we are never to lift a hand against the nation of Israel. It is true God judges Israel but He will be even more severe against nations that overstep their bounds and are cruel and hate the Jewish people.
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