An Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel – In Hebrew: the book is titled ‘laqzhy’ meaning God strengthens – In Greek: the book is titled ‘IESEKIHL’ the Hebrew is simply transliterated [sounded out letter for letter] – DATE: 593/2 to 562 B.C. Ezekiel’s prophecies seem to be dated around the exile of king Jehoiachin (597 B.C.)

Thirteen of Ezekiel's message are dated precisely to the day, month and year of King Jehoiachin's exile to Babylon. The following chart lays out the general chronological arrangement of these prophecies with three exceptions (29:1, 17; 32:1) all of which were oracles against Egypt and thus placed together with the other Egyptian prophecies. ... CANONICAL PLACEMENT: In the Hebrew canon [concluded Bible] Ezekiel is placed following Isaiah and Jeremiah among the Major Prophets. In the Greek canon [concluded Bible], which the English arrangement follows, Ezekiel is placed after Lamentations which was associated with the Prophet Jeremiah. Hill and Walton write, While Ezekiel was always included in the Hebrew canon, later Jewish scholars disputed the book's canonical value. *At issue were seeming discrepancies between the prophet's understanding of [4th] temple ritual and the prescriptions of Mosaic law (e.g., a disagreement in the number and kinds of animals sacrificed at the New Moon [new month] festival {Israel had a [360 days a year] Lunar (moon) Calendar, we have a [365 days a year] Solar, sun based calendar} --cf. Num. 28:11 and Ezek. 46:6). The rabbis eventually restricted the public and private use of Ezekiel, commenting that the ultimate harmonization [1st-2nd Temple, 4th Temple] of the difficulties must await 'the coming of Elijah' (cf. Mal 4:5). [link]

Wikipedia.org: The Book of Ezekiel – The Book of Ezekiel is a book of the Hebrew Bible named after the prophet Ezekiel, a prophet from the sixth-century BC – This book records Ezekiel’s preaching – His name (Hb. Yekhezqe’l) means “God strengthens” or “May God strengthen” – Ezekiel lived out his prophetic career among the community of exiled Judeans [Jews] in Babylon – He belonged to the priestly class and was married (see Ezk. 24:15-24), but it is doubtful that he had any children – The frequent use of vivid, symbolic language [and the very far into the future scope of the visions] causes this book to have much in common with the Book of Revelation in the New Testament – Ezekiel’s resurrection of the dead – Ezekiel’s greatest miracle consisted in his resurrection of the dead “The Valley of Dry Bones” [both the restoration of Israel (May 14, 1948) and the eventual resorrection of Israel], which is recounted in Ezekiel 37 – There are different traditions as to the fate of these men, both before and after their resurrection, and as to the time at which it happened

The Book of Ezekiel was written for the captives of the tribe of Judah living in exile in Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC. Up until that exile, their custom had been to worship their God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Exile raised important theological questions. How, the Judeans asked, could they worship their God when they were now in a distant land? Was their God still available to them? Ezekiel speaks to this problem. He first explains that the Judean exile is a punishment for disobedience and he then offers hope to the exiles, suggesting that the exile will be reversed once they return to God. Unlike their ancestors, who were enslaved and socially marginalized while in exile in Egypt, the Jews of Ezekiel's time were able to become part of the society they found themselves in. The Exiles were told by Jeremiah not to worship the foreign gods, but Jeremiah did tell them that they could become part of the Babylonian culture. They did this well, often being called upon by the Babylonians to complete projects using their skills as artisans. Unlike other enemies, the Babylonians allowed the Jewish people to settle in small groups. While keeping their religious and national identities, many Jewish people did start to settle into their new environment. From building homes to opening businesses, the Jews seemed to settle into their exile land for the long haul. This growing comfort in Babylon helps to explain why so many Jewish people decided not to return to their land. Many people would have been born in exile and would know nothing of their old land, so when the opportunity came for them to reclaim the land that was taken from them, many decided not to leave the Babylonian land they knew. This large group of people who decided to stay are known to be the oldest of the Jewish diaspora communities along with the Jews of Persia. - The Visionary Ezekiel Temple plan [4th Temple] drawn by the 19th century French architect and Bible scholar Charles Chipiez (Illustration). ... Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah (Ezekiel 4:1-24:27) - Ezekiel makes a series of denunciations against his fellow Judeans (3:22-24), warning them of the certain destruction of Jerusalem, in opposition to the words of the false prophets (4:1-3). The symbolic acts, by which the extremities to which Jerusalem would be reduced are described in Chapters 4 and 5, *show his [Ezekiel's] intimate acquaintance with the Levitical legislation. See, for example, Exodus 22:30; Deuteronomy 14:21; Leviticus 5:2; 7:18,24; 17:15; 19:7; 22:8. [link]

Ezekiel 1-2 – The Prophet Ezekiel [second captivity] like the Prophet Daniel [first captivity] has been taken into captivity from Israel to the Nation of Babylon (Iraq) – The Levitical Priest Ezekiel is going to have a Prophetic Ministry dedicated to the Holy Spirit – Ezekiel is going to have more direct contact and direct interaction with God the Holy Spirit than any other person in the Bible — ‘Ezekiel 1:1-3 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year [of the 70 years of Israel’s desolation], in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the [second group of] captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the [Levitical] Priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar [modern Khabur River – Syria, Turkey]; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.’

Ezekiel 2:1-10 And He (Holy Spirit) ["likeness of the Glory of the LORD" Ezekiel 1:28] said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the [Holy] Spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that spake unto me. And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious Nation that hath rebelled against Me [Holy Spirit]: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD [Holy Spirit]. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, for they are a rebellious house, yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak My words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. *But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; *Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee [Revelation 10:10]. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book [scroll] was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without [Revelation 5:1]: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. - The Levital Priest Ezekiel now away from Jerusalem and no longer able to perform his priestly Temple duties receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In one of the most powerful and anointed visions in the Holy Bible Ezekiel is called by God the Holy Spirit into a ministry as a Prophet for the Nation of Israel and to the world.

Ezekiel 3-4 – Ezekiel is to function as a Preacher to the people – First Ezekiel is to read and internalize the Word of God the Holy Bible then Ezekiel is to Preach to the people what he has previously appropriated internally from the Word of God — ‘Ezekiel 3:1-4 Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat [internalize] this roll [Holy Bible], and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. And He said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels [deep insides] with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them.’

Ezekiel 3:16-21 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul. - The Prophet Ezekiel in his anointing from the Holy Spirit is to facilitate in the office of "Watchman" for God to the people. The office of Watchman is fulfilled in conjunction with the Holy Spirit and today after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit upon all mankind [Acts 2:38-39] the office of Watchman is more of an alerting, informing office as the Holy Spirit is actively involved in seeking the repentance of each individual person. - John 16:7-11 Nevertheless I [Jesus] tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away [back into Heaven]: for if I go not away, the Comforter [Holy Spirit] will not come unto you; but if I depart [cross and resurrection], I [Jesus] will send Him [Holy Spirit] unto you. *And when He is come, He will [Watchman] reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me [Jesus]; Of righteousness, because [of the absence of the righteousness of Jesus] I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more [until the Second Coming]; Of judgment, because the prince of this world [Satan] is judged.

Ezekiel 5-6 – Earlier the Prophet Ezekiel had personally witnessed [Ezekiel 1:20] the orderly, precise movements of God the Holy Spirit and the Angels accompanying the Holy Spirit – Now Ezekiel is going to prophesy and enact out many prophecies regarding Israel and the future but being influenced by the Holy Spirit everything will be enacted in a precise an orderly manner — ‘Ezekiel 1:20-21 Whithersoever the [Holy] Spirit was to go, they [accompanying Angels] went, thither was [also] their [Angel] spirit to go; and the wheels [movement of the Holy Spirit] were lifted up over against them: for the [Holy] Spirit of the living creature was in the wheels [movement]. When those [movements of the Holy Spirit] went, these [Angels] went; and when those [Holy Spirit movements] stood, these [Angels] stood; and when those [Holy Spirit movements] were lifted up from the earth, the wheels [perceivable presence of the Holy Spirit] were lifted up over against them: for the [Holy] Spirit of the living creature was in the wheels [perceivable movement of the Holy Spirit].’

Ezekiel 6:8-10 Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries [70 A.D. Diaspora]. And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. - The Prophet Ezekiel is going to in a sense pick up where the other prophets [Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc.] left off and Ezekiel is going to prophesy way out in to the future from his day especially regarding the Last Days, End Times and Millennial Kingdom reign of the Messiah [Jesus Christ].

Ezekiel 7-8 – The Prophet Ezekiel’s 2nd Vision of God – The Prophet Ezekiel [Ezekiel 8:1-3] like the Prophet Daniel [Daniel 10:7-11 ] and later the Disciple John [Revelation 1:13-15] has a Vision of Jesus Christ in the Revelation — ‘Ezekiel 8:1-4 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the [exiled] elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of His loins even downward, fire [judgment]; and from His loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber [brass (sin) being judged]. And He put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock [hair] of mine head; *and the [Holy] Spirit lifted me up *between the earth and the heaven [judgment, the cross of Jesus Christ, the two thieves – one repented, one didn’t, all mankind is facing the same death and judgment as the two thieves, we are all in the position of the two thieves being executed by this world, we all have a choice to make], and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate [symbolically the inner conscience] that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy [imaginations of man], which provoketh [God] to jealousy.’

Ezekiel 8:4-18 And, behold, the Glory of the God of Israel was there [in Jerusalem], according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said He [Jesus] unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy [imaginations of man] in the entry. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here [in their imagination, mind], that I should [be offended and] go far off [away] from My sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. And He brought me to the door of the [Temple] court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said He unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door [into the mind of mankind, even religious (godly) mankind]. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the House of Israel, portrayed [envisioned] upon the wall [of the mind] round about. And there stood before them seventy men [elders] of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer [adoration, prayers] in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the House of Israel do in the dark, *every man in the chambers of his imagery [imagination]? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S House [Temple] which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz [Nimrod the ancient god of Babylon]. Then said He unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And He brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S House [Temple], and, behold, at the door of the Temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, *with their backs toward the Temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then He said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the House of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose [divination]. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. - Like the Levitical Priest and Prophet Jeremiah the Levitical Priest and Prophet Ezekiel is finding out that the 1st Covenant is un-maintainable in the actions and abilities of a fallen (sinful) mankind. In order for mankind to appropriately worship, praise and interact with God, God is going to have to do a work, ultimately a work in the cross and resurrection of God in Jesus Christ providing the very Spirit of God to indwell, not the Temple of stone, but the heart; mind, determination, imagination and worshipful praises [prayers] of mankind.

Ezekiel 9-10 – The Prophet Ezekiel has a vision of the remnant of God being set apart to God and of the Holy Spirit departing from Solomon’s Temple and [shortly thereafter] from Jerusalem — ‘Ezekiel 9:3-6 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up [the Holy Spirit is departing the Temple of Solomon] from the cherub [Throne of God Angels], whereupon He was, to the threshold of the [Temple] House. And He called to the man [reaping Angel; also a type of Jesus or possibly Jesus] clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark [designation] upon the foreheads of the men that [repent] sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others [non-repentant] He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: *but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My [Temple] Sanctuary.’

Ezekiel 10:1-19 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And He spake unto the man [Angel who had the inkhorn] clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in [into the Holy Spirit] in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the [Temple] House, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court [Leviticus 16:13]. Then the Glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over [hesitated at] the threshold [doorway, entrance] of the House [Temple]; and the House was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S Glory. ... *Then the Glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the [Temple] House, and stood over the cherubims [Throne Angels]. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up *from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and *the Glory of the God of Israel was over them above [returning back up to Heaven]. - The Prophet Ezekiel through a vision is able to witness the sad and hesitant departure of the Holy Spirit from out of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit indwelt the Temple in Jerusalem at the dedication of the Temple by King Solomon [2 Chronicles 5:14]. The Holy Spirit was not present in the 1st Temple when the Temple was destroyed by the forces of Babylon. - Note: The Spirit of God in the person of Jesus Christ then departed the 2nd Temple [Matthew 24:1] prior to the 70 A.D. destruction of the 2nd Temple by the forces of Rome.

Ezekiel 11-12 – The Prophet Ezekiel like the Prophet Jeremiah [Jeremiah 31:33] gets a prophecy regarding the New Covent [New Testament] of God between God and mankind — ‘Ezekiel 11:17-20 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered [70 A.D. Diaspora], and I will give you the land of Israel [May 14, 1948]. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will [eventually (Ezekiel 37:14)] give them one heart, *and I will put a New Spirit [born again] within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.’

Ezekiel 11:21 But as for them [children of God included] whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD. Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the Glory of the God of Israel was over them above. *And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city [of Jerusalem], and stood upon the Mountain [Mt. Olivet] which is on the east side of the city. Afterwards the [Holy] Spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea [Babylon], to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up [left] from me. Then I spake [told the vision] unto them of the captivity all the things [sin in the minds and imaginations of mankind, the Holy Spirit departing the Temple in Jerusalem, the giving of the 2nd Covenant between God and mankind] that the LORD had shewed me. - The perceivable presence of the Holy Spirit having hesitantly departed from the Temple of God in Jerusalem now hesitantly departs from the city of Jerusalem, pausing momentarily upon the top of the Mount Olivet to the east of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 13-14 – The Prophet Ezekiel even among the captives in Babylon continues to contend for the pure Word of God – – Ezekiel 13:1-5 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy [see] out of their own hearts, *Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, *that follow their own spirit, and have *seen nothing [they need to listen and hear God]! O Israel, thy [false] prophets are [out of place] like the foxes in the deserts. Ye [false prophets] have not gone up into the gaps [preformed intercession], neither made up the hedge [restored the broken] for the House of Israel to stand [with the LORD] in the battle in the Day of the LORD. – Note: Biblically every day is ‘A Day of the LORD’.

Ezekiel 13:8-23 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity [emptiness], and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. And Mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the [eternal] assembly of My people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the House of Israel, neither shall they enter into the [Promise] Land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace [with sin]; and there was no peace [with sin]; *and one built up a wall [a wall for human protection, ultimately a wall of separation (to separate themselves) from God], and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter (mud): Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter [mud only no cement type of hardener - modern cement was invented by Rome in about 50 B.C.], that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones [Revelation 16:21], shall fall; and a stormy wind [Holy Spirit] shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in My fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in My fury to consume it. *So will I break down the wall [i.e. tower of Babel] that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof [the deception] shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon the wall, *and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall [Babylon] is no more, neither they that daubed it; To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD. -- Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows [shoulder pads] to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to [entice] hunt souls! Will ye [entice] hunt the souls of My people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? And will ye pollute Me among My people for [small pay] handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your [deception] lying to My people that hear your lies? Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows [flattery], wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly [unstable], and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. Your kerchiefs [false righteousness] also will I tear, and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. *Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; **and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver My people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. - During the time of God's active work of rebuking and correcting the people of Israel the many false prophets were just as busy continuing to culturally lead people astray.

Ezekiel 15-16 – The Prophet Ezekiel instructs that the Vine is unique among plants and that its Only Purpose is to bear fruit – Likewise the Children of God are unique among mankind in that its Only Purpose is to please God — ‘Ezekiel 15:1-2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?’

Ezekiel 16:59-63 59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the [O.T.] Covenant. *Nevertheless I will remember My Covenant with thee in the days of thy youth [fresh out of Egypt], and I will establish unto thee an Everlasting Covenant [New Testament]. Then thou shalt remember thy [rebellious] ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters [Sodom, Samaria], thine elder [sister Sodom] and thy younger [sister Samaria]: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy [your] covenant. And I will establish My Covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth [boasting] anymore because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee [upon the cross of Jesus] for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD. - The New Testament, the eternal nature, the reconciliation [even reconciling Sodom and Samaria], the true Peace and the finality of it all as accomplished by God on the cross and by the resurrection continues to be in view even among the captives in Babylon.

Ezekiel 17-18 – The Prophet Ezekiel reiterates the fundamental Biblical concept of individual accountability towards God – Each person is individually accountable before God just as each of the two thieves on the two adjacent crosses to Jesus [Matthew 27:38] were each accountable before God to repent of their own sins and to seek for themselves the forgiveness of God [Jesus Christ] in order to then enter into Heaven with Jesus — ‘Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.’

Ezekiel 18:24-32 But when the righteous [redeemed - saved] turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: **in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not My way equal? are not your ways unequal? *When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. *Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, *he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the House of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O House of Israel [Governed by God], are not My ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O House of Israel [Governed by God], *every one [individually] according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. **Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; *so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you *a new heart and *a new Spirit [Numbers 14:24; 27:18][after the cross and resurrection of Jesus a new born again Spirit]: for why will ye die, O House of Israel? *For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: *wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. - This Prophecy Teaching of Ezekiel remains in effect today it has not been removed, changed, altered or negated. To turn from God is to turn from God and by doing so removing oneself [Righteous Gentile (Balaam - Joshua 13:22), Hebrew/Jew (Korah - Numbers 16:1), Christian (Demas - 2 Timothy 4:10; Revelation 3:5,16)] from the presence of God and the result is for the person to receive the condemnation of the unjust. - Note: "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new Spirit for why will ye die, O House of Israel?" The way these verses and concepts foretell and combine with the New Testament means that whoever wrote the Old Testament [i.e. the Holy Spirit] had complete knowledge and understanding of the coming of the New Testament and of its implementation to mankind.

Ezekiel 19-20 – God has done a miraculous work and will continue His extraordinary work in and through the Nation of Israel “for My Name’s sake” — ‘Ezekiel 20:19-22 I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes [ways], and keep My judgments, and do them; And hallow [holy] My Sabbaths [rest]; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. Notwithstanding the children rebelled against Me: they walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted My Sabbaths [rest]: *then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them [Israel] in the wilderness. *Nevertheless I withdrew Mine hand, and wrought [Deliverers, Judges, Priests, Kings, Prophets in Israel] for My Name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen [unholy], in whose sight I brought them forth.’

Ezekiel 20:33-44 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm [on the cross], and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the [Gentile] people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm [on the cross - the cross of Jesus Christ saved Israel], and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod [to be numbered in servitude], and I will bring you into the bond of the [New] Covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. As for you, O House of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto Me: but pollute ye My Holy Name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. For in Mine Holy Mountain, in the Mountain [Temple Mount] of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the House of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. **I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered [70 A.D. Diaspora]; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country [May 14, 1948] for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought [created, worked] with you for My Name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye House of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. - God has begun to bring the Nation of Israel back into the land of Israel. "I [God] will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people" is also a commitment and a promise that is made by God to the Christian Church. - 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them [unsaved], and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Ezekiel 21-22 – Ezekiel the Prophet prophesies of the need for one to come that can “stand in the gap” between God and mankind on behalf of both God and mankind – That one person is Jesus Christ the Son of God the Son of Man — ‘Ezekiel 22:30 30 And I sought for a man among them [humans], that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.’ – ‘Luke 14:16-23 Then said He [Jesus] unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade [invited] many … And the lord said unto the servant [Holy Spirit], Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to [answer the invitation] come in, that My House may be filled.’

Ezekiel 22:23-31 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her [Israel], Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine Holy things: *they have put no difference between the Holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes [rulers] in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. ***And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none [so Jesus Christ was sent to Redeem mankind]. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: *their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD. - Man's ways are not by nature God's ways and therefore no man can stand in the gap and represent both man and God. It takes Jesus Christ to effectively bridge the distance and to be able to stand in the gap only Jesus is capable uniting a fallen mankind back into the presence of the Holy God.

Ezekiel 23-24 – Ezekiel’s beloved wife dies and also as a sign Ezekiel will no longer himself be able to speak audibly unless God has a prophecy for him to speak to the people – Ezekiel as a sign to his fellow Jews is not to weep or mourn from the loss of his wife because his fellow Jews are also going to suffer the loss of many loved ones – Ultimately not mourning the loss is a sign of the resurrection because eventually there will be no mourning for God’s children only a great rejoicing in the eternal life resurrection of Jesus Christ — ‘Ezekiel 24:15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man [Ezekiel], behold, I take away from thee [his wife] the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.’

Ezekiel 24:15-27 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Speak unto the House of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. *Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, That he that escapeth [from the fall of Jerusalem] in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear [the news] it with thine ears? In that day shall thy mouth be opened [and Ezekiel will be able to speak regularly again] to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. - Death for the children of God is tragic and it is a loss for those who are still living however it is only a temporary loss because in the eternal resurrection of Jesus Christ all of the children of God will live for eternity. - 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 So when this corruptible [physical body] shall have put on incorruption [spiritual body], and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the [resurrection] victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain [but eternal] in the Lord.

Ezekiel 25-26 – Ezekiel like the other Prophets of Israel pronounces judgments from God upon the surrounding Gentile Nations – Ammonites [descendants of Lot and his younger daughter], Moab [descendants of Lot and his older daughter], Edom [descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau], Philistines [immigrants to Canaan originally from the island of Crete, Greece], Tyre [an ancient kingdom in Lebanon] — ‘Ezekiel 25:1-4 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; *Because thou saidst, Aha, against My sanctuary, when it was profaned [by Egypt and Babylon]; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the East [Arabs] for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.’

Ezekiel 26:2-5 Son of man, *because that Tyrus (Tyre) hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many Nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. - Another Gentile Nation that observed the Satanic lie that God is against Israel or that God has abandoned or is done with Israel and His chosen people. God is always doing a work in and through the people of the Nation of Israel and to turn against Israel even or especially in their times of trouble and distress is to turn against God. Each European Nation can correlate its history and achievements based exclusively on their charity and benevolence towards the Jewish people. The European Nations that supported the Jews prospered and grew while they supported the Jews and the same Nations declined rapidly and drastically as their public support for Israel declined.

Politically Correct [Anti-Israel] Anti-Semitism – The Presbyterian Church Boycotts Israel – The Presbyterian Church seems to be using politically correct economic empowerment to cover its non-politically correct anti-Semitism

According to the articles the Presbyterians can feel for the Palestinian suffering because many Palestinians can't get help in the church run hospitals in Israel. What an absurd accusation! Israeli hospitals treat anyone that comes to them for help. Perhaps the Presbyterians should consider the fact that the Palestinians can't go to the Presbyterian hospitals in the Muslim countries surrounding Israel because there are none. The Muslim countries of the Middle East don't allow people to practice any other religion - including Christianity - and they don't allow their good Samaritans in to do their 'good work' either. Maybe the 'divestment of funds tactic' should be used with the Muslim countries that deny their people access to the help the church offers around the world. The Church believes that the Bible, which says very clearly that the Holy Land was given to the Jewish people, is a living document. Over the years when the support came from the church they used the Bible as a reason for supporting Israel's survival - what happened now? Are the Presbyterians ready to say that part of the Bible is G-d [God] given and the rest is up to human interpretation? ... The Presbyterian divestment scheme smacks of anti-Semitism. The church should simply stay out of the fray and out of Middle Eastern politics altogether and do its charity work with the poor Muslims in their own countries - if they will let the Christians in. By using politically correct economic empowerment to cover politically incorrect anti-Semitism directed against Israel which has hosted the church for so many years, the Church is practicing nothing less than "throwing stones into the well that they drink from." ~ from the September, 2005 Edition of the Jewish Magazine. {Note: The Christian Church is practicing nothing less than Satanic doctrine by [lying, misrepresenting and] unjustly treating the Jews unequally among mankind. It actually pleases God for Christians and Gentiles to give mercy to the Jews [Romans 11:31]. Mercy towards the Jews might at times be unobtainable from some however equality and common courtesy cannot ever at any time be forsaken by anyone when regarding the Jews especially courtesy from Christians.} [link]

Ezekiel 27-28 – The Prophet Ezekiel reveals Tyre’s true anti-Israel agenda and that it does come from Satan himself — ‘Ezekiel 28:1-10 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus [followers of Satan the king of Trye (Tyrus)], Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick [Revelation 18:12-13] hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness [illumination – illuminati]. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.’

Ezekiel 28:11-26 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus [Satan], and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: *thou wast upon the Holy Mountain [Government] of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect [complete] in thy ways *from the day that thou wast created [Satan-Lucifer is a fallen created Angel], till iniquity [sin] was found in thee. *By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the Mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub [Throne Angel], from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness [illumination - Lucifer]: I [God] will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings [of the earth], that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. *All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished [unimpressed] at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. -- Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Zidon [sister city of Tyre], and prophesy against it, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her street; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD. *And there shall be no more a pricking brier [agitator] unto the House of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, *that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the House of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered [starting about May 14, 1948], and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to My servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, **when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they [Jews and Gentiles] shall know that I am the LORD their God. - See also: Isaiah 14:12-16.

Ezekiel 29-30 – The judgments of God are now directed at Egypt and the world’s system — ‘Ezekiel 30:4 And the sword {Word of God} shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations [worldly system] shall be broken down.’

Ezekiel 30:1-8 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time [visitation of God] of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled [metropolitan] people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league [societies], shall fall with them by the sword. Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt [worldly system] shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire [judgment] in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. - Egypt and the other main Biblical countries of the time represented systems, worldly systems. What is being judged is not just the ancient Nation of Egypt but the system and particularly the spiritual system that guided and directed Egypt and the people away from a knowledge of God and into a system of worldly, ungodly substitutions of the real Kingdom of God.

Ezekiel 31-32 – The warnings from God continue regarding Egypt and the substitution of the Kingdom of God that Egypt and Pharaoh represent, embrace and espouse to the rest of the world — ‘Ezekiel 31:1-4 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian [Assyria, previously a great Nation] was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters [demonic realm] made him great, the deep [of Satan] set him up on high with her rivers [influences, Mystery Babylon] running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers [of demonic influence] unto all the trees [Nations] of the field [world].’

Ezekiel 31:15-18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he [Assyria] went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep [water] for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the Nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden [earth, Middle-East], the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink [demonic] water, shall be comforted [lit. sigh, heavy breathing] in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. To whom art thou [Egypt] thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether [lit. lower, underneath] parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD. - In creation and in the Bible God uses physical realms to help reveal for us the spiritual realms. The blue sky realm helps reveal God, freedom, openness, eternity and heaven for us. The deep, dark, mysterious water realm often represents the demonic realm, man cannot naturally breath or live in the water realm. The deep dirt, pits, graves and volcanic fires from the earth also reveal the 'nether' lower regions of the earth and hell. All of these realms exist both physically and spiritually, there is a real heaven, a real demonic and fallen Satanic realm, death is real and there is a real eternal hell that is one option for humans at death.

Ezekiel 33 – God reiterates that Ezekiel is a Watchman for Israel and that what he is watching over is his fellow countrymen for their sake, their safety and for the wellbeing of their eternal souls — ‘Ezekiel 33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the House of Israel [Governed by God]; therefore thou shalt hear the Word at My mouth, and warn them from Me.’

Ezekiel 33:21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance [yet they were removed from the land]. - Ezekiel can now speak again and he tells the people that even though the land was their inheritance through Abraham they did not honor the land nor did they honor God and therefore they lost their land inheritance. Note: The land inheritance from God to Abraham for Israel was a conditional inheritance they did need to obey God in order to remain in the land [Deuteronomy 30:1-6]. The promise [Genesis 12:1-3] from God to Abraham to be their God is not conditional and though they were temporarily removed from the land God will always been their God.

Ezekiel 34-35 – The Prophet Ezekiel is instructed that the Messiah Jesus Christ, God Himself will one day be the ‘One Shepherd’ of His flock and the only overseer of His Worshipers — ‘Ezekiel 34:1-11 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds [Pastors] of Israel [Governed by God], prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds [Pastors]; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed [promote] themselves! should not the shepherds feed [buildup, strengthen] the flocks [Worshipers]? … Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require [reclaim] My flock [Worshipers] at their hand [from their services], and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed [lavish] themselves anymore; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat [merchandise] for them. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep [people], and seek [rescue] them out.’

Ezekiel 34:11-31 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [Jesus Christ], even I, will both search My sheep [people], and seek [rescue] them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, *and will **deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: *there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. *I [Jesus] will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. **I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. *And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle [person] and cattle [person], between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture [not to share with others], but ye must tread down [destroy] with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have *drunk of the deep waters [deep spiritual matters, experiences - both holy und unholy], but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; *and they drink that which ye have fouled [bad doctrine] with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; *Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. ***And I will set up One Shepherd [Jesus Christ] over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David [Beloved, Jesus Christ]; He [Jesus] shall feed them, and He [Jesus] shall be their shepherd. And I [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit] the LORD [YHWH] will be their God, and My servant David [Beloved Jesus as King, King David as Prince] a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. ***And I will make with them a [New] Covenant of Peace, and will cause the evil [Satanic] beasts to cease out of the land: and they [sheep] shall dwell safely in the wilderness [vulnerable places], and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower [rain] to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they [Worshipers] shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when *I have broken the bands of their yoke [on the cross], and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them [at the resurrection]. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. *And I will raise up for them a plant [vine, grapevine] of renown [glory], and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even *the House of Israel, are My people, saith the Lord GOD. And ye [Worshipers] My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men [people], and I am [the Good Shepherd - John 10:1-21] your God, saith the Lord GOD. - Jesus the Messiah is the "One Shepherd" for all the people of the world. Note: In Hebrew the name 'David' means 'beloved' and is often used to refer to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 36 – The Prophet Ezekiel reveals that God is always dedicated and eternally faithful to the House of Israel — ‘Ezekiel 36:8-9 But ye, O Mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel; for they are at hand to come [return to the Promise Land]. For, behold, I am for you [Israel], and I will turn [face] unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown [made productive again]:’ – Note: The House of Israel is spiritually and physically the Jewish descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. – Also Note: The name Israel [Governed by God or Submitted to God] is an inheritance name given to Jacob as a blessing from God [Genesis 35:10] after Jacob wrestled all night with God and asked (demanded) a blessing from God. The name or status of Israel is given from God to His worshipers as a blessing. Israel is not a state or condition that a person [Jew or Gentile] is born into [Jacob is the natural birth name, Israel is the received blessing name] it is a rebirth condition to be brought into a relationship willingly submitted to God and therefore Biblically the name of Israel [Submitted to God] does also apply Spiritually to all of those, including Gentiles, who are ‘born again’ Israel – submitted to God, those who have received the blessing of fellowship with God.

Ezekiel 36:22-36 Therefore say unto the House of Israel [submitted to God], Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O House of Israel, but for Mine Holy Name's sake, which ye have profaned [not accurately represented God's Name] among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify [set apart] My great Name, which was profaned [misrepresented] among the heathen [unsaved], which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified [made Holy, set apart] in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into [Israel] your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water [Word of God, Bible] upon you {before the cross of Jesus, after the cross the blood of Jesus has permanently made clean}, and ye shall be clean [John 15:3]: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I [permanently] cleanse you [on the cross]. *A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you [New Testament]: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit [born again] within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will also save [Salvation] you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then [Romans 2:4] shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O House of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. *And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. **Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: *I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. - The 'Salvation' process is a continuing process both in the Nation of Israel [postponed until later] and in the Christian Church. The House of Israel has not yet properly represented, made Holy or honored the Name of God and likewise the Christian Church has not yet represented Jesus or made Holy and honored His Name.

Ezekiel 37 – Ezekiel has one of his most famous Visions – The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones — ‘Ezekiel 37:1-4 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And He [Holy Spirit] said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD.’

Ezekiel 37:5-14 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath [Spirit] to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath [Spirit] in them. Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind [lit. Spirit], prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds [unhindered], O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may [Resurrection] live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. *Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole [Resurrection] House of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O My people, I will [Resurrection] open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves [Matthew 27:52-53], and bring you into [Heaven] the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

Ezekiel 38-39 – Ezekiel reveals an enormous End Time event where several Gentile Nations attack the re-born Nation of Israel — ‘Ezekiel 38:1-12 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal … Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy [Gentile] mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought [against Israel]: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest [peaceable], that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and **upon the people that are gathered out of the Nations [May 14, 1948], which have gotten cattle and goods [some wealth], that dwell in the midst of the land.’ – Note: This major prophesied event appears to not yet have occurred however it is one of many End Time events and like all the great End Time events surrounding the coming of the Antichrist those events should not be looked to for guidance in the End Times but simply and faithfully look to Jesus Christ and His guaranteed return, it’s the only certain way to purposefully fulfill our time until the return of Jesus.

Ezekiel 39:21-29 And I will set My glory among the heathen [Gentiles], and all the heathen shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them. So the House of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the House of Israel went into captivity [70 A.D.] for their iniquity: because they trespassed against Me, therefore hid I My face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid My face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole House of Israel, and will be jealous for My Holy Name; After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many Nations; Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them anymore there. Neither will I hide My face any more from them: for I have poured out My Spirit upon the House of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. - The events in and around Israel are events [large and small] that God is using to direct and instruct both the Nation of Israel and the Gentile Nations of the world. God deals the same way with individual Christians as He does with the Nation of Israel. It is up to us Christians to learn from the mistakes of Israel as well as learning from our own mistakes and the mistakes of others just as much as we are to learn from the successes of the Nation of Israel, our successes and the successes of others in our walk and experiences with God.

What are Gog and Magog? – Historically speaking, Magog was a grandson of Noah – The descendants of Magog settled to the far north of Israel, likely in Europe and northern Asia [Russia] – The duplicated use of the names Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:8-9 is to show that these people demonstrate the same rebellion against God and antagonism toward God as those in Ezekiel [Ezekiel 38-39] – According to Ezekiel, Gog will be defeated by God Himself on the mountains of Israel – The slaughter will be so great it will take seven months to bury all of the dead (Ezekiel 39:11-12) – The battle in Ezekiel 38-39 is used by God to bring [the Nation of Israel] Israel back to Him (Ezekiel 39:21-29)

Answer: Historically speaking, Magog was a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:2). The descendants of Magog settled to the far north of Israel, likely in Europe and northern Asia (Ezekiel 38:2). Magog seems to be used to refer to "northern barbarians" in general, but likely also has a connection to Magog the person. The people of Magog are described as skilled warriors (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:3-9). - Gog and Magog are referred to in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 20:7-8. While these two instances carry the same names, a close study of Scripture clearly demonstrates they do not refer to the same people and events. In Ezekiel's prophecy, Gog will be the leader of a great army that attacks the land of Israel. Gog is described as "of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal" (Ezekiel 38:2-3). Ezekiel's battle of Gog and Magog occurs in the tribulation period, more specifically in the first 3 1/2 years. The strongest evidence for this view is that the attack will come when Israel is at peace (Ezekiel 38:8, 11). The description from Ezekiel is that of a nation that has security and has laid down its defenses. Israel is definitely not at peace now, and it is inconceivable that the nation would lay down its defenses apart from some major event. When Israel's covenant with the Beast/Antichrist is in effect at the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (also known as the 7-year tribulation, Daniel 9:27a), Israel will be at peace. Possibly the battle will occur just before the midpoint of the seven-year period. According to Ezekiel, Gog will be defeated by God Himself on the mountains of Israel. The slaughter will be so great it will take seven months to bury all of the dead (Ezekiel 39:11-12). - Gog and Magog are mentioned again in Revelation is found in 20:7-8. The duplicated use of the names Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:8-9 is to show that these people demonstrate the same rebellion against God and antagonism toward God as those in Ezekiel 38-39. ... The book of Revelation uses Ezekiel's prophecy about Magog to portray a final end-times attack on the nation of Israel (Revelation 20:8-9). The result of this battle is that all are destroyed, and Satan will find his final place in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). -- It is important to recognize that the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38-39 is quite different from the one in Revelation 20:7-8. Below are some of the more obvious reasons why these refer to different people and battles. 1. In the battle of Ezekiel 38-39, the armies come primarily from the north and involve only a few nations of the earth (Ezekiel 38:6, 15; 39:2). The battle in Revelation 20:7-9 will involve all nations, so armies will come from all directions, not just from the north. 2. There is no mention of Satan in the context of Ezekiel 38-39. In Revelation 20:7 the context clearly places the battle at the end of the millennium with Satan as the primary character. 3. Ezekiel 39:11-12 states that the dead will be buried for seven months. There would be no need to bury the dead if the battle in Ezekiel 38-39 is the one described in Revelation 20:8-9, for immediately following Revelation 20:8-9 is the Great White Throne judgment (20:11-15) and then the current or present heaven and earth are destroyed, replaced by a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). There obviously will be a need to bury the dead if the battle takes place in the early part of the tribulation, for the land of Israel will be occupied for another 1,000 years, the length of the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6). 4. The battle in Ezekiel 38-39 is used by God to bring Israel back to Him (Ezekiel 39:21-29). In Revelation 20, Israel has been faithful to God for 1,000 years (the millennial kingdom). Those in Revelation 20:7-10 who are rebellious are destroyed without any more opportunity for repentance. ~ Recommended Resource: Understanding End Times Prophecy by Paul Benware. [link]

Ezekiel 40-43 – The Prophet Ezekiel is spiritually transported from Babylon to Jerusalem and is given a very important vision and lesson in what appears to be the Millennial Kingdom Temple the location for God the Messiah to reside at during His 1,000 year Kingdom reign over the entire earth — ‘Ezekiel 40:1-4 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city [Jerusalem] was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither. In the visions of God brought He [Holy Spirit] me *into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain [Millennial Kingdom restoration landscape], by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And He brought me thither, and, behold, there was a Man [possibly Jesus Christ or an Angel], whose appearance was like the appearance of brass [judgment], with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and He stood in the gate. And the Man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, **and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: *declare all that thou seest to the House of Israel [those Governed by God].’

Ezekiel 41:1-7 Afterward He [possibly Jesus] brought me to the Temple [4th Temple], and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the {new?} Tabernacle [tent]. And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits. Then went He inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits. So He measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and He said unto me, This is the most holy place. After He measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side. And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house. And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst. - Ezekiel is given a grand tour of what appears to be a 4th Temple in Jerusalem. The dimensions are exceedingly beyond anything that would be possible today at the current physical Temple Mount location in Jerusalem. - Note: There seems to be an amalgamation and representation of several eras of God's Divine work among mankind. There is a reference to a Tabernacle and there seems to be elements of several Priesthoods with the Righteous Gentile, Levitical-Aaronic, Levitical-Aaronic-Zadok and the eternal Melchizedek Priesthood all either active or represented as remembrance, instruction and interaction to man's one relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel Chapter 40: Messiah’s Millennium Temple – The next portion of Ezekiel, Chapters 40 to 48, is an area that is not often covered in Christian literature because it can seem confusing – The events of these chapters refer to a future time, following the tribulation period – The period of Ezekiel 40 to 48 refers to events taking place in the Millennium – The people who survive the tribulation and enter the millennium cross into it without resurrected bodies – In the gospels, Jesus explains about the role of those who are saved [Christians] and then die {or the Rapture} how they will have a role in His [Millennial] Kingdom

The next portion of Ezekiel, Chapters 40 to 48, is an area that is not often covered in Christian literature because it can seem confusing. The reason for this confusion is a lack of understanding of the time-period to which the text refers. The events of these chapters refer to a future time, following the tribulation period. The period of Ezekiel 40 to 48 refers to events taking place in the Millennium. The Millennium will be covered in more detail below; for now, let us understand the Millennium as a 1000-year period of time (Mille-thousand, Annum-Years) which follows the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. First, we need to clear up some areas of confusion people have regarding the division between Ezekiel 36-39 and Ezekiel 40 to 48. The Tribulation: The events of Ezekiel 38 and 39, the invasion of Gog from the land of Magog, takes place before the tribulation period. The tribulation period is a seven-year period also known as Daniel's 70th Week and the Time of Jacob's Trouble. According to Daniel's 70 weeks (Daniel 9:24-27) the beginning of the Tribulation starts when Israel makes an agreement with the world or nations to build the Temple on the site known as the Dome of the Rock. After Israel attains victory, through God's intervention between the nations, Israel builds the Temple in an attempt at obedience to the Lord. ... After the first Temple was destroyed by Babylon, Ezekiel was taken to Jerusalem in a vision to view the Millennium Temple. God is reassuring Ezekiel that the Temple will one day be restored, God is not done with the nation of Israel. Here, Ezekiel is given a glimpse of when the Glory of the Lord, the presence of God, will rule and reign from Jerusalem. ... In these verses Jesus describes the transition from the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of God. Notice that Jesus returns in power and glory with ALL the Holy Angels and the nations are brought before the throne of the Son of Man. As a shepherd separates sheep and goats the nations will be divided. This division of people, survivors of the tribulation, is to determine who will enter the Millennium. Those on the right, the sheep, will enter into the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ, while those on the left, the goats, are the lost that will be cast into everlasting fire [note: this event (sheep and goats judgment) probably happens at the end of the Millennial reign just prior to the creation of the eternal new heaven and new earth]. ... Who enters the Millennium?: According to scripture, two groups of people will be alive during the millennium; resurrected and non-resurrected people. Non-Resurrected: The people who survive the tribulation and enter the millennium cross into it without resurrected bodies. Therefore, they will be able to get married and have children; they will also be able to repopulate the earth. This point is clear in both the Old and New Testaments. We know there will be nations in the Millennium; who will populate these nations? People born during the 1000-years will repopulate the earth after God renews it from the destruction of the tribulation. According to Jesus, most people on the earth will die during this period. ... People who are born in the Millennium still must come to salvation through faith. At the end of the Millennium, Satan is freed to test the nations, specifically those born in the Millennium. As in the past, those who are saved will reject Satan, those who are lost will follow Satan and listen to his lies; they will rebel against God who will judge them. These nations will include the descendants of the Gog and Magog alliance. Satan lies will test the nations who will have lived in peace and prosperity during the reign of Christ on the Earth. ... Old Testament Saints: In the Old Testament both Job and Daniel look forward to the Resurrection. Job proclaims he will see God in his flesh, with his own eyes, after his body is destroyed. Daniel is told he will awake from the dust of the earth to his inheritance at the end of days. ... The Church Age Saints: In the gospels, Jesus explains about the role of those who are saved [Christians] and then die; how they will have a role in His Kingdom. He specifically describes the role of the disciples [Jewish Apostles] during this period, how they will rule over [alongside] the 12-tribes of Israel in the resurrection. His promise is by extension to all those [Jewish believers] who follow Him [Note: The Jewish Apostles of Jesus' day and modern Jews who receive Salvation will still have interaction and authority in and among Judaism but Gentile converts to Christianity have no such place in and among Judaism]. [link]

Ezekiel’s Temple – The Millennial Temple [4th Temple] – The sixth major dwelling place of the Lord in His story will be the Temple described in detail to the prophet Ezekiel which will serve God’s purpose in discipline the Nations for 1,000 years during the promised Reign of Peace on the earth – {During the coming Millennial (1,000) year reign of Jesus Christ here on the earth centered in Jerusalem in the 4th Temple there will still be unbelieving people being born and living throughout the earth in that future time. The people who do not have the belief and with it the blood covering of Jesus will apparently need the blood covering of the animals much as it was during the times of Cain, Abel, Job and the other Righteous Gentiles who made animal [blood atonement] sacrifice offerings to God. Sinful humans [human blood] will not be allowed to live during the Kingdom reign without the presence of another life giving blood either animal blood each year or the eternal blood of Jesus. – Note: the Temple ordinances of Ezekiel’s Temple appear to be more of a return to the sacrifices of the Righteous Gentiles than a continuation of the Levitical Law. In short the Millennial reign seems to be the Melchizedek Priesthood for believers, including Levitical Priests who have been received into the Melchizedek Priesthood and an animal blood atonement Ministry to cover the sins of the non-believers among the world while they have the opportunity to individually come to an eternal faith in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.}

Are animal sacrifices in a future temple blasphemous towards the finished work of Jesus? One truth about the 1,000 year reign of Messiah that is often hard for believers today to understand is that there will be animal sacrifices in this coming Millennial Temple. As we will see, Ezekiel is quite clear about this. If you believe that the book of Ezekiel is inspired prophecy from God, then there is no alternative but to understand that what Ezekiel saw over 2,000 years ago will come to pass in a literal sense. This is NOT blasphemous to the finished work of Jesus' blood on the cross, but rather it is a reminder of His ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity. Since 1998 when I first published this Millennial Temple information on the internet, I have received more questions on this one issue of animal sacrifice than anything else. Therefore, I want to take some time to establish the truth of this matter of sacrifice and atonement. The bottom line fact is that Jesus (Yahoshua) is the ONLY sacrifice that can take away our sins and give us eternal life. Hebrews 10:4 is clear that "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." The 11th verse in this same chapter declares that animal sacrifices "can never take away sins." So, the blood of bulls and goats have NEVER taken away sins for anyone past present or future! There is a wrong concept in many people's minds that animal sacrifices, during the Old Covenant before Jesus came, took away peoples sins - but this is not true. The saints who lived before Messiah came were saved by FAITH (Rom. 4:3) just like us today. The animal sacrifices were a "shadow of good things to come" pointing forward to the blood of Messiah Yahoshua (Jesus). It has always really been about Jesus, and not animal sacrifices. Likewise, in the coming Millennial Temple the animal sacrifices will point backward to the Blood of Jesus, which is our only atonement for sin. God told the Old Covenant believers to sacrifice animals to give them a point of reference in which to base their FAITH since the Messiah had not yet come. Hebrews chapters 7-10 explains how the Old Covenant sacrifices were copies and replicas of what Jesus did for us on the cross. After explaining the meaning of the blood sacrifices in chapters 7-10, Paul explains in Hebrews chapters 11-12, that it is by FAITH we please God and appropriate His promises for us, and not by the works He commands us to do. The works that we do out of obedience are merely expressions of the faith, which is in our hearts. During the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the animal sacrifices will be object lessons that look BACK in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us, similar to the way that the Old Testament sacrifices looked FORWARD to what He would do. These sacrifices in no way take away our sins. Only faith in the finished work of the shed blood of Jesus can take away sins. Everything done in this temple points us to Jesus, because all things can be summed up in Jesus "in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Col. 2:9). Now that we have established that animal sacrifices are not blasphemous to the finished work of Jesus; let's take a look at all of the incredible details that were shown to Ezekiel regarding the order of services for this millennial temple which to date has not yet been built. [link]

The Millennial Temple of Ezekiel – Objections to a Literal Interpretation of Ezekiel Chapters 40-48 – “The area of the temple courts (500 x 500 “reeds,” or about one square mile) would be larger than the entire ancient walled city of Jerusalem, and the holy portion for priests and Levites (20,000 x 25,000 reeds, or about 40 x 50 miles) would cover an area six times the size of greater London today and could not possibly be placed within present-day Palestine, that is between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (Ezek. 47:18) – {Note: In order to accommodate the Temple of Ezekiel’s vision the land of Israel, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount all need to undergo drastic revisions. At the least the current Temple Mount needs to be elevated significantly and expanded dramatically. All of these earthen modifications to the land of Israel are considered to be ‘restoration’ events that probably occur during the upheaval of the Great Tribulation period.}

Objections to a Literal Interpretation of Ezekiel 40-48: 1. "The area of the temple courts (500 x 500 "reeds," or about one square mile) would be larger than the entire ancient walled city of Jerusalem, and the holy portion for priests and Levites (20,000 x 25,000 reeds, or about 40 x 50 miles) would cover an area six times the size of greater London today and could not possibly be placed within present-day Palestine, that is between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (Ezek. 47:18), to say nothing of the "portion of the prince" on either side of this area (45:7, 47:21). The Millennial Jerusalem would be about 40 miles in circumference and thus ten times the circumference of the ancient city. Furthermore, it would be somewhat north of the present site of the city, and the Temple area would be about ten miles north of that, on the way to Samaria! This is quite unthinkable, for such a city would not be the Jerusalem of Jewish memories and associations, and a Temple in any other locality than Mount Moriah would hardly be the Temple of Jewish hope" (J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book, IV, 32). -- Answer: Israel will have the only sanctuary and priesthood in the world during the millennial age, so the Temple courts and sacred area will need to be greatly enlarged to accommodate the vast number of worshippers and the priests who will serve them (Isa. 2:3, 60:14, 61:6, Zech. 8:20-23). Various Old Testament prophecies speak of great geological changes that will occur in Palestine at the time of Christ's Second Coming, so it is not impossible to imagine a 2,500 square mile area for the Temple and city fitted into a reshaped and enlarged land. See Isaiah 26:15, 33:17, 54:2, and especially Zechariah 14:4-10. The latter passage tells us of new valleys and rivers, and a flattening of portions of land "like the Arabah" which then "shall be lifted up." Presumably the entire Dead Sea region will be lifted more than 1,300 feet, above the present sea level, for it will contain fish "after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many" (Ezek. 47:10). Revelation 16:20 informs us that at the end of the Great Tribulation gigantic earthquakes will cause islands and mountains to vanish. Thus, both testaments speak of topographical and geographical changes that will accompany the inauguration of the millennial kingdom. Jerusalem itself will be the capital of the world, the beloved city (Rev. 20:9), and its size will surely be proportionate to its importance. If Nineveh, the capital of one ancient empire, was sixty miles in circumference (Jonah 3:3; cf. Baxter's discussion, IV, 170), why would it be impossible for the millennial Jerusalem to be forty? -- With regard to the problem of the Millennial Temple being located about ten miles north of Jerusalem, God specifically indicates to Ezekiel that the Temple area will no longer adjoin the royal palace as in the days of old (43:7-9). The point is clearly stated in 43:12 -- "This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." Vast topographical changes will not make Palestine less the Promised Land for Israel, nor will a centralized, enlarged Temple ten miles removed from the city be a disappointment to Israelites who have been accustomed to thinking of it in terms of Mount Moriah. The important thing is that the glory of Jehovah will fill the Temple (43:5), and the city will be renamed on the basis that "Jehovah is there" (48:35). [link]

Ezekiel 44-45 – The vision and instructions continue for Ezekiel on our behalf — ‘Ezekiel 44:1-3 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the East; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the Prince [Messiah]; the Prince, He shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; He [Jesus] shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.’

Ezekiel 44:1-16 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. Then brought He me the way of the North Gate before the House [Temple]: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the House of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. **And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the House, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the House of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye House of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, In that ye have brought into My sanctuary strangers, *uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to pollute it, even My House, when ye offer My bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken My Covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge [responsibilities] of Mine Holy things: but ye have set keepers [substitutes, replacements] of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves. Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that are gone away far from Me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from Me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge at the Gates of the House, and ministering to the House: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the House of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto Me, to do the office of a [Melchizedek] Priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My Holy [Melchizedek] things, in the most Holy Place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the House, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. But the Priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to Minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to Minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge. - The Prophet Ezekiel is clearly given a vision and instruction of future events but events that are composed in part on the past actions and accountabilities of the children of God from the time before the Millennial Kingdom and Temple reign of the Messiah Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 46-48 – The Prophet Ezekiel concludes his Vision of the 4th Temple and concludes his Scroll and his Ministry to the House of Israel — ‘Ezekiel 47:1-9 Afterward He [Jesus] brought me again unto the door of the House; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the House eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar [Revelation 22:1]. Then brought He me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. … Then said He unto me, These waters issue out toward the East country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish [life], because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh.’ – Note: In many ways the New Testament counterpart to the Prophet Ezekiel is the Apostle Peter. Ezekiel in receiving the Vision of the New Millennium Kingdom of the Messiah and Peter in receiving the keys to the Kingdom of God [including the Millennial Kingdom] both men helped to transform man’s personal relationship with God into a New Era of intimacy between a sinful, fragile humanity and God in Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 48:31-35 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the Name of the city from that day shall be, *The LORD is there. - God in close fellowship with His creation and with His people as it has always been intended to be since the beginning of Genesis and as it will become after the End Time events of Revelation.