Ezekiel: our Watchman

[Keraz]

Ezekiel: appointed as a watchman for the Israelites in exile Ezekiel 2:3 & 17

Ezekiel 36:1-38 This is what the Lord says about the Land of Israel: Israel, you were trampled down when you were occupied by other nations. I will now speak to the Land, plundered and despised by the surrounding nations.

In My burning zeal, I have spoken out against the rest of the nations, especially Edom, for with glee and malice they seized My Land as spoil. Therefore, because Israel has suffered the scorn of the nations, I swear that those nations will in turn suffer scorn.

But you, Land of Israel, bring forth your branches and yield your fruit for My people, for their homecoming is near. See how I will look on you with favour, you will be fruitful. I shall settle on you many people -the whole 12 tribes of Israel, the towns inhabited and the Land prosperous. My people, all the faithful Israelites will live there again, never again to leave. No longer will they suffer the scorn of foreigners.

When ancient Israel was living in the Land, they defiled it by their idolatry. I sentenced them to exile around the world. But I have concern for My Holy Name, so you Israelites, it is not for your sake that I am acting – I shall show My Holiness through you and all the nations will know that I am the Lord.

I shall take you out of the world, gather you from every land and bring you back to your homeland. I will purify you of everything that defiles you. You will have a new heart and I will put My spirit within you and you will desire to only follow My Laws.

Then you will live in the Land that I had given to your forefathers. You will be My people and I will be your God. Having saved you from all that defiles you, I shall command the Land to be plentiful, trees will bear abundant fruit and the soil will produce heavy crops. Never again will you suffer famine.

You will recall your wicked conduct and evil deeds and will hate yourself for them. Feel the shame and disgrace of your old ways, people of Israel.
The Lord says: when I have cleansed you of all your wrongdoings, you will settle in the Land and the ruined places will be rebuilt. The Land will be ploughed and sown, no longer a wasteland, rain will come in due season.

The nations still left around you will know that it is I, the Lord who has done this.
The Lord says; once again, I will let the Israelites pray to Me for help. They will become many, as flocks of sheep in the Land. As Jerusalem has flocks of sheep at festival time, so will the towns of Israel be filled with flocks of people.
Then they will know that I am their God. Ref: REB verses abridged.


‘I will now speak to the Land, plundered and despised by the surrounding nations’. The Lord will once again take action on the earth, His holy Land; now inhabited mostly by atheists and foreigners are surrounded by nations and entities who hate the State of Israel and want to ‘’wipe it off the map’. Jeremiah 12:14, Psalm 83:1-8, Micah 4:11-12


‘In My burning zeal, I have spoken out against the rest of the nations, especially Edom’. This refers to the forthcoming Lord’s Day of vengeance and wrath, a worldwide judgement of fire, prophesies over 100 times in the Bible. The explosion of the suns surface, a massive CME, that He will use on that Day, will strike initially in the Middle East, particularly affecting the Middle East region. Zephaniah 2:4-5

Ezekiel 35:1-14, describes in detail who modern day Edom is and what the Lord has planned for them; Ezekiel 35:5-6 They are peoples that have kept up their ancient feud with Israel and they glorify bloodshed and death

Jeremiah 25:32-33 Ruin spreads from nation to nation, a mighty tempest is coming onto all the godless peoples. Those whom the Lord has slain on that Day, will lie scattered from one end of the earth to the other, they will be as dung spread over the ground.


‘The homecoming of the whole twelve tribes of Israel is near. The people Jesus came to save.
The Lord sentenced them to exile around the world for their sins, but now I shall take you out of the world, gather you from every land and settle you in your inheritance’.
The decreed exile of the Lord’s people is nearly over. Ezekiel 34:11-16, Isaiah 35:1-10

The gathering of all the [Christian] Israelite people from every race. Isaiah 66:18b-21, Micah 4:6

To all the land promised to the Patriarchs. Micah 7:11-12, Ezekiel 47:13-23

They will enter the land with great joy. Isaiah 66:14, Isaiah 62:1-5, Zechariah 8:1-8

And live there in peace and security. Isaiah 66:12-14, Jeremiah 30:19-20


‘I shall show My Holiness through you, you will receive a new heart and My spirit will come upon you’. This proves that all these events happen before the Return of Jesus, when he ‘comes in glory and all the world will see Him’. But until then, the Lord uses His people ‘to be a light to the nations and be His witnesses to the world’. Isaiah 49:8, Isaiah 43:10-12 The Lord will change the minds of His people, they will love Him unfailingly. Isaiah 32:15, Isaiah 59:21, Ezekiel 37:14 & 23

‘I shall command the Land to be plentiful, no longer a wasteland, rain will come in due season. The towns of Israel will be filled with people’. After the burning and earthquakes of this terrible CME; Malachi 4:1, Isaiah 66:15-16, Revelation 6:12-17 Ezekiel 38:8; says that His people, now every faithful Christian, Galatians 3:26-29 will be gathered from the nations, will be living in a Land recently recovered from ruin. Rain will come and the Land will be fertile. Isaiah 35:1-10, Zechariah 8:12, Psalms 68:9-10, Romans 9:24-26

“The nations still left around you’;
Amos 1:3-5 For crime after crime of Damascus, [Syria] I will send fire upon them. Isaiah 17:1-3
Amos 1:6-8 For crime after crime of Gaza, [Palestinians] all the Philistines will perish. Joel 3:4
Amos 1:9-10 For crime after crime of Tyre, [Lebanon] I shall send fire upon them. Eze. 26:15-21
Amos 1:11-12 For crime after crime of Edom, [Ishmaelites] I shall send fire upon you. Bozrah, [the sheepfold] cleansed to be the place of safety during the Tribulation. Isaiah 34:5-6
Amos 1:13-15 For crime after crime of the Ammonites, [Jordan] I shall send fire upon you. Their King will go into exile. Ezekiel 25:1-7
Amos 2:1-3 For crime after crime of Moab, [Southern Jordan: Arab peoples] I shall send fire upon you. Your King and officers will be killed. Ezekiel 30:2-5
Amos 2:4-5 For crime after crime of Judah, [the State of Israel] I shall send fire upon you, for you have not kept the Law. Ezekiel 20:47-48 Only a Jewish remnant will survive. Romans 9:27
Amos 2:6-16 For crime after crime of Israel, [the 10 tribes, in exile] They will be judged and their military destroyed. Isaiah 17:4-6


‘They will know that I am their God’. This makes it obvious that all this must take place before the visible Return of Jesus. His people will be living once again in the holy Land, sending out missionaries and preparing for the coming Kingdom. Revelation 14:1-7, Isaiah 66:19
They choose their own leader. Jeremiah 30:21, Hosea 1:11

Ezekiel 28:24-26 No longer will the Israelites suffer from the scorn of their neighbours. When I gather the Israelites from where they have been dispersed, I shall show My Holiness in them for all the nations to see. After I execute My judgement on those scornful neighbors, My people will live on their own soil, undisturbed and they will build houses and plant vineyards, thus they will know that I am the Lord, their God.

 

[Keraz]

Over 2500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel asked God if he had cast off the nation of Israel forever. God says that although He has dispersed them to the far corners of the earth, He will gather them back into their own land in the Last Days. God further pledges to Ezekiel that He will change the heart of Israel, and that He will become their God again.

Ezekiel 11:13-20 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God! will You make a full end of the remnant of Israel? Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the whole house of Israel, [all the Israelites] are those unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem [the Jewish people] have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this Land given in possession.
Therefore say, the Lord God says; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

But the Day will come when I will gather you out of the world and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come there and they shall remove all the detestable things and all the abominations from My holy Land. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Plainly this prophecy remains unfulfilled today.

There is a clear distinction here between the two Houses: Israel and Judah. It shows how Judah consider themselves as the possessor’s of the Land of Israel, as is the case at present. So who are the people the Lord says He will gather and give the Land to? The people who will remove the sinful things and keep God’s Laws, that is who.

They are the ten Northern tribes, who were taken into exile by Assyria 135 years before the Babylonian exile of Judah. They remain scattered among the nations and it is mainly them who have become the Christian peoples. The Israel of God: Galatians 6:16

Jesus mentioned them when He said I have come to save the lost sheep of Israel and others I will gather, they are not of this [Jewish] flock. He told His disciples to take the Gospel to the world. 1 Peter 1:1 and James 1:1 knew who were Israelites and where they were. As did Josephus the Jewish historian.


In these Last Days, Judah and Israel will experience the most intense time of disaster the world has ever known. This is known as the time of Jacob's Trouble. Jeremiah 30:4-7 Jesus alluded to this period in his Olivet Discourse, and promised His chosen people that they would be protected thru it all. Luke 21:24-28, Acts 2:21

It will be a tough time of testing for us Christians, but for the Lord’s enemies it will be their demise. All that area given to Abraham will be cleared and cleansed, Deut. 32:43, Ezekiel 30:2-5 and the true Christian believers will go to live there.

The word elect, and the idea of the election of Israel comes from the Greek word, "ekletos." It means chosen and salvation is given to all who may "elect" to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. John 15:18, John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:9-10

 

[Keraz]

The Shofar Blast Zephaniah 1:16, Joel 2:1

Ezekiel 7:1-9 This is what the Lord says about the Land of Israel: Disaster is coming to all the earth and now the end is upon you as well. I will send My wrath to judge everyone according to their ways and deeds. Doom is coming to all who live in the holy Land. I will have no pity, nor spare you for I shall bring you to account for your disgusting conduct and abominable practices.

The time has come, the Day is near - a Day of panic and not rejoicing. Very soon, I will pour out My fury and spend My anger. All will face judgement. Everyone who refuses to acknowledge Me and those whose sinful practices are an abomination, will suffer the consequences.

Ezekiel 7:10-19 Here is the Day! Doom is approaching! Violence has bloomed and grown into the full flower of wickedness. It bursts upon them and nothing is left of those godless people, all they worked for will be gone. The appointed time has come. The Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath has arrived, it will affect everyone because of the many sins of the people who kept on with their godless ways. The trumpet of war sounds, but no one goes to war, for the wrath of God will fall upon them all.

The great sword of punishment appears: all will be terrified, hands will hang limp and knees will be wet with urine. Idols and money cannot save anyone on the terrible Day of the Lord’s fiery anger. Treat your gold and silver like something unclean and throw it away with your detestable idols, be ashamed of yourself and repent in sackcloth and ashes.

Those in open country will die and in the cities plague and famine will kill them. If any manage to escape to shelter, there the Lord will kill them, each for his own iniquity. Ref: REB, CJB, NIV. Some verses abridged and paraphrased.


The Lord will send His wrath, His great sword of punishment will appear in the sky. Nahum 1:6, Isaiah 66:15-16, Malachi 4:1 The Lord Himself will not be visible, but His punishment will be seen before it arrives on earth. Psalm 18:7-15, Isaiah 34:1-5

A Coronal Mass Ejection of unprecedented magnitude will be blasted out from the sun, Isaiah 30:26, 2 Peter 3:10, first the bright flash, then the sun will be darkened and the moon will glow red, Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20, then everyone will be aware of its imminent arrival. All will know that within hours, their doom will arrive and will be so terrified they will wet their pants. Isaiah 13:6-8, Ezekiel 21:7, Luke 21:26

Violence will blossom into full flower: the enemies of Israel commence their attack with rockets and nuclear missiles. Psalms 83:1-8, Psalms 7:12-16, Micah 4:11 But there will be no war, for the wrath of the Lord will fall upon both attackers and defenders. Doom will come upon all who live in the holy Land. Jeremiah 3:10 The holy Land: all that area given to Abraham – from the Nile to the Euphrates. Genesis 15:18

The holy Land will be virtually depopulated, even those who manage to find shelter from the extreme heat of this CME, will be killed by the storms, earthquakes and tsunamis of that Day. Ezekiel 30:1-5, Amos 9:1-4, Rev. 6:12-17
A Jewish remnant will survive in Jerusalem. Isaiah 31:5, Zephaniah 1:18, Zech. 13:7-9

Riches and manmade things of worship are useless. Isaiah 2:20, Rev 3:17

Zechariah 3:9-10 In a single Day, the Lord will wipe out the offences and apostasy of the holy Land. When that time comes, says God Almighty, you are to invite one another to come and enjoy the fruits of your vines and fig trees. Revelation 18:8

The Lord’s Christian people: gathered and settled in a fruitful Land, living in peace and security, at last how He intended them to be and ‘a light to the nations’. Isaiah 62:1-5