The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Ezekiel #1274 KC68,69&70

Ezekiel was placed in the midst of a valley which was full of dry bones.
and as it turns out that it is a symbolic example of our spiritual condition today.

Our Father has a simple method of drawing very colorful and impressively graphic pictures in our mind's eye so that we can SEE a visual representation of things which are unseen, invisible, i.e. spiritual. In fact the Apostle Paul explains this in Romans 1:20

Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
This is the foundation for the use of symbolism in scripture,
which is to take things we can SEE with our flesh eyes and use them to represent something else that we need to SEE with our spiritual eyes.
However, there is a unique and beautiful two-fold aspect concerning the use of symbolism and that is this:
If you understand what the symbols represent in an analogy then that which is being taught will be made very simple and easy to understand by the imagery etched in your mind.

The proverb "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true,
and it is a well documented and established fact that people remember far more of what they SEE than what they hear or read,
even if what they SEE is only in their mind's eye, i.e. a picture which they have mentally created!

God knows that, of course,
which is exactly why the Holy Spirit gives us so many simple pictures, models, and plays to see and watch in His Word.

However, if you do not understand what the symbols represent,
you will then scratch your head in wonderment and declare that which has been made so simple to be confusing,
complex and mysterious, which is the way many folks describe the plain and simple Word of God.

The 37th chapter of Ezekiel is remarkable indeed,
for in it we are going to learn how the restoration of the people,
which is going to unfold right up to end,
and so it concerns the ministry of God's watchmen,
who are His servants and His handmaidens,
to the whole House of Israel.

That's right! The watchmen,
those who have been strengthened by the continual consumption and feasting at the table of the Lord,
which is the Word of God,
have a part in bringing to life (spiritually) the whole house of Israel.

Though we are careful to recognize that it is totally the LORD's doing,
nevertheless, what a privilege and honor it is to serve Him in whatever capacity He so chooses to use us.

Are you familiar with what God's elect,
His watchmen, will be doing in the last days?
Yes, they will be teaching His Word,
but there also comes a time when they are to be delivered up.

Here it is in Christ's own words as recorded in the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 13:9
But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
God's elect will be delivered up for religious reasons, i.e. because they are Christians.

You see, it will be a very religious time for someone who claims to be our Lord will be standing in the holy place performing miracles in the sight of men and handing out free tickets for a ride in his shiny Rapturemobile.

[10] And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
The Greek word for "published" is "kerussoto" and it means "to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel) :- preach (-er), proclaim, publish."

How is this proclaiming of the gospel among ALL NATIONS going to be accomplished?

Is man going to do it, or is God going to do it?

Here is your answer:

[11] But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
WOW! Does this say that the Holy Spirit Himself will speak directly through the mouths of God's elect?

Yes it does!

It has not come to pass yet, but it shall happen soon!

Has there ever been anything like it before?

Yes there has!

Remember what happened on Pentecost Day in Acts chapter 2?

Let's go there because this is important to understanding Ezekiel 37.

Acts 2:1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
What is the Day of Pentecost?

It is "the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field:" (Ex. 23:16).

Are you tilling ground and planting seeds in the field?

[2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
There came a sound as of a rushing mighty "Wind" right from heaven!
[3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

[4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Notice that without forethought or premeditation these disciples began to SPEAK,
but it was not their words and it was not their spirit, it was the "WIND",
the Holy Spirit speaking through them!

Shall we read again how the gospel is proclaimed to the world?
Mark 13:11 "...take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak,
neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour,
that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost."

Now, as these men of God were speaking "the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11),
which by the way every person present out of every nation present clearly heard spoken in his own language,
some were making false accusations against them of being drunk, etc.

But Peter stood up and said "No, these men are not drunk.

This is an example of what will happen in the last days
(which we just read about in Mark 13)."

Then Peter quoted His documentation from the book of the prophet Joel.

In other words, Peter spoke in the manner of "Thus saith the Lord GOD",
"here's what the Word of God says."

Acts 2:16
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

This is happening right now!

The sons and daughters of the final generation are prophesying (i.e. teaching, working in the field,
planting seeds for the harvest), and they SEE, which means to "Understand" visions.

What visions?

The visions of the prophets through whom Christ has foretold us all things!

The prophet Daniel was told to seal the vision and seal up his book until the time of the end when the wise would understand (SEE) them.

They now do!

And they now understand the "visions" Ezekiel saw too,
including the highly polished spectrum metal circular whirling vehicle which came out of the north sky,
let down its landing gear, and landed right in front of him!  #1164 & #1187

They also understand the dreams of Daniel, etc.,
even king Nebuchadnezzar's dreams! #5015

And the Word of God is being taught chapter by chapter and line by line by those sons and daughters,
the "children of the prophets" (Acts 3:25).

But as we just read,
there will come a time when the "WIND" comes rushing from heaven and the Holy Spirit is poured out on HIS servants and HIS handmaidens and they shall prophesy, to that WIND!

Here it is:

Acts 2:18
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Peter was documenting that what they were witnessing right then and there was only a sampling of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in the last days,
when this prophecy of Acts 2:18 will be fulfilled.

It happened back then for our benefit today,
so that we could SEE how Mark 13:11 shall come to pass.

Got the PICTURE?

[19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

[20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

The Holy Spirit shall come and speak through His servants BEFORE the day of the Lord,
before the 7th Trump,
which means it happens during the 6th Trump,
during the tribulation of the reign of antichrist.

With that background we are now ready to study the great 37th chapter of Ezekiel,
and he begins:

Ezekiel 37:1
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,
Here Ezekiel was carried out "in the spirit of the LORD"
in the same manner as was the apostle John in Rev. 1:10
(see note in Companion Bible),
for what we are about to read is "end time" prophecy.

Ezekiel was carried out and then set down (which also means "to dwell") in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.

Can you PICTURE this in your mind?

Can you see Ezekiel (picture yourself if you are a watchman) standing in a huge valley (actually it's a "plain" in Hebrew) surrounded by skeletons, "bones"!

Ezekiel has got to be thinking,
"I don't imagine I'm here for a fun vacation."

Notice that if you are a servant of the LORD,
an appointed watchman, and He has a job for you to do,

He can easily just take you by the hand and set you to work in the midst of the field!

 Or He could carry you to your job in the belly of big fish, like Jonah.

Attitude can be important, you know.

We are going to be given some more details of this dismal scene,
but first let's jump ahead to verse 11 and learn right away what these "bones" symbolize:

Ezekiel 37:11
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:
This is really simple,
except for the fact that one must know who the whole house of Israel is,
mustn't he?

Do you?

Here's a good question,
"Why use "bones" to represent "people" when we can clearly SEE people?"

Because the bones represent a characteristic, a condition, of the people.

You see, though they are "physically alive" and walking around,
let's say Times Square, the people of the whole house of Israel are "spiritually dead",
a condition of the soul which you can't SEE with your flesh eyes.

But you can see a valley full of dead bones, can't you?

Let's continue.

So far we have learned that Ezekiel, who is a type of God's elect in the final generation,
was sent by God to dwell among his people,
the spiritually dead house of Israel,
in the last days just before the restoration of the Millennium which we have been discussing in these last few chapters.

We are actually going to SEE how that restoration begins and how God uses the ministry of the watchman to help bring it about.

Again, let there be no doubt,
lest any man should boast, it is the Lord GOD who does the restoring, not man.

This chapter will document that!

[2] 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.
Ok, we SEE lots and lots of spiritually dead people in the land of the free.

Oh, and look!
The bones are "very dry".

How is that?

It is because of the spiritual famine (no bread of life) and the spiritual drought (no living water) of these last days:

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Have you ever seen a picture of the dead dry bones in a desert of famine and drought?

Very dead and very dry indeed!

Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
From "sea to shining sea" they search for spiritual food and living water,
BUT IT ISN'T TO BE FOUND!

You know what the false shepherds are teaching if you've come this far with us in Ezekiel!

[13] In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
They shall faint for thirst, i.e. fall down because of lack of living water and become "dry bones"!

And so they have, for the famine is now great indeed,
and the valley is full of dry bones!



DO YOU REMEMBER THE QUESTION I ASK EARLIER?
Is Ezekiel's valley full of dry bones a symbolic example of your spiritual condition today?

Ezekiel 37:3
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Can these spiritually dead people live, as in eternally, i.e. can they attain salvation?

God knows!

That His business.

[4] Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Hear the word of the Lord, with ears to ear, with understanding!

This is the prophesying (teaching) by the "children of the prophets" happening this very day, i.e. the fulfilling of Acts 2:17!

[5] Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Tell the spiritually dead,
the Biblically illiterate,
that the Lord God will send His Holy Spirit to enter in them and give them eternal life!
Ezekiel 37:6
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.
Tell them that the Word of God has meat to put on their bones and He is their covering and He is the Living Spirit of life eternal,
and He will put that life in you and "ye shall know that He is the LORD".

So Ezekiel did exactly as he was commanded by God,
without question or argument.

Teach, teach, teach!

Let see what results there are.

[7] 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.
Hey, he did some good, didn't he?

Ezekiel's out there in the heat of the dry bone field teaching his little heart out.

And he's rattled a lot of bones and they are beginning to come together.

Seems like things are going pretty good!

Better stop and check the harvest!

[8] 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 in them.
Bummer!

Thought they were looking pretty good, but they were still spiritually dead, huh?

They just don't quite get it, eternal life that is, i.e. His Spirit, His Word!

Let's do a current day reality check ourselves.

For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, consider now the whole house of Israel.

As His watchman, look now out over the valley of the dry bones and consider how many,
out of the many, many dry bones (vs. 2), have the "breath" in them!

How are we doing?

Consider all the true teaching of God's elect,
His watchmen, from 24 hour satellite, to internet, to radio, to local Bible studies, to one on one encounters!

Have the majority of the whole house of Israel been "sealed" with the living Word of God?

Hardly!

Do you know how many out of the whole house of Israel will be sealed before the 6th Trump sounds and the archangel Michael,
who is "holding back" Satan and his angels,
casts them out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and the devil himself appears on earth,
in person,
claiming to be the Messiah?

Not very many.

Thus saith the Word of God:

Rev. 7:1
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
The four winds are being held back for the reason given in the next two verses,
which is until the sealing of the 144,000 takes place.

When these four winds are released "all hell breaks loose" because the 6th Trump will have sounded (Rev. 9:13-15)!

[2] And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Again, these four angels to whom it is given to "hurt" the earth and the sea and the trees (all symbolic of people) are released at the sound of the 6th Trump.

Rev. 9:13 "And the sixth angel sounded... [15] ... and the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men."

Things change rapidly when this happens,
for the great apostasy spoken of by Paul in 2 Thes. 2 takes place and the whole world,
with the exception of God's very elect,
will bow and worship antichrist as if he were God.

Satan will claim that he is the Messiah returned and he will perform miracles in the sight of men to show that he really is!

It will be overwhelmingly convincing!

However, as it is documented in Rev. 9:5,
his personal appearance has been shortened to five months.

So Flight 666 departing from heaven and arriving on earth has been delayed due to ground work in the bone yard by the watchmen!

Rev. 7:3
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
The "seal", which is the revealed knowledge of the truth of God's Word,
is placed in their foreheads, i.e. in their minds,
replacing deception and traditions of men.
[4] And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
So when these 144,000 are sealed (not very many is it?),
the four winds will be let go and it's supernatural time,
because Satan is an archangel and he is supernatural and so are his angels who will come with him.

Let's return to Ezekiel chapter 37, verse 9,
where now these "four winds" are brought into the picture of Ezekiel's ministry.

Why?

Because when they are released and antichrist and his angels are here,
the example set forth in Acts chapter 2,
of the prophecy quoted from Joel in Acts 2:18 (above),
takes place and the "WIND" the Holy Spirit of God,
will "breath" and proclaim the gospel through His servants and His handmaidens upon the slain.

Ezekiel 37:9
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Here comes the rushing "WIND",
the breath, God's Holy Spirit,
the "ruach" in Hebrew,
to "breathe upon" the spiritually slain,
that may see the mighty works of God and come out of Babylon and live!

And do not forget the example set forth in Acts 2.
When the Holy Spirit speaks, not just the house of Israel will hear Him,
but all people of all nations who hear and watch the testimony and that which is spoken,
will hear and understand what is being said in their very own native language without the need of a translator.

[10] 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.
Whew!

An exceeding great Christian army!

I'm glad to see some more souls come to life!

For a minute there I thought only God's 7,000 very elect and the 144,000 of the house of Israel were going to make it through the great tribulation of antichrist and be part of the first resurrection.

Rev. 7:9-14 will document that there are multitudes and peoples of all nations come out the great tribulation.

Ezekiel 37:11
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

NO, WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT LITTLE COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
So are they right in saying that Israel's hope is lost.

No way!

In fact there is great hope for our brothers and sisters because our Father is in control and He loves them very much and His plan of the salvation and restoration of His people is really, really good!

[12] Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Tell your people the Lord GOD will walk with them,
and they can walk right out of the valley of the shadow of death,
the sepulcher where their dry bones once laid,
and lie down in green pastures in the land of Israel,
the land prepared for them by their beloved Shepherd.
[13] 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,
When we are but dried up old bones and spiritually dead as if already in our grave,
and our Father "quickens" us,
makes us come alive through His Spirit and through His Word,
oh how grateful and thankful we are to Him.

What a loving Father we have.

[14] 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.
He has promised to restore His people and He will do it.

Thus saith the LORD!

Have you ever given any thought to how it is that Christians sing in their hymnals about and say prayers unto "the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" and then turn right around and refer to them as Jews!

Think about this.

None of those three were Jews,
for Judah was a son of Jacob (see chart below).

Do you know that the words Hebrew, Israelite, and Judah (Jew) are NOT synonymous terms.

God's appointed watchmen,
those who have eaten the Scroll, the Word of God,
and digested it in their bellies,
do know the difference.

In fact, they are instructed to educate their people about those differences and so it is a very important "end times" job of the watchmen.

Let's read about it.

Ezekiel 37:15
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

[16] Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

The Hebrew word for "Moreover" is "owd",
#5750 in Strong's Concordance and it means "iteration" or "continuance",
also again, repeatedly, "all life long".

There is something so extremely important that our Father wants His watchman to continually teach it,
all their lives!

What is it?

It is the fact that the house of Judah IS NOT the house of Israel!

They are split into two houses!

Judah, along with their allotment of Levites and many from the tribe of Benjamin,
comprise the "House of Judah",
while Joseph, of whom the tribe of Ephraim was the largest,
along with the rest of the 10 northern tribes comprise the other house,
the "House of Israel".

There are two houses, two sticks, NOT ONE!

Here is why this is so important:

If you do not understand these two houses, then you are not a watchman unto the house of Israel, for you know not who to watch over. Furthermore, if you do not understand who these two houses are, then you cannot possibly understand Bible prophecy! Here's the test question, "Can you show someone where the United States of America, which has many times more Bibles in the land than people, is mentioned in God's Word?" You should not only be able to do that, but as a watchman you are commanded to show the two sticks to the dry bones! That's what this section of the 37th chapter of Ezekiel is all about!
You see, watchmen know that if you go out among the dry bones and speak with them and ask them where the house of Israel is today,
they will all point their phalanges to the Middle East and say "over there"!

That's the WRONG ANSWER!

And the biggest problem is that most ministers and preachers will tell you exactly the same thing,
that the Jews are the same as the house of Israel, but they are "dead" wrong.

So much for their understanding of Bible prophecy, huh!

So here's what you do:

You say to one of these bone heads when you encounter them,
"Don't move, I'll be right back."
Then go over to the nearest tree and rip off two small limbs... wait a minute!

Check and make sure this action is not in violation of one the 57,002 environmental regulations in your township.

Next, take a permanent black Sharpie and write "Judah" on one of the sticks,
hand it to skeleton man*, and say, "Hold this up in your left hand a minute."

Take the other stick and write "Joseph" on it and tell your sinew challenged friend to hold this up in his right hand.

Now say to him/her,
"Are you holding one stick or two sticks?"

If he says, "Wow man, I don't know",
that means you are in a really arid section of town where the bones are becoming petrified, i.e. getting stoned.

Just say "Ok dude" and go repeat this process perhaps in the suburbs somewhere.

(This is a fairly close analogy to the teaching job of a watchman.)

Anyway, you've got the picture in your mind concerning the TWO sticks, not one stick, right?

*Note: Gender cannot be readily determined by looking at a skeleton. Gender is a thing of the flesh. So doesn't that make you wonder why all the prehistoric skeletons they discover are always called "men", you know, Neanderthal Man, Pilton Man, etc. Maybe those who made the discoveries were totally wrong and it was really Neanderthal Woman they found! Women just aren't treated equally with men in the theory of evolution.

For the less theatrical among us,
there is another way to use "sticks" to demonstrate that which God wants His watchmen to continually educate the dry bones about,
and that is simply to write on and hold up the two branches on the Family Tree, one for Judah and one for Joseph.

Here it is:

 Now you know why... Ezekiel 37:16!

By the way, the star of the House of Israel has 5 points on it.
"5" in Biblical numerics means "grace",
as in "God shed His grace on thee!"
(See appendix 10 in the Companion Bible for the significance of numbers in scriptures.)

Let's continue with verse 17 where God now tells Ezekiel that once the two sticks have been shown to be two separate sticks,
demonstrate that they will be joined together and become just one stick.

This is prophecy and will happen at the restoration in the Millennium,
which begins at the 7th Trump, the return of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 37:17
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Then after you join the two sticks back together so that they are now one in your hand,
just smile and wait for the fish to bite,
or the bones to shake and rattle and start coming together.
[18] And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
This question by a "child" of your people would be your clue to teach from God's Word in the manner in which watchmen always teach, i.e. "Thus saith the Lord GOD"
.l You simply say something like,
"Did you know it is written (you could even say "in Ezekiel chapter 37" if you remember the chapter)
that God is going to restore the house of Judah and the house of Israel into one?

That is because they are two separate houses right now."

[19] Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
They shall be one in HIS HAND, the Lord's hand!

 Remember what we learned earlier?

It is the Lord GOD, not man, who will restore His people,
both houses you now know,
so that they and all the nations round about them
"Shall know that He is the LORD".

Ezekiel 37:20
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
You keep showing them and keep telling them dry bones about those two separate houses, watchman!

You stick to it!

Earlier, we learned that there is something very important that our Father wants His watchman to continually teach, all their lives!

And that something is who the lost tribes of the House of Israel really are.

They are NOT the same as the house of Judah.

They are TWO separate sticks, even two separate "branches" of the family tree.

It so clearly written in God's Word that Judah was only one of the twelve sons of Israel (the name God gave to Jacob),
so that while all Jews (of the tribe of Judah) are Israelites,
the majority of Israelites are NOT Jews.

It also clearly written and should be common knowledge among Christians that following Solomon's reign over the whole house of Israel (all 12 tribes) that the kingdom was split into TWO separate houses,
the northern 10 tribes retaining their name as the House of Israel and southern Judah along with Benjamin becoming known as the House of Judah.

Anyone who has a Bible with maps in the appendix can find a map showing these two separate houses.

So how is it that so many people think that the little nation in the Middle East is the whole house of Israel?

Let's just say it is a case of mistaken ID (Ignorance and Deception).

We have read many times already in this incredible Book of Ezekiel that both the house of Israel, i.e. the 10 northern tribes,
and later the southern house of Judah,
were to be taken captive and scattered among the nations,
and so they were.

God's Word always comes to pass exactly as it is written.

Even the early apostles knew where the tribes were scattered.

Have you ever noticed that the apostle James addresses his book specifically to those twelve tribes which were already scattered abroad?

What postal address did he use?

You should know.

James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
It just seems so fitting that a millennium and a half later,
God would raise up one of the kings of those tribes of Israel,
bearing the same name as this apostle,
and he would bring forth the written Word of God to the common man.

His name of course was King James!
(Yes King James of the King James Bible)

Did you also know that the apostle Paul made it a point to tell us (twice) that he was not of Judah,
but that he was a Benjamite,
from the tribe of Benjamin.

Here is Paul writing in Romans:

Romans 11:1
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
The same thing noted earlier applies here: All Benjamites are Israelites but not all Israelites are Benjamites. And while both Benjamites and Judahites are Israelites, Benjamin is NOT his brother Judah!

Here's Paul once again declaring his nationality, this time in his writing to the Philippians:

Philip. 3:5
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Though they lost their identity as the house of Israel,
it is written that God's children would be called by a "new name",
even "His name".

Today they are called "Christians".

We also learned in our last study that God was going to gather His lost children from among those nations and bring them into a land of their own.

And so He did.

Ezekiel 37:21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Wherever the House of Israel resides today,
you will find them in their own land!

But our Father will go even one step further and He will soon rejoin the two separate "sticks" of the House of Israel and the House of Judah.

This will occur at Christ's second coming and Messiah shall forevermore be their King and their Shepherd.

[22] And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
The House of Israel will be made "whole" and will once again include all 12 of the tribes.

There is even a calling out from among those tribes of Israel taking place right now,
in this final generation,
in preparation for that final restoration at Christ's coming.

In fact, even now at this late hour in the day,
they are being "sealed" in their foreheads [minds],
which is to say they are being educated with the pure truth and understanding from His Word.

Rev. 7:4
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

[5] Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

Judah is listed as ONE of the tribes of Israel,
NOT as Israel itself!

If you do not understand this then you currently dwell in spiritual Babylon,
in which case the license plate on your tail reads,
from "The State of Confusion".

[6] Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

[7] Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

[8] Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

So even though Judah is a separate house (stick) today,
all the tribes will be joined back together and restored as one house,
one stick,
and will be united forevermore.

And when Israel and Judah are joined back together into that one stick,
it will be a time not only of restoration,
but of great cleansing.

God's people will see their shame and idolatrous ways when Christ returns and they will turn to Him of their own free will,
in great humbleness,
loathing the sins which they have committed and they will begin pouring out their love for Him and for what He has done for His children.

Ezekiel 37:23
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
[24] And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
This refers to Messiah to come, the returning King and the Shepherd of Israel.

Jeremiah records the same thing in chapter 23 of his book:

Jeremiah 23:5
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
The Messiah, the son David, shall be given the throne of His father David?
Luke 1:32
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

[33] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Do you know who sits upon the throne of David at this present time,
for it is written that "David shall never want for a man (no gender implied) to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel" (Jer. 33:17)?

Her name is Queen Elizabeth.

Continuing with what Jeremiah wrote:

Jeremiah 23:56
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
This is the restoration when both "sticks" shall be joined together under one King and one Shepherd, the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jesus Christ is that one shepherd:
John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Under Messiah, the Prince of Peace,
the Shepherd of Israel,
ALL of the House of Israel shall safely dwell forever.
Ezekiel 37:25
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
This will happen during the Millennium when Jesus Christ has returned and we are all changed into our spiritual bodies and the whole House of Israel,
including Judah, even from ALL GENERATIONS* both past and present,
will be united together as one happy family FOREVER!

What a glorious family reunion that will be!!

*Note: This verse does not imply that people will be having children but rather that they will be with their children and their grandchildren, who will be with their fathers and their forefathers.

[26] Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
The covenant of peace is even that the Prince of Peace shall be with them,
and His holy place, His sanctuary,
shall be in the midst of His children.

It is important to note that both the words "everlasting" and "evermore" are exactly the same word in Hebrew which means "eternally",
which is "from the beginning of time and continuing on without ending".

You see, His covenant is eternal!

Here's the Strong's definition:

`owlam, o-lawm', Hebrew 5769; or olam, o-lawm'; from Hebrew 5956 (`alam); properly concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practical) eternity; frequent adverb (especially with prepositional prefix) always :- alway (-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, [n-]) ever (-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end). Compare Hebrew 5331 (netsach), Hebrew 5703 (`ad).
The reason this is important is because it shows that it was God's purpose and His plan from the very beginning,
not just from henceforth.

Of course one must understand the beginning, the first earth age,
the time of spoken of by Paul in Eph. 1:4 which was "before the foundation of this world (earth age)",
called "the world that then was" by Peter in 2 Pet. 3.

For only with that understanding can the in-depth meaning of John 3:16 be understood.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Greek word translated "everlasting" here also means "eternal",
which is from the beginning on without end, even before Genesis 1:1.

You see, there has been no cessation of your life since your Father created your soul,
which was even before the earth was brought into being*.

Even Satan, who has been sentenced to die in the lake of fire,
is still alive at this present time and will be cast to this earth in the very near future (Rev. 12:7-9) and will claim to be the Messiah.

Here is the Greek word which should be translated "eternally",
meaning from the beginning, instead of "everlasting" in John 3:16.

aionios, ahee-o'-nee-os, Greek 166; from Greek 165 (aion); perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well) :- eternal, for ever, everlasting, world (began).
*Note: Most people believe that the Plan of God begins with Gen. 1:1 because the Bible begins there. But such is not the case, for although the heavens and the earth had a beginning (at their creation in Gen. 1:1), our Father did not. Proverbs chapter 8 will document that "wisdom" was with our Father before He even made the earth and His desire was to have sons (children), which He did! He then built them the most beautiful home in the universe which we call planet earth, and His sons (we all) sang and shouted for joy (Job 38:7) . Therefore His plan began long before the earth was created, and if you would like to learn more about that time and the overall Plan of God, log unto "The Plan of God". You'll be glad you did.

Yes, Jesus Christ will be with His people in the sanctuary during the Millennium,
but eventually even the Father will come and tabernacle with His children.

Ezekiel 37:27
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Here is the second witness as it is written in the Book of Revelation:
Rev. 21:2
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

[3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And that will be the name of that great eternal city, i.e. "God himself shall be with them"!
It is written in the very last verse of the Book of Ezekiel,
which in Hebrew reads "Yahveh sham", "The LORD is there".
Ezekiel 48:35
It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
And as we have seen time after time,
chapter after chapter,
how all encompassing the plan of God is to include ALL of His children of all races and nationalities,
it is so fitting and characteristic of our Father's love that He remembers those nations in the last verse of this chapter of the restoration of the whole House of Israel.

For not just the House of Israel shall know Him,
but all people of all nations shall "know that He is the LORD".

He is so good to all of His children!

How can anyone not love Him for all that He has done?

Ezekiel 37:28
And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Let's recap the basics of what we have learned in this study.
1.) God promised He would gather His people from among the nations and bring them into their own land, where they dwell even now. Do you know where they are?  See The Stone Kingdom

2.) God promised to restore both the house of Israel and the house of Judah into one stick during the Millennium and His sanctuary will be among them, even the Millennial Temple, and Jesus Christ will reign as King and Shepherd over all forevermore.

3.) God Himself will come (at the end of the Millennium) and He Himself will tabernacle with His children forevermore.

All this we have learned from the great Book of Ezekiel, a book in the Old Testament! Imagine that!
 


To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.



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