AM Dec 1st 1 John 1

December 1^st     1 John 1           A. God is Light  Our Witness of Christ

1: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2: (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3: That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4: And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

God is light

5: This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

John picks up his pen to write the first of three biblical letters. He reminds his readers that what he is saying is the same as what was taught from the very beginning. He is writing that his readers might come right into the fellowship of the saints. The concept of Fellowship is the key to this letter. He writes that their joy might be full – the Joy of the realisation of fellowship with the Father and the Son. Then he comes right down to the message itself, which is that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Then John puts forward two alternatives. The first is those who profess to walk in the light yet they walk in darkness. This sort of life is a living lie. They are saved but they live as though they are not. The second is the believer who walks – lives in the light of Gods blessing. They find that they have fellowship with all those who also are walking in the light. And they also find that the blood of Christ goes cleansing from all sin. Then he returns to the first case. He says that those who say they are not sinners then we just deceive ourselves. (Notice he includes himself – All of us do this sometimes!) Other people are not deceived one bit. But he says If we confess our sins He is faithful a just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The path of restoration is not a path of reformation or resolutions. Don’t make New Year resolutions this year! Resolve to walk in the light and to confess your sin when it becomes apparent to you. Remember, it’s not prayer that restores you. Or turning over a new leaf, or making a decision to do better. It’s simply confession. Confession is owning up! Its saying ‘I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I’ve sinned’. We do not ask for forgiveness. We confess our sins and when we confess our sins he is faithful and just and HE WILL FORGIVE US our sins and he will cleanse us. And when we have confessed we believe that we are forgiven. We must learn to forgive ourselves when God has forgiven us. And when God has forgiven our brethren we must forgive them.

PM Nov 30th Eze 41

November 30^th   Ezekiel 41

1: Afterward he brought me to the 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 tabernacle. 2: 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. 3: 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. 4: 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. 5: 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. 6: 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. 7: 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. 8: I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. 9: The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within. 10: And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side. 11: And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about. 12: Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. 13: So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long; 14: Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits. 15: And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court; 16: The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered; 17: To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure. 18: And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; 19: So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. 20: From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple. 21: The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other. 22: The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. 23: And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors. 24: And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door. 25: And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without. 26: And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.

 

Ezekiel 42

1: Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north. 2: Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. 3: Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. 4: And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north. 5: Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building. 6: For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground. 7: And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 8: For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits. 9: And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court. 10: The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building. 11: And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. 12: And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them. 13: Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy. 14: When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people. 15: Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. 16: He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 17: He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 18: He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed. 19: He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 20: He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.

Ezekiel 43         The glory in the Temple

1: Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 2: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 3: And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 4: And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5: So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. 6: And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 7: And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 8: In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 9: Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. 10: Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. 11: And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 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. 13: And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. 14: And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. 15: So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. 16: And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. 17: And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east. 18: And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. 19: And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. 20: And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. 21: Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. 22: And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. 23: When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. 24: And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 25: Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. 26: Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. 27: And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.

Now the Lord brings Ezekiel to the Temple. (The Millennial Temple) And again the angel of the Lord measures it. There are some people that say there will be no Millennial and that the Temple is just figurative. If that is so, then why would it be necessary to measure it? The reason why it is measured is to emphasis the physical reality of its foundations, walls, rooms, doors, and pillars. From this ‘architects specification’ it is possible to draw very accurate plans of the Temple in three dimensions. The description even describes what we call today a winding or spiral staircase. The temple is decorated with cherubim (with two faces - the face of a man and a lion) alternating with palm trees. In detail Ezekiel not only describes accurately the dimension but the materials in which things are made. For example he states that the Altar is to be made of wood. The doors of the temple are what we call today double leaf - double doors. The temple has three stories to the side rooms. One of the controversial points of the millennial temple is that it is constructed for the purpose of sacrifice. This passage clearly states this to be so. There will even be a sin offering however this shows that sacrifices can look back to the cross just as OT sacrifices looked forward to the cross. In the next chapter Ezekiel describes the return of the Shekinah Glory from the east through the East Gate. Then the angel said that the sanctuary was to be the location of the throne of God. This links this passage to Isaiah’s vision of the Lord seated in the temple and the Seraphim who say Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, etc. This temple will be the place where Christ will sit in glory ruling the world. This is why the Message of Christ was that Israel was to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. From this time on all the abominations and iniquities of the children of Israel will be put away for ever. The kingdom of heaven will be the rule of heaven over the affairs of men. Next the Lord gives the sacrificial procedure for the cleansing of the temple making it fit to be the place of Christ’s throne.

AM Nov 30th 2Peter 3

November 30th

11: Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12: Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13: Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14: Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15: And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17: Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Peter’s vision was very far into the future. He could see the end of everything. He could see the day when everything would be dissolved. And because of that he says what sort of people should we be? He looks forward beyond the Rapture, Beyond the Tribulation and Beyond the Kingdom. He sees The Day of God. When God himself makes a new heaven and a new earth. He pleads with his readers that they are found righteous in the last day. He confessed that some of the things which Paul writes are hard to be understood. He tells the Hebrew believers to beware of falling from their own steadfastness and being led into error. He tells them to grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom is glory both now and for ever. Amen.

PM Nov 29th Eze 39

November 29^th   Ezekiel 39

 

1: Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 3: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4: Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5: Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 6: And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7: So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8: Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 9: And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 10: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. 11: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. 12: And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 13: Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 14: And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 15: And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. 16: And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17: And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18: Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19: And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20: Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

Israel restored

21: And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 22: So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. 23: And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity 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. 24: According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 25: 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; 26: 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. 27: 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; 28: Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which cause them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29: 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.

Ezekiel 40         The Temple restored

1: 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 was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither. 2: In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. 3: And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. 4: 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. 5: And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. 6: Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. 7: And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed. 8: He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. 9: Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward. 10: And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. 11: And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12: The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. 13: He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door. 14: He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate. 15: And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. 16: And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees. 17: Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. 18: And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. 19: Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward. 20: And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. 21: And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 22: And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. 23: And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits. 24: After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. 25: And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 26: And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. 27: And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. 28: And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; 29: And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 30: And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. 31: And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps. 32: And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. 33: And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 34: And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 35: And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures; 36: The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 37: And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 38: And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering. 39: And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering. 40: And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables. 41: Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices. 42: And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice. 43: And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. 44: And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. 45: And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. 46: And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him. 47: So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house. 48: And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. 49: The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

Ezekiel continues to prophecy regarding Russia. The Lord will bring them from the North but he will shatter them on the mountains of Judea. He will break their weapons of war. The Israelites will use their weapons for fuel for seven years. A huge valley in the north of Israel is where they will bury the dead of Russia. Men will search for the bones of the Army and they will set up a notice so that it can be buried in the valley of bones. The Lord will call on the carrion to come and eat the flesh of the Northern army. In the twenty fifth year of the captivity in the first month and the tenth day, on that day the Lord brought Ezekiel in a vision to the Land of Israel. He saw an angel with a surveying line and a measuring rod standing in the gate of the city of Zion. Then the angel measured the wall of the city. Then he measured the gate of the city. Then he went up the stairs into the eastern gate to measure the threshold. He then measured the chambers each side of the gate. He continues to measure everything the windows doorways gates etc, etc. He measures the pavement, the archways, the side-rooms, the posts. He measures the tables on which sacrifices are prepared. He measures the altars. Then Ezekiel finds that Zadok Is appointed to sacrifice to the Lord. All of this was a vision of the Temple of the Lord which will be erected to the Lord in the Messianic kingdom.

PM Nov 29th 2Peter 3

November 29^th   2 Peter 3           C. The Attitude of Expectancy   3v1-18 Be ready

1: This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4: And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5: For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8: But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Again Peter tells his readers that he is writing to remind them of the things that previously he had spoken. It’s interesting that when Paul wrote to the same people in his letter to the Galatians he marvelled that they had so soon changed their minds about the freedom they had in Christ and were returning to Judaism. History tells us that in this area was a group linked to the Gaul’s of France and who were notorious for their ability to change their mind and change loyalties. Peter reminds them of the words of Christ and of the commandments of the Apostles. He reminds them that in the latter days (The end of the Apostolic era and the Tribulation period) There will be men who will scoff at the Prophesies of the OT and who will live according to the flesh. Not only are they ignorant of the scriptures but they are wilfully ignorant. Peter reminds them that one day appears to be like a thousand years to the Lord. Because the Lord has seen all time and it appears to be a short time. And that the Lord is not lazy concerning his promises. It is just that his delay in judgment is based on his longsuffering. God will suffer Israel for a long time wishing them to return to him and come to repentance. He reminds then that, The Day of the Lord will come when men do not expect it. The Day of the Lord will include a remaking of the earth and a destruction of the plans and empires of men.    

PM Nov 28th Eze 36

November 28^th   Ezekiel 36         The future restoration of Israel

1: Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: 2: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: 3: Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: 4: Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; 5: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. 6: Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: 7: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. 8: 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. 9: For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10: And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: 11: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 12: Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. 13: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; 14: Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD. 15: Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD. 16: Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 17: Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. 18: Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: 19: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. 20: And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. 21: But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22: Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 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 among the heathen, whither ye went. 23: And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, 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 in you before their eyes. 24: For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25: Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27: And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28: 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. 29: I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30: 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. 31: Then 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. 32: 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. 33: 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. 34: And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35: 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. 36: 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. 37: Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. 38: As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 37         The valley of dry bones

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, 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. 3: And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4: Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5: Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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.

The reunion of Judah and Israel

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: 17: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18: And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 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. 20: And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 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: 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: 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. 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. 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. 27: My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 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.

Ezekiel 38         Gog

1: And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3: And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: 5: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. 7: Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8: After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9: Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 10: Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 11: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12: 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, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13: Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? 14: Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? 15: And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? 18: And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19: For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20: So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21: And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22: And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23: Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel prophesies against the mountains of Israel. The Lord speaks about the Geography of the Land of Israel. The Lord promises the land that will indeed be fruitful again. The cities will be inhabited again. The children of Israel will multiply in the land of Israel. Even though the nation and the nations have profaned the name of the Lord yet the Lord will hold his name as halloed. The Lord will gather his people again and he will cleanse them. The Lord will give them a new birth and he will give them the Holy Spirit. And they will live in the law of God perfectly. The fruit of the ground and of the orchards will flourish. And when they remember their previous ways they will loath themselves. The Land will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Then the Lord lifted Ezekiel up and set him down in a valley full of dry bones and the Lord said to Ezekiel can these dry bones live? Ezekiel answered you only know. Then the Lord said prophecy to these bones and they will live. So Ezekiel said ‘Oh dry bones live’ and there was a great rattling of the bones as they sorted themselves out, then flesh and muscle came to the bones and flesh came too and then the Lord brought the wind and they stood up a mighty army. Then the Lord told him to take two sticks one was to be written on it the name of Judah and the other Ephraim. Then the sticks became one in his hand. This signified that the Lord would take the children of Israel from among the heathen and he would make one nation of them again. They will serve the Lord and King David will rule over them. And the Lord will make an everlasting covenant of Peace with Israel. In the next chapter Ezekiel receives a prophecy regarding the wars against Israel prior to the Kingdom. The Lord sets his face against Russia. Iran, Ethiopia and Libya will be involved. They will invade the land of Israel. The Lord will cause a great shaking of the land and the sea at the presence of the Lord. And the Lord will destroy the invaders with fire and brimstone from heaven.

AM Nov 28th 2Peter 2

November 28^th   2 Peter 2           Beware of False teaching

1: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2: And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3: And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4: For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5: And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6: And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7: And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9: The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 10: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11: Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12: But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13: And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14: Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16: But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17: These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18: For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19: While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20: For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21: For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22: But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Peter now warns his readers of the False Prophets who will come in and bring with them Damnable heresies. Will these men always be prophets! Because a prophet says that they have a new revelation from God. Those who stick to the scriptures are much less prone to errors. Peter describes their career. They make money, lots of it, out of their adherents. Peter reminds his readers of the Judgment of God in the days of Noah and in the Days of Sodom. The Lord is able to deliver the righteous as he did deliver Lot from Sodom. He goes on to describe them as men who live after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness. They despise lawful government. They are presumptuous, self-willed, and they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Even angels do not speak ill of others. These men are ‘natural brute beasts’, reserved for judgment, They speak evil of the things that they understand not. They are ignorant. They will perish in their own corruption. He says, they are Spots in your feasts. He says, they having eyes full of adultery, and they cannot cease from sin. They lead people astray. They are like Balaam who lived for money. They are wells which promise water but they are dry. They are like clouds without rain. They promise great things they allure through the lusts of the flesh. Strangely they promise liberty yet they are the servants of corruption, because who a man is overcome by he is in bondage to. Those who profess forgiveness if they have escaped the pollutions are again entangled again in the world their latter end is worse than their beginning. It would have been better for them that they never were cleansed if they are to return to the mire. They are like dogs who eat their own vomit and sow who having been washed return to wallow in the mud. This is the very case of the Hebrews of the letter to the Hebrews who return to Judaism after supposedly accepting Christ as their Messiah.

PM Nov 27th Eze 34

November 27^th   Ezekiel 34         The shepherds of Israel

1: And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3: Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4: The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5: And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6: My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7: Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 8: As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9: Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

The true shepherd

11: For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12: 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. 13: 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. 14: 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. 15: I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16: 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. 17: And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 18: Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19: And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 20: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21: Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22: Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23: And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24: And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 25: And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26: And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27: And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28: 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. 29: And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30: 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. 31: And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 35         Edom

1: Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3: And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. 4: I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 5: Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: 6: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. 7: Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth. 8: And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. 9: I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 10: Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: 11: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. 12: And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. 13: Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. 14: Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. 15: As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

This time the Lord gives a prophetic word regarding the leaders of Israel. The Lord says you feed yourselves but you do not feed the flock! You eat the fat of the sheep and you wear the wool and you kill them to eat the meat but you do not feed the sheep. You do not look after the sick sheep or those who have broken bones. Nor have you gone to find the lost sheep. But you rule the flock with force and cruelty. The sheep are scattered because there is no true shepherd. They wander the mountains the prey of wolves. The Lord says l am against the shepherds and l will hold the shepherds responsible for how they have forsaken the flock. I will search out the sheep says the Lord and l will look after them. I will gather them and look after them says the Lord. I will find the lost sheep and cure the sick sheep and will bind up the sheep who are hurt. I will set one shepherd over them and he will feed them. David my servant – l will set over my flock says the Lord. (There is no indication to think that this is not King David himself risen from the dead) The Lord will bring blessing on the vegetation to feed the children of Israel. They will be safe and none will ever make them afraid again. The next prophecy was concerning the mountain of Seir. The judgment of God will be complete and eternal on Seir. This is the mountain and country of Edom. It will be forever a perpetual desolation because they rejoiced at the judgment of God on Israel.

AM Nov 27th 2Peter 1

November 27th

12: Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 13: Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14: Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

B. The Authority of The Scriptures          Believe God’s Word

15: Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. 16: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17: For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18: And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Peter feels a sense of obligation to constantly remind the believers even though they may know them. Peter is aware of his decease at sometime and so he fulfils his charge from Christ. He says our faith is not a clever story of fiction. But it is a testimony of his eyewitness of his life and sayings. He tells of the voice from heaven which he heard on the mount of transfiguration. However then he goes on to talk of a much more sure word of testimony which was the prophetic word. Our memories even our memories of our own life are not as sure a testimony was the word of prophecy. He says that prophecy is not a matter of personal opinion or interpretation because the prophesies do not come as a result of the prophets enthusiasm but these holy men of God are moved by the Holy Spirit. The word is ‘moved’ like the sail of a ferry which is carried along by the wind of the Spirit. 

PM Nov 26th Eze 31

November 26^th   Ezekiel 31         A mighty Cedar

1: 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, 2: Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? 3: Behold, the Assyrian 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. 4: The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. 5: Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. 6: All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. 7: Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. 8: The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. 9: I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. 10: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 11: I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. 12: And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him. 13: Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: 14: To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. 15: Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep 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. 16: 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, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. 17: 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. 18: To whom art thou 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 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.

Ezekiel 32         Like a crocodile

1: And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. 3: Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net. 4: Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. 5: And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. 6: I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. 7: And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 8: All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. 9: I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. 10: Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. 11: For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. 12: By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. 13: I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. 14: Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD. 15: When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. 16: This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

The pit

17: It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 18: Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. 19: Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. 20: They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. 21: The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword. 22: Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: 23: Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. 24: There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. 25: They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. 26: There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27: And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 28: Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword. 29: There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. 30: There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. 31: Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. 32: For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 33         D. The Glory of the Lord in the Coming Kingdom                        The watchman’s duty

1: Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4: Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5: He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6: But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7: So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 8: When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 9: Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 10: Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

Personal accountability

11: Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 12: Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 13: When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14: Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15: If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16: None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17: Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. 18: When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 19: But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 20: Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

The news of Jerusalem’s fall

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. 22: 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. 23: Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24: 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. 25: Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? 26: Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? 27: Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 28: For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. 29: Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. 30: Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 31: And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32: And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 33: And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

In Chapter 31 Ezekiel records another vision and he gives the date as usual. This time the prophesy is to Egypt but God is talking about the Assyrian empire. The Lord describes him as a great tree who is so great that all the other trees of the world shelter in his shadow. They all envy him and he is exalted in pride. Because of his pride the Lord will bring him down and everyone will be amazed at his fall. The trees of the field all shook when the Lord cast him into hell. This was to be an object lesson to Egypt. In the Next Chapter Ezekiel is to take up a mourning song for Egypt. He is to say that Egypt was like a lion of the nations and a whale in the seas. Yet the Lord will catch the whale in a great net and throw them into the beach where all the birds will feed off her. Even the sun, moon and stars will not shine. The nations will tremble at Egypt’s fall and it will be by war from Babylon. It seems that Russia and the northern kingdoms will bury their dead in Israel and Egypt. In the last chapter Ezekiel speaks to his own people to set watchmen to warn the people of coming danger. And the Lord gives to Ezekiel the solemn responsibility to be a watchman to Israel. The secret of the relation of Israel to their God is that the Lord says l have no pleasure in the death of the wicked so therefore turn from your evil ways – why would you die in judgment? Men will say that Gods ways are not the same He will save those who turn from their evil ways but he will destroy the wicked who refuse to hear him. Next Ezekiel hears from a man who escaped from the destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel reiterates the judgment of God on Jerusalem.