The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet
#1182 Ezek
kc 6
"Now
there is reason why nothing happened for those seven days."
In
the first two and one half chapters of Ezekiel we learned
that
God came to earth in a flying saucer,
handed
Ezekiel a scroll and told him to eat it.
Ezekiel
did as God said and after he had eaten
and
digested the entire Word of God,
written
within and without,
he
is now "filled" with the Spirit of the Living God,
and
has become as a precious diamond to our Father.
The
Lord has told him to go to his own people,
not
a people who speak some strange foreign language,
but
to the very House of Israel,
and
speak "Thus saith the Lord" to them.
So
Ezekiel will now be taken to his predestined location
among
the captives at Telabib,
to
be made a watchman by the strong hand of the Lord which is upon him.
Ezekiel
3:15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt
by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished
among them seven days.
"Tel"
in Hebrew means elevation or mound and "abib" means young
corn,
even
corn that isn't yet ripened.
And
even though Ezekiel was taken there,
by
that "river great", Chebar,
he
did nothing but sit there "totally silent" for seven days.
Seven
in Biblical numerics denotes spiritual perfection
or
completeness (see appendix 10 in the Companion Bible).
Now
there is reason why nothing happened for those seven days, and that
is to reveal to us that there is a time gap to be understood here, even
to the "fullness of times", the time of the end. You see, it would be the
generation that could understand about the vehicles written of in chapter
one that would be the generation of the captivity to whom "Ezekiel" would
be sent. If you have eyes to see and ears to hear then you understand that
he's being sent even now, and his "vision" is being seen in these last
days (Acts 2:17).
[16]
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying,
[17]
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore
hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
In
chapter 33 we will read the exact same words from the Lord to EZEK-I-EL,
"whom
God strengthens".
Has
He strengthened you?
Ezekiel
33:7 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.
Here
are the two awesome responsibilities of a watchman to the House of Israel.
You
must:
(1) Hear the word from His mouth, i.e. from His Word, not from men.
(2)
Give the people warning from His word.
And
just so you know that the two words
"awesome
responsibilities"
weren't
used to merely add color,
the
next four verses, 18-21,
outline
how serious being a watchman truly is.
Here
is the Lord speaking:
Ezekiel
3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou
givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked
way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at thine hand.
If
you do not give the warning, from the Word of God,
that
they will "Surely Die" if they heed not His Word,
you
will pay the price for their soul!!
Notice
in verse 18 that the warning is exactly the same warning
the
Lord gave to Adam and Eve, in the beginning!
Stay
away from Satan, the serpent, that "tree" of the knowledge of good and
evil,
or
"Thou shalt surely die!" (Gen 2:17)
Well
guess what?
Satan,
the son of perdition,
the
anti-christ, is coming again, soon,
at
the sound of the 6th Trump.
It
is written!
Thus
saith the Lord!
[19]
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from
his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy
soul.
Don't
expect to be Mr. or Ms. Popularity!
[20]
Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit
iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die:because thou
hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness
which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require
at thine hand.
This
verse is not talking about a good person turning to fleshly vices and sins.
The
subject is righteous people, good people,
who
commit iniquity by stumbling at the stumblingblock
that
God lays before them!
If
they do, "They shalt surely die!"
What
is this stumblingblock that God lays before them?
You
see, there are many, many Christians who love the Lord,
but
they do not really KNOW Him,
because
they do not know His Word!
(The
Living Word and the Written Word are one.)
They
are not even aware that there are two Jesus Christs,
the
real One (of Christianity) and the Instead-of-Jesus (of Churchianity).
"Ante-Christos"
in Greek, means "instead of Christ",
for
he is an imposter who appears as the real Messiah.
The
Apostle Paul WARNED the people in 2 Thes. 2,
that
Satan is coming BEFORE we gather back to Christ.
And
there will be a great falling away,
a
great apostasy when he comes,
for
those who did not "love the truth", i.e. study His Word,
will
believe that he is God, whom he will claim to be.
He
will deceive the whole world,
except
for God's elect and those who heed the warning from the "Ezekiels",
i.e.
those who teach Ezekiel and the "Entire Scroll" which he ate.
God
therefore will send Satan (Rev. 12:7-9) and he will,
as
Jesus Christ, cause them to stumble!
2
Thes. 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness
of his coming:
[9]
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders,
[10]
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
God
takes full responsibility for sending Satan.
Appearing
as Jesus, he IS the stumblingblock God lays before the people!
2
Thes. 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:
Peter
also WARNS us,
that
in these last days the stumbling block is the stone that the builders rejected,
even
Jesus Christ.
Many
claim to love Him, to be His virgin bride,
but
they don't put any oil in their lamps,
and
won't be able to see their way to the real wedding.
They
will be "taken" in the night!
1
Peter 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they
were appointed.
If
you "stumble at the Word, i.e.
you
don't know it because you don't study it,
you
are disobedient!
Thus
saith the Lord!
With
that background, let's re-read Ezekiel 3:20.
Ezekiel
3:20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness,
and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die:because
thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness
which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require
at thine hand.
All
the good deeds that they have done,
will
do them no good, nor be remembered.
Here
they are trying to cash them in:
Matthew
7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done
many wonderful works?
They
did do wonderful works!
It's
just that they worshiped antichrist, Satan,
as
Jesus and promoted his "Christianity"
because
they were too lazy to study God's Word.
[23]
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity.
Our
Father wants His children WARNED about this,
and
it is the responsibility of the watchmen, God's elect to do it.
However,
we are not responsible for their decision
to
heed the warning or their decision to ignore it.
Ezekiel
3:21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous
sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned;
also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Are
you a watchman?
It
is an awesome responsibility,
but
remember, it is was Ezekiel's own people to whom he was sent,
just
as it is our own people to whom we are sent.
And
we must be wise and loving in dealing with them,
lest
we ourselves become a stumblingblock by being real jerks.
So
I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul:
1
Cor. 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men,
be strong.
"Quit
you like men" means "Act like men", i.e. be mature.
And
whatever you do,
remember
these words from the Word of God through Paul:
[14]
Let all your things be done with charity.
What
an honor and a privilege it is to be a servant
of
the Living God in these last days!
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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