What a blessing it will be indeed for those who are part of the First Resurrection.
Let's
read some more about the privileges and duties of God's elect,
the
priests of the Zadok, the wife of Christ.
Ezekiel 44:15
But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: Ezekiel 44:16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
You
might say that they are even His "rod",
or
at least they carry it forth,
with
which He rules and maintains discipline in the temple
and
among the nations during the Millennium,
for
they SHALL keep His charge.
[17] And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
We
will learn that the Zadok can actually become unclean,
i.e.
defiled, when they leave the inner court
and
so before they return they will need to go through a cleansing and purification
process of seven days.
So
all of their clothing while they are in the Inner Court shall be of nothing
but fine linen,
i.e.
they shall have on pure "righteousness" when they are in His presence.
That is what fine "linen" represents as documented in Rev. 19.
Rev. 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
This is symbolic of God's elect gathering unto Christ, the Bridegroom.
[8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
[9] And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Hey,
come to think of it,
wives
are joint-heirs with their husbands, aren't they?
Ezekiel 44:18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
You
know, we often don't think about it this way,
but
imagine what a beautiful sight God's elect,
all
adorned in their beautiful white linen flowing gowns,
will
be to Jesus Christ!
[19] And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
They cannot wear their beautiful white linen wedding dresses out in public!
They must take them off and put on street clothes first!
Ezekiel 44:20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
[21] Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
[22] Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.
We
have just read about the wife of Christ
and
yet it is written that "marriage",
as
we know it, is a thing of the flesh.
There is NO giving in marriage, as we know it, in the Millennium.
Why?
Everyone will be in spiritual bodies even as the angels who are all "sons" of God.
That is why all the angels who appear in the Bible are as young men.
Luke 20:34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
Now
notice the big "But" in verse 35 concerning the Millennium .
(Did
that sound right?)
[35] But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
(This
really upsets some, especially those [mostly men] who think they will surely
miss the "get",
which
really is nothing in comparison to what the spiritual bodies have to offer.
I
mean, it is like comparing riding a bike
to
flying a highly polished spectrum bronze interstellar spacecraft!)
Seriously
though, we are to SEE, i.e. understand,
that
which is "spiritual", those things which are invisible to the flesh eye,
from
that which we SEE in the flesh,
even
His eternal power and Godhead.
Here's Paul with the scoop on how it works:
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Let's read again verse 22.
Ezekiel 44:22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.
The
purpose of the exercise during the Millennium
is
to prepare those who didn't make the wedding at Christ's return
for
the final wedding at the end of the Millennium.
God's
elect, the wife of Christ,
are
not going to be running all over the world to other peoples and nations,
preparing
wives for that wedding.
They
will work, partner so to speak,
with
the spiritual virgins [maidens] of the house of Israel.
And
aside from ministering unto Christ,
these
next two verses contain some of their other duties.
Ezekiel 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
I
mean, how in the world have we allowed
such
liberal politicians, teachers and preachers to prevail in our land?
It
is staggering how many people can't tell the difference
between
a fetus and an unborn child,
between
living together and fornication,
between
alternate lifestyle and sexual perversion,
between
the United States form of Government and Cuba's,
between
right and wrong,
between
good and evil,
between
the holy and the profane,
between
Jesus Christ and anti-Jesus Christ.
So
for the next 1000 years,
they
will "Learn to Discern" and the Zadok will see to it that they do!
And
when controversy arises,
the
Zadok shall settle it in righteous judgment according to God's Word.
Ezekiel 44:24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
And
perhaps former members of our
"They
Thought They Were Supreme Court"
can
lead the opening prayers at football games.
Yes,
life
in the Millennium under God's laws
will
be quite a contrast to the last 6,000 years
of
man placing his unrighteous laws over God's righteous laws.
Ezekiel 44:25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.
You
see, the "dead" cannot approach unto Christ during the Millennium,
neither
can they approach unto His wife!
However,
because of the love and compassion the Zadok have for their loved ones,
and
because of Christ's love and compassion for His elect,
they
will be able to hang up their wedding dresses
and
go past the outer court
and
help those loved ones who are having discernment problems
which
could jeopardize their salvation
and
cause them to perish in the lake of fire.
In
so doing this,
they
will become defiled,
for
as it is written,
they
will be holy: Rev. 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection.."
Therefore
they must go through a 7 day cleansing period
before
reentering the Inner Sanctuary.
Seven
in Biblical numerics means "spiritual perfection",
the
state to which they shall return.
Ezekiel 44:26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.
Just wait until we find out that we look like ourselves.
What a hoot!
After
all, we were created in the image of the Elohim,
i.e.
God and the angels, i.e. God and His sons,
i.e.
God and you and me and our loved ones!
The flesh body is a mirror image of the spiritual body.
[27] And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD.
[28] And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
However,
the
Zadok will get none.
Why?
We
already read it earlier,
they
are co-inheritors with Christ.
We
also read that the depth of that statement
"I
AM their inheritance" is beyond man's Eye to See,
so
let's just sort of SEE it in the physical
and
say it will be a family owned universe.
Is
it any wonder the scripture says in Rev. 20:6
"Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection..?"
All
things belong to God.
Again,
how would you like to be an heir to that?
Ezekiel 44:29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
[30] And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.
Well,
I can understand that,
because
my wife sometimes signs my checks with her name
and
the bank always honors them,
because
they recognize us as married.
Hmmm. Marriage is really a close relationship, isn't it?
Married people share everything!
Ezekiel 44:31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
Nothing
that is defiled shall they receive,
anymore
than Christ would receive it.
And
please do not misunderstand,
I
am in NO WAY making the Zadok equal to Christ.
It's just that He's so good to us and He share's everything with His wife.
Oh how glorious and what a blessing that will be!
Also,
just as a reminder,
there
will be no flesh and blood nor flesh and blood sacrifices in the kingdom
of God,
for
flesh and blood cannot even enter therein.
All
the worship and sacrifice that shall be given will be spiritual,
even
love,
for
as it is written:
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.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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