EZEKIEL 34-40 IT IS NOT HOPELESS2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 34-40 It Is Not Hopeless

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013. Tonight we will be looking at Ezekiel chapters 34 through 40, covering the chapters that we read this week, going through the Bible in three years. We're almost finished with the book of Ezekiel. We have one more week left. We'll finish up the book next week.

And then we'll head into the book of Daniel. And so we'll be finishing up the major prophets over the next couple weeks. And looking forward to what God's going to be speaking through the book of Daniel. There's some great things there that God has in store for us.

And then we're going to head into the minor prophets and we're going to go very, very quickly as we hit those minor prophets. One note I wanted to share. It is November and so we're coming up on Thanksgiving. And one of the things that we do every year for Thanksgiving is we have a special Wednesday evening service. We call it our Thanksgiving service where we give you an opportunity to share what you are thankful for. And so we just rejoice and praise the Lord together as we reflect back on the things that God has done.

And so I think that's in like three weeks, two or three weeks. And so I just wanted to throw it out there so you can be praying and thinking about what you're thankful for. And I would encourage you to come that evening ready to share that we could rejoice and praise the Lord with you and what he has done this past year.

But back to Ezekiel, as we look at the book of Ezekiel, of course, it's written by Ezekiel, who ministered from about 593 to 571 BC. And his purpose was threefold. Number one, to declare the fall of Jerusalem. In chapters 1 through 24, we've covered that. Jerusalem has fallen and Babylon has conquered the nation of Judah.

Then secondly, it was to pronounce judgment on the nations. And that was chapters 25 through 32. We covered those as well. And then the third...

is to give hope of restoration. And that's chapters 33 through 48. And so that's where we are this evening. That's where we'll be this coming week as well in our reading. We're looking at the future, the hope that God is giving to those captives who are in Babylon from the nation of Judah.

Ezekiel ministered during and right after the final destruction of Jerusalem. And so during that captivity period, he ministered in Babylon to the Jews who were captive there in Babylon. At the same time, Jeremiah was in Jerusalem ministering to the Jews who were in Jerusalem. And then also at the same time, Daniel was ministering in Babylon, but to the king, to the government, while Ezekiel was there in Babylon ministering to the Jewish captives.

So here's what it looks like on the map. There's Babylon on the right. The Jewish captives were there, probably actually a little bit south of the city of Babylon, but they're in that region. Ezekiel was there with the captives, ministering to them. Jerusalem was, of course, there, the capital of Judah.

And that has been conquered, as we're reading in the chapters this evening. It's been conquered by Babylon. And so the rest of the inhabitants are now in Babylon. There's a few that went down to Egypt. But for the majority of them, they're in Babylon with Ezekiel.

The timeline of Ezekiel looks like this. Ezekiel began prophesying about four or five years after he was taken captive to Babylon. So in 605 BC, Babylon conquered Jerusalem for the first time. And there was many taken captive to Babylon. Daniel was one of those captives who was taken. Then

Babylon came again in 597 and conquered Jerusalem the second time and took more captives to Babylon and

including Ezekiel. And so he's in Babylon for a few years and then he begins to prophesy these things that God spoke to him. Because the people were expecting and the false prophets were telling them, they're in Babylon, we're going to go back to Judah. God's going to deliver us and Jerusalem's going to be, you know, victorious against the armies of Babylon. But

But God used Ezekiel to say, no, that's not what's going to happen. Settle in here because I have you here, you know, for this period of captivity and then you're going to be released later on. And so Babylon does conquer Judah the third time in 586 BC. This time they destroy the temple, they destroy the walls. There's nothing left of the city. It's just a bunch of rubble. And

And Ezekiel continues to prophesy until about 571 BC. That's the last recorded prophecies that he gives. He gives those later dates on. And so this is Ezekiel. Now Daniel's been in Babylon for about eight or nine years before him. There's some references to Daniel throughout the book of Ezekiel. And so maybe they knew each other. Maybe they met. We don't know. But he is there in Babylon for a few years and ministering to the

the Jewish captives that are in Babylon. Now as we go into chapter 34, again, this half of the book is focused on

The hope of restoration. And so the majority of these things that we'll be looking at this evening and reading through in the coming week are looking to things that have not yet been fulfilled but will be fulfilled during the millennial kingdom. And so hopefully you're here on Sunday. You heard a little bit about the end times, you know, the thousand year reign of Christ.

is the millennial kingdom when Jesus will rule and reign there in Jerusalem. And so the majority of these things that we're talking about this evening will be fulfilled during that time period. They've not been fulfilled yet. So we start out in chapter 34, verse 11 is the key verse. It says, "...for thus says the Lord God, indeed I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out."

He starts out in verses 1 through 6 saying, He's referring to not the people who actually watched, you know, literal sheep, but he's talking about the leaders of the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah. They were shepherds, but he's saying they were not good shepherds. They were not good shepherds.

They were bad shepherds. And that means, you know, bad shepherds are those who make sure that their own needs are met. And so they were consumed with, you know, feeding off of the people instead of serving and ministering to the people. In verse 2 he says, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

God is pointing out, you guys are feeding yourselves, but you're not taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. They're feeding and clothing themselves. They're eating the fat. They're slaughtering the fatlings, but they're not feeding the flock. And so he says in verse 5 that as a result, the sheep are scattered everywhere.

because there was no shepherd. And so he's saying that the condition of the nation of Judah and them being conquered and taken captive into different parts of the world is a result of this lack of a shepherd or these bad shepherds that were there in Israel. And so God says in verses 7 through 10, I am against the shepherds. So

So he's holding these shepherds accountable and he's going to deal with them and bring judgment upon them.

I like what Warren Wiersbe says. He says, true leaders don't exploit their people, they sacrifice for them. And so they're not true leaders. They're exploiting the people instead of sacrificing themselves for them. Instead of serving the people, they're exploiting the people. And so God is going to hold them accountable. Now this is something to pay attention to because

If God has given you authority, then understand that you are a shepherd and he will hold you accountable to that authority that he's given to you. And so perhaps you have authority within the home or within the workplace or within the church and there is an accountability that God will hold you accountable to

To the authority that he's given to you. That you would use that authority to accomplish his purposes and his plans. And not to exploit the people or feed yourself or take care of your own needs. But to meet the needs of those that God has entrusted to you. James tells us in James 3.1. My brethren let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

And he's talking specifically about teaching the word, but it's the same principle that applies. The idea of being a shepherd...

goes along with it is this stricter accountability, this stricter judgment. And so we need to take heed to the authority that God has given to us and make sure that we use it appropriately. Otherwise, then God will say, I'm against the shepherds. I'm against those who use the authority that I give to them for the things that are not what I've called them to do. Well, God says now in verses 11 through 16, I will feed my flock.

And so God says, you guys failed, so I'm going to handle this myself. In verse 13, he says, I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the inhabited places of the country. He says, you guys are bad shepherds and the sheep have been scattered. And so God says, I'm going to step in now and I'm going to gather them back. I'm going to bring them back

to their own land. I'm going to feed them and they're going to inhabit this nation once again.

Now these are things that God is saying and they will be fulfilled during the millennial kingdom. They will be fulfilled during the reign of Jesus Christ here upon the earth. So that's when it will actually be fulfilled. Now as we look at these things there are some parallels that we could look at and understand there's a spiritual fulfillment that happens for believers in Jesus Christ.

You don't want to take it too far because again the actual fulfillment is going to take place literally during the millennial kingdom. And yet Jesus said he came to seek and to save the lost. And there's lost sheep that he came to seek and to save. And so there is that aspect of this parallel of Jesus saying I came to save lost sheep. To find lost sheep.

To feed them. You might remember Jesus also declared that he is the bread of life.

That he is providing us the bread that provides life. The manna from heaven, which he said that he is. Jesus also declared himself to be the good shepherd. He said, I am the good shepherd. And so there are some parallels. As believers in Jesus Christ, we can look to God to provide for us and to meet our needs, spiritually speaking. And he is doing this work spiritually for those who have believed in him.

But again, the primary fulfillment is the nation of Israel being blessed and brought back into the land. And that will be fully realized during the millennial kingdom. Well, then in verses 17 through 22, he says, I will judge between fat and lean sheep.

He says in verse 21, because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns and scattered them abroad. He's saying, I'm going to judge between you guys because, well, you've abused each other. It's like, you know, going to, have you ever been to a buffet?

And someone like cuts in in front of you, kind of butts in or whatever. And they grab the last pork chop or whatever it is you're after. I remember kind of a little bit of culture shock when we went to Israel. And, you know, when you're in the Middle East or I'm told like in Europe areas, they approach buffets a whole lot differently. There's no such thing as a line. It's just whoever pushes their way to the front. You know, there was this opportunity to get some orange juice.

I think it was orange juice. And Kim's grandma wanted some orange juice and it was like, I'm standing in line and all these people are just like cutting in front and pushing. Like, it's just so foreign to me. We don't do that. We stand in line, you know. But the sheep, what God is talking about here is that's what they're doing. They're just...

pushing other people out of their way, doesn't matter, just so that they can get what they want, to make sure that they have their needs met. And so he said, again, the result is the weak ones, you've scattered, you've pushed them out, you've pushed them abroad. And God says, I'm going to judge you for that.

Then in verses 23 through 31, he says, I will establish one shepherd over them. Now again, this will be fulfilled during the millennium. Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, will be established, you know, as king over them. And he will be the shepherd for the nation of Israel during that time. Well now chapter 35, verse 15 is the key verse.

He says, So here in verses 1 through 4, God is speaking to Mount Seir and he says, I am against you.

Now he's talking about the nation of Edom. And these were the descendants of Esau. You remember Jacob and Esau. And Jacob, also known as Israel, became the nation and the people of Israel, his descendants. But then the descendants of Esau became the nation of Edom. And so they inhabited the region a little bit south of Judah.

And God says, I'm going to lay your city's waste...

You're going to be desolate and then you will know that I am the Lord. Here's where it is on the map. So Jerusalem is right there. Edom is to the south of the Dead Sea. Mount Seir was kind of the prominent place of the nation. And so this has been fulfilled. God has pronounced this judgment on Mount Seir and it has been brought desolate and the Edomites are no longer. They cease to exist as a people around 70 AD.

Well, continuing on in chapter 35, verses 5 through 9, he says, because you have had an ancient hatred. So, again, reminding you of Jacob and Esau, that's kind of where this hatred began. Remember, in the womb, in Genesis chapter 25, there was this struggle that was going on, and this battle that was going on. And then later on, as they grew up, then Jacob took the birthright of

Esau kind of conned him out of it or you know for a bowl of soup you know he traded the birthright and then later on when it was time for Isaac to bless Esau he tricked Isaac his dad into blessing him instead of Esau and so there was this tension that built up this ancient hatred and they've continued on with this animosity between the Edomites and the Israelites the people of Judah and

So much so, we even learn a little bit more insight in Obadiah chapter 1 verse 14. It even makes reference to when the time when Judah and Israel were attacked, that Edom cut off, that they killed those who escaped. Those who escaped and went their way, they caught them. It says, you should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped.

nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. So they caught those who were trying to escape in the day that they were attacked. They put them to death or they handed them over to Babylon. And so God says, you should not have done that. They kept up this ancient hatred, this great, you know, bitterness that was there. And so they were being, well, attacked.

They were carrying out vengeance against the nation of Judah. And so God says in verses 10 through 15, you shall be desolate. He says all of it, all of Edom will be desolate and then they shall know that I am the Lord.

And so as we often do as we're looking through the book of Ezekiel, this phrase, they shall know that I am the Lord, is repeated over 60 times. And it's a prompt for us to ask, when will you know that he is the Lord? When will I know that he is the Lord? What will it take?

For the nation of Edom, they harbored this hatred, this bitterness. And so it brought them to a place where God had to bring this desolation, this judgment upon them before they would submit or recognize that he is the Lord. And we need to be careful that we don't put ourselves in the same situation where we hold on to things that God wants us to let go of.

And God's saying, let go. And we're saying, no. And at the same time, we're saying, I don't know that you're the Lord because you're giving me this instruction and I'm rejecting it. And so I want to encourage you this evening. Maybe you are holding on to some bitterness, some hatred. Maybe it's an ancient hatred. Or maybe it's something more fresh and recent. Don't wait until this desolation comes to know that he is God. But forgive. Forgive.

Even as the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven you. It's a command for us to forgive even as we have been forgiven. And so I want to encourage you not to hold on to things, but to let them go and deal with them the way that the Lord instructs us to. Well, chapter 36 now, verse 26 is the key verse. He says,

In verses 1 through 15, he says, the mountains of Israel shall yield fruit to my people. Now again, he's looking forward to the millennial kingdom and there's going to be this abundant fruit

that the mountains will bring forth. In verse 8 he says, But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come. He also says in verse 10, I will multiply men upon you. And so there's going to be this repopulation of this nation, but also this great renewal where the ground is going to produce abundantly.

Remember when they were originally going to go into the promised land. They came out of Egypt. They were in the wilderness. God was taking them into the promised land. They sent in spies. And the spies brought back this bunch of grapes.

And it was so big, they had to carry it between two people on, you know, a rod. And that's kind of the abundance that we're looking forward to during the millennial kingdom. That there's going to be this great abundance, this great fruitfulness. That it's going to be unbelievable how well the land is going to produce during this time.

But it's not producing that way currently. And it wasn't producing this way in Ezekiel's day. Because in verses 16 through 21, God says, Israel defiled their own land.

He says in verse 17, They defiled their own land by their wickedness.

And so he says in verse 18, therefore I poured out my fury upon them. In verse 19 he says, so I scattered them. I brought this upon them because they defiled their own land. It just makes me think. I don't have a lot to say on this. But are you defiling your own land? Think about that. You know where God has you, your home, whether you own it or rent it or borrow it from the bank, whatever it might be.

Do you defile your own land? Are you practicing wickedness in your own home? And if you are, then it's no surprise when God says, well, I pour out my fury upon them and I scatter them. There needs to be holiness. It's a call to repentance. It's a call to holiness to honor the land that God has given to us. Well, verses 22 through 32, he says, I will sanctify my great name.

Now God is saying here, look, you've defiled your land and so I've scattered you and I've done this. I've brought this fury upon you. However, that's not the end of the story. I'm going to sanctify my great name. He says in verse 23, I will sanctify my great name which has been profaned among the nations which you have profaned in their midst.

And the nation shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. And so God is saying, look, I'm bringing this judgment to bring this purity to purge out this wickedness. But then I'm also going to be merciful and bring you back into the promised land. Not because you deserve it, not because of you, but for my name's sake.

And you're going to be hallowed. I'm sorry, I'm going to be hallowed in you before their eyes. They're going to see you turn to me once again. And then they're going to know that I am the Lord. Sometimes God uses judgment to bring people to the realization that He is the Lord. And sometimes God uses mercy to bring people to the realization that

That he is the Lord. Sometimes he uses judgment. Sometimes he uses mercy. Now, which would you prefer? I think we would prefer mercy. And we get to choose. That's something good to consider. Mercy is given to those who repent. But God is saying, look, I'm going to bring judgment. And then I'm going to be merciful. And as you turn back to me, the people, the rest of the world, the nations are going to realize...

That's totally a work of God. I mean that's not Israel. That's not the Jewish people. That is God. God has done this incredible work and they will know that he is God. And so he goes on in verse 26 and 27 to basically describe they're going to be born again. He says I'm going to give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments intact.

And do them. There's going to be new life. For the people of Israel. They're going to be radically changed. As they walk with God. As they follow him. As they walk in the spirit. And obey his word. But then he points out in verse 32 again. Not for your sake do I do this. So he's making sure they understand. It's clear. This is not because of you. But this is for my name's sake. The Lord says.

Then in verses 33 through 38, he says, the desolate land will become like the garden of Eden. So again, this idea, this understanding, during this time, the land is going to be abundantly fruitful. And so it's going to be restored like it was in the garden of Eden before sin entered into the world. That curse of sin is going to be reversed again.

When Jesus rules and reigns in here on the earth. And so that curse of sin will be reversed on the earth. And the land will be producing great fruit once again. As we mentioned on Sunday. Also at that time, you know, animals will be harmless. The wolf and the lamb will dwell together. The kid's going to play by the viper's nest. You know, they're not going to be harmful. There's going to be this great renewal during that time when Jesus rules and reigns.

Well, now chapter 37, verse 14 is the key verse. He says, I will put my spirit in you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord. In verses 1 through 6, he tells Ezekiel, prophesy to these bones. In verse 1, it says, the hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out of

So here Ezekiel is taken by the Lord to this valley. This is a vision that he is having. And so he's seeing this valley that is full of bones. And God asks him a question in verse 3. He says,

It's a big pile of bones in this valley. God says, can these bones live? He's like, well, I don't know. You know, Lord. You tell me, are these bones going to live or not? And God says in verse 4 and 5, prophesy to these bones that they shall live. And so he does so in verses 7 through 10. It says that they lived and stood up.

Verse 7 says, So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied there was a noise and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together bone to bone. It's just a real good picture, right? The rattling. You see all the bones kind of like shaking and rattling and stuff, and then boom, boom, boom. They all start coming together. There's this clickety-clack and clackety-click and you know, and they're just all coming together. I don't know. I just have this visual. I wish I could describe it better, but

There's all these pieces coming together. And then these bones are now coming together. There's meat being put on the bones. The sinews are there. You know, the cartilage. All these. They're being reformed. And then in verse 10 it says that the breath of life came into them. And they lived. And so there was this resurrection that took place. This revival that took place. This valley of bones came.

Is not just dead bones any longer. But now there's life there. Where once there was only death. Now this is the vision that God is giving to Ezekiel.

What does this vision mean? What is he talking about? Is this literally, you know, that there's all these skeletons that are going to come back together? He's not talking, he's not trying to give us, you know, some insight into the resurrection that is to come. Instead, he's talking about the land of Israel. Check out verses 11 through 14. He says, I will place you in your own land.

Verse 11 says, Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. So he's not talking about this is a literal event, you know, that's going to happen. This is, like we've seen many times in Ezekiel, an illustration. It's a picture. Picture a valley of bones, and then the bones all come back together. They have...

Full bodies now and then they have the breadth of life and they live once again. That's the picture that God wants us to consider. And then he says that picture represents the house of Israel. The whole house of Israel. The bones are the nation of Israel. Now God is giving this vision to Ezekiel because here's what the people are saying. All hope is lost. We are cut off. Remember where they are at this point. They're in Babylon.

Jerusalem has been conquered for the third time. The temple is in ruins. The walls, the city are in ruins. There's no inhabitants living at Jerusalem any longer. And so the people are saying, all hope is lost. We're done. We cease to be a nation. We will never be back in the land. It's not going to happen. That's what they were thinking. All hope is lost. We ourselves are cut off.

And God is giving a message to Ezekiel to say, no, that's not the truth. Yes, you're in captivity. Yes, Jerusalem has been conquered. Yes, it's all desolate, but I'm not done with you. And I can speak and bring life once again to this people, to this land, to this nation. And so he's prophesying about this amazing work of God. And it is an amazing work of God.

Which he is able to do, not just with the nation of Israel, but in anybody's life. He is able to revive and to renew and to restore when we think all hope is lost. He says in verse 14, God says all hope is not lost.

You will be restored to the land. And I'm going to put my spirit in you. I'm going to perform my word. Now again this will ultimately be fulfilled during the millennium. We see perhaps partial fulfillments of this. In that Israel has returned to the land in our day. Now after Babylon. They had that 70 year captivity. And then Cyrus died.

The Persian Empire conquered Babylon. Cyrus gave the command and the Jews were allowed to go back to Israel. So there's perhaps a partial fulfillment there. Then in 70 AD, they were conquered by the Romans and dispersed throughout the world.

And then in 1948, they came back and established the nation of Israel once again. Maybe a partial fulfillment there. But the ultimate fulfillment of these things will be in the millennium because God says, I'm going to put my spirit in you and you shall live. I'm going to place you in your own land. There's this understanding here that they will be

God's people once again. Right now Israel is back in the land. But the majority of them are atheists. They're not seeking God. They don't believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. And so these things are not yet fulfilled. Even though Israel is back in the land. The ultimate fulfillment will be in the millennium. When there will be this regathering to the land of Israel.

And they will live. The Holy Spirit will be upon them. Because they will be believing in Jesus at that point. But as God gives this vision, this illustration to the people who are depressed.

in Babylon, to the people who are just overwhelmed with what has happened. They're just looking at their situation and thinking it is hopeless. It's a good reminder for us. It's a good opportunity for us to ask, how hopeless is my situation? You know, the enemy wants to use hopelessness in your life to cause you to give up.

He wants to use hopelessness to cause you to say, oh, forget it. It's not even worth trying. It's not even worth walking with God because the situation is hopeless. He loves to use that hopelessness in our lives to try to cause us to give up. But listen, the message through Ezekiel is definitely applicable to us. God is still able to work. God is still able to restore.

No matter how hopeless you think the situation is, God is still able to revive. He can renew. He can breathe life into a valley of bones. So don't give up, even if the situation looks hopeless. Don't give up on what God has set before you or what God has called you to.

Don't surrender to sin. A lot of times we surrender, we just give up because it's like, well, it's hopeless. I'm never going to overcome this anyways, so I might as well just enjoy it. Or I might as well just indulge. I'm going to fall eventually. I might as well just do it. No, don't surrender to sin. Don't surrender to those things that are not of God. It's not hopeless. God is still able to work. Don't give up on your marriage.

God is still able to work. Don't give up. Even if you think, well, it's just hopeless. Yeah, the enemy would love to use that to cause you to say, forget it. It's just never going to happen. It's never going to be blessed. Don't give up walking with God. Even if you struggle, even if it seems like hopeless, like you're never going to get out of this. You're never going to grow past this. You're never going to go beyond that. It's not hopeless.

God is able to breathe life, to do a great and incredible work. No matter what your situation is, you have hope if you will hope in God, if you will trust in Him. Well, then he goes on to give him another illustration for the remainder of the chapter. He says in verses 15 through 23, I will make them one nation.

The illustration he gives to Ezekiel is now to take two sticks and to put them together in his hand. And one of them write for Judah and on the other to write for Ephraim. And he says, join them together in your hand. And then when people ask you what it means, verse 22 says,

Here's what God tells Ezekiel to say. I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel and one king shall be king over them all. They shall no longer be two nations nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. Remember Israel was at one time one kingdom, one nation with King Saul and then David and then Solomon but then Rehoboam, Solomon's son,

Made a foolish decision. And the kingdoms split. And so you had Israel, the northern kingdom. And Judah, the southern kingdom. And that continued up until Ezekiel's day. The northern kingdom was conquered by Assyria. Later on Judah was conquered by Babylon. But God is saying when I bring them back into the land.

They're going to be one nation. There's not going to be this division any longer between Judah and Ephraim. Judah representing the southern kingdom. Ephraim representing the northern kingdom. There's not going to be this division. So hold these two sticks in your hands and when people ask you why you're doing that, let them know I'm going to bring back the people of Israel as one nation back in the land.

And when he does that in verses 24 through 28, he says, David shall be king over them.

He says in verse 26, I will make a covenant of peace with them and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them and I will establish them and multiply them. I will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. Now again, we're looking forward to things that will be fulfilled during the millennium when Jesus Christ rules and reigns and David, Jesus will be sitting on the throne of David and so David shall be king over them in the person of Jesus Christ.

Well, now we go into chapter 38, a very well-known prophecy about an invasion that will take place in Israel. Verse 2 is the key verse. He says,

So as he begins to talk about this invasion, in verses 1 through 6, he says, prophesy against Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. Now, this reference to Gog, you should understand, is a reference to a person. It's a person or a leader of Magog. It's probably a title, kind of like you could think about, you know, we called the king of Egypt was called Pharaoh.

In a similar way, Gog is the leader of Magog as well as, you know, he's the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. So there's this leader over these regions, over these families, over these areas that is leading this invasion, this leader that is representing these areas, and God is prophesying against that leader, that person, that position.

So he's making reference to some things that maybe we're not too familiar with. And so I just want to run through them quickly. So the land of Magog, we would know today as modern-day Russia, as well as Rosh would be located in modern-day Russia. Meshach, another location, would be located in today's Turkey. And Tubal also would be located in Turkey.

And then in verses 5 and 6, it talks about these allies that are alongside of these other regions, Russia and Turkey. So you have Persia, which we call today Iran. You have Kush, which we know as Ethiopia. You have Put, which is Libya. Gomer, which also is in Turkey. And Togarmah, which is also in Turkey. So let me just walk you through some of what this looks like on the map.

So here you have the nation of Israel right here in the blue. It's right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. That's the promised land, the land that God gave to Abraham and promised to him. And so that's where the people lived. They were dispersed during this time that Babylon conquered them. They were taken to Babylon, which is located in modern-day Iraq.

God says, I'm going to bring them back. But this is a map, you know, looking at today's nations as we have the borders today. So you have Russia up here in the north. You have Turkey north of Israel. You have Egypt, of course, to the south. Libya here, the Sudan, Saudi Arabia. And these are the kind of the major players around Egypt.

Now when he talks about Rosh and Magog, these are regions that are north of Israel in the land that we call Russia today. And so Rosh and Magog are two of the predominant players of this battle that's about to take place, this invasion. And then you have Meshach and Tubal and Gomer, which are all located in the region of Turkey.

And so this is found, we know this because of what is recorded in Genesis chapter 10.

There in Genesis chapter 10, you have the table of nations, which describes the families, descendants of Noah, and where they go as they spread out amongst the earth. And so as they go in these different regions, you follow those family names, and that's how we know the general location of these areas that are being mentioned here in Ezekiel chapter 38. So they're not really place names, they're people names. They're the names of people groups or descendants of

of certain people. And so the idea here and what God is saying is that Russia and Turkey or the people who inhabit those lands, even if, you know, Russia falls apart or is conquered by Germany or whatever. I don't know why I threw that out there. But, you know, it doesn't matter. The point is the people in that region of Russia and Turkey will be the primary leaders in this invasion of Israel.

But they're not going to be alone. They're going to have some allies. And so here's the allies that are mentioned. So again, here's Persia. This is modern day Iran. So they're going to be alongside of them in this invasion. Then you also have Kush and Put, Libya and Ethiopia. And they're going to be alongside of them and joint with them in this invasion of the nation of Israel. Now all of this makes sense.

The things that we see happening in the Middle East right now, very, very interesting. Because there has been a move of these nations in joining together and allying themselves with one another more so recently than it was in the past. So I just pulled out a couple examples, some recent news articles. So Turkey and Russia conduct joint air military exercise.

This was reported in September of 2013. And so there's this joint exercise together. They're training together. They're working together. And developing their alliance together. Now this is something interesting because Turkey...

Up until recently, up until the past few years, was strongly allied with the nation of Israel, but they've been backing away from Israel and now they're strengthening their relationship with Russia, which interestingly falls in line with what we read about in Ezekiel chapter 38.

Here's another article. This is from October 2013. Russia and Iran are working together to boost military cooperation, and so they're developing their ties as well. They're supplying some of the resources, you know, with all the Iranian nuclear things. You know, there's lots of interesting ties to Russia in all of this as well, and so there's this strengthening of their relationships through the midst of this. And then

I also found this, I thought it was interesting. So there's this Center for Strategic and International Studies. It's an organization inside the United States which helps to give strategic information to the government, to the military, by studying the surrounding nations or the international scene. And so they have a special project

which is the Turkey, Russia, and Iran nexus. And so the idea is they're focusing on, hey, there's something going on with Turkey, Iran, and Russia. And we got to study this. We got to figure out what's going on because it's dramatically changing the whole Middle Eastern scene. Let me just read to you a quick excerpt. It says, this program is developing a comprehensive assessment of the nexus of relations between Turkey, Russia, and Iran,

Competitive and cooperative interactions among these three countries in economic, energy, political, and security affairs is having a major influence on the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia. The project is assessing the geostrategic impact of these dynamics and their implications for U.S. interests and policy. So, you know, the whole point is, you know, there's a connection between these three countries

And we see Ezekiel prophesying about this in Ezekiel chapter 38. Now, I'm not trying to say that, you know, this is for sure happening. You know, this is the final scene. This is it. We're going to see this fulfilled immediately. You know, I can't say that. I don't know that. But it is interesting to see these relationships built.

As Ezekiel has prophesied by the Lord, you know, that these nations would join together to invade Israel. And we see these kind of alliances, these kinds of relationships being built and strengthened by these nations. So God says in verses 1 through 6, prophesy against Gog, who is kind of the leader representing these nations, who is going to be leading this invasion. In verses 7 through 13, he says, you will make an evil plan.

He says in verse 11, you will see I will go up against a land of unwalled villages.

I will go to a peaceful people who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited and against the people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods who dwell in the midst of the land. So there's going to be this evil plan that Gog makes, this leader makes and says, all right, let's go take their plunder.

And what plunder is there? Well, they found natural gas there. They found oil there. There's this plunder that's there and available. And so there's going to be this invasion. Let's go take their goods. Let's go take what they have.

Now it also mentions a couple other places here in verse 13. It makes reference to Sheba and Dedan, and that is located in modern day Saudi Arabia. It also makes reference to Tarshish, which is believed to be Spain, or some say that it's Spain and England, that whole region.

And then also there's the Young Lions. And this is where some people try to say that perhaps this is the United States, you know, as a descendant essentially of England, which is Tarshish. Then the Young Lions are, you know, the descendants of England. And so that's, you know, a reference to the United States. It's a very, very, very...

you know, loose kind of connection if it is one. So there's nothing we can say for sure about that. But if we are in Bible prophecy, that's kind of the best place you can find us.

He says in verses 14 through 17, you will come against my people. And you're going to come up against them like a cloud. You're going to cover the land. He says, I'm going to bring you against my land so that the nations may know me when I take care of you. Because in verses 18 through 23, he says, when God comes, my fury will show. My fury is going to show in my face. I'm going to reveal myself in fury when this invasion happens. And he says, I'm going to bring...

to judgment in verse 22 with pestilence and bloodshed. I'm going to rain down on him and his troops and on many peoples who are with him rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone. He says in verse 23, thus I will magnify myself and sanctify myself and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. So what God is explaining here, he's describing a supernatural intervention. This

of nations will invade Israel. And we know from the wording here in chapter 38 and 39, they actually go in the land of Israel and they're in the middle of this invasion. God intervenes and supernaturally defeats these armies.

And so we're not talking about just, you know, a really incredible defense by the Israeli defense force. We're not talking about, you know, some incredible, we're talking about the hand of God at work, miraculous work of God in defending his people, his land, because then the result is they shall know that I am the Lord. It's going to be clear to everybody, God has intervened. God has defeated this invading army.

Well, chapter 39 now, verse 6 is the key verse. He says, I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. And so this...

Chapter 39 continues on from chapter 38 talking about this invasion. And as God intervenes, he says in verse 1 through 10 that Gog shall fall on the mountains of Israel. So they're invading Israel. They're in the land of Israel and they will fall there on the mountains of Israel. And he says that you will be prey for all kinds of beasts of the field to be devoured.

He also points out in verse 9 something interesting, that Israel will burn the weapons for seven years. And so that leads to some interesting speculation about what kind of weapons they will be bringing against the nation of Israel and how Israel is going to be able to use them for energy and fuel for the following seven years. So interesting things for you to consider.

Verses 11 through 16, he says they will bury Gog and his multitude. So Gog, this army, this invasion that's happening, they're going to be killed on the mountains of Israel. And then they're going to be buried in Israel. And he explains that they're going to be burying this army for seven months. And there's going to be men, in verse 14 it tells us, who are specially employed to bury the army of Gog.

In verse 15 he says...

He shall set up a marker by it till the barriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon Gog. So there's going to be this special employment of those who bury bones that are left behind from the soldiers of this army. And there's going to be searchers. And so there's going to be this search party that goes out. When they find a bone, they set up a marker. And then the barriers come and take it and then bury it in the valley of Hamon Gog.

of Haman Gog and so there's it's real interesting how specific it is and so it's easy to look at this and say perhaps there's something nuclear involved here it doesn't necessarily have to be that but it seems to be something along those lines that there's something really radical that's happening and so there has to be this great precaution that's taken as they're burying these bones

Then in verses 17 through 20, he says, the birds will eat the flesh of the mighty. And so he's calling a feast for the birds because of this great slaughter as the army is defeated as they invade Israel. Then in verses 21 through 29, he says, I will have mercy on Israel.

And so he's going to have mercy. It says in verse 22, the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. And so that day as God intervenes is going to mark a change for the whole house of Israel. The whole nation of Israel will know that he is the Lord. Right now there are those individuals who have believed in Jesus and know that he is the Lord.

But at that time, the people as a whole, the whole nation will turn to the Lord. He says, when I've gathered them in verse 27, then they're going to know that I sent them into captivity and then I brought them back. And he says in verse 29, I will not hide my face from them any longer.

Well, this battle is really interesting here in chapter 38 and 39. And it begs the question, when is this going to happen? And so let me run you through some of the options. There's lots of different ideas about when this happens. The first option is there are those who say it already happened.

But that doesn't really line up with history and you can't find any alliance like this and an invasion of Israel as you look back at history. So that's probably not the best option because it doesn't seem to be fulfilled at any point in history.

But then option two is, this battle could take place before the rapture of the church. That is, you and I could wake up tomorrow and read the headlines and see this has happened. That's one possibility that is there. Because, you know, it is interesting. Chapter 39 describes that seven-year cleanup process. And so maybe that seven-year process kind of corresponds with

the seven year tribulation period. There's some difficulties with this as well because God says from that time on they'll know that I'm the Lord and so you know does that exactly fit? Maybe, maybe not. So that's one option but it could happen before the rapture it doesn't have to.

The third option is that it happens after the rapture, but before the tribulation. Remember I mentioned on Sunday, the tribulation begins with the signing of a covenant by the Antichrist with many nations, including the nation of Israel.

And so the rapture of the church could happen. Then there could be some time before that covenant is actually signed. And so in between those two periods or two events, it's possible that this invasion happens. So that's one possibility as well. Then option four is that this invasion takes place in the middle of the tribulation.

And this is another pretty good possibility. Remember in the middle of the tribulation period also is when the Antichrist sets up the image inside the temple and demands to be worshipped. And so that might correspond with this invasion that is going on. And so it might be at that time that God intervenes and responds as this invasion goes on and as he has set up that image and demanding to be worshipped. What...

makes this kind of a strong option is again at that time it says they will know that I am the Lord.

And we also know from other portions of scripture that when the Antichrist does that, the abomination of desolation, that they'll realize that Jesus is the Messiah and they will turn to the Lord at that time. And then God's going to preserve them for the rest of the tribulation period. So that's a strong possibility that it happens at the middle of the tribulation period. Another option is that it happens at the end of the tribulation. Now if this is the case, and that means that this battle is the same as the battle of Armageddon.

But there's some difficulties with that because the nations that are involved in the Battle of Armageddon are not the same players. Some of the players are the same, but they're not all the same. And so it doesn't seem to line up exactly that this is the same battle as the Battle of Armageddon.

The final option is that it happens at the end of the millennium. And remember at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ. Satan is bound during that reign. But he's released at the end. And he leads one final rebellion against God. And so that's talked about in Revelation chapter 20.

And so there is this final attempt to invade Jerusalem and Israel at that point, led by Satan. Now the problem with that idea is that then the seven years of cleanup doesn't seem to make sense because that's the first seven years of eternity and there's a new heaven and a new earth and so the seven years don't fit. So options two, three, and four are what I consider to be the strongest options, the

It will happen either before the rapture, after the rapture, but before the tribulation, or in the middle of the tribulation is what seems to make the most sense. Well, now as we go forward into chapter 40, we'll finish off with chapter 40 this evening. Verse 2 is the key verse. It says, "...in the visions of God, He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. On it, toward the south, was something like the structure of a city."

So here in verses 1 through 5, Ezekiel says, he took me to Israel in visions. Now he specifies the date. This happens around 573 BC towards the end of Ezekiel's ministry.

At this time, Jerusalem has been destroyed for about 13 or 14 years. And so the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon has already happened over a decade ago. And now God's giving Ezekiel a fresh vision, again, about the future and about the millennium. And in the next few chapters, we start in chapter 40, but as you read over the next couple of days, he's going to be describing the millennial temple.

And so there's going to be a temple during this thousand year reign of Christ. And he takes Ezekiel up on a high mountain to kind of overlook it. And so this is perhaps something similar to what Ezekiel saw. There's lots of different artists who have attempted to, you know, to kind of capture what he's described in slightly different ways to interpret some of the dimensions and such. But here's one of them that I picked and we'll kind of use this as a sample.

The temple is the dark building in the middle and then the rest of the buildings around it, this is the whole temple complex. And so there's courtyards, there's different kinds of chambers, there's gateways to get in and he's going to be going through all the details of this temple complex over the next few chapters.

And so we're going to be talking about that tonight briefly, and then we'll finish that up next week in looking at it. But let me just run through some of the different elements here. You have the wall around the temple complex that's described here in chapter 40. It's nine feet thick.

And nine feet high. So it's this wall that goes around the whole complex. And then all the buildings and such we're going to be talking about. And so there's these gateways to get in. Because there's this wall around it. So there's only three entrances into the temple complex. And one of the gateways is the east gateway. Which is measured in verses 6 through 16. So this east gateway...

If you look at it and you kind of do the math. Now I'm using 18 inches for the size of a cubit. Some people use 21. It's not so particular. It doesn't matter that you get the exact right dimension. It's just to give you an idea of the proportions. So the width of this gateway is about 55 feet.

So if you think about our building here, from wall to the front of the building is 60 feet. So it's about as wide as, just a little bit less than the whole sanctuary building. That's the width of this gateway. The length of it is 75 feet. So it would be this wide and then 75 feet that way would be the size of this as well as it would be 90 feet high.

So just to kind of give you some perspective, you know, this is a very large gateway to get into the temple complex. Just to give you a little bit of a sense, I threw a baseball diamond on here for you. And some of you know, I asked Jake and I was surprised he knew the answer right away. Home plate to first base or third base is 90 feet. So you can see the gateway here and here's...

Home plate on the bottom. Try not to fall. And then here's third base. And so it's a little bit longer than the gateway itself. But just kind of give you a sense. You know, baseball field. You could maybe fit four or five of those inside this temple complex that is being described here by Ezekiel.

Then in verses 17 through 19, he talks about the outer court and it is measured. And so all around the perimeter of this wall, there's all these chambers. There's 30 chambers all together. There's four, four, four, four. And then on the back, there's three and three. So that adds up to 30 different chambers. These are rooms or some call them restaurants. These are where people will eat of the sacrifices that are going to be offered.

Then you also have the outer court area that's measured. And so it's 150 feet from the chambers to the wall of the inner court where the sanctuary and the temple are actually going to be. And you'll read all about that over this coming week.

Then in verses 20 through 27, the north and south gateways are measured. Now, these are all identical. All the gateways, they're 55 feet wide, 75 feet long, 90 feet high. They're all the same dimensions. They all have the same layout. But he's going through those details and seeing that those are the same as well. So there's these three gateways to enter into the millennial temple complex.

Then the inner court gateways are described and measured in verses 28 through 37. So you have the gateways on the outside that get you into the outer court. And then there's the inner court gateways that get you into where the sacrifices are actually going to be offered and to where the temple building actually is. These gateways have all the same exact dimensions as the outer gateways. So they're all the same layout, all the same dimensions, all the same measurements. Okay.

One thing that is particular and unique about the east gateway, that would be this one right here, that is one that is kind of off limits except for the prince who we'll talk about next week. So for a normal person who is coming to worship, they would enter through the north and the south gateways. They would not enter through the east gateway.

Well, then in verses 38 through 46, it describes the chambers for the priests and the singers. So right on either side of the east gateway, there's a building here hidden by the gateway so you can't see it, but then there's this little square here. That's a chamber for the people who are specifically serving at the altar and then also for the priests and the singers who are serving with inside the sanctuary. Those are their rooms and that's where they store their guitars and their chords and get changed and that kind of thing.

And then you have in verses 47 through 49, the inner court is measured. And so the inner court is 150 feet square. So inside each of these gateways, there's this 150 feet square courtyard where the altar is and where the worship is going to be happening. And that happens right in front of the temple sanctuary.

And so this is kind of the beginning, the first kind of overview look at the temple complex and the things that will be happening during the millennium. And then over the next couple of days, you're going to be reading about that. So I gave you the handout this evening so that you can kind of have some dimensions there and be able to look at it and try to understand, you know, what Ezekiel is saying. Visually, I think it helps a lot to have a picture of that.

But to finish up this evening, as we look at this temple complex, again, I just want to ask you to consider how hopeless is your situation? God is giving Ezekiel this vision over a decade after Jerusalem and the temple have been completely destroyed. And the people are thinking it's hopeless. We're done. God's done with us. God's not going to do anything. You know, there's nothing he could do even if he wanted to. This is kind of the thought of the people. It's just hopeless.

And we go through Ezekiel and we go, man, why is there so much detail? This is boring. Cubit after cubit after cubit. But for them, this was something radically different than it is for us. Because for them, it was God saying, I'm not done with you. I still have plans for you. And so I want to encourage you as you read through the millennial temple, as you consider, hey, maybe those numbers, those digits, those dimensions don't mean a whole lot to you.

But put yourself in their shoes. After they've just been destroyed and captive and just hopeless, God sends this strong message. I still have a plan for you. And so I want to encourage you, no matter how hopeless you think your situation is, don't let the enemy use that to cause you to give up. No trust in the Lord. Turn to the Lord. Walk with the Lord.

Don't give in to sin. Don't give up on your marriage. Don't give up on God's promises. Press on because God still has great things in store and he's able to renew and revive and restore. Amen? Lord, thank you for your great goodness towards us, for your mercy, and just as you told Israel,

You have great promises for us in our lives, not because of who we are or what we've done, but because of who you are and what you've done. And for your name's sake, you will fulfill all these promises and bring us to completion and give us life and do all the things that you've said you would do. And so, Lord, we look to you. We ask that you would help us to be faithful to you, to trust you, and to walk with you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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