Groping In The Deep Dark

From the April 09, 2013 eNews issue
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It has been observed that science is no longer Science. This rather shocking statement seems very radical and inflammatory, but while it may be inflammatory, it isn’t radical.

Over the last several decades, science has taken a grand turn. In the early years of science, there was an understanding that one had to be a rigorous slave to the systematic requirements of discovery. To "know" anything it had to be measured and tested, and then retested.

Conclusions could only be drawn from what was ascertained, not only from testing but from the duplication of the results by independent sources. This would inhibit emotional and political biases from sneaking into the pool of what was understood as Truth at the time. Even then it was understood that one piece of new data could turn over their perspective in any given area, or possibly their entire world view.

As measuring devises became more and more precise, more and more was discovered to be either outright wrong, or at least suspect. There was a certain humility built into the system. Somewhere in time, science changed from being an area of discovering to a religion dedicated to proving its dogma. Whether this was a result of cross-contamination from the involvement of the church, or a reaction to the realization that the universe (and consequently the data in it) was much more vast than anticipated, science drifted away from "theorizing-and-then-proving" to "proving-the-theory."

This may seem like a minor point, but it is one which can violate the very definition of science itself. SCIENCE requires conclusions to be drawn from hard (provable, see it to believe it) data. Now theories can be treated as if they are Laws. Then the task is to disprove the theory. No longer is hard data required—only consensus of the majority, the most influential, most political or wealthiest.

This is present in our everyday discussions. Do we ever discuss the "Law of Evolution"? Even its proponents still refer to it as the "Theory of Evolution" while they militantly assure you that it is absolutely the foundational Truth. Any data that threatens any of its dogmas is attacked with accusations of biased, uneducated "opinions." This is the true dominant religion of our time.

Science is a system, and as with all systems, the systems can be in error without the parts, for the most part, having some devious agenda. Most scientists are well-meaning, hard-working, dedicated technicians. But, much like the persecutions that took place when rigorous science first started drawing conclusions that threatened the prevailing dogma, those trying to adhere to a conservative definition of science are being vilified, isolated and condemned within their disciplines.

96% of the Universe
There has been a problem for some time with the mathematics of the universe. For all to work within the current "theories" of a gravitational Universe there is a factor that is off by 96%. All of the visible matter in the Universe amounts to approximately 4% of what the math tells us should be there. With such a large discrepancy, there are two possible obvious explanations:

1) the missing 96% is there but can’t be seen, or

2) the underlying presuppositions of the math are wrong.

Of course, we are told that the most likely explanation is that this 96% consists of "dark matter" (you can’t see it or measure it). And so, in a worldwide effort involving billions of dollars (and Euros, Yen, etc.) there has been a frantic attempt to find this unseen mass. After all the time and money spent, there really hasn’t been much in the way of hard data proof revealed. With the pressures of failure looming, they are now looking for secondary "effects" or by-product particles.

About a year and a half ago, an "antimatter" (positron) detector in space started its search. Just this week the first results were released with excitement and hesitation. The excitement was that positrons were actually detected. The disappointment was that there is no fundamental understanding of the various sources of positrons.

It is "theorized" that when dark matter particles collide, one of the resultant effects is the release of positrons. The difficulty is that Pulsars, a rotating super-dense star, emits positrons also. Our understanding of this release by pulsars is not fully understood.

The only conclusion to be drawn so far is that there are positrons in space (which we already knew). The space-based detector has proved more sensitive than their terrestrial counterparts. But with no ground zero calculation on the "normal" background resulting from other sources, there is no hope of drawing any concrete conclusion on the existence of dark matter.

Since we know that Pulsars emit positrons, it is more likely that they are the sources of the positrons recently detected. Since there is no evidence for dark matter, there must be another explanation in which the mathematics actually works.

Of course there are other "theories" that could explain this mathematical discrepancy, but that would involve giving up some of our most engrained accepted "theories," such as a gravitational-dependent universe, black holes (which have never really been seen, you know), fusion cycle in the stars, etc.

As with all revolutions in science, it takes at least 50 years to discard one paradigm for a new one. There is always great social upheaval involved. Scientific edifices fall and others are raised up. As we build one "theory" on top of another, we are crawling further out on the limb.

Be discerning about what you believe is true.

Related References
• Space-Station Experiment Deepens Antimatter Enigma - Nature

• Dark Matter - Wikipedia
• The Dark Side of Matter - Euronews

Heretic Thomas Nagel and The Derision of Naturalists

From the April 02, 2013 eNews issue
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"Intelligent Design is just another Creationist attempt to get their religious views passed off as science. It’s the same old dogma dressed up in a new suit."
— Anonymous Geology Professor

"Science is rooted in creative interpretation. Numbers suggest, constrain, and refute; they do not, by themselves, specify the content of scientific theories. Theories are built upon the interpretation of numbers, and interpreters are often trapped by their own rhetoric. They believe in their own objectivity, and fail to discern the prejudice that leads them to one interpretation among many consistent with their numbers."
— Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man (1981), Chapter 3.

An atheist named Thomas Nagel has been coming under massive mortar attacks from the general science community for his book Mind & Cosmos, which dares to question the great explanatory power that has so often been attributed to Darwinism.

According to his secretary at New York University, Nagel’s not taking any of the hundreds of phone calls from people trying to reach him. Not Thomas Nagel, whom The Weekly Standard recently dubbed "The Heretic" and portrayed tied to a stake amidst flames.

Thomas Nagel became the subject of derision last fall in Berkshire, England, where philosophers gathered for a workshop called "Moving Naturalism Forward." According to The Weekly Standard, Nagel’s new book had just come out, and it was not appreciated by those present.

As Daniel Dennett mournfully disdained philosophers still engaging in "old-fashioned armchair philosophy with relish and eagerness" producing cute and clever worthlessness, Alex Rosenberg, author of The Atheist’s Guide, commented, "And then there’s some work that is neither cute nor clever. And it’s by Tom Nagel." Thomas Nagel had questioned Darwinian orthodoxy and had mortified the naturalists!

"Science" is often presented as a sterile institution free from the troubles caused by emotion and faith. It’s not that simple. While opponents of Intelligent Design like to classify the ID/Evolution debate as one in which religion attempts to undercut science, neither side is truly void of philosophy. The controversy is not science versus religion so much as Metaphysical Naturalism versus… something-bigger.

Scientific Naturalism is a philosophical position which argues that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes and laws. Many people who are scientific naturalists are also metaphysical naturalists; they believe that nature is all there is, and that there is no reality outside of the natural realm.

In today’s universities, science students are taught they must be philosophical naturalists in order to be good scientists. If they don’t know the answer to the questions "why" or "how" in nature, they need to research until they find a natural explanation. To do otherwise is cheating.

For instance, if they get stuck on an answer to the question, "why does the wind blow?" it’s not scientific to say, "Well, it blows because God makes it blow." That’s giving up. They are taught that a good scientist keeps hunting until a natural explanation is found.

Scientific Naturalism is easy to appreciate. It encourages tenacity in scientific research and erases the images of angry gods in volcanoes or thunderclouds. A philosophy of Scientific Naturalism has helped scientists to push past superstition and find the bacteria that cause disease and the poor farming practices that cause famine. Scientists have been able to show that disease and famine have natural causes that go beyond the anger of local gods.

Yet, a healthy dose of Scientific Naturalism can become a strangling dose of Metaphysical Naturalism when it comes to the origins debate. This is an area in which faith and science naturally butt heads. It is one thing to say that a good scientist needs to find the natural explanation for things, and quite another thing to say that nature is all there is. Unfortunately, too many scientists in the universities have gotten Scientific Naturalism confused with Metaphysical Naturalism.

The Crime Scene Scenario
The origins debate is a great deal like a crime scene. Let’s say a man is found hanging in a warehouse with his mouth gagged and his arms tied behind his back. The philosophical positions of the crime scene investigators determine how they handle the crime scene:

The scientific naturalist says, "We have to use the things we have available in the room in order to determine the cause of this man’s death."

The metaphysical naturalist says, "Yes, and only the things in this room can be considered as the cause of his death. We can see no murderer in the room, therefore the man must have killed himself."

The Intelligent Design advocate says, "We can use the things in this room to argue that somebody murdered this man. We can’t say who, but his tied hands and gagged mouth indicate that he was murdered."

The creationist says: "We believe this man was murdered, and we know who murdered him because we have notes left by somebody describing the murder."

The physicist says, "There are more rooms outside this one. We’re busy trying to find a door."

The person of faith says, "We already found the door."


Who is correct? It all depends on what is actually outside the room. The Intelligent Design advocate is not necessarily a religionist. He is simply a scientist willing to believe there is more to the universe than what can be found in the warehouse.

The metaphysical naturalist, on the other hand, doesn’t have the scientific upper hand. If there really is no world outside the warehouse, he is certainly in the best position to find the true cause of the man’s death. If the metaphysical naturalist’s philosophy is wrong, though, he is going to spend his life fruitlessly trying to prove that a murdered man killed himself.

The Humanists
In 1933, when education guru John Dewey and 33 others signed the Humanist Manifesto, they were casting off what they saw as the outdated chains of established religion. They were forming a religion of their own, one in which man made the ultimate determinations of good and bad,
right and wrong. While there have always been atheists and there have always been "religious" people who were ignorant of God's ways, the humanists made a religion of it. They boldly proclaimed that they did not recognize God (or His laws) and took the position that they were capable of using their human reason and intellect to determine morality.

Like all religions, the humanists have a statement of beliefs, which they presented in their Manifesto. They state, there at the very beginning, "FIRST: Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. SECOND: Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as a result of a continuous process."

Bam, right up front the religious humanists present the foundation of their belief system. Yet, somehow, every respectable scientist in our culture these days is expected to be a philosophical humanist and to embrace Naturalism. They can’t prove the Universe was self-existing and not created. They can’t prove that men emerged as a continuous process from apes. They believe, and all scientists are expected to follow the same religious path or … get burned at the stake.

Thomas Nagel is not even an Intelligent Design theorist. He is merely a man, an atheist, for whom the evolutionary model has proved intellectually unsatisfying. Woe to him for presenting his honest views to the world and challenging the humanist's belief system protected so viciously in the name of "science." As the world watches the allegedly unbiased scientists hammer at each other, it would be wise to recognize the philosophical positions of both sides of the debate.

Related References
• Leading Atheist Branded A ‘Heretic’ For Daring To Question Darwinism - National Post
• The Heretic - The Weekly Standard
• Topical Bible Study: Creation/Evolution - Koinonia House
• Center for Science and Culture - Discovery Institute
• Humanist Manifesto I - American Humanist Association

Genesis 49

Notes compiled from my BSF group and Bible study with Pastor Damian Kyle

JACOB STANDS UP AS A FATHER FOR HIS SONS (Genesis 49)

In Genesis 34, we saw the horror of events that happened to Jacob’s family because of his choice to settle his family in Shechem: Dinah was raped, and her brothers went out and murdered a village of people as revenge. Because of Jacob’s lack of leadership for his family, his sons had become murderers and thieves. When Jacob found out what his sons had done, Jacob did not admonish them for their actions but instead, faulted them for putting his life in danger (Genesis 49:30).

In Genesis 49, we saw how Jacob finally came out of his stupor and rightfully admonished his sons for their actions. Jacob was not perfect. We saw how he slipped; we saw how he fell. But before Jacob passed away, we also saw how he got back up. It is never too late to turn around, as Jacob shows us. It is never too late to stop walking down the path of destruction and turn back to God.

Jacob admonishes Reuben for his sins (Genesis 49:3-4)

Genesis 49:3-4
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

Reuben is an illustration of lusts of the flesh. He was described as water, which flows by its own way and doesn't stop until it gets to its LOWEST point -- Much like how when we follow our own will, we will only spiral down to our lowest point.

He saw what he liked, and he took it for his own pleasure with no regard for what was righteous in the eyes of God. He allowed his sinful lust to take him wherever it wanted to go, taking him down to the lowest point. Our eyes are the lamp of our bodies. If our eyes are healthy (see God's light), our whole bodies will be full of light. But if our eyes are unhealthy (see only the will of the flesh), our whole bodies will be full of darkness (Matthew 6:22-24). Reuben followed his eyes and its lust for the flesh. And because his eyes were "unhealthy," because he couldn't keep his sexual desires in check, he lost all his privileges as the first born son.

Reuben knew his family was the chosen family of God. However, he did not take that seriously. He behaved as if he did not know God and defiled his family name. If we want a place at God's table, then we must respect the sovereignty of God. Otherwise, we would be double-minded and unstable in all that we do (James 1:6-8). If we say that we know God, then we ought to behave as if we do.

Jacob admonishes Simeon and Levi for their sins (Genesis 49:5-7)
In Genesis 34, they murdered a village of innocent people to avenge the rape of their sister, Dinah. Again, like Reuben, they acted based on lust of the flesh. Jacob did not rebuke them then, but here, we see that Jacob finally got around to it:

Genesis 49:5-7
Simeon and Levi are brothers—their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.

When the two tribes of Simeon and Levi went into the Land under Joshua, they virtually became a sub-tribe of Judah. Simeon was absorbed, and Levi was made into priests. God did not give Levi a part of the Land but gave them 48 cities scattered throughout the Land. This speaks volumes of the Grace of God.

Despite their sins, God is full of grace. God redeemed Levi and his descendants by setting them aside as the tribe of Levites, as priests for the people of Israel, as the mediator between God and Israel (Deuteronomy 10:8-9; 33:8-10; and Numbers 18:20). And because they were spread throughout the Land, they were able to provide spiritual guidance throughout Israel.

Jacob blesses Judah (Genesis 49:8-12)
To Judah, Jacob blessed him as a father of a powerful tribe, the tribe of Lion (one of the titles of Christ, who came first as the Lamb but will return as the Lion), the tribe through which the Messiah would come, the King of kings would come.

"Scepter," "law giver" are terms referring to the power of a king. This prophecy speaks of tribe of Judah as Israel's kings. David came from the tribe of Judah, a great king of Israel. Jesus, a greater David, our Messiah, also came from the tribe of Judah -- And He will soon return as the Lion, King of kings!

Genesis 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

Because of this promise, the Israelites were prideful, knowing that they would remain in power until their King come. When the Romans took away the Sanhedrin's authority to pronounce the death sentence (no longer the "law giver"), when the last king of Israel died (Herod), some rabbis took these as signs that the "scepter" had departed. They mourned deeply, believing God's promise was broken and that God had left them. Little did they know, Jesus had just been born into this world -- fulfilling this prophecy!

Jacob blesses Zebulun (Genesis 49:13)
Cf. Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:13-16

Jacob blesses Issachar (Genesis 49:14-15)

Jacob blesses Dan (Genesis 49:16-17)
Dan was meant to be judges among God's people -- Samson was a great judge that rose from the tribe of Dan. However, they were also the tribe who introduced idolatry into the nation and caused Israel to fall -- And this perhaps explains why the tribe of Dan was not one of the sealed people in the end times (Revelation 7:1-8).

Jacob blesses Joseph (Genesis 49:22–26)
Despite all the difficulties Joseph faced, Joseph was productive. He never gave up. He fought through the jealousy of his brothers and sinful attacks of people. Joseph never lost sight of the Lord. God was always with Joseph and helped guide Joseph to his successes.

Joseph indeed stood above his brothers, who bowed down to him as they came to Joseph for food during the famine. The blessings of Jacob, bestowed upon him by God, was passed down to Joseph before Jacob passed away. His blessings would eventually be transferred to the tribes of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Deuteronomy 33:13-17).

Jacob blesses Benjamin (Genesis 49:27-28)
As prophesied, the tribe of Benjamin would become very strong (even violent) and be a force of strong military.

Jacob passes away (Genesis 49:29-33)
Jacob knew that God will return His people to the Promised Land in the future. He thus requested to have his bones be also buried in the Promised Land, just like those of his fathers before him.

Ezekiel 12

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

REVIEW

God was using Ezekiel not just to talk to those of Judah but to us as well, in terms of the idols that we worship and the false prophets that compete for our ears.

Moral Necessity of the Captivity
Ezekiel was dealing with the objections of men who thought the present storm would pass, who saw no calamity ahead, and who held that the Lord would never repudiate his people.

Ezekiel 4-11
Ezekiel's task had been to show the necessity of Jerusalem's judgment because of its disobedience. He had demonstrated the fact of the siege through a series of signs, and then he explained the reason for the siege through two messages and an extended vision.

Ezekiel 12-19
However, the people were still not ready to accept the fact of Jerusalem’s fall. Therefore, Ezekiel gave a new series of signs and messages: Any optimism would be futile; Jerusalem’s fate had been sealed. (These messages were in the 11-year interval between the second and final deportations.)

Symbols, Allegories, Parables
By symbolical actions, allegories, and parables, Ezekiel demonstrated the moral necessity of the captivity. He gave two symbolical representations of flight from the besieged city (Ezekiel 12:1-20); expostulated with false prophets (Ezekiel 12:21-14:23); pictured Israel as a useless vine
(Ezekiel 15); allegorically recalled Israel's long history of unfaithfulness to her bridegroom (Ezekiel 16); returned to the metaphor of the vine to emphasize Zedekiah’s disloyalty (Ezekiel 17); answered objections to divine punishment by an analysis of individual responsibility (Ezekiel 18); and, burst forth into a dirge over the princes of Judah and over Judah itself (Ezekiel Chapter 19).


GOD WARNS US OF OUR CLOSED EYES AND EARS (Ezekiel 12:1-2)
Cf. Deuteronomy 29:3-4; Isaiah 6:9-10; Jeremiah 5:21; Acts 28:26-27

The Israelites WILLFULLY remained blind and deaf to God's Truth.

Once the Pharisees accused Jesus of working His miracles by the power of Satan, Jesus began withholding His message from them. That led to the 7 Kingdom Parables of Matthew 13, where the disciples asked Him why He started speaking in parables. In His answer, Jesus quoted from Ezekiel 12:2 and Jeremiah 5:21 (Cf. Matthew 13:11-15).


GOD INSTRUCTS EZEKIEL TO LEAVE AS IF IN EXILE (Ezekiel 12:3-7)

The people recognized the meaning of Ezekiel’s actions because six years earlier they had made similar preparations for their own deportation to Babylon. This first action in the daytime was followed by a second action in the evening. In other words, this was symbolic to indicate they were going to be fleeing the city to try to avoid capture.

Ezekiel was trying to wake his people up from complacency. They knew their city was under vassal rule, but they had the attitude that it was just temporary, that things would get better. With this mentality, they thus refused to listen to the warning of the prophets, not to either Ezekiel or Jeremiah.
God also instructed Ezekiel to cover his face, as if afraid of being recognized by anyone meeting him. This symbolized that the Jews and Zedekiah should make their exit stealthily and afraid to look around; hurried should be their flight.


EZEKIEL EXPLAINS TO HIS PEOPLE WHAT HE IS DOING (Ezekiel 12:8-11)

Having Ezekiel act out God’s warning, God was able to gain the attention of His people and therefore deliver His message.

Ezekiel, in what he did in the presence of the exiles, was expressing the events that would soon come to pass in Jerusalem.


ZEDEKIAH: "THE PRINCE AMONG THEM" (Ezekiel 12:12-14)

Zedekiah was Judah’s last king (599 to 588 BC), the youngest son of Josiah and Hamutal (Jeremiah 1:3; 37:1) and brother to Jehoahaz (2 Kings 24:17-18; 23:31). He was ten years old when his father died and 21 years old when he mounted the throne.

Zedekiah was originally named Mattaniah. However, when Nebuchadnezzar deposed Zedekiah’s nephew, Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar changed his name to Zedekiah. This proves that Nebuchadnezzar treated his vassal kindly, allowing him to choose a new name and confirming it as a mark of his supremacy (Zedekiah is Hebrew: "Righteousness of YHWH"). This name was to be the pledge of his righteously keeping his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar who made him swear by God (Ezekiel 17:12-16; 2 Chronicles 36:13).

Had Zedekiah kept his oath of fealty he would have been safe but dependent. Unfortunately, because he was weak, vacillating, and treacherous, he brought ruin on his country and on himself.

It was through the anger of YHWH against Judah that Zedekiah was given up to his own rebellious devices, "stiffening his neck and hardening his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel" who warned him by Jeremiah; like Pharaoh of old, he would "not humble himself" (2 Chronicles 36:12-13; Jeremiah 38:5; 39:1-7; 52:1-11; Cf. Jeremiah 21; 24; 27; 28; 29; 32; 33; 34; 37; 38).

Ezekiel 12:12 refers to Zedekiah's disguising himself, or sign of mourning, and through some freshly made exit from the palace, "went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls" (Jeremiah 39:4), while Ezekiel 12:13 offers an ironic paradox.

Josephus related that Ezekiel sent this prophecy to Jerusalem, and that Zedekiah, finding an apparent discrepancy in the words that he should not see Babylon, and those of Jeremiah, hardened himself in his rebellion (Jeremiah 32:4; 34:3).

Jeremiah 32:4-5
And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

Jeremiah 34:3
And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.


2 Kings 25:3-7 (Cf. Jeremiah 52:8-11)
And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about) and the king went the way toward the plain. And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.


Josephus
On the 9th day of the 4th month in the middle of July after a year and a half’s siege (from the 10th month of the 9th year to the 4th month of the 11th year of Zedekiah) about midnight a breach was made in the wall.

The Babylonian princes took their seats in state in the middle gate, between the upper and the lower city. Zedekiah fled in the opposite direction, namely, southwards, with muffled face to escape recognition, and like one digging through a wall to escape, between the two walls on the east and west sides of the Tyropoeon valley, by a street issuing at the gate above the royal gardens and the fountain of Siloam.


Zedekiah was overtaken in the plains of Jericho. He was taken for judgment to Riblah at the upper end of Lebanon; there Nebuchadnezzar first killed his sons before his eyes, then caused the eyes of Zedekiah to be "dug out" (Jeremiah 39; 52:4-11). Thus were fulfilled the ostensibly inconsistent prophecies.

Zedekiah died in Babylon. He never saw Babylon because he was blinded.



Josephus
[The following was excerpted from Josephus, Flavius; Whiston, William: The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1987, S. 273.]

Now Zedekiah was twenty-and-one years old when he took the government; and had the same mother with his brother Jehoiachin, but was a despiser of justice and of his duty, for truly those of the same age with him were wicked about him, and the whole multitude did what unjust and insolent things they pleased

...for which reason the prophet Jeremiah came often to him, and protested to him, and insisted, that he must leave off his impieties and transgressions, and take care of what was right, and neither give ear to the rulers (among whom were wicked men) nor give credit to their false prophets who deluded them, as if the king of Babylon would make no more war against him, and as if the Egyptians would make war against him, and conquer him, since what they said was not true; and the events would not prove such [as they expected].

Now as to Zedekiah himself, while he heard the prophet speak, he believed him, and agreed to everything as true, and supposed it was for his advantage; but then his friends perverted him, and dissuaded him from what the prophet advised, and obliged him to do what they pleased.

Ezekiel also foretold in Babylon what calamities were coming upon the people, which when he heard, he sent accounts of them unto Jerusalem; but Zedekiah did not believe their prophecies, for the reason following:—It happened that the two prophets agreed with one another in what they said as in all other things, that the city should be taken, and Zedekiah himself should be taken captive; but Ezekiel disagreed with him, and said, that Zedekiah should not see Babylon; while Jeremiah said to him, that the king of Babylon should carry him away thither in bonds; ...and because they did not both say the same thing as to this circumstance, he disbelieved what they both appeared to agree in, and condemned them as not speaking truth therein, although all the things foretold him did come to pass according to their prophecies, as we shall show upon a fitter opportunity.

Now the city was taken on the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah. They were indeed only generals of the king of Babylon, to whom Nebuchadnezzar committed the care of the siege, for he abode himself in the city of Riblah. The names of these generals who ravaged and subdued Jerusalem, if anyone desire to know them, were these: Nergal Sharezer, Sangar Nebo, Rabsaris, Sarsechim, and Rabmag;

...and when the city was taken about midnight, and the enemy’s generals were entered into the temple, and when Zedekiah was sensible of it, he took his wives and his children, and his captains and friends, and with them fled out of the city, through the fortified ditch, and through the desert; ...and when certain of the deserters had informed the Babylonians of this, at break of day, they made haste to pursue after Zedekiah, and overtook him not far from Jericho, and encompassed him about. But for those friends and captains of Zedekiah who had fled out of the city with him, when they saw their enemies near them, they left him and dispersed themselves, some one way and some another, and every one resolved to save himself;

...so the enemy took Zedekiah alive, when he was deserted by all but a few, with his children and his wives, and brought him to the king. When he was come, Nebuchadnezzar began to call him a wicked wretch, and covenant-breaker, and one that had forgotten his former words, when he promised to keep the country for him. He also reproached him for his ingratitude, that when he had received the kingdom from him, who had taken it from Jehoiachin, and given it him, he had made use of the power he gave him against him that gave it: "but," said he, "God is great, who hateth that conduct of thine, and hath brought thee under us." And when he had used these words to Zedekiah, he commanded his sons and his friends to be slain, while Zedekiah and the rest of the captains looked on; after which he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him, and carried him to Babylon.

And these things happened to him, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel had foretold to him, that he should be caught, and brought before the king of Babylon, and should speak to him face to face, and should see his eyes with his own eyes; and thus far did Jeremiah prophesy. But he was also made blind, and brought to Babylon but did not see it, according to the prediction of Ezekiel.


God is LITERAL
What do we learn from this? God is literal. He places His Word even above His Name (Psalm 138:2).  Every time the Word of God is applied by another servant of God in the Scripture, it is always literal.

When Daniel read Jeremiah who spoke of the 70 years of captivity, Daniel took Jeremiah literally, not allegorically nor figuratively. Every time Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, He applied it literally (Mattew 5:17).

Nebuchadnezzar vs. Zedekiah
Zedekiah was a deceptive, wicked fellow, and had broken his treaty with Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king, was more honorable than Zedekiah, the man on Israel’s throne. Zedekiah, for breaking his oath of allegiance, was blinded and died in captivity in Babylon (Ezekiel 17:1-21).


2 Kings 25:10-2
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

Here, the chronicler called Zedekiah "king." However, Ezekiel never conveyed that title to Zedekiah, for Zedekiah was never really king. Ezekiel always referred to him as “prince.” Ezekiel was more precise, more technically accurate.


The further significance of the covered face (Ezekiel 12:12) is found in the fact that Zedekiah was blinded at Riblah by Nebuchadnezzar’s orders, and from that time could not see the ground on which he trod.

The Siege
The terrible siege soon followed (Jeremiah 38:9) so that mothers boiled and ate the flesh of their own infants (Lamentations 4:5,8,10) and the visage of their nobles was blacker than coal, their skin clave to their bones and became withered.


THE ISRAELITES WILL KNOW THAT GOD IS THE LORD (Ezekiel 12:15-16)

The capture of the king would naturally be followed by the dispersion of his adherents, some of whom would fall by the sword, while a few (Hebrew, men of number; i.e., easily counted) would escape to some nearby country, where they might hope to find a refuge. There they would have to tell their tale of shame, and to let the heathen know that YHWH was thus punishing their abominations (Cf. Ezekiel 14:22-23).

The Lord’s preserving the survivors will make clear to the nations that the catastrophe to his people was due not to his impotence but to his justice. He is concerned for the honor of his name (Cf. Ezekiel 14:21-23).


ISRAEL WILL BE LAID TO WASTE (Ezekiel 12:17-20)

Ezekiel's pantomime was intended to frighten and warn
Far from being fortunate as the exiles in Chaldea regarded them, the Jews in Jerusalem were truly miserable, for the worst is before them, whereas the exiles have escaped the miseries of the coming siege.


EVERY PROPHECY WILL BE FULFILLED (Ezekiel 12:21-28)

Throughout history, there has been the cry of those of little, or of no, faith, who doubt that God's prophecies or promises would ever be fulfilled (Amos 6:3; Isaiah 5:19; Jeremiah 17:15; Matthew 24:48; 2 Peter 3:4). These people have even coming up with the two sayings:

1. "The days go by and every vision comes to nothing"
2. "The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future"

The first saying expressed the people's doubts about the fact of God’s judgment. The second saying expressed their doubts about the imminency of God’s judgment.

Here, we see God directly addressing such a sentiment, ensuring us that He will fulfill EVERY prophecy.

False prophets had been contradicting God's true messengers in both Jerusalem (Jeremiah 28:1-4) and Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1, 8-9). Their optimistic predictions would soon cease as God hastened to fulfill His word.

Imminence (“about to occur”)
Cf. Ecclesiastes 8:11; Matthew 24:48-50; 25:5

It is clear that Jesus Christ wanted us to be in a position of moment-by-moment expectation. We tend to stay closer to Him if we know that He might drop in on us at any moment.

2 Peter 3:3-4
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 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.

The Israelites were scoffing at prophecy. There are different ways to deny a truth. One is to say that God didn't say that. Another is to claim that was not what God meant, that He really didn't mean it literally, He meant it spiritually, or some fuzzy other way that defies the way of any tangible reality. Here, the Israelites expressed skepticism about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:5-6
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: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

One thing that is not obvious at first is the link between prophecy and creation. The important thread is the concept that God intervenes in man's history, that man's history did not just happen by the random events of the cosmos. God created man. The concept of God creating man is consistent, and part of the concept that God will also intervene in man’s history. God cares, He is involved. We are not an accident.

The Coming Surprise
It shall again be the characteristic of the last times, when "faith" shall be regarded as an antiquated thing, seeing that it remains stationary (Luke 18:8), whereas worldly arts and sciences progress, and when the "continuance of all things from creation" will be an argument against the possibility of their being suddenly brought to a standstill by the Coming of the Lord (Isaiah 66:5; 2 Peter 3:3, 4).

The very long-suffering of God, which ought to lead men to repentance, is made an argument against His Word (Ecclesiastes 8:11; Amos 6:3).

Genesis 46-48

Notes compiled with my BSF group and Bible study 

GOD COMFORTS JACOB (Genesis 46:1–4)

God tells Jacob to go down to Egypt (Genesis 46:3-4)
Perhaps Jacob was reluctant to go down to Egypt because he had already lost Joseph and did not want to lose another son. Perhaps, it was because Jacob remembered how God had previously commanded Jacob to not go to Egypt. Perhaps, Jacob had concerns: Would going down to Egypt ruin the bloodline? Would they be absorbed by the Egyptians? For whatever reason, Jacob was conflicted about his situation and choices. However, he took it to the Lord, and God comforted Jacob, telling him that it was okay for him to head down to Egypt, that he would even be reunited with Joseph.

God has His timing for everything. When it is not time for His plan to proceed, we cannot succeed even if we force ourselves to proceed. Yet, when it is time for us to move, He will let us know, and success will be inevitable.

God's prophecy is fulfilled (Genesis 46:3-4)

1. I will make you into a great nation there
This was fulfilled under the leadership of Joseph (Exodus 1:6-7)

2. I will go down to Egypt with you
The children of Israel multiplied and remained fruitful because God was with them and blessed them (Exodus 1:6-7).

3. I will surely bring you back again
God brought the children of Israel back into the Land through Moses (Exodus 4-13) and Joshua (Joshua).

4. Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes
Joseph and Jacob were able to enjoy a couple more decades of life together. Joseph was with Jacob when he passed away (Genesis 50:1).


JACOB AND HIS SONS HEAD TO EGYPT (Genesis 46:5–27)

As a family of 70, Jacob and his family entered Egypt. His family was not yet a nation, and by entering into Egypt, they were sheltered from the corrupted nations surrounding them. Jacob's small family would not be able to protect and defend themselves. By moving them into Egypt, God was protecting and preserving His people.

The Egyptians, at the time, were very proud people. They were the strongest power in the world, and they frowned upon mingling with foreigners, because they took pride in their lineage. This worked to Jacob's advantage because this meant the Egyptians had no interest in mixing with them, while they sought refuge in Egypt. Because of Joseph, Jacob and his family gained favor in Pharaoh's eyes and were therefore welcomed into Egypt. Further, because the Egyptians would not mingle with the Hebrews, they were able to make sure their blood line stayed pure.


JOSEPH REUNITES WITH HIS FATHER (Genesis 46:28-34)

Joseph arranged to have his family settle in Goshen.

The land was fertile and great for pastures. Jacob's family were a family of shepherds, and Goshen was a good land for them to make a living. Also, Goshen was on the edge of Egypt, easily separated from the Egyptians. This offered a buffer between the Egyptians and the Hebrews, ensuring that the Hebrews did not fall under the corrupt influence of Egypt or intermarry with the Egyptians. Goshen therefore was great not only for livelihood, it also helped kept the Egyptians and the Hebrews separate.

By telling Pharaoh that they were shepherds, Joseph further ensured that the Egyptians would leave them alone, because the Egyptians thought very lowly of shepherds and would have nothing to do with them.

And indeed, Jacob and his family were never absorbed into the Egyptian culture. They went into Egypt a family of 70; they came out, 400 years later, a nation of millions.


PHARAOH WELCOMES JACOB AND HIS FAMILY (Genesis 47:1-12)

This Pharaoh listened to Joseph and respected the God of Joseph. We do not know whether Pharaoh, through Joseph, became a faithful servant of God. However, we do know that he trusted Joseph, and thanked him greatly for the service he gave to Egypt. We will discover that a few hundred years down the road, another Pharaoh would be in place, and he would not look so kindly upon the children of Israel (Exodus).


JOSEPH LEADS EGYPT THROUGH THE FAMINE (Genesis 47:13–27)

To guide the people of Egypt through the famine...
1. Joseph collected all the money
2. Joseph then collected all the livestock
3. Joseph bought all the land in Egypt

By implementing strict measures, Joseph taught the people the value of the provisions. If people didn't have to work hard for something or make certain sacrifices, they would not truly comprehend, first hand, the value of the provisions given to them. Through these strict measures, people learn to deepl appreciate the provisions of God.


JACOB REQUESTS TO BE BURIED IN THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS (Genesis 47:28-31)


Jacob knew that Egypt was not the Promised Land. He requested that his bones be taken to the Promised Land because he knew that one day, God will fulfill that promise; God will return His people to the Land. There was no "if" about this promise. He may not live to see it, but he knew it would happen, and he wanted to make sure his bones would be in the Promise Land when his people finally return to the Land.

Philippians 3:20
Hebrews 11:13-16
1 John 3:2-3
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
God is faithful. All the promises He has made, He has fulfilled it or will fulfill it. Knowing this, we therefore can trust in God’s promise. He tells us that when we are in Him, we will have eternal life. Thus, we do not need to fear death as long as we are in Him.


JACOB BLESSES JOSEPH’S SONS (Genesis 48)

Ephraim and Manasseh were the grandsons of Jacob's beloved, Rachel.

Jacob to Joseph: "I know, my son, I know. He (Manasseh) also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations" (Genesis 48:19)
Despite Jacob's loss of sight, we see here that he saw clearly for the first time in a very long while. No longer was he the Jacob that hid in obscurity, afraid to take a stand, even for his own family. Jacob's life trials have now come to an end, and he finally saw as clearly as God would have him see. And so, when Joseph thought his father misplaced his hand on the heads of his sons when giving his blessings, Jacob comforted Joseph, letting him know that he knew exactly what he was doing -- Passing down God's will to his descendants!


Some of the great people who came out of Ephraim:
1. Joshua
2. Samuel

Ephraim would become the most influential tribe in the Northern Kingdom.

Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers" (Genesis 48:21)
God had not yet blessed Joseph the way he had blessed Jacob personally. Here, we see that Jacob therefore passed down God's blessing of the Promised Land to Joseph.


As mentioned above, there was no doubt in Jacob's mind that God will restore His people in the Promised Land. He knew it would only be a matter of time, and thus he passed down this blessing and comfort to Joseph.

Ezekiel 8-11

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

EZEKIEL 8: GOD GIVES EZEKIEL A SERIES OF VISIONS

A year later, God gave Ezekiel a series of visions. The first vision was about the sins of the people back in Jerusalem. The glory appeared again (Ezekiel 8:2), and God took the Ezekiel (in a vision) to the holy city. There he saw a four-fold view of the sins of the people...

Four-Fold View of the Sins
1) An image set up at the north gate of the temple, possibly of Astarte, the foul Babylonian goddess (Ezekiel 8:5)
2) Secret heathen worship in the hidden precincts of the Temple (Ezekiel 8:6-12)
3) Jewish women weeping for the god Adonis, who was supposed to die and be raised from the dead each spring (Ezekiel 8:13–14)
4) The high priest and the 24 courses of priests worshiping the sun (Ezekiel 8:15-16)

The Door to the Inner Gate
• The inner court was the Temple court proper (Ezekiel 8:16; 10:3; 1 Kings 6:36; 7:12)
• The middle court, on a lower level, contained the palace (1 Kings 7:8; 2 Kings 20:4)
• On a still lower level was the great court or outer court, which enclosed the entire palace complex (Ezekiel 10:5; 1 Kings 7:12)
• In ancient temples, the gateway was a covered building entered by means of an entrance or door (Ezekiel 8:3, 5, 7)

3 possibilities about how Ezekiel’s vision took place
Remember that Ezekiel was a captive taken to Babylon. However, his message was preached to his people still in Jerusalem, speaking of the coming judgment and doom of his beloved city. How did all of this take place?

Well, we are clearly told that these were visions (Ezekiel 8:3; 11:24; Cf. 3:12). But other than that, we don't really know how he received them or how he preached to his people in Jerusalem. Below are just some speculations.

1) Ezekiel was actually transported to Jerusalem?
2) Ezekiel vision was simply a vision by the river Chebar?
3) Ezekiel was transported to Heaven?

Ezekiel’s withdrawal to Jerusalem would not be something new in Scripture (Elijah also was caught up; Cf. 2 Kings 2). In the New Testament, "And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39). Philip was removed bodily, which was exactly what happened to Elijah and possibly to Ezekiel.

Paul said that he had been caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-3). That may have occurred at the time he was stoned in Lystra in the Galatian country and was left for dead and that God raised him from the dead, and that at that time he was caught up to the third heaven.

John also was caught up into Heaven (Revelation 4).

"… the idol that provokes jealousy stood" (Ezekiel 8:4)
This is not speaking of jealousy itself but the object which provokes to jealousy (Cf. Ezekiel 5:13; 16:38, 42; 36:6; 38:19; Deuteronomy 32:21). This may have been an image of Astarte, or Asherah, the mother-goddess of the Canaanites.

The image Asherah was set up by Manasseh as a rival to Jehovah in His temple, and arresting the attention of all worshippers as they entered (2 Kings 21:7). The Syrian Venus, worshipped with licentious rites; the "queen of heaven," wife of the Phoenician Baal. This image was subsequently destroyed by Josiah (2 Kings 23:6).

The Departure of the Glory (Ezekiel 8:4)
In Ezekiel 8-10, there is a gradual withdrawal of the glory of the Lord from the Temple and from Israel.

Here we see the glory, and then, because the people did not turn back to God, the glory lifted up from the Temple and went out over the City to the east and hovered there. By Ezekiel 11, we would see the final departure of the glory.
The abominations of Israel were causing YHWH to withdraw from His sanctuary (Ezekiel 8:6, 11:1, 22-23; Cf. Ezekiel 8:13, 15).

Israel worships the created, rather than the Creator (Ezekiel 8:9-10)
The Israelites worshiped created creatures rather than the Creator, God Himself—And this was the lowest they could go. Today, we see similar situations. Man turns to idolatry when he has absolutely repudiated the living and true God.
The Israelites resorted to idolatry in Egypt at the time of the Exodus; they worshiped every kind of beast but refused to turn to God! The plagues upon Egypt were God’s judgment aimed at the different gods of Egypt.

Romans 1:21, 25 
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. … They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.

Israel had sunk down to the level of the nations round about it, and Israelites no longer acted as God’s witness for the living and true God.

The elders of Israel are deep in idol worship (Ezekiel 8:11-13)
If Jaazaniah was the son of Shaphan, who had assisted in Josiah’s reform, he had greatly corrupted the faith of his family (2 Kings 22:3-10; Jeremiah 26:24; 29:3; 36:10-12; 39:14).

The elders of Israel worshiped this idol in their secret chambers, thinking God wouldn’t know. How naïve!

Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14)
Tammuz was the miraculously born son of Semiramis, the queen wife of Nimrod, the first world dictator. Myths have Tammuz correlated with the Summerian Dumuzi, the god of spring vegetation, who died at the winter solstice and went down to the netherworld to be resurrected again. There are similarities of this myth to that of Egyptian Osiris, the Canaanite Baal, and the Syrian Adonis.

The weeping women were celebrating the death of this god. This worship was the worship of nature and connected with it were some vile and immoral ceremonies: Human sacrifice and sexual union formed part of the various cult rites.

"… 25 men" (Ezekiel 8:16)
This alludes to 24 leaders of the classes of priests (1 Chronicles 24:5) and the high priest.

"… I will deal with them in anger" (Ezekiel 8:18)
Israel had stepped over the line—God will now judge them in His fury (Cf. Ezekiel 5:11; 7:4, 9; 9:5, 10).


EZEKIEL 9: EZEKIEL'S VISIONS CONTINUES

"Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been" (Ezekiel 9:3)
This has to be a flashback: The Mercy Seat had already left during Manassah’s reign: the Levites had sought refuge for the Ark, etc. under Pharaoh Necho.

"… moved to the threshold of the temple" (Ezekiel 9:3)
The Glory of God had gone up from the Holy Place. The "cherubim" were above the Mercy Seat. This is where the glory had been, but now it lifts up. The text implies YHWH went to the threshold (Ezekiel 9:3); the cherubim and vacant throne waited (Ezekiel 10:3) until the Lord remounted and departed (Ezekiel 10:18).

"…those who grieve and lament" (Ezekiel 9:4)
These were the remnant which God will save in that city. God’s servant is putting a mark of protection on the faithful remnant of believers, lest they be slain in the judgment to come.

"... mark on the foreheads" (Ezekiel 9:4)
Here the word "mark" is tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Written in the old form, it is a cross--An interesting observation (aka, take it with a grain of salt) from the Book of Ezekiel, written 2500 years before the Christian era!

When people hear "mark on the foreheads," most associate that with the Mark of the Beast (Satan) in Revelation 13:16.

However, read the whole Bible, and we will discover that Satan is a great counterfeit. The idea of a mark was not new -- In fact, he copied God (Ezekiel 9:4; Revelation 7:3; 14:1).

The reason for Satan's fall was because he wanted to be like God. He wanted to be worshiped. However, he is not God. He could only copy God, rising up false teachers and false prophets -- Again, nothing original, but mere counterfeits of God's Work.

"... at my sanctuary" (Ezekiel 9:6)
The Temple was where the grossest idolatry had been carried on, and so, judgment began at the Temple, God's sanctuary.

1 Peter 4:17-18; Proverbs 11:31
For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

"Defile the temple" (Ezekiel 9:7)
The Temple was desecrated with the slain, the dead bodies.

The people first defiled the Temple with idolatries and false worship. And so, God told His agents, if the people want the Temple defiled, then have it defiled.

Dead bodies are ceremonially unclean to the Israelites (Numbers 19:11; 1 Kings 13:2; 2 Kings 23:16).

Compare the actual happening (2 Chronicles 36:17-18) to Revelation 14:9-11, where those receiving the mark of the beast are subjected to Divine torments (Revelation 13:16-18).

"Alas, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?" (Ezekiel 9:8)
Cf. Intercessions of Abraham (Genesis 18:23-32), Amos (Amos 7:1-6), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14; 15).

"They say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see'" (Ezekiel 9:9)
National calamity is a punishment for national sin.

It may be easy to say that God is not out there and He doesn't know what is going on in the earth, but when you really think about it, that is absurd.

"I have done as you commanded" (Ezekiel 9:11)
The recording angel stated that he had done his task, and the ominous silence with reference to the six executioners implied that they had done theirs.


EZEKIEL 10: GOD'S GLORY DEPARTS FROM THE TEMPLE

The narrative portion of the chapter comprises Ezekiel 10:2-4, 6, 7, 18, 19, and is completed by 11:22-25. The rest of the chapter contains descriptions of the throne-chariot very similar to those in Ezekiel Chapter 1.

The recording angel receives fire from the cherubim with which to burn the city, and the glory of the Lord departs to the outside eastern gate of the outer court. The nation of Israel had what no other nation had and, indeed, that which the church does not have today: the visible presence of God.

In Romans 9, Paul lists about eight different points of identification which were unique to the nation of Israel, and one of them was "the glory." These people had the Shekinah glory, the visible presence of God, that which Ezekiel saw in his vision in Ezekiel 1.

God judges; it is one of the evidences we have of the living God. The "wheels within wheels" which Ezekiel saw speak of the energy of God as He moves in the affairs of men.

The glory of the Lord was above the cherubim—between the cherubim in the Holy of Holies in the temple. The glory began its departure in the previous chapter, and will now continue to depart. It moved out from the temple and hovered over it.

"… the likeness of a throne" (Ezekiel 10:1)
The throne was empty (cf. Ezekiel 1:26; 9:3; the chariot awaited the Lord’s return, cf. Ezekiel 10:3, 18). This probably includes the effect of a flashback: the departure was likely as result of the reign of Manassah.

"... the man clothed in linen" (Ezekiel 10:2)
Here, he becomes the agent of destruction.

"... cloud" (Ezekiel 10:3)
The Shekinah Glory, the Presence of the God, the presence of His holiness!

In Egypt, God's Glory took presence as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It dwelt in the Tabernacle and led the people for 40 years through the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-35; 1 Kings 8:10-11).

The throne-chariot (Ezekiel 10:8-17)
These verses describe the throne-chariot, greatly resembling that described in Ezekiel 1.

"Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim" (Ezekiel 10:18)
Finally, in Ezekiel 11:22–23, the glory finally moves out of the temple to the top of the Mount of Olives: "Ichabod—the glory has departed" (1 Samuel 4:21). 

The Glory of God has always been pictured to be "protected" by the four cherubim. And here, we see that it was also the cherubim who moved the Glory of God out of the Temple.

God's Reluctant Departure
The throne-chariot moved to the east gate, apparently of the outer court, paused briefly on the Mount of Olives "on the east side of the city" (Ezekiel 11:23), and then left completely. Rabbis have identified 10 stages of this departure, illustrating that God did not just got up and left, so to speak, but lingered because it was not the heart of God to judge but to give mercy.

The departure of God's Glory was forewarned by Moses (Deuteronomy 31:17) and Hosea (Hosea 9:12).

Later, in prophetic vision, Ezekiel saw the glory return by the same eastern gate (Ezekiel 43:1-4).

Cherubim, the Living Creatures (Ezekiel 10:20-22)
These composite figures, exalted to be proximate to the dwelling place of God, function in several ways:
• They guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24) and the ark in Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 6:23-28; 8:7)
• They engage in adoration of God in connection with the mercy seat in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:18-20; 37:7-9)
• They support the Lord’s throne (1 Samuel 4:2; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; Ps 80:1; 99:1)
• They form the chariot of Deity (2 Samuel 22:11; Psalm 104:3; 1 Chronicles 28:18)

These various actions are present in Ezekiel, especially their function as bearers of the throne of YHWH. In the book of Revelation they engage in perpetual worship (Revelation 4:6; 5:6; 6:1; 7:11).


EZEKIEL 11: THE JUDGMENT ON JERUSALEM’S RULERS

Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed. Zedekiah was still on the throne. Not only were the rulers in rebellion against God, they were in rebellion against the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. Before God’s glory departed from the city, it stopped at the eastern gate and gave Ezekiel another glimpse of the sin of Jerusalem’s inhabitants.

Ezekiel received two messages from the Lord: The first emphasized judgment on the people who remained in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:1-15). The second emphasized the promised restoration of the people who were in captivity (Ezekiel 11:16-21). Then Ezekiel recorded the final departure of God’s glory (Ezekiel 11:22-25).

"… 25 men" (Ezekiel 11:1)
The leading priests were usually called "princes of the sanctuary" (Isaiah 43:28) or "chiefs of the priests" (2 Chronicles 36:14), but here are called "princes of the people," with irony, as using their priestly influence to be ringleaders of the people in sin (Ezekiel 11:2).

If this "Azzur" were the man named in Jeremiah 28:1-4, then the Jaazaniah of Ezekiel 11 would be the brother of Hananiah, the false prophet who opposed Jeremiah and who delivered the same false message of hope just before Jerusalem’s fall.

What's In a Name?
• Jaazaniah: God hears
• Son of Azzur: God helps
• Pelatiah: God delivers
• Son of Benaiah: God builds

Their names ought to have reminded them that God would have "heard" had they sought His "help" to "deliver" and "build" them up.

Wicked Counsel
The anti-Babylon party counseled that the nation should revolt against Nebuchadnezzar and form an alliance with Egypt (Ezekiel 17). This was contrary to God’s command (Jeremiah 28:16) and in violation of the oath her ruler had sworn to the Chaldean monarch (2 Chronicles 36:13). This was the party of violence (Ezekiel 7:23; 9:9; 11:6; 22).

"These are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city. They say, 'Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it'" (Ezekiel 11:2-3)
The elders were urging the people to build houses, a sign of peace and safety (Ezekiel 28:26). After all, the people were safe in the city (Jerusalem), illustrated here as how the meat is protected by the pot.

"You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel" (Ezekiel 11:10)
This was fulfilled literally when the captives of Jerusalem were deported to Riblah in Syria and killed (2 Kings 25:18-21; Jeremiah 52:8-11, 24-27)

"Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died" (Ezekiel 11:13)
Pelatiah was probably the ringleader of the scorners (Ezekiel 11:1), an earnest of the destruction of the rest of the 25, as Ezekiel had foretold, as also of the general ruin.

"This land was given to us as our possession" (Ezekiel 11:15)
God had given Israel the land, but He would remove them from it for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:36, 64-68). God will indeed gather His people whom He scattered, not just throughout Babylon but among other nations (Ezekiel 34-37) -- This was fulfilled in 1948, when the Israelites returned to their homeland.

God had emphasized the coming judgment of the people who remained in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:1-12). He assured the prophet that He would preserve a remnant, but it would be comprised of those in captivity, not those in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:13-15). As a sign of His faithfulness, God promised to restore the remnant to the land (Ezekiel 11:16-21).

"I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone" (Ezekiel 11:16)
Although the Israelites had lost access to the "sanctuary," the temple in Jerusalem, but God Himself will be a sanctuary for them in those foreign countries.

"I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again" (Ezekiel 11:17)
The remnant of Israel could look forward to a national restoration to the Promised Land. A partial restoration took place after the Babylonian Captivity (Ezra; Nehemiah). Less than 60,000 in the remnant returned at the end of the 70-year captivity. Ezekiel 11:17-21 goes beyond that return and points to a future gathering of Israel at the beginning of the Millennium (Ezekiel 36:24-38; 37:11-28).

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them" (Ezekiel 11:19)
Nicodemus asked Jesus about being born again, and Jesus rebuked him for not knowing these things as he was a teacher (Pharisee) (John 3:1-21).

John 3:10
"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?"

As naive students, we may be able to sympathize with Nicodemus' questions up to John 3:9. However, Jesus rebuked Nicodemus, because He expected him to know this, since Nicodemus was NOT naive! He was a Pharisee, a ruler in Israel, a teacher, one of the best!

The concept of being born again is not a New Testament idea. Note that Jesus rebuked Nicodemus because he was supposed to have known that. Nicodemus was a teacher BEFORE the New Testament. And indeed, the concept of born again is found throughout the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Jeremiah 32:37-40; Ezekiel 36:24-26; Zechariah 7:11-12; Isaiah 53:2-6.

"They will be my people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 11:20)
While this was spoken to Israel, it does apply to us personally. Jesus expected Nicodemus to apply it personally. We are in a unique position, if we will but commit our way to Him, He will give us a new heart. We do not get saved by being obedient; we are obedient because we are saved. Obedience is an evidence, not a cause. Our works are evidence of the work that God has already done in us. He gives us a new heart so that we may walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances.

"As for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done" (Ezekiel 11:21)
It is a great tragedy today that most ministries ignore the fact that judgment is coming upon this earth. God’s judgment is one of the sure proofs of His existence.

"...mountain east of it" (Ezekiel 11:23)
From this mountain Jesus wept over the doomed city (Luke 19:37-44; Ezekiel 10:19; 43:1-4).

Mount of Olives
As God’s glory left Jerusalem, it passed over the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives. This departure signaled Jerusalem’s doom. The city would be devoid of God’s blessing till the glory will return via the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 43:1-3).

It is no coincidence that Christ ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12), and promised to return to the same place (Acts 1:11; Zechariah 14:4)! The glory of God returns as the incarnate Jesus!

The Kingdom
The departure of the divine glory from the Temple marked the end of the Theocratic Kingdom in Old Testament history. The glory was manifested in the New Testament to the disciples at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5; cf. John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6; James 2:1; 2 Peter 1:16-18). The visible glory will return when the Kingdom is restored to Israel (Ezekiel 43:1-7; Revelation 21:22-24).

"I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me" (Ezekiel 11:25)
Ezekiel returned to tell the people that the false prophets have lied to them. He had seen the vision—Jerusalem will be destroyed, and full captivity is near at hand. He thus told his people why God will judge them. Sadly, the people did not listen to Ezekiel. Regardless, Ezekiel continued to be a sign unto them.


SUMMARY

Ezekiel was first confronted with the wickedness of the people in the temple (Ezekiel 8). Then, he was shown the slaughter of the people of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 9). Jerusalem had become so wicked that God's glory departed from the Temple (Ezekiel 10). As God's glory left the city, judgment was pronounced on rulers of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11).