Bible Study: April 3, 2024

Okay, so tonight we will take it up where we left off last time, a couple weeks ago, Ezekiel 1.

When you remember in Ezekiel 1, we talked about God's call to Ezekiel, and he did it in a very dramatic, dramatic fashion by giving him this vision of heaven and how things were in heaven. And you recall the slides, maybe, that we put on that kind of, in a very weak way, demonstrated or illustrated what we see in Ezekiel 1. And the inspiration that it must have given to Ezekiel to have that vision as God was calling him. And at the end of chapter 1, we saw where he was just in such awe and fear of God that he just fell on his face. It's something that we see often when people are confronted with the power of God, the love of God, and the calling of God, and that they recognize that they just fall at their face. And that's on their faces. And that's what Ezekiel did. And I know as we have been called, and the more we understand God's will and plan, we should be even more in awe every year in fear of God and gratitude toward him for what he does, not only for us and his church and the nations of Israel that he has so richly blessed, but for all of mankind all over the world. So we're going to go ahead and pick it up in chapter 2 tonight. And in these chapters, we're going to see God give Ezekiel some instructions that will pertain to his time on earth when he's prophesying to the house of Israel to the people, the captives of Judah in his time. But also, those instructions apply to us today. As we go through the prophecies of Daniel, as we get into them later on, while Ezekiel was talking to the people of Judah who were in captivity along with him there and by the river in that land that they had been exiled to as Babylon began to eventually conquer Judah, so those words apply to us today too. Because as we read about, go to the people of Israel and give them this message, that house of Israel or the other 10 tribes, they had gone into captivity 130 years before Ezekiel was even born. So those prophecies are alive into the Bible today because they apply to God's the house of Israel here in the end times. And as we go through the book of Ezekiel, we'll see many of those end time prophecies that we see coming about even, you know, in our world today, and certainly as we go forward. So let's pick it up in chapter 2. What?

Let somebody... Oh, okay, let me... Okay, chapter 2, verse 1. Here, remember, end of chapter 1, Ezekiel says, When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one speaking. Chapter 2, verse 1. And he said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you. So it's like, okay, you know, Ezekiel had the proper respect for God. He was in awe, but God said, Get up, get up. I'm going to instruct you now. Stand up, and I'm going to talk to you. And then he says in verse 2, The Spirit entered me when he spoke to me. So we know, you know that Ezekiel had God's Spirit, that the Spirit did enter him, and God was inspiring him to understand the words that he would say. This is chapter 2 and chapter 3, where God tells him about the words that he's going to give him, and the words that he gives him are the ones that he should speak. And he says some things and here are the instructions in Ezekiel that we see later on in the book of Revelation as well. Let's just continue here in verse 2. The Spirit entered me when he spoke to me and set me on my feet. Literally, God lifted him up. Okay, Ezekiel, look at me. Here's your instructions. Here's, I caught your attention. You know that it's me. God was speaking to him, set me on my feet, and I heard him who spoke to me. And he said to me, son of man. That's, you know, kind of what God calls Ezekiel several times. He was the son of a man. He's a human being. He said to me, son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel. And we just talked about the children of Israel. Had we gone into captivity, people of Judah were there, and the captivity was Ezekiel. I'm sending you to the children of Israel. And then he describes Israel over and over and over again, in the words that complete, that's follow that. I'm sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation who has rebelled against me. Here's God's own people, right? We talked about the children of Israel being the children of promise, to whom God gave promises. And they were his children that were born of miraculous births, you know, to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, and then Jacob and Esau, then Joseph, and the miraculous birth. And God blessed those people.

He called him their people. But he says they had this, they had this spirit about him. They're rebellious. They just won't listen to me. And we know that's carnal nature for all of mankind. But about Israel, who should listen, knowing what God has done for them and seeing the blessings that God has given them. But here's a trait, a trait that could be in spiritual Israel, too, if we don't pay attention to what's in our heart. The children that are just rebellious, he says, again, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me, they and their ancestors have transcribed against me to this very day. Over and over and over, you know, God warned them. Over and over and over, God provided for them. Over and over and over, God was patient with them, forgave them, gave them what they needed. But over and over and over, Israel rebelled against God. And it's just part of their nature to do that. Verse 4, he goes on in describing them, they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, he says to Ezekiel, and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God. So God is prepping Ezekiel, your job is going to be to go and talk to these people. They are rebellious, stubborn, they are impudent, they probably, not probably, they aren't going to listen to you. But as he'll say, over and over to Ezekiel, you give them the message I give you anyway. No matter if they hear you or don't hear you, your job is to give them a message.

And you know, as we here are living in the end times, and you know, we were over in the United Kingdom, and it was said, you know, that the United Kingdom, Britain is almost like a post-Christian nation. They don't want to hear the word of God. They don't even want to recognize God. You know, that doesn't excuse us from doing that, from preaching the gospel of God. It is the same message that God gave us today that he gave Ezekiel. You go and give it to them. You tell them what I want them to hear. You preach the gospel. You cry aloud, spare not. You give them the warning message. And he'll talk about that in chapter 3 more. Whether they hear it or not, your job is to do it. And we have to remember, we do what God wants. It's his job to call people.

But if we're not sending the message and giving the message out there through the various communication styles that people listen to today, then we are remiss in what we're doing. So anyway, that's kind of what God is saying, and we can apply it to ourselves here today as well. So in verse 5, he says what I actually just said, but I'm going to read it right from the Bible. As for them, God says, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house, yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.

You know, they may not listen to you, Ezekiel. They may not listen to us today. They may never, not one of them may ever respond to God's call, but at some point they'll know that God's message, they heard it. Go on. They will remember, we heard this, we heard that. So our job is to do it so that when that time comes, they say, whoa, this is exactly what the church was saying. This is exactly what we were told the Bible said was going to happen. This is exactly how things have unfolded. They'll remember it, even if they don't respond to it today. So Ezekiel and many in many in the situations he was in, as God was repairing him, are very much like the conditions that we live in today. People that God was prepping him aren't going to come to you in swarms, Ezekiel. They're not going to just say, wow, thank you for letting us hear that message. Now what we want to do is just obey you. In fact, just the opposite. Just, or not obey you, obey God. Just the opposite. But go and do it anyway. So in verse 6, then, it gives him some instructions because he knows what it's going to be like for Ezekiel. His life, the life that God was calling to, wasn't going to be glamorous. It was going to be a very hard and difficult life, as we'll see as we go through the book of Ezekiel. He was going to be doing things that would set him apart from everyone else.

Probably things he, well, certainly things he never would have wanted to do or thought about on his own to do, but he did them in obedience to God. So in verse 6 he says, And you, son of man, don't be afraid of them, this rebellious house, this rebellious people that you are going to be speaking to, don't be afraid of them. Don't be afraid of them, and don't be afraid of their words. Though briars and thorns are with you, and you dwell amongst Europeans, don't be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. They may give you the most hostile glare you could ever imagine. Don't let it dismay you, Ezekiel. Don't let it frighten you, Ezekiel. Just keep doing what I tell you to do. The words they tell you might be venomous. They might be hateful. Do the job I give you to do anyway. Don't let them succeed in their efforts to keep you from doing what you have been called to do. Those are words, you know, that God said to Joshua back in Joshua 1, Be strong and courageous, Joshua. Just go forth and do what my will is. That's the words that Moses gave to Israel when they put their backs up against the Red Sea. When you're faced with something, stand still. See the salvation of the Lord. He will fight for you, and you move forward. You just keep doing what God asks you to do and move in the direction that He is guiding you to do. It's the same words He's giving here to Ezekiel, the same words He would have said to Isaiah, the same words He said to Jeremiah, the same words He says to the church today, the same words He says to all of us today. You just keep marching forward, and don't let men. Don't let men, their words, threats, or whatever they throw at you to take you away from God or divert you from what His mission for you is. In verse 7, you shall speak my words to them.

Now, Jesus Christ said, we live by every word of the Bible. God says as equal, you speak my words.

You know, I'll tell you what to do. I'll put in your mind, as you're yielded to me, what it is that you need to say to them. Speak my words to them. Whenever I read words like that, I'm reminded of what Christ said in Luke 21, when He was talking about the time before the end that He said, you know, you and I, or anyone of us, you know, could be called up before the magistrates, or called up before the officials, or called before someone to where they want to question us, or threaten us, or whatever. And God says, just establish it in your mind ahead of time. Take the time to realize when that time comes, you don't have to have your prepared speech that you wrote. You be close to me, and I'll give you the words to speak in that moment. Don't you worry about it. You just make sure that you're ready, and you're ready to stand for God. That through the life that you've lived leading up to that time, you have learned to trust Him, rely on Him, love His way, love the truth. So when that time comes, you are prepared to stand up, stand up, and God will give you the words that He wants you to speak. That's what He's saying here, to Ezekiel. You will speak my words to them. And we'll see that more as we get into chapter 3. You will speak my words, whether they hear or whether they refuse. Notice how many times He keeps saying, you say it, and just because they don't want to hear it doesn't mean you get to quit. You keep doing it. You keep doing it as long as God asks you to do it. You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, or they are rebellious. He is letting Ezekiel know what he's up against and what the people are like and how they will respond to the message that God is giving him to give. But you, verse 8, you, Son of Man, hear what I say to you. That's what God would say to you and me as well. Listen, I have to say to you. Be close to me. Keep in contact. Pray, read the Bible. Do all those things that we talk about. Meditate. Allow God through His Spirit to guide your thoughts and guide your mind and guide your direction so that you are doing what He wants you to do. Stop when you're faced with a position that you may not know how to deal with. Ask God, what is the direction? What do I say? What is the answer here to this situation that I find myself in? He'll give it to us if He knows that we're asking for it and we want it, just like when Solomon was faced as a young man when he was presented with the case of the two young women who were buying over that one baby after one had died. He asked God, what do I do? Here God gave him an answer that revealed exactly what the truth was. He can do the same for you and me if we're close and if we rely on Him to do this.

You shall speak my words, verse 7, to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. And then verse 8, But you, Son of Man, hear what I say to you. Listen, pay attention to what God says. Don't be rebellious like that rebellious house. So He's cautioning them. There will be this attitude. There may be thoughts that come into your mind. I don't want to do this.

I don't want to do this. I don't want to do what God wants me to do. I want to just do what I want to do and I want to do it my way. No, no, no. That's not what we've been called for. And He's cautioning Ezekiel. Here's the nature of the people you're going to be dealing with. They're rebellious. They're going to resist God. They're going to not want to do anything He has to say.

And that same attitude can rub off on you. And so we have to be cautious of the attitudes that are in the world and the attitudes that are out there. They can find their way into our thinking. They can find their way into our methods of our conduct and our behavior individually or in the church. And we have to be aware. We have to be aware and conscious of that, that those ideas or those attitudes or motives can creep in. But always remember, you know, don't become like them. Don't let them rub off on you.

You do what God says. We do what God says, no matter what the world does or how right it might seem to us. Do it God's way. Don't read rebellious like that rebellious house God says. Open your mouth. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. So He gives this analogy, you know, that we see even in New Testament times. Open your mouth, Ezekiel. I will feed you. I will give you what you need.

Eat open your mouth and eat what I give you. You know, we're just a few weeks away from Passover here. We talk about eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. You know, we physically eat unleavened bread for the seven days of unleavened bread. That reminds us of what it says in Exodus 12, in your mouth shall be my way of life. In your mouth shall be my law. Eat my law. Because when we eat things, it becomes part of our body. So the healthy things that we eat strengthen us, give us health. Like the spiritual things that we eat and we digest, we meditate on, and we think and we take into our bodies and let them be there, they strengthen us.

They edify us. They become us. And so God gives us Ezekiel, eat what I give you. Jesus Christ, you know, said whoever eats this bread will have eternal life, referring to His body. At Passover, we eat the bread. It's a physical thing we do, but it symbolizes what we are doing as we are understanding and discerning the Lord's body, what we're committing to, what we have committed to, what we need to do with our lives as we recognize, you know, what our Savior has done for us. And without Him, we are literally nothing and people that are going nowhere with absolutely no purpose or meaning to life without Him.

So God gives us the spirit enters. Spirit enters. It says back in verse 2, Ezekiel, God gives him these words, tells him what his mission is, what his life is going to be like, what he's being called to. And he tells them, open your mouth, eat what I give you, eat the things that are going to produce the health and not the garbage that's out there in the world. Eat the healthy stuff that will provide the spiritual health and strength and commitment to God and that will become part of you.

Not just pass through your system quickly, but become literally part of you. Verse 9, Now when I looked, when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me, and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were Lamentations and Mourning and Woe.

So, as we close the very short chapter 2, we have this book that's handed to Ezekiel. And in it were written Lamentations and Mourning and Woe.

Not a not a joke book, not a comic book, but something that God was handing Ezekiel as he tells him. This is a rebellious house. These are people who aren't going to want to hear what you have to say. You say it anyway. I'll give you the words. Open your mouth. Eat what I give it to you. Here's this book full of Lamentations and Mourning and Woe. And Ezekiel is being prepped for what he is going to be warning the people that were alive at his time that were there that he would be physically preaching to, but the words that he would be giving to us as we are on too. Because in that book, what are Lamentations and Mourning and Woe? This comic would bring upon the house of Israel and as well had, and will again, another house of Judah that was there the results or the consequences of their actions as they rebelled against God, as they turned against him, as they refused to listen to anything that he had to say. So the account here goes on in chapter 3. It's moreover he said to me, Son of Man, here he addresses Ezekiel that is again, you're a human, son of man. Eat what you find. Eat this scroll. Digest it. Look at it. Let it become part of you. Learn this. This is who you are. This is what your mission is going to be.

You know, God, I mentioned, God says, you know, live by every word of God. Eat it. Digest it. Make it part of your life. As it goes into your body, it becomes you. Use it. And every day, it will strengthen. It will provide what we need. Eat what you find. Eat this scroll, and then go speak to the house of Israel. Learn it. Learn it. Digest it. Make it part of you. And so Ezekiel, as God is instructing him, I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that scroll. He did what God said. Okay, I will eat what you have given me. I accept what you have for me. I will do what you say, and I will take into my body and my mind and my heart and my soul and every part of me. I will make what you give me part of me. So I opened my mouth and caused me to eat that scroll.

And he said to me, Son of Man, son of man, feed your belly. Fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. You can see what he's saying here. So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey and sweetness. It was an interesting book because, you know, at the end of chapter two, he said this was a book of lamentations and mourning and woe. But here, as Ezekiel begins eating that scroll, it was a sweet smell. It was a very satisfying taste to what he was reading as God gave him this scriptural or spiritual scroll that he was eating. You know, so not unlike at all what you are thinking of, that we read about the Apostle John back in Revelation. Let's turn to Revelation. Revelation chapter 10. Because the Apostle John, who also, you know, God in a vision, showed John what the throne of God would be like, the angels, the visions of the angels, the vision of the throne that was there. God, you know, gave John his commission as he revealed the book of Revelation, you know, to Jesus Christ, who then revealed it to John. And in chapter 10, he talks about this book that he's given, this scroll that he's given. We should just read through it again because it is very much like what God did to Ezekiel here. Ezekiel prophesied in Old Testament times. John, of course, in Revelation, is the most recent prophetic book that we have of the Bible that kind of brings all of the prophecies and everything together for the end time we live in. So let's just read quickly through the very short chapter of Revelation 10 here and see the similarity of what God is doing to Ezekiel. Verse 10, chapter 10 of Revelation, and verse 1.

John writes, I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

Similar images to what we read in Ezekiel 1 as God put Ezekiel in that vision. He had a little book open in his hand, and he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. And he cried with loud voices when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. That's something God hasn't revealed yet, as we see in verse 4. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, seal up the things, which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.

So John heard them. Like God said, not for them to know, not for them to know, when his own time God will reveal them when he wants, and how he wants, and to who he wants. The angel whom I saw, verse 5, standing on the sea and on the land, raised up his hand to heaven, and swore to him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that are in it, the earth, and the things that are in it, and the sea, and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer.

The completion of the purpose for physical earth and physical man is about to come to the conclusion, the first conclusion of Jesus Christ returning to earth, and putting an end to this age we live in, becoming king of kings and ushering in the time where his way of life will be taught to all of mankind. It is the hope of mankind to save mankind from himself and what would happen to this earth and to him if God was just to allow man to continue in the way that he is. But Jesus Christ will return, and there's no further delay in that. Now it begins. But in the days, verse 7, of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished as he declared to his servants the prophets. As Ezekiel was reading here in chapter 3 of this book, and he had this sweetness in his mouth as he began to read, he's understood the plan of God and as a beautiful plan to have the Savior returning to earth, the Messiah returning to earth. Jesus Christ, as we know him, returning to earth and establishing a kingdom at the time of joy, peace, and abundance and harmony for all of mankind all over the world. That is a very sweet, great tasting thing in our mouth to read that. That's what Ezekiel feels as he's beginning to eat the book. Look at the plan of God. It's wonderful. It's salvation for every single man, woman, and child who ever lived on earth if they will accept God's way. John has the same reaction as he begins to read this book that is open to him as he sees the vision of the time leading up the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 8, Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth. So I went to the angel and said, Give me the little book. And he said to me, Take and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth. As you digest it, as you understand what it is in that book, as you understand the plan of God, it is as sweet as honey. There can't be a better ending or a better plan of salvation that can even be imagined than what God has. There can't be a better time for mankind than the time that the people will live in the millennium and then the second rational direction occurs and every man, woman, and child has an opportunity to turn to God and have eternal life. Can't be anything better than that. Very sweet. But the time leading up to that, the time where there is the times where these rebellious houses of men, the rebellious house of Israel, the rebellious gentile nations and all the nations of the world who just resist God and have turned from Him, and they begin to, as they receive, they're recompensed for their deeds and they're turning against God. It is a bitter time because when we turn against God, it is not pleasant. There are cursings. We read about those in Deuteronomy 28. We talked about those a little bit on some of the little things that we're doing, the little 12-minute things that are going on. And in some sermons recently, this is what happens to people who turn away from God individually and collectively. And those are bitter, bitter times. They're full of lamentation, mourning, and woe as mankind brings upon himself the recompense for what he has reaped. And so God says, it is going to be as sweet as honey.

It will be as sweet as honey, but when you digest it, it's going to be bitter in your stomach. It's going to be tough to digest what was going to happen because of man's actions. The time that has to lead, but what happens at the end makes it all in the end very sweet and very satisfying.

So I took the little book, verse 10, I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, John, you must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.

You know the plan. You know what God has said was going to happen. You know how all this plays out, not every detail, but you know the plan of God. You need to go out and you need to talk to the people of Israel. You need to go out and talk to the people of the world. As Christ said, you need to preach the gospel as a witness in all nations. You need to cry aloud and spare not and make the house of Jacob aware of their sin. And my people, the people of spiritual Israel today, aware of their sin too, so that everyone has an opportunity or is warned turn to God. Turn to God. Whether they refuse or heed is not your problem, Ezekiel. Not your problem, Church of God. You just do it. You just do it. God is going to make that clear, the reason and what here that we get into later on in chapter 3. But here we have in chapter 3 the very same type thing that God is feeding Ezekiel that he also fed to John. The very same thing that he feeds you and me. We know the plan of God. It's here in the Bible. He's opened our minds. The Spirit was put in Ezekiel so he could understand. John the Apostle had God's Spirit. He could understand. You and I, when we repent and turn to God, he gives us the understanding of what is going on. And we know, we know how sweet the gospel is. We know how bitter it is when we look and see the times that we live in now and see that time of lamentation and mourning that is coming upon this earth.

So let's go back to Ezekiel 3.

So Ezekiel 3, we were in verse 3. And so verse 4. We just read verse 3.

Verse 4. Then he said to me, Son of man, I forget what it was. I read, I read, you know, people that study the Bible, you know, as a piece of literature, how many times God calls Ezekiel son of man? It's something like it's well over a hundred times in the book of Ezekiel. But anyway, he said to me, Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. Use my words to speak to them. And so again, the house of Israel was gone by this time. But we have these words that God is speaking to us today. You are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel. You know these people. They talk like you. You don't have to decipher languages. You don't have to have a translator with you. You got it. You know these people. They'll do your words. They're very familiar. You know them, and they know your speech. I'm not sending you, verse 6, to not to many people of unfamiliar speech.

I guess it looked over, looked at verse 5. For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel. Not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language. Whose words you can't understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. Isn't that interesting that God would say that? So you know the house of Israel. They speak your language. You've lived the same life as them. You know their culture. You know the society they live in. You can speak to them because you have an understanding of what it is. But they're rebellious. They're not going to listen to you. Had I sent you overseas, had I sent you to the deepest recessions of Africa and Asia, or any area that has unfamiliar language to you, and you had spoken to them there, they would have responded. They would have responded.

Isn't that an interesting thing for God to say? But the house of Israel is so rebellious against me, God says. They just won't listen to me.

And so, you know, we can think about Jonah. We can talk about Jonah. And you know when God sent Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah didn't want to go. And Jonah thought, oh, it'll be just my luck that I'll go and preach to these people in Nineveh, and they will turn to God. They will repent. And he was right. When they heard the word of God, they repented. They turned to God. It was a surprise to them. And yet, Jonah, as a prophet, the people of Israel didn't listen to him. They didn't listen to Ezekiel. They didn't listen to Isaiah. They didn't listen to Jeremiah. They didn't listen to Daniel. They didn't listen to any of the prophets God sent. Instead, they killed him, is what Jesus Christ said. If we turn over to Matthew, Jesus Christ talks about this as well. In Matthew 12, it's as he, the greatest human that ever lived. There's not even a word in the English language to describe how great and what a blessing and everything that Jesus Christ is. He was there, walking among the people, his own people, who were of a familiar language, who understood. He understood them, and they understood him. He grew up as a Jew. They were Jews. And he was there, doing good among them. He was preaching the word of God, and they wouldn't listen to him either. They hated him. They rejected it. Put him to death. He talks about this same thing in Matthew 12. In Matthew 12, he talks about the sign that he gave the Pharisees. The only sign he gave the Pharisees is that he was the Messiah, that he would be, as Jonah was, three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Then in verse 41, he says, the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed, a greater than Jonah is here. When they heard it, they repented. They listened. The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed, a greater than Solomon is here.

They came. They saw the wisdom of God. They appreciated what God had, and yet his people didn't. If we look back at chapter 11, verse 20, it says, Christ began—I'm in Matthew, Matthew 11, verse 20—Christ began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn't repent. They didn't listen. They didn't heed what he said. Woe to you, Corazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, two cities that God condemns—we've read about Tyre, we've read about Sodom or Sidon, we've read about Sodom, as he'll say in the next one. Wow! And yet God says, if we had done the works there that I've done there, they would have repented. If the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago and sackcloth at it ashes. But not you! You're too rebellious. You're too hard-hearted. You don't listen. But I say to you, it'll be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

But I say that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. You know, as God says these words, they sound harsh. We've heard them dozens of times, at least. And they may just kind of go over our head. But what God is saying is, and He's warning us as He's warned Ezekiel, don't become rebellious. Don't stop listening to me. Remember He said that to Ezekiel back in, or yeah, Ezekiel back in chapter 2. The house of Israel is very rebellious, over and over and over. Don't you be like them, Ezekiel. And God is telling you and me, don't you be like them. The Pharisees, the Jews of Jesus Christ, they denied Jesus Christ. They didn't want Him there. They just hardened their hearts, and they would not listen. God says to us, don't become like them. Keep your minds open. Let the Spirit be in you. Let God guide you and correct you and mold you into who He wants you to be. And here we are, just three weeks away from Passover.

Let Him show us where our sins and where our weaknesses and where our attitudes and our faults are. Because that's what we're here. This is how we discern the Lord's body. That we are willing to repent. That we are willing to acknowledge. That we really are dedicated to becoming like God, and not just having our way or our whatever it is stand there, and like people, and in the process fail to take the Passover in a worthy manner. Well, if we go back to chapter 3 in Ezekiel, you know, we see these words that God is giving Ezekiel. Christ gave similar words. God gives us similar words and instructions. We see it throughout the Bible. And so he says, you know, when we were down in verse 6 of chapter 3, if I had given those words to them, they would have listened. Verse 7, but the house of Israel won't listen to you because they won't listen to me.

Ezekiel, get it! They're not going to listen to you. It's not your fault. They will not listen to God either. The people of Christ's time that were practicing Judaism, they did not listen to Christ either, and he was among them, because they will not listen to me, for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces.

We'll talk about that in a minute. And your forehead strong against their foreheads, like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead. Don't be afraid of them.

Don't be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

So what is God saying there when he says, I've made your face strong against their faces?

Our faces are kind of our presence, right? When I see you, I see your faces as we're all on screen here tonight. Those of us who have our screens on, and they're friendly faces. I like seeing your faces. We could have a very stern look to us. Sometimes we run into people in the world like that. Sometimes even people that we wouldn't think would ask that way are just very hostile. They just have this hostile and hard look. It makes you wonder what is going on. What are they doing? What's the issue here? God is saying, some of the looks you're going to get, Ezekiel, they're going to be tough. You are going to see eight in their faces. You are going to see them wanting you dead, just like Jesus Christ faced, just like the prophets faced of old. I'm going to make your face strong, too. It's going to hurt when you see that, because they're going to hate you for what you say. But I'm going to make your face strong, too. You look right back at them. You don't fade. You don't fail. You don't look dismayed. You don't give up. You don't look from them. You look them in the face, and you show them the strength that is in you. That strength comes from Jesus Christ, because you, Ezekiel, are telling them the truth. He would tell you and I the same thing. Like Adam and Stone, harder than Flint, I'm going to make your face strong against our faces. If we look at Jeremiah, I've got this written down. Jeremiah 1. Jeremiah 1. God gives similar instructions to Jeremiah. Jeremiah, he prophesied around the same time of Ezekiel. He was actually in Judah and was there then as the final captivity took place. They were ushered out of Judah when Nebuchadnezzar completely conquered the kingdom of Judah. As Jeremiah is being called, God gives him some stern words, too. He prepares him for what his life is going to be like. Jeremiah 1 and verse 17. He says, therefore, Jeremiah, prepare yourself and arise, and I will speak to them all that I command you. Don't be dismayed before their faces. Don't look afraid. I'm preparing you. When it happens, just look. You're prepared. Prepare yourself now. Prepare yourself. Don't be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. They will hide against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.

So God... Hello? Someone have a comment? Okay. So you can see God prepares those that he's doing, just like he prepares you and me. Jesus Christ, how many times? The commentaries say that the most common message Christ gave to his church was, don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Prepare yourself. They will hate you. If they hated him, they'll hate us. And so be prepared to do that, but go forth and do the work of God. So in Jeremiah, he prepared, just like he did Ezekiel. Here in Jeremiah, let's go back one more chapter or one more book to Isaiah.

And you may remember this from our Isaiah Bible study in chapter 50.

In chapter 50, verse 7, speaking of Jesus Christ, the Messiah to come, you know, verse 6 there, it says, we know it's him, I gave my back to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I didn't hide my face from shame and spitting. Verse 7, For the Lord God will help me. Therefore I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a flint. I have set my face like a flint, a rock. You can throw whatever you want at my face. You're not going to crack me. You're not going to crack me. I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. And so, you know, God says, let your presence be, you know, I'm behind you. I'm giving you the power. I'm giving you the words. You're the person who does this. You need, you know, be prepared. Yeah, you'll pray. Someone have a comment?

Okay. Go back to Ezekiel 3 here, and let's talk about foreheads a minute, right? Because in verse 9, he says, Like Adam and stone, I'm in Ezekiel 3. Harder than flint, I have made your forehead. Our foreheads here are like, this is kind of like the seed of the brain, right? So I'm going to make this like flint. They're going to throw things. They're going to mess with your mind. They're going to say things they're going to just that could rattle you. But you are strong. Those are not going to penetrate your mind. You know, it's interesting when you look at David and Goliath, what David hurtled those stones, right? With the slingshot, right in the forehead. About the shabby. Yes, sir. Go ahead. I was told that's the frontal lobe, and that's where your it's like your mother tells you right from wrong, wrong from right. Interesting. Very good. Right up there, right? I'm going to make it. You know what's right. You I'm setting it like flint. Don't don't let them change you. So God gives us these instructions, just like he's giving them to Isaiah. Not Isaiah. Ezekiel here. Isaiah is sure as well, I'm sure. So any questions over and over again? Understand it's a rebellious house. They're not going to listen to you. But that's okay. Do the work anyway. Verse 10. I'm in Ezekiel 3 here. Moreover, he said to me, Son of Man, receive into your heart all my words that I speak to you and hear with your ears. Don't just don't just let them go in one ear and out the other. Don't just memorize them. Don't just be able to recite them.

Let them become you. The heart is what beats. The heart is what pumps through us. It pumps our blood throughout. So let them be in there so that throughout your body, the words that are there, it becomes you. Eat. Let it digest and become part of you. Let it be in your heart. Let it be in your mind. Receive into your heart all my words that I speak to you and hear with your ears. Listen.

Listen. God, in Romans 10, tells us that faith comes through hearing. We read. We listen to God's words. We pray. He speaks. He puts the thoughts into our minds we need. But we also listen. We also listen to the words. Faith comes from hearing. It says in Romans 10-17. So don't discount that. So, Son of Man, receive into your heart and hear with your ears. Verse 11. And go. Get to the captives. Now you go out among your people there. If there are captives sitting right there around the river Kbar along with you and Tel Aviv here where they was—is it where modern Tel Aviv and Israel is today, but somewhere out there we don't know exactly where—go out to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, Thus says the Lord God. This is what God says. Whether they hear or whether they refuse, go out and do it. And then the Spirit. And then, it's interesting how God uses that vision in Ezekiel 1 to remind Ezekiel who it is that's speaking to him. It's like that vision is there. He's got that vision. It's like, I'm getting this from God. God is speaking to me. The Spirit lifted me up and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice. It's like that thunderous voice that we read about in chapter 1.

Blessed is the glory of the Lord from his place. Verse 13, I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise as he's reminded of this vision. Yes, this is God. I'm getting this commission.

Church of God, people of God, that his will needs to be done. So the Spirit lifted me up, and it took me away, and I went in bitterness. I went in bitterness. He walked away and he was bitter. Now, the bitterness that was in him—interesting is the same word that's used there, and it'll be like bitterness in your belly when you digest what is going on.

Ezekiel had to absorb what he had just been told. You can imagine what it was like for him to be there and to be hearing all these instructions. Stand up, Ezekiel. I'm giving you what your commission is. The people are going to hate you. They're not going to listen to you. I'm going to give you the words. Eat this book, and then he sees God's plan. He understands what it is. It's sweet at the end, but bitter leading up to it. So he had to go away, and he says, in bitterness he went away, and in the heat of my spirit. In the heat of my spirit, he was angry. He was angry. I don't think he was angry at God. He was angry probably, or heated up, or fired up by what his commission was. But seeing what mankind had done, how they messed up everyone's lives, how they messed up what God had given them, how they abused the blessings that he gave them, and if they had just done it God's way, how much better life would have been. And so he has to go away in bitterness, in the heat of his spirit, but he's comforted by God. Do you know how it is when someone comes behind you and puts their hand on your shoulder and says, says, it's okay? That's kind of how Ezekiel felt. He was he was fired up for what he needed to do. He had absorbed an awfully lot here. He knew what his job was going to be. Mankind, what a mess they've made of things, right? But the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

I'm with you. I'm with you. I will be with you. I'll be there to direct you into everything you need to do, and I will give you the words. And so it says in verse 15, I came to the captives at Tel Aviv who dwelt by the river Kaibar, and I sat where they sat, and they remained there astonished among them seven days. I sat there astonished for seven days with them. Now that's kind of an amazing verse when you think about it because, you know, God knows who we are. He knows the frailty we have, and he understands how our minds work. And sometimes we just have to absorb what it is that God wants us to do. We are so busy sometimes in this life, we just don't take the time to absorb at what we hear. Absorb and be able to contemplate and let God prepare us for what is going ahead. If there are so many ploys of Satan, things that he uses to distract us from God's truth and who we need to be, and one of them is busyness. And the more busy we get in our lives, the more distractions we have, it just takes us away. Sometimes we just need to sit and let God prepare our hearts and minds. And we did ask God, prepare our hearts and minds for what it is you have for us. Ezekiel was was entering into a, I'm gonna say tough, tough time in his life.

He wanted to do what God's will was. He wasn't resisting at all. He did it. He did it well, but it wasn't going to be the life that he may have planned for himself. It was a difficult life, but he had to do it, and he knew he had to do it because it was of God. So just like Elijah, remember Elijah after he was there with the prophets of Baal, and he challenged them and said, you know, if Baal is there, let him bring down fire from heaven and consume the sacrifice. They marched around all day, the prophets of Baal, and then when Ezekiel just offered a short prayer to God, the fire came down from heaven and consumed that meat. And Ezekiel, not Ezekiel, Elijah thought they get it. God has proven who he is. Now they will worship God.

But it didn't turn out that way. The house of Israel was rebellious. The house of Israel had a hard heart, and Jezebel said to her people, get out there and kill Elijah. We don't want what he did. I don't care what he proved or thought he proved. We're not going to honor that. And that, if I can use the word, stunned Elijah. Remember, he ran away, and then he was there. God fed him for 40 days and 40 nights with the raven that came, and then he went to a cave. And then after a time, as Elijah had to absorb what went on, what just went on here, let me absorb what went on, God said, Elijah, get out of that cave. It's time. It's time now to go out and continue to do the work of God. That's Ezekiel needed that time. We need the time sometimes to just absorb, and to shut off the TV, shut off the smartphone, shut off those things, and let God prepare us for what's going on. To not just read it, and then get on with life and forget about it, but to let God prepare us for who we are. I'm always reminded, too, about Jesus Christ. You read about the things that he did, and the confrontations that he had with people in his days, or the miracles that he performed. And then he would go away for a while. He'd leave the disciples behind, and he'd go off to the Garden of Dsemane, or he'd go out for an evening away from them.

And he needed that time, too. He needed that time to talk to God alone, and not to just be constantly engaged in everything, but some time alone to be able to absorb what God wants us to do. To let him feed us. The book he wants us to eat. The words he wants us to eat. The things that he wants us to eat, and then absorb and give us the strength during that time to go out and do what he wants us to do. And that's what he was doing here with Ezekiel. For seven days he was there. Now, I know I was talking, and I saw a hand go up, but I don't see a hand now. Is there someone who had a comment they wanted to make? Okay. Okay, let's go on in verse 16. It came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, saying. And this is a very interesting thing here. Son of Magus, back to some of the things that we had. Mary Ong from Hong Kong is joining us right now. So we have Australia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Canada, America. A lot of people on tonight. Very good. Son of Man, I thank you, a watchman for the House of Israel.

Now, the House of Israel. Remember who they are. Therefore, hear a word from my mouth, and give them warning from me. Again, what did Isaiah... Oh, hey Tim, go ahead. Mr. Shavey, in that prior verse about him being there with those people seven days, Leviticus 8.33 says it took seven days for the priests to be consecrated for their office, and then he's made a watchman after the seventh day. There you go. Yeah. These preparation times where people and then God sees, and we're ready. We need that preparation time. Very good. Where are we at? Verse 17. A watchman for the House of Israel. Hear a word from my mouth, and give them warning from me. Give them warning from me. Give my people warning. Isaiah 58.1. Cry aloud. Spare not. When I say to the wicked, verse 18. God sets a principle here in that we need to pay attention today as his church, because this is a commission to Ezekiel, but it's a commission to us as well. When I say to the wicked, you will surely die, and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way. To save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require your hand. He'll pay the consequences for his action, but if you don't warn him, if you don't tell him, if you decide, eh, that's too hard to do. I don't want to upset him or whatever with it. He'll suffer the consequences for his actions, but I'm going to hold you. I'm going to hold you, Ezekiel. I'm going to hold you accountable for his death. I'll hold you, church of God, accountable for his death if you don't take the time to warn him. Verse 19. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he doesn't turn away from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity. He'll still reap the consequences. There are consequences for our actions, but you have delivered your soul. God makes it pretty clear there in the New Testament. Jesus Christ said, you know, go to your brother, confess your sins.

If you restore a brother, if you see something that's there that's not right, the wrong attitude, sinful actions, whatever it is that's going on, your job is to warn them. Let them know it's their choice. If they decide not to do it, they will suffer the consequences anyway, but you will have done your job. Part of your commission, Ezekiel, is this.

Again, verse 20. When a righteous man—that's someone in the church, right? We could say, again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, is no longer behaving the way that God would have us behave, living his life the way God would have us live, not practicing the things that we read in the Bible that we're supposed to be digesting and doing. When a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him—isn't that interesting? God says, when I lay a stumbling block before him, you know, what is he going to trip over? What's going to turn him from God to his own way and taking matters into his own hands and doing whatever it is? When I, when I, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die because you did not give him warning. He shall die in his sin, and his righteousness, which he has done, shall not be remembered. Isn't that a tough verse?

But his blood, I will reply, at your hand. God says he'll die. You didn't even give him a warning. You didn't even take it to him and try to turn him back to God. You were afraid or thought you were too mercy—that wasn't showing mercy to him. It is showing mercy and love for someone to try to turn them back away from what they're doing to the way of God to do that. And it's not the easiest thing to do or the most pleasant thing to do, but it is something that God says we do as we look out for each other, as we love each other and are interested that people are in his kingdom.

God says the righteousness that he did, whatever he did before, it won't be remembered.

It won't be remembered. How sad is that? And he says, I'm gonna hold you accountable because you didn't even attempt it. Nevertheless, he says in verse 21, if you warned this righteous man or the righteous man that the righteous shouldn't sin and he doesn't sin, if he listens to you, he shall surely live because he took warning and you had delivered him to the soul.

See God's way? See what he wants us to do? See how we look out for each other and how we have sometimes we turn things around and we think it's merciful. You know, I say sometimes in our our conferences, you know, mercy, yes, God looks for us to be just merciful, faithful. Mercy certainly is part of what God is. But there's sometimes a time when mercy can turn into tolerance and we have to kind of watch that and do take the time to warn someone when we see continued inaction that is incongruent with the way of God. He makes it very clear here what his way is. Jesus Christ follows us up with his, you know, what he says in Matthew 5, 23 about going to your brother, being reconciled before you come, you know, to offer your gifts at the altar.

What he says in Matthew 18, 15 and those verses in there, go, talk about it, come back together. What he says in Galatians and in Paul's writings about going and turning someone from his wicked way to back and then love covers a multitude of sins. All those things that we read in the Old Testament that God is giving instructions to Ezekiel but really instructions to us are there in the New Testament as well in Jesus Christ's words.

Where are we time-wise? We're just about an hour. Let me go ahead. We'll finish up this chapter here. Verse 22, then the hand of the Lord was upon me there. Yep, God's hand was guiding him. God's hand was on him. He knew that God was with him. The hand of the Lord was upon me there and he said to me, okay, Ezekiel, go out to the plain and I'll talk with you there. He talked with them, giving them a vision at the river Kaibar, but now go out to the plain. Going to take you to another place. Ezekiel follows. He just, where God bleeds, we follow. Don't ask questions, just go. So I arose and went out into the plain to behold the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Kaibar, and I fell on my face. When I got there, I felt God's presence. I was in awe when I saw him. When I knew he was there, I knew his presence was with me. I knew that I could come to the place where God had said for me to be. Then he falls on his face, the same reaction as he feels God's presence. And the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, just like at the beginning of chapter 2, and spoke with me and said to me, go shut yourself inside your house. Go to your house, Ezekiel, and you, O Son of Man, surely, if anybody begins to tell Ezekiel some of what his life was going to be like, what he was headed into, you, O Son of Man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. They're not going to like you, Ezekiel. They're not going to be popular. They're not going to want to hear your message. In fact, they're going to do things to punish you. You know, just like Jeremiah, we think about him being thrown into a cistern, and we think about Jeremiah's life. And sometimes he would look at God and say, why? Why did my life have to be this way? But then he would recover and realize, this is what God called me to do. And he had a vision of being, you know, of God's kingdom as well, just like you and I do. And our lives may not be pleasant. They may be marked with trials. There may be people who hate us and look to do anything they can to get rid of us. That's okay. It strengthens us, and we have our strength in Christ. And that's okay if that happens. He says in verse 26, I will make your tongue clean to the roof of your mouth. Sometimes I'm not going to give you the words to say. Ezekiel, just say nothing. Just say nothing. Sometimes they're going to say something to you. You look back. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can say to someone who's railing at us or accusing us or whatever is to not have any response at all. Again, when Jesus Christ was being accused and accused and accused of all the things that he was being accused of before Pilate, he said nothing. Remember how Pilate was just so impressed and in awe? How can you sit there and say nothing? All these things they're saying against you and you're saying nothing. Sometimes—and that's what God is telling Ezekiel here—sometimes you're just not going to respond. Don't make up your own words. I'm going to give you the words. I will make your tongue clean to the roof of your mouth so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. And sometimes, you know, people want to argue or people want to do things for their own purpose, and no matter what you say, you're not going to change. You're not going to change their minds.

So God is reminding them, and that's okay. But, he says in verse 27, when I speak with you, I will open your mouth. Remember? The words I give you, you speak, Ezekiel. You know, Christ says in Matthew 15, I think it is. You know, he says, when I tell you in the dark, you speak in the daytime. You know, Christ said, the words that I speak are not my words. They're the words the Father gives me. And as we get closer and closer to God, you know, he'll work with us the same way. When I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God, he who hears, let him hear. And he who refuses, let him refuse. You just speak the words, for they are a rebellious house. So, Ezekiel. Ezekiel finds himself with quite a preparation talk from God here in these two chapters. He is setting the standards. He is letting Ezekiel know what he's up against. He is telling Ezekiel, I'll be with you. I'll provide everything you need, just like he does the same things with us. So we'll stop there, and we'll pick it up in chapter 4 next time.

Next time, which is going to be in two weeks, because next Wednesday we have the Northeast Conference, the pastors meeting here on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. So I'll be at that. So it'll be two weeks from today. We have our next Bible study. But let me open up for any comments. Xavier, go ahead. Hi, Ross. You said a word that I recently learned. Incongruency. Is that what you said earlier? Incongruent. Okay. That word used in Ephesians, where it says the unity of the Spirit, congruency can be used. And then I looked it up, and God should be in arithmetic. That's the area of geometry. Yes. There you go. Speaking the same thing, right? So we're all equal. We all speak the same thing. We all do the same thing.

Believe the same thing. Worship the same God. Very good. So. Mr. Shaby. Yes. Who is he? Oh, hey.

Speaking from Scotland. Yes. I think it'd be worthwhile to just tell people about the Spirit speaking in verse 24. Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet and spoke with me.

1 Peter 1 verse 11. Clarify that.

Just so that people understand. Okay. Are you going to read Preter 111?

Okay. Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

So it was a Spirit of Christ that was dealing with Ezekiel and the people then.

Very good. Okay. Tracy. Tracy, how are you tonight?

Tracy, you are muted.

There we go. I hate it and then it's gross. I have a question. It's not really an Ezekiel question. It kind of is. So our church right now, in my head, I could be wrong because I go off walking sometimes, but it appears like you and Mr. Myers and Mr. McNeely are doing exactly this. You're warning America because we're the stubbornest. I have never listened. And they're going to these other countries that will listen and you're not really warning them so much. It's showing them how to do what they're trying to do in coming to God. Is that right?

Well, we are. I mean, we are sending a warning message. But we are going around to teach the people in the church and stuff like that. But we are talking about how we need to be sending a message out into all those nations as well and making sure that that is the church there and we help them to get all that done. Yeah, that's part of the commission of the church.

So we're not lay members aren't prophets or anything. So what is our job to be doing right now? Oh, I think you pray for the work, right? In Ephesians 6, Paul says, you know, put on the armor every day. And he says, and also pray and also pray for the work. So pray for the work. But you do a work every day, right? The way we live our lives, the way we are examples, the people around us of God's way of life. We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ. So we all have that responsibility to represent his way of life well. And, you know, as we go around, we talk to people, you know, if you have skills and talents that can help in some of these areas that we're in, that we're still learning about some of the some of the areas of communication and social media and YouTube and all this stuff, and we're learning these things. If there are people that can help us in some of those areas, we are more than happy to work with people in the congregations. I believe God has put us all here for a reason. I see. Well, one more thing. You helped me with something, because I was telling a friend of mine about it tonight. I am terrified of being a martyr, terrified. But reading that today made me realize, if God was to call me to do something like that, he could finish doing it. People told me that before. It's just never ingested till just now. Whatever God wants me to do, he'll give me the strength to be strong. He will give you the strength that he will prepare us. He will prepare us and make us like Flint. Make us like Flint, so that we would see us through the way we sing in that song. Thank you. Mr. Shady.

Yes. This is Barry Gannon. I'm from the St. Louis area. Hey, Barry. I just wanted to point out there, in verse 26 of chapter 3, God was actually telling Ezekiel he was going to be mute. He was going to be mute. I think it was like seven and a half years he was mute. The only time he would talk is when God told him to say something. I think that's what really made his message powerful, because everybody just would talk to him and he would never say anything. The only thing is when God would talk to him. It goes all the way to chapter 33 and verse 22, when his voice has finally brought back to him. Okay, yeah. Actually, that's a good point. And he is warning that is what's going to happen. And be in your house. Just come out when I speak to you. Very good point. Very good point. Thanks. We've got Dave Primar. Dave, how are you?

Good evening, everyone. So let me put my hand back down here. So when you were talking earlier about how you're talking about ingesting God's Word and just making it a part of our lives as important as our daily bread, which is our daily bread as well. It made me think of Psalm 119 verse 16 that talks about, I will delight in your statutes and I will not forget thy word is what it says. And to me, to not forget God's Word, that means to make sure I'm striving to do daily Bible study because daily Bible study helps us all to not forget God's Word. And so when you're talking about that, that just came to my mind. Psalm 119 verse 16 in that regards. Yeah, we do.

Daily is important, right? Even if we don't want to do it, do it. Debbie, Debbie, hi.

Hi, hi, Mr. Shady. So, yes, I just want to say that I'm so thankful because I believe ECG is doing as the Spirit One says, crying aloud, sparing out, lifting up their voice like a trumpet, and showing the people their sins. And that is reflected back on biblical worldview and the sermon that I've been listening to. Very strong, very good, and inspiring. I was trying to look up the Scripture, but somewhere is in James where God promises that He would deliver one out of childbirth.

Deliver him out of childbirth? Yeah, and I was just using that as an analogy for the lady, I think it was Teresa that said she was terrified of being a martyr. I cling to that Scripture when I was pregnant with our two sons. We are going to be delivering into a new spirit. So, God is working with us. You know, we will be Spirit beings. So, that's in a sense a delivery, and God will spare us. So, I think daily Bible study, prayer, meditation, fasting are the key in putting God first. But I just wanted to say that I was really thankful for United preaching. You're right. What you said, prayer, meditation, Bible study, daily, ingesting what God has to give us and allowing it to become part of us, those are the keys and staying close to God, right? The prayer, certainly. Very good, very good. And maybe someone knows the Scripture you were talking about. I know it talks about delivering out a tribulation. So, Patrick. Hi, Patrick.

Hello. I have a question. You mentioned that Ezekiel is referred to as the son of man, and I think he's the only prophet that is referred to as the son of man. So, I know Jesus refers to himself as the son of man. So, do you have any... why do you think that that is that Jesus would use the same reference to himself that only was given to Ezekiel?

Do you think that there is any reason for that? I think there's a reason for everything God does. And the fact that he says it so many times is significant, but I don't know exactly what it is except that he was chosen by God to do this. And what it mentions is that the Spirit was in him.

God sees us as children as well. He doesn't refer to us as son of man. He refers to Christ as son of man. But, you know, he sees us as children, and maybe he's referring him to children, but it may be that someone else on here has a thought on that or has heard something about that. But it's a good question. I don't have a specific answer, though. So, but there is a reason God does it and says it to me. Brother Shaby. Yes, sir. Go ahead. I read in a commentary, they did the math. He was mentioned... he was referred to as such as 90 times. And then there's a brother in California, Brother Alan Ruth, and he signifies that the number 90 reveals God's point of view in regards to time, in regards to men. So, as you say, it was sweet.

And then you look at the bitter, and it's the sweet. So, in regards to our time, and we know in the end, everything is the restoration of all things taken place. Very well.

I hadn't heard that before, but there is a reason, you know, by every word Christ said, there's a reason for everything that's in here. We learn as we go along. Very good.

Any others? Go ahead. Oh, hey, Jim. How are you? This is Reggie.

Reggie. Okay. Where are you? You're not on my screen here. Okay, but go ahead.

Okay. Well, I see me on anyway. Well, we're reading chapter three about eat my words.

Things that you just eat it. Whenever we do Bible study, whenever we step into God's Word, we're taking it into our minds and our hearts. And that's like eating God's Word. We're absorbing it.

We're taking it into our hearts, applying it, learning it, living it. And that, to me, is what eating God's Word is. Another thing, another thing too about the visual being called the Son of Man. The word Son has been cast. And it changed that person anyway. And Christ has called the Son of Man. Right. But since Christ became human, and he became the Son of Man through becoming God, becoming man. And when Christ was actually instructing Ezekiel, so to me, that's Ezekiel becoming the Son of Christ. You know, we're Christ instructing him and telling him what to do and going to the people of Israel. Very good. Yeah. Okay. And I found you, you were hidden behind a placard here. So I moved you. I see you, Reggie. Good to see you. Okay. Of course. Just another comment on the Son of Man. Yes. I was reading about the reading commentary, and it said, when the term Son of Man is referring to Christ, the word the is always before the Son of Man. Yeah, you're right. You're right. I'm thinking through it. And it never does with Ezekiel. It's just Son of Man. Yeah. Okay. That's like 88 times in the New Testament, it's called the Christ is called the Son of Man, which differentiates from Ezekiel's calling as a priest, just as Christ was our high priest, and the similarities there. And I think one time in Daniel's call the Son of Man as well. Okay. Anyway, the bodybuilding program and the introduction gives a better explanation of that. Okay. Very good. But there's that one word, that one word makes a little difference, right? If we pay attention to it, the word the. Hey, Dale.

Oh, hi. Good evening, Mr. Shaby. Yeah, I'm wondering if the Son of Man, too, relates in some way to the genealogies that were discussed, you know, in Matthew, Christ lineage on the physical flesh side of it. I just wonder if that might, like maybe that was included in the scripture to relate to the audience at a time, including the Jewish people.

I'm just wondering if there's a connection there. Why Christ called himself the Son of Man?

It was an educational purpose, maybe to tie in with the genealogies, you know, to his, on his mountain side and on his, you know, on Joseph's side. Of course, we know God the Father was his true Father, but only Mary. But I just wonder if there's a tie in between the genealogy there as well, but why the Son of Man is mentioned for Christ? Yeah, I think, just, you know, Matthew, as we're thinking about it, yeah, there is a reason the God keeps calling them and addressing it. He doesn't have to say Son of Man every time, but he does throughout this, throughout the verses that we've read here. It is, yeah, well, we'll have to think about that a little bit. Yeah, think about it this week, and when we get back together again, maybe we could talk about that. I know throughout this, you know, just looking ahead in chapter four and five, it's throughout there as well. So, okay. Right. Yeah, yeah, just kind of wondering about that, you know. Okay, sounds good. Mr. Shaby? Yes. Hey, can I ask you a question?

With the Son in Man, it seems that when we look at Numbers 23 verse 19 and also Psalm 8 verse 4, it's by way of contrasting and reminding us of our humble state by comparison to the wonderful Son of God, you know, Jesus Christ, who came as the Son of Man, and because it's referred to as the Son of Man in Daniel 7 verse 19, I think it is, as was previously referred to, and of course, a number of times to Ezekiel. So, it's reminding us, and Ezekiel being reminded, that we are human, we, you know, we are temporal, and we're certainly not eternal as the eternal God is, and as the ultimate Son of Man, the Son of Man is the eternal Son of God, but of course, our wonderful forward direction is ultimately the sons and daughters of God. So, that is our ultimate destiny, of course. Yep. That's a good point. Yeah, maybe, I mean, here, here, God has taken Ezekiel through a vision into heaven. He is giving him all these instructions. He's going to go out and speak these words. God says, I'm going to speak through you. I'm going to give you the words to do. Maybe he is constantly reminding him, you're just a human, you do what I say. Everything you're, everything that you are comes from me. Eat this book, digest it. You become like me. The same message that he would tell us. Just remember, just remember who you are. Just remember who you are and do what God says. Very good. Good point. Hey, bud. Mr. Chabie, indeed, Ezekiel was a Son of Man in the presence of God. And being communicating with Jesus Christ, the Eternal, he reminded him that there is a difference between the spiritual and the physical.

And that he was able to be in the presence of God. And that's the commentaries, anyway, on that subject. Did you hear me? I can hear you. Yes, yes. Good point. God allows us to come into his presence each day when we pray, right? So, yeah. Very good. Hey, Bill. Mr. Chabie, I think Jim Peterson has something to say. Okay. I did see Jim Peterson before. Where is Jim? There you are. Okay. Hey, Jim, go ahead. Yeah, sorry about that. I really appreciate you going through the Book of Ezekiel, because to me it is a profound book. And it really speaks really strongly to the people who dare take up the challenge of being a witness to an evil generation. And Jonah became a witness to an evil generation. So did Jesus Christ. But you have to become that. And when you look at Ezekiel, you see that it isn't just a matter that God pokes you in the head and says, okay, here, I'm going to put a vision in your head. No, we'll read later on what it takes. First of all, he's got to do some work. He had to eat the scroll. He had to study. He had to know what's going on. He tapes and grabs him by the hair and says, here, you think that the House of Israel is a wonderful thing? You think you have it all right? Here, dig in this wall of the temple where all of my seeing eyes and have gone. And we need to do the same thing. We need to realize that this nation that we are hopefully going to be a witness to, we need to realize that they're in the same rotten state. And they are proclaiming to this world that they are the most benevolent and the most wonderful people, which is what we read in Ezekiel. And I think it's quite a challenge that we bring up.

We have to do the work. We have to decide to be able to discern the difference between opinion, what is your opinion, like Mr. Armstrong said, where you put the camera, and the actual facts. We have to discern also, and we have to be willing to lay down the acts when tradition comes into colliding with the truth. And we have to know what's going on in our country and our land. We have to know, and that blindness that a lot of people have can only be taken away. I, I sav, read something, study, dig, learn, you see, because the Spirit of God will only be entertained by those people who work hard at it. Yeah, like God says, endeavor for the, endeavor for the unity of the Spirit, endeavor strive for the unity of the faith, right? We've got to do our part in it. I know you're referencing Ezekiel 8. I often think, you know, we see what's going on in the news. If we could see what went on behind closed doors all over the world, I think we would all be amazed just like Ezekiel was, right? When we see what's going on behind those closed doors, God will reveal some of that so we can kind of, you know, so the world begins to see exactly, I guess, how evil everything is. So.

Okay, anyone else? Anything else?

Okay, Mr. Shabey. Yeah, oh hey, Brandon. Hey, Mr. Shabey. You know, I was, I just found it interesting why the words were sweet, or the scroll was sweet, but then became bitter. And, you know, the thought that comes to mind for me is that when you do read the word, it is sweet. It's great.

And then when you compare it to the world that we live in and know what you're up against, you know, then that that's to me is where it seems to become bitter, because it's like, wow, the world is nowhere near like what God has instructed us to be or do.

You're right. It is bitter when you realize what the world is like today, and then what it's going to be like between now and the return of Jesus Christ is going to be a tough place. Very good.

Dale Besander from Trinidad, South Vegas, right? Yes, yes, good night, Mr. Shabey. Yes, from Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago. Very good. Yes, I was just taking note of Ezekiel 4, 27, where it says, He who hears, let him hear. It reminds me of Revelation, where God says a similar thing to the churches. He who hasn't here, let him hear. At the end of each message, he says that. So I was just joining the connection between the two of them. Yeah, that's a good connection, right? God does say that. Those who are going to hear, who are going to hear. One of the things he says there too, that always reminds me of people say that, is like he says, let the just be just still and let the unjust be just still, right? People have the opportunity to hear, but they need to move when God says move and repent when he says repent. So, okay, hey Ken.

Yes, that's so true. Great message there, of course, as Christ was saying, those who have ears to hear, let them hear. It's interesting that when the priest was consecrated, they had blood put on their ear and then on their right thumb and then on their right big toe.

And the symbolism of that is that Christ sacrificed the death penalty for our sins so that we would hear and not be rebellious like the stubborn house of Israel. For us, Ephraimites and Manassas, especially, we would soften our hearts and to, especially at this season where we're examining ourselves, coming up for Passover, maybe even taking time out for some fasting and prayer and repenting of the cause of our sins, you know, our vanity, jealousy, our lust, our greed, various aspects of our human nature, which are the drivers. So, it's been a wonderful Bible study and especially I think it's so important that it's been emphasized here that the great job that we have before us at the commission, we have as brothers and sisters together to ensure that the watchman message goes out. It's a joint effort by all of us, even in our tithes and offerings, especially in our prayers and beseeching God to help us to get the message out there to the whole world and to bring this wonderful message. But, yeah, what I wanted to get to just finally is that it starts with us and this is the season now that we should be examining ourselves and softening our hearts and reaching out to God and repenting of the causal factors that drive us towards sin. But rather, that's the spirit which leads us towards Him and developing His wonderful fruits of the mind of Christ. Absolutely, yeah, very good. It's only probably even less than three weeks away now, right? I keep saying three weeks, but they keep passing by. So, yeah, on the evening of the 21st, I believe it is, we will be together for Passover. So, okay, I saw another hand go up. Is there someone else who had a comment? Frank, I see you. Do you want to make a comment? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I have a vague memory. This is going back to the sentiment thing. I have a vague memory of probably a sermon somewhere where somebody was pointing out, I think, that the prophecy being a sentiment is referring to Jesus Christ, but I can't remember where I heard it or where it came from. You ever heard anything about that?

I can't say I have, so maybe somebody else has. Okay, anyone else?

Mr. Shaby, can you hear me? I'm not on your mailing list. I'm sorry, yeah. I'm not on your mailing list, and neither is my husband, but our name and emails are in the church directory.

Okay, I'm writing your name down, so I'll get those. So the next time an email comes out, the emails come out on Tuesday, and then the one from the home office website thing comes out on Wednesday. But yeah, I'll get your name on it. I'll get your name and make sure you're in there on the Tuesday one. Thank you kindly. Okay, sounds good. Okay, well, thank you. Thank you, everyone, for joining in tonight. Charles, did you have something you want to say?

Oh, okay. Thank you. Sorry, my father and I were just discussing your email list.

It's an email list that you sent on emails. Yes. We can't remember. Was my mom on it? Your mom was on it, yes. Okay. I still haven't taken her off because I know when I talked to your dad, he was going to check into it. But if you want to send me an email with what the email address you want now, I'll add that in there. Okay, yeah, I'll do that because we really, eventually, her email address will get, I guess, cancelled. But not right now. It's going to be a long while. We have a lot of emails that we're transferring over from her email to his. So it's going to be a long while. But he doesn't really go into her email anymore. So I've been solely getting all the church emails processed to him. And there's some that we forgot. When that one lady mentioned about your email list, that's my problem. I was like, did we get that? I was like, we can ask him real quick. Send me an email, and then I'll add it. Sounds good. I'm going to look for your email through my mom's phone, and then it's going to be, I'll let you know. I'll make sure the subject line will let you know who it is. Okay, sounds good. Who's it's from? And in there will be my email address and my father's. Okay, I'll look for it. All right. Everybody have a good safe week, and you have a, everybody have a wonderful Sabbath. Okay. Well, thank you. Same to you.

Thanks. Okay. Mr. Shavey? Yes. Yes. I just wanted to thank you for your, well, like they say to the armed forces, thank you for your service to God on the church, and for all the work that you're doing.

This, joining this Bible study has been quite inspirational for me, and I hope I'll be able to join more of them in the future. So you say you have them every two weeks. Yeah, actually, it's supposed to be every week. It just happens to be my schedule. I'm out of town next week, so I can't do it Wednesday, but usually it's every Wednesday night at seven o'clock. Okay. Well, I'll keep that in mind. The hard part will be getting up at 6 30 every morning. Yes, yes, it will be. But I thank you for joining and for doing that. That's great to know. So, and like I said, some, I don't think they're still on from the United Kingdom this midnight their time. And I guess it must be for Mr. Murray around that very early in the morning as well.

It's he's at 10 45 here. You're a little ahead of little head of that one. Okay. Yeah, he's in Queensland. I'm in Perth, Western Australia. Okay. Mary ongoing. I don't even know what time it was.

Ken and I know each other. We do. We go home. I was administered at one state.

Well, greetings from Hong Kong. It is three minutes to 9am. So normally, I can't join here. But today is working days and holiday until next week. So thank you. Oh, that's right. Yeah, you teach. So yeah, you would be gone during this time, usually. Today, today, and this week is recorded a second term holiday. Okay. You know, and John will be here. John will be with us. Oh, that's right. It's gonna be over there in a few weeks. Yeah, very good. Yeah. So it's arriving on Wednesday. Yeah, yeah. So it's arriving on Wednesday at 5am.

That's the beauty of all this travel. You get in it ridiculous hours sometimes. So yeah. By the way, we hope to see you on one of the saber. Okay. Everybody is talking about you, the congregation that we miss you. Hopefully, you can join us, you know, can give us a message on one of the saber. We'll have to, we'll have to, we'll have to work that in. If we schedule it, it'll happen. Okay. Tell everyone hi there. Okay. Yes, I will. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna go ahead and sign off then if there's nothing else. Okay. Just to wish you a happy Sabbath. Okay. And just take care. Okay. You all take care too. We will, you have a great Sabbath. We will look forward to seeing you in two weeks, two weeks from tonight then. And the email list goes on on Tuesday or the actual automatic one goes out on Wednesday if you're signed up for that. So, okay. Good night, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Bye for now. Good night.