Ezekiel Bible Study: March 5, 2025

Okay, so tonight we are going to be in Ezekiel 37. I think Ezekiel 37—I mean, there's a number of chapters in the Bible that are just tremendously inspiring and exciting. Ezekiel 37 is one of those chapters. You know, we've gone through the book of Ezekiel. We've seen the prophecies that God has given us, and we've seen how that applies to our life today. Ezekiel really is a book for the end times, as we've seen so many times, and as we watch world conditions around us just falling right into line of what we've been talking about here for the last 36 chapters of Ezekiel. Tonight, we're in Ezekiel 37, and it's a beautifully written chapter. It speaks to the future, where there will be the resurrection and the hope of all mankind, that they will be brought back to life again. We know that because of Jesus Christ, our sins can be forgiven. He's paid the price, and we have the hope of life again because God the Father did resurrect him and give him life. So we know, as we're in this Passover season, we really need to examine ourselves. We really need to really ask God, who we are, are we doing what he wants to do, and then commit ourselves to becoming more like him, and really, with the power of his Holy Spirit, weeding the things out of our lives so that we can march forward to the time that who knows how far ahead this time is. Chapter 37. For those of you who grew up in the church, I think we were all fascinated by chapter 37 because it talks about the dry bones, and they're all coming back together again. We'll talk about that. It speaks of the resurrection, a literal resurrection. But I think as we go through it, as God talks about death and bringing people back to life, we can look at another part of this very vivid and exciting chapter as to our spiritual lives as well and as God calls us. So let's go ahead and get started here in Ezekiel 37.

37 and verse 1. Of course, this is the prophecy that God has given to Ezekiel. It says, The hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel, brought him out in the spirit of the Lord, and set him down in the midst of the valley. It was full. It was full of bones.

So let me pause there because you see in verse 1 there, it talks about God brought Ezekiel out by the spirit of the Lord, God's spirit. And so we talked in other times earlier in Ezekiel that how God communicated and gave Ezekiel these visions. You remember back early in the book, we had the whole vision of God's throne and all the description, Ezekiel 1 there, of God's throne. And so Ezekiel was just overwhelmed. This was God, and he knew it. And then God gave him the prophecies and told him what to do. You know, the prophecies about lying on your side for 360 days, 390 days, and what all those things meant. Another time later on in a vision, God's spirit came upon him and he showed him the temple. And he showed him all these things that were going on behind the scenes in Ezekiel 8 and 9 about, look what they're doing, Ezekiel. It's all behind closed doors. Look at the sin that the people of Israel are committing all the way to the 25 men. And he showed him that that way. So here today we're seeing God speak or reveal to Ezekiel again in the same way. He's going to have this vision of these dry bones and people being resurrected, the whole nation of Israel. It talks here in verse 1 about the spirit of the Lord, and then when you see the word spirit there in verse 1, it's the Hebrew word ruach. It's number 7307 in Strong's word. And that word ruach shows up 10 times in this chapter. It shows God's spirit is leading this. It's him who resurrects. He will put a new spirit into Israel as we led last week 10 times. It shows up more here in Ezekiel 37 than any other place in the Bible or any other chapter. And I'll point those out to you as you come because as we look at some of the keys in these chapters, we see these. And God's spirit and this ruach, this breath of life, is throughout this chapter. So Ezekiel is now in this vision. And in verse 2 it says, God caused Ezekiel to pass by all these bones, these full of bones, this valley of dry bones, caused me to pass by them all around. And behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. They'd been dead for a while. And he said to me, son of man, can these bones live? So I answered, oh Lord God, you know. You know, Ezekiel was like, they're just dry bones. They're basically skeletons everywhere. And it's like, you know, who's the only one who can give life back? Who's the only one who can give life? It is God. And so, you know, as you can imagine Ezekiel is sitting here looking at these bones, and God asks him, it's like, well, do you know the answer?

Everything is possible with you, God. Oh Lord God, you know. And he said to me, prophesy, prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, surely I will cause breath, surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And so there's that word, breath. That's Ruach in verse five. Verse five there is the second time that we see it in here. But here we have these dry bones, and God is going to bring them back to life, and he's going to put life back into them. You know, we can go all that. We don't have to turn back to Genesis 1, or in Genesis 2, but where God created man, you remember he formed him with the dust of the ground, and he breathed life into him. And it's the same word there, Ruach, as he created man and breathed life into him in Genesis. And it's the same word in Genesis 1, where it talks about there was darkness that covered the earth, the water that covered the earth, and the Spirit of God hovered over the earth. Same word there as well. So we have the same word. The Spirit of God is going to bring life. He's the one who renews. He's the one who gives life. He's the one who has called us really from bodies of death, right? Because without God, without Jesus Christ in our lives, we are all dead men. We may be living now, but there is no eternal life. So as we go through this chapter, it speaks of a literal resurrection that is going to occur. And we'll go back into Revelation a little bit, and we'll go into 1 Corinthians 15 a little bit. But really, I think there's also God showing us that He gives us life. He's going to give the whole body of Israel life. Yes, physical, but also real life because He's going to put His Spirit in them. We read that, well, it wasn't last week, two weeks ago in Ezekiel 36. I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you. You will live by my ways. You will keep my command. You will live by my statutes. That's where life comes from. That's when God called us and opened our minds, and we accepted that call and repented and turned to Him with our hearts, and He put His Spirit in us. It's the Spirit of life. He's given us that life. Without that Spirit, there is no future. And so all mankind, as we know, will all have that opportunity. You and I have that now. I think if we remember that as we look through Ezekiel 37, it has even deeper meaning to us, because this is what God is going to do for all of mankind. Here's Israel, His special people that He created. We've talked about that, and now He's going to bring them back to life.

Looking at my notes here, I have a couple of verses. But again, we're in Passover time.

We know that we have all sinned. Romans 3, 23 says, we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Without forgiveness, without Jesus Christ, we're all dead. The wages of sin is death. So we rely, and we have God. We have God to thank. We have Jesus Christ to thank for Him being willing to come down to earth and be the sacrifice that we needed, that God resurrected, and God accepted as our sacrifice. When we accept Jesus Christ as our sacrifice and literally turn to Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls, He will give us that life. He puts that in us. He wants us to have it, but we have to make the choices along our lives to yield to Him and let Him lead us wherever that road may be. Let's continue here in this chapter. Verse 5, again, we have these dry bones. God says, I'm going to put breath, I'm going to cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you, and I will bring flesh on you. I will cover you with skin and put breath. There's that word again, Ruach, skin and put breath in you, and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. Life is going to have meaning then. There will be people who are thrilled with life then. Jesus Christ said in John 10 verse 10, I have come that they might have life and that they might have life more abundantly. You and I learn as we yield to God. That's life more abundantly. All these dry bones, all the people who don't have God's spirit today, who haven't had the opportunity to know God the way you and I do, who haven't had His Spirit living in us, and the hope that's in us, and the expectation that's in us, and the faith and the determination to become like Him, and to feel the power of wanting to be purified and cleansed and not be like the world. They haven't had that opportunity, but when they do, they will have life more abundantly like you and I do, like you and I do now. God will clothe them. He will put that life on those sinews, the skin. He's going to bring them back to life again. Verse 7, so I prophesied, Ezekiel said, as I was commanded, I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together bone to bone. There's probably been some movie somewhere that kind of depicted that, you know, and you can see all these bones coming to life again and hear the rattling as everything goes back. I think there was even a song in the 60s that played off of these verses, how all these bones were connected to one another, because it's a dramatic thing. We'll be there to see that resurrection, that literal resurrection, when God brings people back to physical life. What he's talking about here, these verses, is not the first resurrection that the first fruits are in, that the first fruits, when the first fruits will be resurrected. That's a resurrection to immortal life. After the first truth is 15, this is a resurrection to physical life, that he's bringing the nations, the people of Israel, and really all of mankind back to, that's the second resurrection. That's where they are. And that's where we see these dead bones come back to life again, and the physical sinews and the physical flesh come back on them. But their life will be different than it was back then.

Verse 8, "'Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered over them, but there was no breath in them.' They were there. God says, I will do that. He's creating the being. He's putting them all together again, just like he did Adam and Eve, back from the dry bones and the dust of the earth back then. But the dry bones now, they were there. They looked alive, but they had no breath in them. And he said to me, prophesy to the breath." Here's those words, breath again, right? At 8 and verses 8 and 9, he said to them, prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." That's kind of a beautiful verse.

From the four winds, wherever they are, and they're resurrected, they're coming to life again, that breath, that breath of life from God, comes upon them. Now, we can pause there for a moment, because just last time we were together in chapter 36, we saw these same things here. Let me look at 36 verse 17.

Yeah, you know, I guess, again, the breath is there. But you know what God says, come from the four winds. We're going to see this gathering of His people together, back to the Promised Land, the land that He promised to Abraham, and all of Israel, when they're going to be brought back and live in that Promised Land. We read about that in chapter 36 verses 17, you know, and other places. We read it throughout Isaiah. We've read it earlier in Ezekiel as well. But just to remind ourselves, there is this gathering from all over the world where Israel, all the nations of Israel, or all the House of Israel and the House of Judah has been scattered, bringing them back to the Promised Land. 36 verse 17 says, Son of Man, when the House of Israel, that's what we would call the lost 10 tribes, when the House of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. To me, their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. And God drove them out because they didn't obey Him. That was the problem. God never stopped loving them. They stopped obeying God. They turned from Him. Therefore, He says, I poured out my fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. And when they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned my only name. But in verse 21, He says, But I had concern. I had concern for my name. I had a plan. I had a plan for people. So we have all these dead, dry bones, literally will be brought back to life. But we also have a people that has been scattered all over the world that are dead spiritually because they've departed from God. And He says, Gather them from the four winds. Gather them from the four winds, and let me breathe life into them. We're going to see that spiritual element a little bit later on in the chapter here. Verse 10. Let me look again here. While we're paused here, let us do look at the resurrections here. I know some on the line are a little newer to us. So the first and second resurrection we might need to talk about. Those are key elements of God's plan for mankind. In 1 Corinthians 15, it talks about the first resurrection. We know that as God calls people in this life and as we repent, as we turn to Him, as we're baptized, as we receive the Holy Spirit, and we live the rest of our lives, allowing Him to transform our thinking, transform the way we think, act, react, and everything, and then let Him prepare us, that He will resurrect us at the time that Jesus Christ returns. We will work with Him as He returns to earth, and people live over into that millennial time. In 1 Corinthians 15, we read about that resurrection. Paul writes in verse 50.

1 Corinthians 15 says, This I say, brethren, flesh and blood, that's like the bodies that you and I are in right now, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption. We have corruptible bodies, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, not with flesh and blood, but be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. That's what you and I look forward to. That's what you and I are doing. This is our day of salvation. This is our day of salvation to just turn it off, whatever you're doing. Our day of salvation to become who God wants us to be, so that we can be part of that first resurrection. We read about it also in Revelation, so let's go back to Revelation 20. We read about the two resurrections here in this chapter. The first resurrection we just talked about. It's a resurrection to immortality. It's the better resurrection it says here in this chapter. Because of this life to be called and live God's ways, you are going to face a number of challenges and a number of trials throughout. Jesus Christ said, if they hated him, they were going to hate you. If they hated his words and persecuted him, they're going to persecute us as well, because the world doesn't want Jesus. They don't want the truth. They don't want Jesus Christ. They don't want God really in their lives. They want to do things their way and make their own decisions. I talked about that a little bit in a sermon I gave back a couple weeks ago on all that. But here in Revelation 20, in verse 4, we read about this first resurrection. These are the people who are resurrected, called first fruits today, that will be with Christ as he returns. They will rule with and under him during that time and teach nations how to live. They'll teach the way of God, the things that you and I are being prepared for now. Verse 4 says, I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them.

Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who hadn't worshipped the beast or his image, and hadn't received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But, verse 5, the rest of the dead, that means all the rest of humanity, from day one to the time that this second resurrection occurs, every single other person, man, woman, and child who has ever lived will be resurrected in the second resurrection. But that's a resurrection to physical life. And then they have the opportunity during that time to choose God, choose his way of life, allow his Holy Spirit to lead and weed out the sin and our minds that are so flooded with the stuff that we've allowed our lives to be before we were converted. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. So, we have the millennial role of Jesus Christ. Those in the first fruits will be there during that time. But the rest of the dead weren't resurrected until after that thousand years is up. And then it says this is the first resurrection, referring to verse four. We drop down to verse 11 then. It says, this is John in a vision, right? John, a vision that was given by God, passed on to Jesus Christ, passed on to John. He recorded it. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead. I saw the dead, right? All the rest of those who had died, who weren't part of the first fruits, I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God in books. That's the books of the Bible. God opening their understanding, just like he's opened those books to us. The world doesn't get it today. They don't understand the Bible. But God has not their time for God to call them. You and I have that great, great gift that he has given us to understand the truth. I saw the dead, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books.

And then it talks about the CVA of Up the Bed, everyone. No matter where they died, they will be resurrected. And they were judged, each one according to his works. And then death in Hades were cast in the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. That's an eternal death. You know, the false narrative in the world's religions about you have eternal, automatically have eternal life, or you'll be eternally in hell or eternally in heaven. There is no there is a second death. There is time when life just ceases. If you don't yield to God, if you aren't written in the Book of Life by the things that we choose to do, that we choose, that God opens our minds, and by the power of his Spirit, we live. If you're not in the Book of Life, it says anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire. And that's the end. That's the end of physical life for those people who continue to resist God, continue to resist him. So we have these two resurrections. Ezekiel 37 is that resurrection to a physical life. Also can speak of the spiritually dead. I think as I have worked through this, because we are spiritually dead until God breathes his Spirit into us, whenever that is, whether it's in this life or for the rest of humanity, you know, after the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.

So let's go back to Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37.

And I think we had just read verse 10. God is talking about he's going to breathe life. He's going to breathe life into them. And in verse 10, it says, so I prophesied, as this is Ezekiel talking, so Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded, and breath came into them, and they lived, and they stood on their feet, and exceedingly great army. All the dead, all the dead, can imagine the excitement when you and I are there, and we see all this happen in real life, and see God bring people back to life. And he said to me, Son of Man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. Our hope is lost. You know, God gives us hope in a way that only we can imagine, or we can recognize. These people who have been cut off from God, who, you know, the house of Israel who knew God, but then never obeyed him. Their hope was lost. They got scattered out into the nations. They never came back to their homeland again. They don't know who they are.

And so, their hope will be restored when Jesus Christ, you know, when people are brought back to life and those people have the Holy Spirit, we receive life. We have energy. We have zeal. You know, when God breathes his life into us, and we have hope. We look to him. Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, verse 12, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves. I will cause you to come up from your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know, then you shall know that I am God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves. Looking at my notes here to make sure I'm hitting the scriptures. I wanted to kind of go along with there. So again, you know, this is literal. This is literal. But also, we can look at what God has done to us. We were dead people. We were living in bodies that were alive physically, but dead spiritually. And God, when he called us and put his Holy Spirit in us, our body of death had life in it. It had hope in it. It had God in the future, and our hope and faith in him, and the desire to please him.

Verse 14. Here again, he says, I will put my spirit—there's that same word again—now they're resurrected. Now they're literal. Now they've been called. Now those books are going to be open. Now they will understand the truth of God. Now they will understand what God is leading us to understand as we read his word and see this book and how it applies into our lives. And it is literally the instruction book on how we live and how we please God. I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, just like he put his Holy Spirit in us. But then it's going to be everyone that's resurrected. I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. You will be where you belong. I will put you in your home. And so we've read, as I said, all those chapters where we've read, he'll bring Israel back to the Promised Land, the land that he promised Abraham. As they've been scattered all over the world, he'll bring them back. And just as he, when he gives us a spirit, we find a home with him. Remember in John, it talks about, it talks about, he'll make our home, he'll make his home with us when we live his way, when we do the things that he wants us to do, when his spirit is in us. We make our home with him, and he makes our home, he makes his home with us when we do his will. Let me finish verse 14, then I'll take a couple comments here. I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I the Lord has spoken it, and I have performed it, he says.

What God says will happen, will happen. He will, he will do all these things we we read, and it will be a tremendous time. Let me see, Becky, and then Bill.

In the NIV in Isaiah 26, 19, there's a really beautiful verse that goes along with this. Okay. But your dead will live, their bodies will rise, you who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning, the earth will give birth to her dead. Perfect. Perfect. Very good. Reminds me of another verse too, that way when you said that. Bill, go ahead. Yeah, your mic's still off, Bill. Well, while you're working on your mic, Becky reminded me of another verse. We find it in Daniel 12, right? In Daniel 12, I'm just going to read verse 1 too. It talks about the time of trouble that is coming on the earth. Jesus Christ called it the Great Tribulation. In verse 1 of Daniel 12, it says, "...at that time, Michael shall stand up, the great Prince who stands watch over the sons of your people, and there will be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people will be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book." Okay. Verse 2, "...and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt, those who are wise, who have God's Holy Spirit and seek His wisdom, not the wisdom of the world, those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." So just, yeah, beautiful verses about what is coming. Yeah, Bill, go ahead. I see your little dog there, Bill.

Tell you what, your mic is still off. Oh, I'm sorry. There you go. The part where it says, we are cut off for our part. Sounds like they have a pretty good memory of what's going on.

Okay. Where are you talking? Where are you at in verse 11?

Oh, yeah. Okay. But when they say, we are cut off for our part. We are cut off for our part? No, just as we are... well, mine's the King, the new King James says, and we ourselves are cut off.

Oh, okay. I got the King James. It says, for our part. Okay, for our... I'm not sure what that means, but remember how you are cut off from Israel is when you sin against God, then you're cut off. And that's what's taught. We're apart from God. Isaiah was at Isaiah 59, 1 or 2 says, our iniquity separates us from God for cut off when we are living in sin. Savior, hi. Hi, Brother Chief. I was about to say the same thing. For our part, before they passed, they recognized it was their own fault. Their own fault. Their own fault. Very good. Okay, for our part. We use our sin like you and I do, right? Okay, very good.

Okay, let's continue then in verse 30 and chapter 37.

Keep going back and forth here. Okay, verse 15. Again, again, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel saying, as for you, Son of Man, this is a beautiful part too, right? So you know this is future. If anyone doubts, you know, you can see God. What does he want? What is his will? His will is that we would all come to repentance so that we can be baptized and receive his Holy Spirit. His will is that we live that way. We could all have eternal life. And his will is, as Christ says, it will read it, pass over several times. His will is that we are one. We are one. Our sins, our preferences, our whatever gets in the way and separates us and divides us, but his will. And in verse 16 we read of him putting things back together as one. As for you, Son of Man, take a stick for yourself and write on it for Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions. Then take another stick and write on it for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all of the house of Israel, his companions. So we have, you know, we have the nations is the whole 12 tribes of Israel split at that time of Rheoboam. And we have the house of Judah, where we know where the house of Judah, they've been separate from the rest of their brothers of the house of Israel, the scattered ten tribes. But God says, take these. They're my people. They're my people. I created them as we've read many times. Put their names on those sticks. Verse 17, then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

What a beautiful thing to have everything be one, to have everything united. God thrills when we are united and we are walking in the same path and we don't, when we get self out of the way and we put Him first and foremost and let Him lead us. It is Him who we follow.

So it's a beautiful thing here. And for the first time, first time in thousands of years, the whole house of Israel, Judah and Israel, will be back together again at that time when God resurrects them. Put His Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit is to unite us, never to divide us, you know? And He says here, join them to one another into one stick and they will become one in your hand. Verse 18, and with the children, and with the children of your people speak to you saying, will you not show us what you mean by these?

Because remember, He's going to have Ezekiel. Take those two sticks. One says Judah, one says Israel. What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that, Ezekiel? So God tells him, you know, this is what you should say. Say to them, verse 19, Thus says the Lord God, surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions, and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one stick, or one in my hand. One. A beautiful thing. As we go to go to Passover, there's so many meanings, and all the ordinances we keep.

I mean, the foot washing, you know what all that signifies, and how Christ, when He got up from supper, and He put on literally the apron of a servant to wash all of His disciples' feet, and He was willing to become the lowest of the low in the household to serve them in that way, and what that means to us as we are here to serve one another, and humble ourselves before God.

And then we take up the bread, and you read in 1 Corinthians 10, where it talks about the bread of unity. When we take that bread, we take up one bread. Even in the Passover service, what God is saying is, you know, one. You're taking of one body. You're taking of my body, which was broken for you.

The will is when you take that, you're committed to becoming one. That's why He says ahead of time, if there's any separation, reconcile. Go back and reconcile. Be together. Do what He wants us to do, and do that hard work of humility, that hard work of working together, and endeavoring for the unity of that spirit that He wants us to have.

And here, you know, here He paints it in a beautiful picture. The two houses of Israel, when He puts His Spirit in them, and that spirit is there, they join back together for the first time in thousands, thousands of years. Verse 20, and the sticks, the sticks it says on which you write, will be in your hand before their eyes, a very visual thing. You know, it's almost too bad we couldn't have drawn out some of these things or had some artists put together kind of just the artists or the video type thing of these bones coming together and seeing these sticks and the drama that would be there as part of these verses if, you know, if we had the time or people have the experience and talents to do that.

The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. There's that promise again. I will bring them back. They will be scattered. And we know, you know, from reading Ezekiel 6 and 7 earlier on, that is what is in store for a disobedient Israelite group of people today to be taken out of their land and die by the sword, die by famine, and some taken captive.

And God says, I will bring them. I will bring them all back to the land He promised Abraham. And we see this beautiful, you know, this beautiful, I'm going to bring them all back, God says. Verse 22. Verse 22. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one king, one king shall be king over them all. They will no longer be two nations, and they will never be divided into two kingdoms again.

So we have these promises from God. Once He puts things together, that unity will remain there forever. The unity that we should be striving for as ever. And as time goes on and as Christ returns, you know, He will see that His people, His true called-out ones from the world, will be one group, will be one group, one body under Him.

He talks about one king. We know who that king is because we read it a few chapters ago.

But here He says, you know, now that they have His Holy Spirit, He will put His Spirit in Him, and He will cleanse them. As we read, you know, a chapter ago, He says, they shall not defile themselves anymore. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions, but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places at which they have sinned. You know, that sin is gone, right? They're going to be putting sin out of their lives, just like you and I have done. And as we, you know, move forward six weeks to the Passover, looking at that, examining ourselves, and putting sin out of our lives so it no longer separates us from God or separates us from each other.

He said, all those days are past. I will deliver them from their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. They shall be my people, and I will be their God. You know, back in chapter 36, again, as we've gone through Ezekiel, we do see God saying things and progressing as we move toward the end of the book. He brings us back to things that He has said before so that it sinks in our mind. And sometimes we have to read things two, three times to say, oh, that's just exactly what God means. So back in chapter 36, last time we were together, we read about this cleansing that God was going to put His people through. In chapter 36 and verse 25, you know, remember we talked about the red heifers last time and this whole cleansing ceremony that the Jews over in Israel are looking forward to. And the talk over there about these red heifers seems to be picking up. There is one red heifer that is in its 30-year, and it has still remained perfect without blemish, never has worked. And the talk is increasing over there about this Passover, this Passover, you know, and that, you know, whether it happens or not, only they know. But that's where it was so silent for so long. You know, it's now beginning. You can find some things on the internet that seem to be documentable. And the other interesting thing is there for a while, those red heifers were in the area of Jerusalem, and they were moved over to Shiloh, which was there was a temple there to begin with. As I listened to one of it, it said, the Jews say they could either be sacrificed at the site of the Jerusalem temple or Shiloh.

And so it's interesting that they had these red heifers now in Shiloh, right where that sacrifice may take according to what the Jews over there are saying, they could be done there. Because that's away from all the activity and all the stuff that surrounds Jerusalem. Anyway, I was reading chapter 36, verse 25, going back. Last week we read, last time we were together, I then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Verse 26, I'll give you a new heart, I'll put a new spirit within you, I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and out of your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them. The Holy Spirit, the power of what God does. And here he talks about, you know, he's going to give them a new heart.

You know, when we yield to God, if we look at 2 Corinthians 5, 17, you can write that down. What does God look at us when we have yielded to him, when we have genuinely repented, when we have gone through baptism, and when hands are laid on us, and we receive the Holy Spirit, what does he say? You're a new creation. You're a new creation. Just like Israel will be a new, he's going to give them a new heart. Just like he gives us a new heart and his Holy Spirit that gives us the power. Because without God's Spirit, we can't keep his law. The whole Old Testament shows us that, you know, Israel was not able to do it. It took the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and our yielding to him and the receipt of the Holy Spirit before we could ever overcome. So we can never pat ourselves on the back and say, aren't we wonderful people? No, we thank God that he was merciful and kind and appreciative and kept to his plan for all of mankind. That he gives us the power to overcome sin so that we can be there with him. It's not something we should never, ever, ever forget, but we should always be thankful to him for that he gave us that.

So, you know, as we see this continuity thing in Ezekiel 37, we have that again. God says, I'm going to cleanse them. They're going to be clean, just like you and I have to be clean before God. We have to live our lives, as it says in verse John 3.3. You know, if we really do have this hope that is within us, what does it say in verse John 3.3? We purify ourselves. That means we make the choices to reject self, reject old ways, and choose what God wants us to be. The same thing that will happen in here. We make the choices, but it's God who gives us the power, because without the power of his Holy Spirit, we cannot do that. We cannot do that. We will yield to the works of the flesh in Galatians 5.19 every time. So, in verse 24, we see this vision. I mean, when you look at chapter 37, you see these dry bones. You see Israel coming back together again, and then God names who's going to be the king, the one king over all of them, and it's David.

David, my servant, shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd, and they will walk in my judgments and observe my statutes and do them. We read that back in chapter 34. Again, God repeats these things. In chapter 34, we were talking about shepherds. We were talking about shepherds. You might remember that I said in chapter 34, God gives the definition of what a good shepherd is, how they take care of their sheep here when we read through chapter 34. It's a lesson for all of us, not just ministers, certainly for ministers, because we have the responsibility, and God is looking at us. We'd better be doing things the way that he wants us to.

But all of us are going to be in these situations and in these positions when Christ returns, if we allow God to develop us and mold us into who he wants us to be. But there in verse 23, as he's talking about shepherds, and Jesus Christ being the chief shepherd—he's the perfect shepherd—in verse 23, even there, he says, I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd, and I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David, a prince among them, God says, I have spoken. So we have a vision of what that kingdom or what that millennial reign is going to be like, and even beyond that, David will be over. David will be the king. David, a man after God's own heart, as it says in Acts. Okay, Reggie, comment. Or Sandra. We got your mic off. Your mic isn't on.

Okay. Can you hear us now? Yep, we can hear you. Okay.

Yeah, you might want to get a little closer to the microphone. You were cutting out there for a minute. Yeah, we're in our daughters in Tennessee tonight, so we'll make you do it. In verse 21, where it says, they'll all be brought back to their own land. Yes. Does that mean, like we know the United States has been asked, so if we're in Germany, France is moving and all this, does that mean they'll be taken back to those lands?

I think it means the land originally promised to Abraham. That's where they're going. You know, that's where our land is now, but this is the land that was promised to Abraham. The Bible indicates that's where they're all going back. Well, I thought about that too, but that's a lot. That's billions and billions of people. Well, remember, that's the millennium, right? I mean, you got a remnant of Israel at that time, right? It talks about that in Ezekiel 6, 10 percent remnant left there. But when you look at Leviticus 26, and it talks about, if you don't obey me, all these things are going to happen. It talks about seven different series of things that are going to happen. It talks about the land being desolate there at the end. And it says, during those years, the land will have its Sabbaths and whatever. And that hasn't happened. That hasn't happened yet. So I know we were talking about this a little bit, and not too long ago, if America has left vacant for a while, there's going to be some land Sabbaths that go on there, right? I mean, maybe, look, this is 100% speculation, right? God brings everyone back to Israel. Remember the verses that we read that He's going to multiply them. He's going to multiply those people. They are going to grow and grow and grow. Just like Ephraim, you know, Little Island of England, they overflowed the borders, and then they moved out to America. They moved out to Australia. They moved out to New Zealand and Canada. That perhaps is the same thing as they outgrow that Saudi Arabia-type area, because it's more than just Little Israel. That's the Little Israel today. That's the promised land. Then maybe they move back out into those areas again as God multiplies them richly like He says He will. Cures speculation, yes.

So, I mean, the second resurrection is all of mankind. Several lives are dying, right? Which all descend from Abraham. I guess it was just messing with my mind. I think that many people lived in the promised land area.

You know, God knows. God is the one who knows. Yeah, if maybe that He spreads them out all over the world, I don't know, right? But 60 billion people. That's about the point. It just struck me, and I just thought I'd ask. No, no, it's a good question, right? Because you think about these things. It's like, what do they say? An estimated 60 to 70 billion people have lived. So, if all those are resurrected, I mean, that's 10 times the population of the earth today. So, yeah, you got all these things. But God knows. I mean, there's scriptures that talk about mountains being flattened and seas and all this other stuff as well. God knows. He's got it all planned out. We can take comfort at that, but it'll be exciting to be able to be there and see how that all works out. I don't know. We know Jerusalem's going to be the center of God's government at that time with David ruling. Absolutely. Absolutely. All right. Thank you. Hey, Brandon.

Hey, Mr. Shabrie. Hello, everyone. How are you doing, sir? Good. I was just curious. So, I mean, I might be missing it somewhere. But, Keith David wouldn't have been aware that he was going to be the leader of the kingdom when he died. Is that correct? God had promised him there would always be a man on the throne, right? But I don't know if God told him he would be that when... I don't know. I don't know. Okay. I was just curious if anyone knew that was pointed out anywhere.

Thank you. Hey, Becky.

Hello again. Just to clarify for myself, so at the beginning of this chapter, we're talking about Second Resurrection, but closer to the end, it's more millennial, like with David being on the throne. Well, I mean, I think this is kind of God's plan, right? I mean, David will be there during the millennial time, too, right? He will be the king over at that time. He will be the king during the resurrection, too, over all of Israel. So that is his lot. So it happens in the first resurrection and after Christ returns, but continues through that.

During the whole time. I had one more, if I could. You talked about, I mean, the first resurrection, I know, is called the better resurrection. Yeah. And at one point, I'd heard someone say that the second resurrection would be harder, and that didn't really make sense to me. I mean, because Satan's influence will be gone during that time. So I just wondered if you had any quick insight as to why it is called the better resurrection. Well, because you're first fruits, right? You're the right of the priced in the first resurrection. That's different than the second resurrection. There is one right of price, and that's determined from the first fruits of this time. So that's that's key. It is a harder life, right? We're in the world. There's all the pressures. There's all the trials. There's all the temptations. There's all the tribulation that's going to be there. Through it all, we learn to have our faith in God and be willing to sacrifice anything for Him.

You know, and God recognizes that, but I think it's the bride of Christ and what the role that role is for eternity that makes it the better resurrection. Because you're gaining that eternal life. Yeah, so yeah, no, the eternal life is for everyone, but the bride of Christ is different than the servants of God, right? All, you know, it's I don't remember if it was the apostle John or John the Baptist said, I'd rather if I could just be a doorman of the kingdom of God. That's that's great, right? So nothing, none of this about position or anything like that, but God is what says it's a better resurrection. But being the bride of Christ and being in in, you know, wedded to Him and His servant, that I we don't even know what that means. But if God says it's better, it's better. Yeah, it's a special position. I agree with that. But you don't necessarily wouldn't agree that then that would mean the second resurrection is harder. It doesn't say it's harder. It just says the first is better. Right? I would agree it doesn't seem that the resurrection would be harder. But we don't know. Yeah, yeah. Those people will have to overcome as well. It won't be just, you know, they have to overcome as well. And the Bible tells us that not everyone in the second resurrection is going to accept Christ. They some of them will still reject Him and be thrown into the lake of fire. So there is some choice that has to be made in the second resurrection as well that some will not make. So they're that set against God. And it makes sense to between here and where we went in Revelation, there is a period of time between the Great White Throne Judgment and this resurrection. A period of time that passes. We I know we don't know. People speculate maybe 100 years. Oh, you're talking about Isaiah 65. Yeah, we don't know for sure. For sure. Those verses are interesting in Isaiah 65. So, but we really, yeah, we really, there's nothing that says for sure the second resurrection and then Great White Throne Judgment right after it were a long time after. Yeah, it's we don't know, but God knows. Thank you. Hey, Xavier.

Brother Chibi, we're just talking about the same thing here.

How this prophecy goes forward and it changes scenes. Scene again goes into the millennium comes backward, then it goes forward again. And Revelation 21, verse 24 and 26 kind of helps. As it says, the kings there or serving God who lives in the new Jerusalem, they bring the glory of the nations back into it. And it says his tabernacle is will be always in the midst of Israel. And we know we have gates and the whole earth is different. And in all the nations that are around it, all the kings spread out, David, and where Israel is.

All of us out serving, coming in and going back out.

Yep. Stan, how are you?

I'm fine. Thank you. Thanks for the privilege here. I just wanted to offer up a comment here.

I have puzzled over these scriptures here for many a year and many a decade. And most of the commentators speak of chapter 37, at least verses 1 through 14, as being a metaphor for the regathering and the restoration of Israel as an independent nation after they'd gone into exile. And it seems to me there are two levels of application here. One, you know, both a pre-millennial application and the post-millennial, which is the eighth day, if you will, application. And sometimes I wonder, you know, I think that this is actually correct, that first of all, as we read 37 from 1 through 14, and then carry on to chapter 38, it's speaking about the regathering, the restoration of the modern-day house of Israel, to its position of prominence again. And they do enter into a new covenant, which involves all the things you've been speaking about, about receiving the Spirit of God and becoming, if you will, new covenant people of God. And then I think there is also this latter application, which kicks into play post-millennial, because otherwise we run into this problem of chapter 38, which to me seems clear to be a millennial, you know, the entry into the millennium period, and not the release of Satan, the devil, and the God, and may God, at the close of the millennial age. So I just think there are two applications. I thought that I would put that on the table, because there's been... there is some difficulty, I think, in making this thing work, my thought to you. No. And, you know, as I look at YouTube, right, and just see the recommended for me, I see a lot of ministers talking about Ezekiel 38, trying to apply it to what's going on in Israel today. They don't understand that this is later, right? And we probably... well, how do we go out and, like, clear that up? But God will figure that out eventually, so... and lead us to it. iPhone Debbie. Hi. Hi, Mr. Shady. Can you hear me okay? Yeah, are you Debbie from Panama City? I'm Debbie from Panama City. Okay, that's what I thought I was going to say, but I thought I'd better check, so... okay. Hi. So, so glad to meet you in Panama City Beach.

So, the way I look at the first resurrection, it's like God has personally chosen us or picked us for His cabinet. We can use that as an analogy of what's going on right now. Handpicked for God's cabinet to help administer God's kingdom under Christ throughout the millennial train and then beyond. So, it is such a special, special to be handpicked by God the Father.

So, that's just what I want to say. That's actually a good analogy, right? But you hit it. It is a special privilege, and we should never forget it, and we should put all our lives and effort into becoming who He wants us to become. Very good. Hey, Andrew. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Go ahead. No, I do have another comment, but I want to wait till the end to make the comment. Okay. Okay. Okay. Andrew. Thanks, Rick. If I can just give you a compliment, I really want to congratulate you on the way that you've been with us. You seem to be shoulder-in-shoulder walking together with us and bopping along, and I never get the feeling that this is, you know, the grand pontification. Rather, I feel like it's just nice to be with you.

It's nice to be with all of you. We are all brothers. We are all family, and yes, that's what we're here for. So, yeah. So, I was just wondering, you know, you've been at the job for a little while, and you obviously saw some things that need to be done, and I just wondered if it's not too personal, if you can share two or three things that you just feel real good about what took place or what was accomplished or anything like that. Can I do that at the end, rather than taking up the time now? Remind me of that when we get done with, what, chapter 37? If that's okay. Please. Okay. Mr. Murray, hi.

Hello from Australia, and it's another wonderful Bible study of yours. Thank you very much, Mr. Shady. From Australia, we'd just like to say thank you. I'm not going to wait until the end, but we'd just like to say a very heartfelt thank you to you and Debbie for your personal sacrifice over the last three years. We've really appreciated your presidency in Australia. The brethren really love you very much and appreciate you very much. I just wanted to say that before I might miss out at the end of the Bible study. Just two things. In Revelation 20, verse 6, I find that's a fascinating verse. You finished at verse 4 and moved on to verse 11.

I know you know this verse, Revelation 20, verse 6, but it says, "...blessed and holy is he who is part in the first resurrection, over such the second death, has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Now, even with the logic of a 10-year-old, to have a second death, you must have first a second life, right? So even that verse alone shows that there must be two resurrections to life. And one of quizzes we're seeing there is that we're called to be part of the Holy Royal Priesthood as spoken of in 1 Peter 2, verses 5 and 9. So we see that clearly from us being the first resurrection. But there's going to be people that will have a second life that will be subject to a second death. So just that one verse alone really shows that there is a second resurrection of life to come. And just quickly, also Revelation 11 verse 35 is a wonderful, inspiring verse which sums up all those faithful men and women and how they receive their dead, raised to life again, others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. So of the two resurrections to life, obviously the first resurrection is the better one, because we're not just going to be part of the cabinet of Jesus Christ, we're going to be part of the bride, we're going to be the closest to Jesus Christ for eternity. We'll always have that wonderful privilege. So our calling now is so precious with being called to that better resurrection. That's all I had to say. Very good, very good. Thank you for reading Revelation 26.

Right by that verse, so thank you for bringing that up. Bill, yes.

Aren't the people in the first resurrection the only ones that are promised to be kings and priests?

That's correct. Yep. Another thing, isn't the temple supposed to be like, if you work it out, like 1500 miles cubed? It's it's very big, yes. I've heard people calculate that out. It's enormous, so yeah. Well, the point being, that's bigger than Israel has ever been without trying to season everything if it was going to fit there and go out quite a ways in every direction. Yeah, that's why, well, yeah, that's why. We'll get into another subject here we don't have time for.

I thought I saw another hand, but I don't see another hand now, so.

Okay, let's continue in 30... let me see, 37. We were talking about David, right? Yeah, we're talking about David.

Yeah, we were in 37-23. Oh, that's right. We went back to 36 to talk about the cleansing, but in 24, you know, verse 24 of Ezekiel 37, God again, you know, says, David, my servant shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. They will walk in my judgments, observe my statutes, and do them. And then they will dwell, he says in verse 25, they will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob, my servant, where your fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell there. They their children, their children's children, forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever. So, you know, he goes back to, here's the land that I promised Jacob. That's where your fathers dwelt, and that's where they're going to be during that time. You know, we have God saying David's going to be the king over all Israel. We also have Jesus Christ telling the 12 apostles, you know, in the New Testament, that they will be kings over the 12 tribes of Israel. See if I can, that is in Matthew. Is that in Matthew? Yeah, Matthew 10, I think. Let's go back there. No, Matthew 19.

So, God does give us a hint of what life will be like in his government. We know what his government's life is. He gives it to us here in the Bible. We're living it today, but in Matthew 19 in verse 28, talking to his disciples then, he says, assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So, we have the structure. We have David over all of Israel. We have the 12 apostles over the 12 tribes. So, we see some of the structure that is there. These are men who, you know, David who came out of sin and gave his life completely and totally over to God from that time forward when he came to repentance. And then, of course, the apostles who followed Christ were taught by him who were willing to give up their lives, in most cases martyrs. And they will be there to, again, they were trained. They know God's way. David lived his way of life. He embraced it. The apostles did. You and I must embrace it. We must come out of the world and live by God's way and not allow the world to crowd in or to take us away from that, but to ever be living by the principles he's given us here.

Okay, for chapter 37, again, verse 20, chapter 37, verse 26, Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He's the way to peace. He didn't bring peace his first time. He says, you know, the first time he came, I didn't come to bring peace. I've come to set a mother against her daughter, a father against a son, friends against each other because they don't know the truth. But when he returns, there will be that everlasting peace. I will make a covenant of peace. I will make a covenant of peace with them. And it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them. And here we go again and multiply them.

And then we get this sanctuary, and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. So in just a couple of chapters, we'll be talking about this Third Temple. That is the talk in Israel today with these red heifers and all the stuff that goes with the cleansing and purification, and then this Third Temple and the sacrifices and whatever, as God tells us. Then I will set my tabernacle or my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. Verse 27, My tabernacle will be with them. Indeed, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel. I set them apart. They are a special people. Remember we talked about God created them and the miracle births, the births that he made possible down through the years.

He's going to sanctify them. What does he do to us? He says, sanctify them by truth. Sanctify them by truth. His word is truth. I, the Lord, sanctify Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore. So that ends chapter 37. As Mr. Kitt said earlier, we move into chapter 38, probably some of 39 next week. It is another fascinating chapters of what, few two chapters of what's going to happen.

And well, every everything in Ezekiel is exciting as all of God's word is. So let me just end it there, but I will take, will take any questions or comments anyone has. Hey, Debbie from Panama City. Hi. Your mic isn't on, Debbie, if you're talking. Okay, here we go. So I'm just going to throw this out there. There's a lot of pieces of the puzzle that's coming together worldwide. Okay, so we have the Pope who we know is going to die, and we know there's supposed to be another Pope coming. Okay, so then we have Europe that is being forced to be independent more. So we have a good idea that's going to be the King of the North arising shortly, or sometime in the future, it can happen fast, though. Then we have the Abraham Accords, that's the King of the South and forming down there.

So I'm going to, and then of course you mentioned the Red Heifer and the Temple. So all these little pieces of puzzles are coming together. So I'm going to throw this out here. It might not be very nice.

Okay, so you have been so strong and stronger and stronger. You get stronger and stronger all the time in your sermons, in your Friday night, and short messages to the world. Your Bible study, you're so approachable. You have been so strong. So we know another piece of the puzzle is the Laodicean Era. So I know it, I know it, don't you make that little face. So the Laodicean, I'm going to say it, it's a lute form. So the leadership needs to not go in that direction. They need to keep strong leaders because that is a piece of the puzzle. The Laodicean Era of the church, we have to be a move to set it so many times, one of the five virgins. We have to take our calling serious and we have to admonish one another, stir one another up. I do not want God to say I never knew you. So I just threw that out there. Okay, none of us know that. And you know what, Becky, you gave much of the script of the next biblical worldview that I'm taping just in a few days. So yeah, as we're going to talk about all those things. And that's why I'm going to continue doing the biblical worldview. We've got to warn God and it can be done from everywhere. It doesn't have to be done in a studio necessarily. So we'll continue doing those. So okay. Hey, Dale, how are you doing? Good, thanks. I want to say also thanks so much for all your great service to the church. Really appreciate it. And there's a question earlier about, you know, will Israel go back to their own lands, you know, to where they originally were? Just a couple of scriptures maybe to offer there. Genesis 28, 14 says, And your seed, Israel's seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and the north and the south, and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

So it's interesting. I think of the west, of course. And then in the book of Isaiah, I don't know the exact scripture, but it says God's Word says you'll be settled after your former estates. You probably remember that scripture, right? I'll settle you after your former estates, it says. So I guess it could be possible that indeed, you know, Israelite nations will also go back to their, you know, to their current, maybe, place as possible. Could be. God knows. God knows. And those lands have been richly blessed, right? I mean, when you look at all the nations on the earth, those have been very richly blessed nations. For sure. Yes, indeed. Okay, thanks so much. Sure. Hey, John, how are you doing?

Your mic's on, but we can't hear you, John.

Yep, we can't hear you yet. Let me, you might look down. There you go, there you go.

Camera chosen. Millennial rule. The people that are left and that survive, will they live like a normal, under 100 year life, or will they be alive through the whole millennium?

I don't think they'll be, well, I don't think they'll be alive through the whole millennium, but life goes on. It's a physical life that they live in, not the first fruits, but the physical people living in the physical life. Well, because, you know, the fusola and everybody before the flood were living close, you know, 600 plus. I was just wondering if it was going to maybe go back to like it was like that. It might be. The Bible doesn't tell us. Either way, I don't think it is. Yeah, that's why I asked. Okay. Still industry. Okay, yeah, well, we'll find out. We'll find out. God will let us know when the time is right. Yeah, and I just want to say thank you for your service.

I'm not going anywhere. I'm still going to be around. You guys are still, you'll see me. So just want to let you know you're doing a great job. Okay, well, thanks. Thanks. Okay. Hey, Brandon.

Hey, Mr. Shaby. So I was, well, first of all, I wanted to make sure that you didn't forget the gentleman's question about the, like, a few things or something like that. Okay. So I just wanted to point that out before we got it. And then I did have a follow up as to where you are, if you covered it, I'm sorry, but where are you actually going to be? You mean like when we leave here? Yes. We're going to go back to Orlando. We're going to go back to Orlando as the plan.

Okay. And so will you be back as the pastor of Orlando? That hasn't been decided yet. We will, we'll see what happens. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm just curious. Okay. Okay. I know what you're going to ask, Andrew. Do you have another question besides what you were going to ask before?

No, no, I'm pretty happy. I really just found it a wonderful experience to have spent all these years in the church and to see us keep developing and developing. And I just wanted to see what was really happening in the last little while that you've been leading. So. Okay. I'm going to, because some people may not want to hear, so I'm going to, I'm going to come back to you, but let me get with Becky, Reggie, and Bill, and then I'll come back to you if that's okay. And we'll talk about that. So yeah, Becky. Thank you. I wanted to comment just on what Debbie said about Germany rising and separating from the United States. And then at the same time, the Pope being sick. And I've always kind of heard or understood that, you know, Germany would be like the rise of the beast power. That's where we should watch for that. And then the Pope being worth like false profit. And I just wondered how accurate that was, if I'm understanding correctly, kind of where to watch for those things. Keep watching in that area. I think it's, it's not coincidence that all those things are happening at one time. So. Okay. And I wanted to share a scripture quickly, if I could. Sure. It's Isaiah 43. He says, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you who are mine. And I thought that fit really well with him calling all of his people back. He'll redeem us. He'll redeem all, you know. Yes. And we are his. We belong to him. It's beautiful. It is beautiful. Thank you. Hey Reggie or Sandy.

Okay. What I was going to mention is that, you know, whenever Joseph was blessed, Ephraim and Manasseh, he placed his hands on everything and gave him the blessings. Mm-hmm. God didn't abandon, you know, the Jesus and his grandson. Right. We've actually prospered throughout the years. And that's only because God is blessed. It's not that we were great and everything. You know, Trump says we're going to be great again. Yeah. But God is the one that gives us blessings. Totally. But he has prospered that. And we've been there many, many nations for the whole world because of God. No matter where we've gone. Yeah. You're exactly right. It is God who was blessing. He knows where his people are, right? His physical people. The world doesn't. They're hidden from the world, but we know the reason that America has been so blessed. And Canada and Australia and what? England, Canada, New Zealand. Yeah. So.

I'm wondering why on the Euro, on one side of one of the little coins, they have a picture of a woman riding a beast. I mean, it's one of those things when you read that, right? It's almost like God is putting it there in plain view. This is who you are, right? Because they have the statue out in front of the, at least it used to be in front of the EU building, whatever they call it there, the parliament, that had the same thing. It's kind of like it's right there, but no one really knows why no one's paying attention to that. So. Yeah. Okay. Well, let me get back. Oh.

Okay. I'll get back to what what Andrew said. I think I said it a lot of times. I think, you know, the thing that has been the most gratifying, exciting, and that I'm going to remember from these three years is just meeting everyone. It's been wonderful. You know, in a short amount of time, we were able to do these six conferences around the United States, and we met so many different people.

Wonderful. Wonderful to meet everyone like that. And then the international thing. That isn't something I had ever really even thought about doing. And God just worked it all out that we were able to go to so many places. But to see the people, to see their commitment to God, and to understand, you know, you read one thing about what life is like in Africa, or what life is like in Australia, or what life is like in, you know, Central America. But when you see it, and you see the light in the people's eyes, and you know they live a totally different life than us.

I remember someone telling me long ago, you know, someone who was having a harder time in life, and said, you know, they pray, they pray thy kingdom come more than we do, because we have so much. And as I went around the world, and I saw how the different things, you know, how people live, I thought, yeah, they're praying thy kingdom come, but we need to pray thy kingdom come. But also seeing God pull together people. We had Pakistan, people from Pakistan call, called people from Bangladesh. We got another little country over there that I heard about a few weeks ago where God is calling someone over there, and watching what's going on in some of those countries where God is doing the work, not us.

It's not because we've been putting some great ads over there, or TV shows, or anything like that. It's Him. It's Him calling the people. And then our job is to, you know, work with them, nurture them, provide what they need so that they continue to grow. And that's what I hope continues, that we just see everyone as people, and that God is working with everyone all over the world.

And our job is just to help and be there, and also preach the gospel. I mean, I guess preach the gospel in all nations. Make disciples in all nations. I never understood that the way I understand it now, what He wants done. And when we do that, when we do that, you know, we're pleasing Him, and He opens the doors. And just for everyone to just be committed, and that we all have a part in it.

It's not just a home office in Cincinnati, or one little media crew that does it. It's everyone has a part. And I think we're going to see that more and more. The strategic plan we put together, you know, that's part of it going forward.

I don't know who will do it. So we talked about some local initiatives, looking at Ephesians 4, 16, and knowing that there are talents and skills God has put in every area around the world. And to use those, and let people do those things, and let God lead them to preach the gospel, do whatever it gets done to get the word out. Because more people have been called. God has used people to call people much more all over the world in the United States than He has by just the media stuff. Not the media stuff. Not that it's not good. We need to do it. We've got tremendous, tremendous opportunities in YouTube and everything that we haven't really been fully explored yet, but need to be.

Because God will use all those messages, all those mediums, in order to get the word out to everyone all over the world in a way that simply could not even be understood 10 years ago. But we need to do it now. So I guess that's a little bit of that. There's just an excitement to be able to do that and watch how God opens doors and where He's leading. So, you know, we will continue to look at those things down in Florida as well, what we can do down there to work to do whatever we can.

So, okay. Now you've heard enough from me. Brandon, you got something else? Yeah, I was just kind of following up and echoing what you were saying about.

It really is a totally different experience to see what people go through who don't have the things that we have. You know, I don't remember if I told the story again, so if I'm repeating myself, please forgive me. But I remember when I went to Afghanistan, when I first I was my first deployment, and I was 18 at the time. I was 18 at the time, and I met a young man there. He was 17 years old, and his father was, I think his father had been killed.

I don't think it was in war, but his father had died, and they were building our living quarters, they were building our living quarters and shelters over there. And he was working for what was the equivalent of like, like, $50 a day or something like that? Which doesn't sound like a lot. I mean, it isn't a lot for as far as us, but during that time, that was, you know, the average working Afghani made like $700 a year. So that was incredible money for him. But just knowing that he was there, and this is, you know, it's very hot. You're on average, it's, it averages like from 105 or like maybe 100 to 110, just on any given day. Some days hotter. And they were out there working eight hours plus, building our shelters, and he was taking care of his mother and his sisters.

So, you know, it hopefully, you know, as you know, I'm sure as you saw, and as we experience these things, that we really just have to, you know, we're in such a blessed position that we can focus on the things around us, and really focus on getting ourselves, you know, I guess, spiritually in shape to make sure that we're right for when the Kingdom is coming. Because so many people, like, they don't, they don't have the, they don't have time to really, you know, focus on that, you know, like when we go to the feast, like, yes, it's an enjoyable time. It's wonderful. These are the things that we saved up for. But, you know, for them, they can't just go to a steakhouse any time of the year. So it's like a real feast at feast time, right? It is, you know, it's a lack. They haven't had that. They haven't particularly been eating every day. And so it's just, it's very, you know, you know, so I, and obviously, yes, we, you know, I've been homeless here in the state, so I know that tough times can happen here in America as well. And I'm not taking away from that, but there is much more opportunity for us to succeed here. And, you know, hopefully we can continue to spread that to our brothers and sisters around the globe, because it is, it's a different beast when you see it and experience it, no matter where you are.

Totally agree. You know, people, you see, you see the reason that the kingdom needs to come, right? Because most of the world has not lived the way we've lived. They, life has not been pleasant in all cases. It has been really, really, really rough. So when the kingdom comes and there's abundance for everyone, that's going to be wonderful all over the world. You know, on the other hand, the blessings that we've had, the comfort that we've lived in life, God warns against. Don't become like the world, right? Remember, called for. Don't let yourself be lulled to sleep because you have all these comforts in life. So, you know, I often say having plenty is as big a trial, maybe a bigger trial, than if we had very little. And we tend to keep that in mind. So yes, sir. I completely agree. You know, it's actually funny. I lived legitimately last night. I thought about how sobering a thought it was to say, well, you know, that the Bible tells us that if God the Father and Jesus Christ didn't intervene, we would literally end all human life. Exactly. That's how far down the rest. Like, that is such a sobering thought. We would legitimately end all life if they didn't intervene. That is what it is. With all the resources that we have, that is just an incredible, massive weight of a thought to just know.

It shows the power of Satan's influence on people, right? That they use it, and that he is able to bring people to that extent. So, yes, sir. Okay, Becky.

Got one more for you. Thank you. I really loved your comment about if you hadn't experienced things the way that you have the past three years, you wouldn't have understood them the way you do. I love that God has given you that experience to use and to move forward. And in regards to whatever change takes place, in my mind, change is really hard, but it means that we're moving forward. I mean, even the changes that, like I mentioned with the Pope or with Germany, all of these things mean that we're moving closer. And I think that it's something to be excited about. And just remember that God says he'll take hold of our hand, and he's with us. And I mean, I want, you know, we should want to move forward. Thy kingdom come.

You're exactly right. That's what we pray for. So it should be exciting, exactly as you said, when we see these things come about. Bill?

Me and my wife watch a movie every night on YouTube, other than all the Bible stuff we do. Now, all of a sudden, on the commercials on YouTube, I'm getting advertisements for the United Church of God. And now, and I find that, is it because that's my interest? Because you know YouTube is. It'll send stuff to you that you're interested in. Yeah. So I mean, are they sent? Why is that? That's being done? I mean, what? I don't know. I don't know. That's pretty cool. I've never seen one, right? I've never seen one. So I know we've got some of those things going out there, but I've never had one show up on my YouTube. So that's good to know. So that's happening. We've been seeing it almost every night lately when we watch our movies. Very good. Okay.

Yes, Bill. That is done purposely by YouTube. It's called the Algorithm. So basically, it's tracking the YouTube is effectively tracking the types of things that you watch and see. And then it is specifically recommending those types of things. But that is, yes, that is on purpose. That is by design. Okay. Some of the stuff shows up and might recommend it for you, but not in the little ad things that go on. So yeah. Okay. Bill, your hand's still up.

I'll go. Okay. Okay. It's 840 in Cincinnati, so probably everyone is tired. I appreciate all hanging on during all this time. I know in Australia, and I saw Alusigan on, too, from Nigeria today. So I hope Alusigan, so I can kind of say hi to him. It was good to see him on again tonight. So there he is. Very good to see you, Alusigan. Stick with us. And I know it's like middle of the night over there in Nigeria and probably very early in, I don't know, where is it again? You're like probably at eight in the morning or? It's about going off for midday here. Oh, midday. Okay. Okay. It's about 1145. Okay. Okay. Very good. So somewhere there's 12 hours difference, but okay. Let me say good night. Okay. Let me say good night, everyone. We will see you.

Am I in town? Yes. Well, God willing, we'll have a Bible study next week. So have a wonderful Sabbath upcoming, and we'll look forward to seeing everyone next Wednesday night. Okay. Okay. Good night. Bye. Bye. Good night. Good night. Good night, everyone. Bye. Bye, Joe. Bye, Joe. Cheers. I love you! Love you, too. There we go. Okay.