What I am about to share with you is
a prophecy that some biblical scholars simply do not believe. I have no
reason not to believe it, to the very last word. God gave these words
to Ezekiel and I find them confirmed over and over. This prophecy uses
some language as to the identity of the remnant, in general, but if you
know the Scriptures, you know that God's chosen people, and all of His
Saints, are going to reign with Christ for 1000 years. Listen carefully.
Ezekiel 37:1-25
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit
of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was
full of bones.
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were
very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So
I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."
4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them,
'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause
breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
6 "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you
with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall
know that I am the LORD."'"
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was
a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone
to bone.
8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and
the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
9 Then He said to me, "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."'"
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and
they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house
of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and
we ourselves are cut off!'
12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:
"Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to
come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 "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.
14 "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will
place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have
spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'"
15 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
16 "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 the house of Israel, his companions.'
17 "Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick,
and they will become one in your hand.
18 "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying,
'Will you not show us what you mean by these?'--
19 "say to them, '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 in My hand."'
20 "And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before
their eyes.
21 "Then 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 will gather them from every side and bring them into their
own land;
22 "and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains
of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer
be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.
23 "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 in which they
have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and
I will be their God.
24 "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all
have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe
My statutes, and do them.
25 "Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob
My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they,
their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant
David shall be their prince forever. (NKJ)
Some of you may have heard a song whose words included the phrase, "These
bones these bones are going to walk around", " knee bone connected
to the hip bone" and so on. The song is about a prophecy that describes
what will happen when the Father restores Jerusalem for the Millennium
and inhabits it with those Jews who have died and been resurrected,
including King David.
The most difficult question for myself is "Which Jews will be resurrected
to serve in the Millennium?" It would be wonderful if the answer
was "every Jew", and it may be. But what is a Jew. Listen.
Romans 2:28-29
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that
which is outward in the flesh;
29 but he is a Jew who is one
inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not
in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (NKJ)
Earlier I said that neither you nor I have to make the call as to who
is a true Jew or who will be in the Kingdom. We are dealing with the
province of God when we discuss the "judgment of men". God
makes it very clear that sin separates us from Him. God hates sin and
disobedience. My concern is that since we all have sinned and since
we all have been disobedient, what does God require of us in order to
enter into His Holy Presence?
The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We can choose to make that confession now or later. If a person says, "later", it does not mean you will not confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, it means you have chosen to postpone the decision. You will, at some point, bow your knee before Jesus. If you do so as a person who has never placed their faith in Jesus, you will be doing so on the Day of Judgment. Are you now among the faithful and obedient, using the Law as your yardstick? Do you really want to be judged on your obedience to the Law? If the answer is yes, then you should pray that mercy triumphs over justice and that the love of God for His children completely exceeds reason, from a human point of view.
Are your sins still with you? The Messiah, the Redeemer, is the only
One who could ever atone for your sins and mine, and He did. At every
junction, His redemptive powers are our only path to salvation. Our
works will be as nothing; our personal efforts are completely futile.
Salvation does not depend on "which sin" one has committed,
for all sin separates man from God. Salvation is about repentance and
redemption, confessing your sins and having your sins forgiven. Salvation
begins with you understanding that there is "flesh" and a
soul and spirit. The flesh will die; the spirit will exist forever.
Salvation is about your spending eternity "with God" and not
in eternal separation, thus eternal suffering.
Many devout Jews love and worship God. Many adhere to the Law, as best
they can. Many pray unceasingly for the power and presence of God in
their lives. Many read the Scriptures daily. In fact, some have decided
that the Messiah did come and is about to return and their faith in
that belief has brought them out of the darkness Isaiah described. Listen
again to the words of Isaiah.
Isaiah 6:10
10 "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed." (NKJ)
The choice to "return and be healed" remains before you. It
is not a popular choice among Jews. But it never was a popular choice.
The name of Jesus has been a point of offense to many, to this day.
If you claim Jesus Christ as the Messiah, your personal Redeemer, you
will be persecuted. But even among the Gentiles, such persecution is
common. The scriptures speak very clearly to what one might expect if
you respond to the invitation of the Gospel. First, you are assured
that eternal life is yours and second you are told to expect persecution
up to the time of Christ's return. But persecution for your faith is
not a bad thing. Listen.
2 Timothy 3:12
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution. (NKJ)
Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say
all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in
heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (NKJ)
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