Their have 5 previous lessons but previously I was labeling them only as
"Ezekiel OverView,"
or "Part 2 of Chapter 1",
or " More Comments on Chapter 1" etc.
I now realize to keep track of where we are it is best if I also number the Lessons,
starting with this Lesson so this Lesson on Ezekiel is Lesson 6.
Lesson 6
Part 2 of Chapter 2
Originally from
Pastor Bill's Newsletter
and retrieved from our
Back Issues Newsletter archives.
Ezekiel Chapter 2:3-10
3 And he said unto me,
Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel,
to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted.
I do send thee unto them;
and thou shalt say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord GOD.
5 And they, whether they will hear,
or whether they will forbear,
(for they are a rebellious house,)
yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
6 And thou, son of man,
be not afraid of them,
neither be afraid of their words,
though briers and thorns be with thee,
and thou dost dwell among scorpions:
be not afraid of their words,
nor be dismayed at their looks,
though they be a rebellious house.
7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them,
whether they will hear,
or whether they will forbear:
for they are most rebellious.
8 But thou, son of man,
hear what I say unto thee;
Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house:
open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
To review you might want to read our earlier posts.
As was stated in previous lessons;
The Holy Spirit entered Ezekiel to give him the strength to stand in God's awesome, mighty, Holy Presence.
The Holy Spirit will be helping Ezekiel to live up to his name "strength of God". Even in Ezekiel's initial calling which begins here in Ezekiel chapter 2 and continues into chapter 3.
Rebellious is a theme in verses 2 through 8 of how the people of Israel are at this time and yet that is Ezekiel's commission to go preach to them anyway.
Rebellious nation, rebelled, transgressed, impudent children, stiffhearted, most rebellious, rebellious house are God's description of Israel at that time.
WOW! Most of us would be tempted to say to God;
"but why go because they will not listen and receive anything spiritual?".
Yet this is Ezekiel's commission to go to rebellious Israel and preach and prophesy.
When God calls us, and HE calls every believer to be a witness, God is not asking us to decide if they are too rebellious and closed to hear the Gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ that is the message of Jesus death for all sin for forgiveness and of His Resurrection.
God is just asking us to live a witness, walk a witness and be ready to speak our witness to all who we possibly can. To be open to those opportunities of sharing about Jesus.
If you and I do that then those around us will know a follower of Jesus, a CHRISTian, a Christ-like person has been in their presence.
That is like what God said to Ezekiel in verse 5,
whether they listen or not;
"yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them".
Now you can see why Ezekiel needs the strength of God from the Holy Spirit!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that there are records of Holy men who lived for you in difficult times. Please help us to be bold through the power of your Holy Spirit to be a witness for our Saviour, your son, Jesus Christ.
Help us to live so others will know that their was a woman of God or a man of God among them!
If some feel they are not there yet, I know sometimes I feel that way, help them and all of us to humbly grow into a life in which we find our fulfilment through you and that others will see Jesus Christ in us because of the working of the Holy Ghost in and through our lifes.
Father, we thank you for hearing our prayer.
We ask all of this In the Name of Jesus
AMEN!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Lesson 5
Ezekiel Chapter 2 Part 1
By
Pastor Bill Mazzulla III
Ezekiel Chapter 2:1-2
1 And he said unto me,
Son of man, stand upon thy feet,
and I will speak unto thee.
2 And the spirit entered into me
when he spake unto me,
and set me upon my feet,
that I heard him that spake unto me.
A little review is beneficial.
Ezekiel's name means "God strengthens" or "strengthened by God".
In the sense that all who are followers of Jesus Christ and are filled by God's Holy Spirit, we are "ezekiels".
In chapter one Ezekiel had a glorious vision of heavenly creatures and God's throne.
In conclusion of our last devotion about Ezekiel we mentioned that
"In 1:28 when Ezekiel saw the Lord and His glory, He fell on His face"
This where chapter 2 picks up.
Ezekiel is on his face worshipping God and so over-awed at God's majesty and power that he is too weak to stand up in God's presence.
As Christians, servants of God, as His voice and body in action on this Earth, we need to know when it is time to pray, praise and worship God and when it is time to stand up to receive instructions, orders from our loving master and Saviour.
God tells Ezekiel, that he should stand up and then he will speak to him, then Ezekiel will receive his orders, his commission as a prophet.
Since in verse 2 Ezekiel was too weak to stand up, God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit entered into Ezekiel and set Ezekiel upon His feet.
Anything God instructs us to do, God will enable us, give us the strength to fulffill what He, God, has asked of us.
Phillippians Chapter 4
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned,
in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Phillipians 4:13 is not talking about a person having every skill in the world.
For example I do not think there is a person in the world who could both build a safely working motorcycle from scratch and also make a wedding gown from scratch with the quality of a professional seamstress. If there is such a person that could do both well, that person is very rare.
So obviously it is not talking about natural skills but Phillipians 4:13 if you study the context of the chapter, this verse is talking about the ability to be able to be blessed tremendously and to suffer tremendously and still be spiritually faithful to Jesus Christ. That only comes from strength from God.
As Ezekiel's name "God strengthens".
In our New Testament age God's Holy Spirit gives every believer the ability to serve Jesus and be God's light, God's representative here on earth.
If you do not feel that way then you need to seek more of God, more of Jesus in your life and more of His Holy Spirit. This something that is always beneficial for all of us to do anyways.
I know I have previously mentioned about Ezekiel meaning God strengthens and how that relates to the Holy Spirit. The reason is this is a very important lesson for us all.
It probably will come up again in this series so please understand, I am not forgetting that I already discussed it, just that it is important to remember.
Luke chapter 11
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish,
will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
For the full text of this promise read Luke 11:1-13.
Our Heavenly Father who has greater love then any human and is more perfectly loving then even the best earthly fathers will not hold back any good thing from His children (us believers) so do not be afraid to ask for more of His Holy Spirit in your life and
do not be afraid to ask for more of His presence and power in your life.
God will give every good gift we ask for.
So ask God for wisdom, for more of His Holy Spirit, and He will give liberally.
You will be glad you did.
Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
4:4 REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE.
By
Pastor Bill Mazzulla III
Ezekiel Chapter 2:1-2
1 And he said unto me,
Son of man, stand upon thy feet,
and I will speak unto thee.
2 And the spirit entered into me
when he spake unto me,
and set me upon my feet,
that I heard him that spake unto me.
A little review is beneficial.
Ezekiel's name means "God strengthens" or "strengthened by God".
In the sense that all who are followers of Jesus Christ and are filled by God's Holy Spirit, we are "ezekiels".
In chapter one Ezekiel had a glorious vision of heavenly creatures and God's throne.
In conclusion of our last devotion about Ezekiel we mentioned that
"In 1:28 when Ezekiel saw the Lord and His glory, He fell on His face"
This where chapter 2 picks up.
Ezekiel is on his face worshipping God and so over-awed at God's majesty and power that he is too weak to stand up in God's presence.
As Christians, servants of God, as His voice and body in action on this Earth, we need to know when it is time to pray, praise and worship God and when it is time to stand up to receive instructions, orders from our loving master and Saviour.
God tells Ezekiel, that he should stand up and then he will speak to him, then Ezekiel will receive his orders, his commission as a prophet.
Since in verse 2 Ezekiel was too weak to stand up, God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit entered into Ezekiel and set Ezekiel upon His feet.
Anything God instructs us to do, God will enable us, give us the strength to fulffill what He, God, has asked of us.
Phillippians Chapter 4
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned,
in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Phillipians 4:13 is not talking about a person having every skill in the world.
For example I do not think there is a person in the world who could both build a safely working motorcycle from scratch and also make a wedding gown from scratch with the quality of a professional seamstress. If there is such a person that could do both well, that person is very rare.
So obviously it is not talking about natural skills but Phillipians 4:13 if you study the context of the chapter, this verse is talking about the ability to be able to be blessed tremendously and to suffer tremendously and still be spiritually faithful to Jesus Christ. That only comes from strength from God.
As Ezekiel's name "God strengthens".
In our New Testament age God's Holy Spirit gives every believer the ability to serve Jesus and be God's light, God's representative here on earth.
If you do not feel that way then you need to seek more of God, more of Jesus in your life and more of His Holy Spirit. This something that is always beneficial for all of us to do anyways.
I know I have previously mentioned about Ezekiel meaning God strengthens and how that relates to the Holy Spirit. The reason is this is a very important lesson for us all.
It probably will come up again in this series so please understand, I am not forgetting that I already discussed it, just that it is important to remember.
Luke chapter 11
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish,
will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
For the full text of this promise read Luke 11:1-13.
Our Heavenly Father who has greater love then any human and is more perfectly loving then even the best earthly fathers will not hold back any good thing from His children (us believers) so do not be afraid to ask for more of His Holy Spirit in your life and
do not be afraid to ask for more of His presence and power in your life.
God will give every good gift we ask for.
So ask God for wisdom, for more of His Holy Spirit, and He will give liberally.
You will be glad you did.
Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
4:4 REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE.
Lesson 4
More Comments on Chapter One
This post is final comments on our study of Ezekiel Chapter One.
Then we will go on to study Chapter 2.
Now on to this week's study.
A little review is beneficial.
In conclusion of the last devotion we mentioned that
"In Verse 28 when Ezekiel saw the Lord and His glory,
He fell on His face"
I also mentioned how
"in past years, great men of God sought God on rough floors on their face".
That is a heritage that needs to be restored!
Now for some further thoughts.
I have read that in the midst of winter,
one man of God dropped on his knees,
outdoors in the winter and had a time of prayer.
It was told by witnesses that though it was freezing out
that he prayed so intently that the snow melted all
around him for a large space.
Another man of God said something to the effect that;
"after praying for lost souls
if you do not feel like you just did 8 hours of intense labor
then you were not praying hard enough."
I am doing these quotes from memory.
It might have been more then 8 hours.
Most of the church world has quite a ways to go to get back to that.
But WOW!
Compared to these 2 people of faith in Church history
(sorry I don't remember their names)
I have a long ways to go.
No, maybe we do not need to pray in the snow and maybe not all of us even
when praying intently will feel like we have done hard labor for many hours
but they are good examples to us.
In fact Jesus prayed many times all night to the next morning.
Instead of being tired and weak the next morning, this empowered Him.
Also, in the garden of Gethsemane' Jesus prayed till he sweat drops of blood.
That is a rare medical condition where a person is under so much pressure
that the smallest blood vessels near the skin break
and bleed out through the skin pores with the sweat.
So Jesus our example did get very intense in both
His praying and His obeying His Heavenly Father.
So much the more we should strive to be obedient
and not only have a good prayer life
but go into intercession for the hurting and lost.
Let us all strive towards Jesus's example!
Amen!
This post is final comments on our study of Ezekiel Chapter One.
Then we will go on to study Chapter 2.
Now on to this week's study.
A little review is beneficial.
In conclusion of the last devotion we mentioned that
"In Verse 28 when Ezekiel saw the Lord and His glory,
He fell on His face"
I also mentioned how
"in past years, great men of God sought God on rough floors on their face".
That is a heritage that needs to be restored!
Now for some further thoughts.
I have read that in the midst of winter,
one man of God dropped on his knees,
outdoors in the winter and had a time of prayer.
It was told by witnesses that though it was freezing out
that he prayed so intently that the snow melted all
around him for a large space.
Another man of God said something to the effect that;
"after praying for lost souls
if you do not feel like you just did 8 hours of intense labor
then you were not praying hard enough."
I am doing these quotes from memory.
It might have been more then 8 hours.
Most of the church world has quite a ways to go to get back to that.
But WOW!
Compared to these 2 people of faith in Church history
(sorry I don't remember their names)
I have a long ways to go.
No, maybe we do not need to pray in the snow and maybe not all of us even
when praying intently will feel like we have done hard labor for many hours
but they are good examples to us.
In fact Jesus prayed many times all night to the next morning.
Instead of being tired and weak the next morning, this empowered Him.
Also, in the garden of Gethsemane' Jesus prayed till he sweat drops of blood.
That is a rare medical condition where a person is under so much pressure
that the smallest blood vessels near the skin break
and bleed out through the skin pores with the sweat.
So Jesus our example did get very intense in both
His praying and His obeying His Heavenly Father.
So much the more we should strive to be obedient
and not only have a good prayer life
but go into intercession for the hurting and lost.
Let us all strive towards Jesus's example!
Amen!
Lesson 3
Ezekiel Chapter 1 Part 2
Ezekiel 1:10-28
This is Ezekiel Chapter One part 2 of our study on the book of Ezekiel and then in the next post I will add final comments for Chapter One..
I would recommend that you read all of Ezekiel Chapter One, if you have not yet done that recently. Even if you do not understand all of Ezekiel Chapter One, it is a powerful vision Ezekiel had. If you have read Ezekiel Chapter One sometime in the recent month the please reread Ezekiel 1:10-28.
Now on to this week's study.
10 As for the likeness of their faces,
they four had the face of a man,
and the face of a lion, on the right side:
and they four had the face of an ox on the left side;
they four also had the face of an eagle.
The commentators can not agree if this corresponds
to the 4 Living Creatures in Revelation
and to the four Gospels
or if it is just a coincidental siimilarity.
Here are the verses frome Revelation Chazpter 4:
6 And before the throne there was
a sea of glass like unto crystal:
and in the midst of the throne,
and round about the throne,
were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first beast was like a lion,
and the second beast like a calf,
and the third beast had a face as a man,
and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
The only face that is different is the ox in Ezekiel
and a calf in Revelation
except that a calf is a baby ox
so they are still both oxen.
Also, in Revelation it said that
these Heavenly Beings had 6 wings
and Ezekiel only mentions 4.
If they are the same heavenly creatures that both
Ezekiel saw and John saw in the Revelation,
then maybe Ezekiel was just emphasizing what stood out to him.
Also, in the 4 Gospels,
these are accepted among most scholars;
Matthew
portrays Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe
of Judah for the Jews.
Mark
portrays Jesus as the burden bearer (the ox/calf).
Luke
portrayed Jesus humaness, the man's face
and also as the compassiontae healer.
John
portrayed Jesus divineness the Eagle
symbolizing Heavenly heights.
Now you all decide.
Is Ezekiel's Heavenly Creatures
the same as the ones in Revelation?
Does Ezekiel's vision of the Heavenly Creatures,
perhaps in a prophetic way,
correspond with the 4 Gospels?
Please post what you think.
Since Bible scholars a lot smarter then me can not agree about this,
it will not upset me if there are various and contrary opinions
in the answer to this question.
In fact I might learn something from all of you.
Now to the last verses of this chapter .
If you have not yet read all of Ezekiel Chapter One,
please at least at this point read verses 22-28.
In a sense these glorious Heveanly Creatures are only God's footstool
because Ezekiel tells us that a firmament was over their heads
and over the firmament was the likeness of a throne.
I do not have time to go over all of this
but if you read verses 22-28 in Ezekiel Chapter One;
you will see a wonderful and powerful description
as to how God's throne appeared to Ezekiel.
As I mentioned these angelic heavenly creatures had their wings up.
Their wings were up I believe for worship as well as moving about
since their other sets of wings were covering their bodies
in modesty and humility.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament
that was over their heads, when they stood,
and had let down their wings.
Though these heavenly beings already
were covering their bodies in humility with one set of wings,
they lowered their other set of wings in even deeper humility.
We should learn to take God's voice as serious,
God's voice through His Word, the Holy Bible,
His voice through the worship
when we gather with other saints,
His voice through the sermons
and teachings we hear and read.
His voice during prayer times,
both with others and alone with God.
Jesus said that "my sheep know my voice".
In Verse 28 when Ezekiel saw the Lord and His glory,
He fell on His face.
In past years, great men of God sought God on rough floors on their face.
This is a heritage that needs to be restored but to get to that place takes much devotion and dedication, working up to hours in concentrated prayer.
I know I am not there yet.
Ezekiel 1:10-28
This is Ezekiel Chapter One part 2 of our study on the book of Ezekiel and then in the next post I will add final comments for Chapter One..
I would recommend that you read all of Ezekiel Chapter One, if you have not yet done that recently. Even if you do not understand all of Ezekiel Chapter One, it is a powerful vision Ezekiel had. If you have read Ezekiel Chapter One sometime in the recent month the please reread Ezekiel 1:10-28.
Now on to this week's study.
10 As for the likeness of their faces,
they four had the face of a man,
and the face of a lion, on the right side:
and they four had the face of an ox on the left side;
they four also had the face of an eagle.
The commentators can not agree if this corresponds
to the 4 Living Creatures in Revelation
and to the four Gospels
or if it is just a coincidental siimilarity.
Here are the verses frome Revelation Chazpter 4:
6 And before the throne there was
a sea of glass like unto crystal:
and in the midst of the throne,
and round about the throne,
were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first beast was like a lion,
and the second beast like a calf,
and the third beast had a face as a man,
and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
The only face that is different is the ox in Ezekiel
and a calf in Revelation
except that a calf is a baby ox
so they are still both oxen.
Also, in Revelation it said that
these Heavenly Beings had 6 wings
and Ezekiel only mentions 4.
If they are the same heavenly creatures that both
Ezekiel saw and John saw in the Revelation,
then maybe Ezekiel was just emphasizing what stood out to him.
Also, in the 4 Gospels,
these are accepted among most scholars;
Matthew
portrays Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe
of Judah for the Jews.
Mark
portrays Jesus as the burden bearer (the ox/calf).
Luke
portrayed Jesus humaness, the man's face
and also as the compassiontae healer.
John
portrayed Jesus divineness the Eagle
symbolizing Heavenly heights.
Now you all decide.
Is Ezekiel's Heavenly Creatures
the same as the ones in Revelation?
Does Ezekiel's vision of the Heavenly Creatures,
perhaps in a prophetic way,
correspond with the 4 Gospels?
Please post what you think.
Since Bible scholars a lot smarter then me can not agree about this,
it will not upset me if there are various and contrary opinions
in the answer to this question.
In fact I might learn something from all of you.
Now to the last verses of this chapter .
If you have not yet read all of Ezekiel Chapter One,
please at least at this point read verses 22-28.
In a sense these glorious Heveanly Creatures are only God's footstool
because Ezekiel tells us that a firmament was over their heads
and over the firmament was the likeness of a throne.
I do not have time to go over all of this
but if you read verses 22-28 in Ezekiel Chapter One;
you will see a wonderful and powerful description
as to how God's throne appeared to Ezekiel.
As I mentioned these angelic heavenly creatures had their wings up.
Their wings were up I believe for worship as well as moving about
since their other sets of wings were covering their bodies
in modesty and humility.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament
that was over their heads, when they stood,
and had let down their wings.
Though these heavenly beings already
were covering their bodies in humility with one set of wings,
they lowered their other set of wings in even deeper humility.
We should learn to take God's voice as serious,
God's voice through His Word, the Holy Bible,
His voice through the worship
when we gather with other saints,
His voice through the sermons
and teachings we hear and read.
His voice during prayer times,
both with others and alone with God.
Jesus said that "my sheep know my voice".
In Verse 28 when Ezekiel saw the Lord and His glory,
He fell on His face.
In past years, great men of God sought God on rough floors on their face.
This is a heritage that needs to be restored but to get to that place takes much devotion and dedication, working up to hours in concentrated prayer.
I know I am not there yet.
Lesson 2
Chapter 1
Part 1
Ezekiel 1:1-14
I wrote so much on Ezekiel Chapter One that I decided I needed to divide it into 2 parts.
So Ezekiel Chapter 1, Part 2 will be next time and then after that I will have closing comments on the study for this chapter, in another seperate post.
Now on to this post's study.
I would recommend that you read all of Ezekiel Chapter One.
Even if you do not understand it all, it is a powerful vision Ezekiel had.
Ezekiel had many visions, many commentators liken his writing style and visions as a precursor to John's book of Revelation.
In fact many of them recommend the study of Ezekiel and of course Daniel
to better understand the Revelation John had.
I knew that many of the things Daniel saw and wrote corresponded with John's Revelation
but I never thought that about the whole book of Ezekiel before being important for understanding the book of Revelation but now it is like my eyes are opened because I can see how that would be!
As we already mentioned Ezekiel was in captivity in Babylon and with the exceptions of Daniel
and Jonah most of the prophets ministries were in the lands of Israel, Judea and Samaria,
all parts of the Promise land.
Most of the other prophets were concerned with the land and the temple; trying to reform the people, reform the leadership that is kings and priests; hoping to see in their lifetime a pure people with pure leadership in true worship within the temple system of worship.
The temple is no where to be found and it looks like Ezekiel
and the others are to be in Babylon for a lifetime.
Maybe even for generations as far as they know.
So much for temple worship!
So much for the land of Israel and Judea.
This is the condition Ezekiel and the Jewish people were in as captives,
captive slaves in Babylon when by the river Chebar
"the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest"
".... and the hand of the LORD was there upon him."
(Verse 3)
OH, that we would be open to hear and receive the Word of the Lord!
OH, to be so pliable on Jeremiah's spiritual potter wheel that God's Hand a
nd Spirit could be upon us anytime when He wants to use us
and speak through us and even speak through our lifes.
4 And I looked, and, behold,
a whirlwind came out of the north,
a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself,
and a brightness was about it,
and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber,
out of the midst of the fire.
14 And the living creatures ran
and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Ezekiel's vision is sudden and awesome.
God is an awesome God and that goes way beyond an exciting song.
To be in God's presence of power and might and holiness would
be enough to make any man, wonam or child collapse to their
knees or even fall to their face, trembling in the presence of
the God who is the Holiest of ALL!
One preacher preached a sermon "In the hands of an angry God!" or something to that affect. He actaully read it because he was near blind but he had fasted for many days.
It is said that as he read that sermon listeners were holding to the supporting poles of the structure screaming out to God to please not let them be swallowed up by Hell.
It was the beginning of one of the historic revivals in the USA!
That is the fearful awesomeness of God for those with unrepented sin.
Even Isaiah who saw God's throne in a less dramatic fashion then Ezekiel;
declared of himself:
"Woe is me! for I am undone;
because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:
for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah was a prophet hearing from God for 6 chapters of which he recorded
and when he saw God in His glory on His Throne;
it caused Isaiah to go into a deeper repentance.
Back to Ezekiel Chapter One
9 Their wings were joined one to another;
they turned not when they went;
they went every one straight forward.
11 ..... and their wings were stretched upward;
two wings of every one were joined one to another,
and two covered their bodies.
Verse 9 and 11 tell us of these heavenly creatures wings.
They had their wings two each spread
and touching one another's wings and traveling in unison.
This to me is obvious of the unity of God's creation in Heaven
and when we pray "your will on Earth as in Heaven",
it is also God's Will for His people to be in unity, here on Earth..
Their other two wings cover their body this would be
representative of modesty and humilty in God's presence.
Should we not take a lesson from the angels
and be modest in our clothing,
as well as in our speech and actions?
Comments welcomed.
Though scripture tells us because of Jesus propitiation (mecy seat sacrificial offering) for our sins that we can go boldly to the throne of grace with our prayer requests,
We need to remember that God is till our Creator and the Almighty
and as King of Kings He deserves respect.
Let us be respectful when we are in times of seeking God
whether by ourselves or as a group.
Amen!
Part 1
Ezekiel 1:1-14
I wrote so much on Ezekiel Chapter One that I decided I needed to divide it into 2 parts.
So Ezekiel Chapter 1, Part 2 will be next time and then after that I will have closing comments on the study for this chapter, in another seperate post.
Now on to this post's study.
I would recommend that you read all of Ezekiel Chapter One.
Even if you do not understand it all, it is a powerful vision Ezekiel had.
Ezekiel had many visions, many commentators liken his writing style and visions as a precursor to John's book of Revelation.
In fact many of them recommend the study of Ezekiel and of course Daniel
to better understand the Revelation John had.
I knew that many of the things Daniel saw and wrote corresponded with John's Revelation
but I never thought that about the whole book of Ezekiel before being important for understanding the book of Revelation but now it is like my eyes are opened because I can see how that would be!
As we already mentioned Ezekiel was in captivity in Babylon and with the exceptions of Daniel
and Jonah most of the prophets ministries were in the lands of Israel, Judea and Samaria,
all parts of the Promise land.
Most of the other prophets were concerned with the land and the temple; trying to reform the people, reform the leadership that is kings and priests; hoping to see in their lifetime a pure people with pure leadership in true worship within the temple system of worship.
The temple is no where to be found and it looks like Ezekiel
and the others are to be in Babylon for a lifetime.
Maybe even for generations as far as they know.
So much for temple worship!
So much for the land of Israel and Judea.
This is the condition Ezekiel and the Jewish people were in as captives,
captive slaves in Babylon when by the river Chebar
"the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest"
".... and the hand of the LORD was there upon him."
(Verse 3)
OH, that we would be open to hear and receive the Word of the Lord!
OH, to be so pliable on Jeremiah's spiritual potter wheel that God's Hand a
nd Spirit could be upon us anytime when He wants to use us
and speak through us and even speak through our lifes.
4 And I looked, and, behold,
a whirlwind came out of the north,
a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself,
and a brightness was about it,
and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber,
out of the midst of the fire.
14 And the living creatures ran
and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Ezekiel's vision is sudden and awesome.
God is an awesome God and that goes way beyond an exciting song.
To be in God's presence of power and might and holiness would
be enough to make any man, wonam or child collapse to their
knees or even fall to their face, trembling in the presence of
the God who is the Holiest of ALL!
One preacher preached a sermon "In the hands of an angry God!" or something to that affect. He actaully read it because he was near blind but he had fasted for many days.
It is said that as he read that sermon listeners were holding to the supporting poles of the structure screaming out to God to please not let them be swallowed up by Hell.
It was the beginning of one of the historic revivals in the USA!
That is the fearful awesomeness of God for those with unrepented sin.
Even Isaiah who saw God's throne in a less dramatic fashion then Ezekiel;
declared of himself:
"Woe is me! for I am undone;
because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:
for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah was a prophet hearing from God for 6 chapters of which he recorded
and when he saw God in His glory on His Throne;
it caused Isaiah to go into a deeper repentance.
Back to Ezekiel Chapter One
9 Their wings were joined one to another;
they turned not when they went;
they went every one straight forward.
11 ..... and their wings were stretched upward;
two wings of every one were joined one to another,
and two covered their bodies.
Verse 9 and 11 tell us of these heavenly creatures wings.
They had their wings two each spread
and touching one another's wings and traveling in unison.
This to me is obvious of the unity of God's creation in Heaven
and when we pray "your will on Earth as in Heaven",
it is also God's Will for His people to be in unity, here on Earth..
Their other two wings cover their body this would be
representative of modesty and humilty in God's presence.
Should we not take a lesson from the angels
and be modest in our clothing,
as well as in our speech and actions?
Comments welcomed.
Though scripture tells us because of Jesus propitiation (mecy seat sacrificial offering) for our sins that we can go boldly to the throne of grace with our prayer requests,
We need to remember that God is till our Creator and the Almighty
and as King of Kings He deserves respect.
Let us be respectful when we are in times of seeking God
whether by ourselves or as a group.
Amen!
Lesson One
Introduction to Ezekiel Study
The Ezekiel studies authored by myself will always be exclusively published in our Newsletter and our archives, Back Issues Newsletter group, first before being posted here or anywhere else.
From Pastor Bill's Newsletter & found in our archives and discussion group for our Newsletter which is Back Issues Newsletter group.
Ezekiel Overview
Introduction to Ezekiel Study:
By Pastor Bill
Since the name of our Internet ministry is Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch Ministries
and our original web-site is Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch,
I have decided it is time for me to tackle posting a study on Ezekiel chapter 37.
However as I thought about this, I felt it would be most beneficial if we would do a brief overview of Ezekiel like one or two chapters at a time. And then once we are done studying the chapters, we will go back to Ezekiel chapter 37 and study it verse by verse.
For starters on our web-page called
"The Reason For The Name Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch For This Web-site!"
tells a little about my perspective on Ezekiel chapter 37.
From that webpage:
"To put it simply Ezekiel's vision of the 'Valley Of Dry Bones' is prophecy of Israel being restored to the promised land in Palestine in these Last Days going all the way up to the Millennium Jesus Christ's 1000 years of ruling the Earth which is when Israel will finally have true peace. Ezekiel 37 and Ezekiel's vision of the Valley of Dry Bones secondary meaning is about National Revival, Church Revival and Personal Revival."
To read more about why we used the name
Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch
for our web-site and ministry name click here.
As far covering Ezekiel 37 in detail I will do that after we are done covering each chapter briefly.
Now on to the introduction of the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel was born a priest from a priestly lineage.
He was called to be a prophet though God knew the people were rebellious and would not listen.
See Ezekiel 2:4-6.
Even when no one listens, if God sent you then obey for you do not know how many seeds are planted and you have spared yourself of having their blood on your hands.
Also, God said in Ezekiel 2:5 that whether they listened or not, whether they obeyed or not that the people would know that a prophet (Ezekiel) was among them.
Do the people around you know that a Christian, a Jesus follower,
a Holy Ghost filled believer is among them?
If not, we should examine ourselves and pray to God about this.
Ezekiel's ministry and prophecies were during the early years of the 70 year of captivity.
Daniel and Ezekiel are unique in that they are the only prophets that preached from foreign soil and not Israel, Judah or Samaria.
Jonah also preached on foreign soil but he was not residing in Nineveh and he was a reluctant prophet disobeying God at first whereas Daniel and Ezekiel were living in Babylon as captives and obedient to God even though they were in captivity not for their sins but for the sin of the nation of Judah.
This shows us that sometimes the innocent and Godly do suffer when God pours out His judgment upon a disobedient nation. This is one more reason for Christians to pray for America!
Some scholars believe that since Jeremiah was older that Ezekiel may have sat under Jeremiah's ministry and teachings when Ezekiel was younger, before Ezekiel was taken to Babylon. Jeremiah and Ezekiel preached many of the same things, Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in exile in Babylon but that would be a separate in depth study.
Scholars also believe that since Daniel was in captivity in the Palace and Ezekiel was in exile in the country that since both were in Babylon, they could have met each other and encouraged each other in the Lord frequently.
We as Christians should like David encourage ourselves in the Lord and then encourager one another.
Ezekiel's name means
"God strengthens" or "strengthened by God".
Ezekiel 3:8-9
Now notice both Daniel and Ezekiel though in captivity, though circumstances are against them, they stand strong for God. In Ezekiel's case we see that God is faithful to bless Ezekiel that his name is not just a religious saying but God truly strengthened him!
Jesus promised that He would never leave nor forsake us.
Jesus also promised us that we would receive His Holy Spirit and power to be His witnesses. Acts 1:8
Are you believing, walking in and receiving the strength
and power of God through His Holy Spirit?
This brings me to the theme of the book of Ezekiel and his prophecies.
The theme is the Word of the Lord, the Power of the Holy Spirit and visions of God's Glory along with God's Holiness which judges sin, including not only other nations but also God's people. God is so good though because God's promises of restoration to God's people, that is Israel are the ending chapter of Ezekiel.
In fact the last words are that the name of His City will be:
"The LORD is there".
How wonderful!
To be in God's presence forever!
Truly to be in God's presence forever makes it worth it to be another Ezekiel if that is required of us.
Just that thought should strengthen us to serve God through the rest of our life into eternity.
Then on top of that our ezekiel that is our strength from God comes from God's Holy Word, from Jesus our Saviour and from the Holy Spirit our teacher, our advocate and comforter. WOW!
If only all that could be fully realized in our Spirit we would be running through troops and leaping over walls!
So be an Ezekiel today!
AMEN.
The Ezekiel studies authored by myself will always be exclusively published in our Newsletter and our archives, Back Issues Newsletter group, first before being posted here or anywhere else.
From Pastor Bill's Newsletter & found in our archives and discussion group for our Newsletter which is Back Issues Newsletter group.
Ezekiel Overview
Introduction to Ezekiel Study:
By Pastor Bill
Since the name of our Internet ministry is Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch Ministries
and our original web-site is Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch,
I have decided it is time for me to tackle posting a study on Ezekiel chapter 37.
However as I thought about this, I felt it would be most beneficial if we would do a brief overview of Ezekiel like one or two chapters at a time. And then once we are done studying the chapters, we will go back to Ezekiel chapter 37 and study it verse by verse.
For starters on our web-page called
"The Reason For The Name Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch For This Web-site!"
tells a little about my perspective on Ezekiel chapter 37.
From that webpage:
"To put it simply Ezekiel's vision of the 'Valley Of Dry Bones' is prophecy of Israel being restored to the promised land in Palestine in these Last Days going all the way up to the Millennium Jesus Christ's 1000 years of ruling the Earth which is when Israel will finally have true peace. Ezekiel 37 and Ezekiel's vision of the Valley of Dry Bones secondary meaning is about National Revival, Church Revival and Personal Revival."
To read more about why we used the name
Ezekiel 37 Bible Watch
for our web-site and ministry name click here.
As far covering Ezekiel 37 in detail I will do that after we are done covering each chapter briefly.
Now on to the introduction of the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel was born a priest from a priestly lineage.
He was called to be a prophet though God knew the people were rebellious and would not listen.
See Ezekiel 2:4-6.
Even when no one listens, if God sent you then obey for you do not know how many seeds are planted and you have spared yourself of having their blood on your hands.
Also, God said in Ezekiel 2:5 that whether they listened or not, whether they obeyed or not that the people would know that a prophet (Ezekiel) was among them.
Do the people around you know that a Christian, a Jesus follower,
a Holy Ghost filled believer is among them?
If not, we should examine ourselves and pray to God about this.
Ezekiel's ministry and prophecies were during the early years of the 70 year of captivity.
Daniel and Ezekiel are unique in that they are the only prophets that preached from foreign soil and not Israel, Judah or Samaria.
Jonah also preached on foreign soil but he was not residing in Nineveh and he was a reluctant prophet disobeying God at first whereas Daniel and Ezekiel were living in Babylon as captives and obedient to God even though they were in captivity not for their sins but for the sin of the nation of Judah.
This shows us that sometimes the innocent and Godly do suffer when God pours out His judgment upon a disobedient nation. This is one more reason for Christians to pray for America!
Some scholars believe that since Jeremiah was older that Ezekiel may have sat under Jeremiah's ministry and teachings when Ezekiel was younger, before Ezekiel was taken to Babylon. Jeremiah and Ezekiel preached many of the same things, Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in exile in Babylon but that would be a separate in depth study.
Scholars also believe that since Daniel was in captivity in the Palace and Ezekiel was in exile in the country that since both were in Babylon, they could have met each other and encouraged each other in the Lord frequently.
We as Christians should like David encourage ourselves in the Lord and then encourager one another.
Ezekiel's name means
"God strengthens" or "strengthened by God".
Ezekiel 3:8-9
Now notice both Daniel and Ezekiel though in captivity, though circumstances are against them, they stand strong for God. In Ezekiel's case we see that God is faithful to bless Ezekiel that his name is not just a religious saying but God truly strengthened him!
Jesus promised that He would never leave nor forsake us.
Jesus also promised us that we would receive His Holy Spirit and power to be His witnesses. Acts 1:8
Are you believing, walking in and receiving the strength
and power of God through His Holy Spirit?
This brings me to the theme of the book of Ezekiel and his prophecies.
The theme is the Word of the Lord, the Power of the Holy Spirit and visions of God's Glory along with God's Holiness which judges sin, including not only other nations but also God's people. God is so good though because God's promises of restoration to God's people, that is Israel are the ending chapter of Ezekiel.
In fact the last words are that the name of His City will be:
"The LORD is there".
How wonderful!
To be in God's presence forever!
Truly to be in God's presence forever makes it worth it to be another Ezekiel if that is required of us.
Just that thought should strengthen us to serve God through the rest of our life into eternity.
Then on top of that our ezekiel that is our strength from God comes from God's Holy Word, from Jesus our Saviour and from the Holy Spirit our teacher, our advocate and comforter. WOW!
If only all that could be fully realized in our Spirit we would be running through troops and leaping over walls!
So be an Ezekiel today!
AMEN.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
