Vol. 11/17 Ezekiel

God set Ezekiel as a "watchman" over the house of Israel.

In the instruction God gave to Ezekiel, God told him to go to the house of Israel and warn them.

If Ezekiel failed to warn them, their blood would be on Ezekiel's hands.

This is a very strong charge upon Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 3

4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with MY words unto them.

5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

(Prophets are sent to speak to the church, not to the world.)

6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.

7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all MY words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

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17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at MY mouth, and give them warning from ME.

(This is what prophets do in the New Testament church today.  After Jesus arose, HE gave to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.  Ephesians 4:8;11-12)

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

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I asked God, "Does this apply to the New Testament church?"

And God reminded me of the following:

In Acts 20, the apostle Paul explained that he had given them "all the counsel" of God and therefore he was free from their blood.  

(Though Paul was not a prophet but was an apostle/teacher, he felt that same responsibility of communicating all the counsel to God to the church to warn them.)

Acts 20   (Paul speaks to the elders of the church at Ephesus)

17 And from Miletus he (Paul) sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,

19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,

21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.

27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which HE hath purchased with His own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

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The above scripture in Acts 20 has been very important to me in motivating me to share everything God has given me with the church.  And it has helped me to be diligent to warn individuals as I believe God has shown me to warn them.  If they fail to head that warning which I deliver from God I know myself to be free from their blood.

But if I fail to warn them, I will likely be accountable in some way for their blood if they continue in their wrong way.

Because of this, I have strength to present the warning to them.

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Vol. 11/16 God sends His people into captivity for 70-years. And Jeremiah prophesies of the New Covenant God will make with HIS people.

Jeremiah the prophet of God is sent to tell the king of Judah and the people of the captivity that is coming against them where they will be carried away in Babylon.

When they hear the word spoken by Jeremiah, they want to kill Jeremiah.

Though you kill the prophet, you cannot kill the word from God.

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Jeremiah also brings the word from God telling them that there will be an end to the captivity after 70 years and God will build them again and return them again to Jerusalem.

But they will go into captivity for 70-years as God said to them through Jeremiah the prophet.

Other men rose up saying they were prophets but God did not send them.  

They fought against Jeremiah and said words opposite to Jeremiah, but they did go into captivity.

When a word comes to pass, you know it was a word from God.

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Through Jeremiah, God prophesied the New Testament church and the covenant HE would give the church today.


Jeremiah 31

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

We see this same statement of the New Covenent in the following:

Hebrews 8

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Hebrews 10

16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

21 And having an high priest over the house of God;

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

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And to each person God set in the church by Jesus, God gave to each the spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, that the individual would be led in the ways of God by that Holy Spirit of Jesus.

By the Spirit of Jesus we, today, in the church enter into that New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah the prophet.

Hebrews 1

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom HE hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also HE made the worlds;

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Romans 8:14   For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

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We pray and God leads us today by that word given to us by HIS Spirit.

I Corinthians 2

10 God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak,

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Before the Holy Spirit was given to all in the church, Jesus told his disciples of the work the Holy Spirit would do when HE came to the church.

John 14:26    But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:13    Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

This the Holy Spirit in us does for each of us today.

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Vol. 11/15 God's heart toward the evil prophets and toward the evil pastors.

Jeremiah 23

1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed MY people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited (judged their need) them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

(In today's churches, pastors speak evil as they change doctrine away from the Bible and omit entire doctrines from the church and drive persons away who know the Bible.)

3 And I will gather the remnant of MY flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

Prophesy of the coming of Jesus:
Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

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God has more to say concerning the false prophets.

Jeremiah 23:9   Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of His holiness.

10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.

12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

profane:  secular and not spiritual

16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.

17 They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 

(They tell the people that which they want to hear rather than speaking the word from God to turn the people from sin.)

18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard His word? who hath marked His word, and heard it?

19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till HE have performed the thoughts of HIS heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused my people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal MY words every one from his neighbour.

31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.

32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

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