King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Chapters: Ezekiel Chapters 43-45
Message: When The Prince Comes
Hello My Friend,
When you not only see, but hear of all the wicked and evil things going on all over the world today one anyone who considers themselves a Christian has to be wondering what is going on. Now, if you are a true saved, born again Christian who is mature in your faith and been studying the Bible then you understand that these are signs that Jesus will be returning very soon, [Matthew 24:6-8,12-13 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.]
I tell you what, if things need to be much worse than this before Jesus returns, God help us all. Nevertheless, Jesus promised someone to us so that we might be able endure unto the end and that person is the Holy Spirit, [John 14:26-27 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. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.]
Now, even though God would send His Spirit to the prophets, priests, and other men and women of God before Jesus would send Him into the souls of His saints permanently, God could have instantly removed Him if He saw fit to do so. To give believers a sense that God’s Spirit dwelt among them, God came in the form of the Glory of the LORD, a light so bright that it would be like looking at the sun. Up until God had the temple in Jerusalem destroyed because the sin had gotten so bad there that He could not stand to look at it, His Spirit dwelt in the temple. At the beginning of our reading of Ezekiel we learned of one of the saddest moments in history when the glory of the LORD removed Himself from the temple, Israel, and the earth. God, has been giving Ezekiel a glimpse of this massive temple that will be here when Christ returns, and as we continue in the reading of Ezekiel, God shows him that the glory of the LORD will also return.
[Ezekiel 43:1-5 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.]
[and the earth shined with his glory.] While the Holy Spirit currently resides in Christ’s saints, when He returns that will not be the case. Not just the people in the nation of Israel, but the entire world is going to see this massive light and this I believe will be what will guide believers to Jesus at that time. Jesus, did say this, [Luke 13:28-29 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.]
[the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city:] Ezekiel, is referring to the city of Jerusalem, when the Spirit took him through it and showed him how it would be destroyed by the Chaldeans. Remember, Jesus does not lift one finger to destroy man, they do that all on their own in their own sin, which became the ruin of their city, [Ezekiel 9:3-4]. In fact, God, goes on to remind Israel of how He destroyed them because they defiled His holy name.
[Ezekiel 43:7-9 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.]
[I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.] Our accepting Christ through our faith alone in Him is what purges us from the sin that defiled us before we are saved. That does not mean that we do not defile ourselves with sin after we are saved. This is where confession and repentance come in.
[Ezekiel 43:11-12 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.]
[if they be ashamed of all that they have done,] The first step to salvation has always been confession of sin, those who come to the realization that they are not only sinners, but that their sin has an actual death consequence that is when they find Jesus, [Psalms 32:5-6 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. 6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.]
During this time, sin will actually be suppressed, but the desire to sin will not. Therefore, the sin, burnt, and peace offerings will be restored as Israel will finally acknowledge Christ as the Messiah. But these are not to be for the cleansing of the soul, rather the temple itself. God, goes on to show Ezekiel the altar then tells what they were for and why they were burning them.
[Ezekiel 43:18-19,22,25,27 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. 19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. 22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. 25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. 27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.]
[the ordinances of the altar…to offer burnt offerings thereon,] Notice that nothing in the description said that the sacrifices would be for their atonement. This is because Jesus became the permanent atonement for the soul, [Romans 5:10-11 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.]
[I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.] You know, we truly are saved by grace, and nothing, except if we have believed in vain, would ever change that, but that does not mean that God accepts the life we live if we a living a life of sin. We are not perfect, and even His faithful are going to take many detours, but that does not give us just cause to stay on the detour as we will give an account to Jesus Himself, [Romans 14:11-12 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.]
When we get to see this new temple, not only will God be present as KING, but Jesus will be there in the flesh as the Prince, and the Holy Spirit will be there is well through the Glory of the LORD. This is the Trinity of God all together in each of their individual persons, all appearing at one time in all His omnipotent glory. During this time, the believing Jews will worship God with a new heart, and every detail of the temple services will be restored, and carried out according to God’s appointment. Now, As God leads Ezekiel out of the sanctuary, he sees a gate that is shut.
[Ezekiel 44:2-3,5-6 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. 5 And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. 6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,]
[he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD;] The only person able to stand before God and live is Jesus because He never sinned. However, Jesus, is our intercessor to God, when we come to God with our prayers, Jesus, is the one who collects them and takes them to our Father. This is why we end each prayer with, “In the name of Jesus, Amen.”, [Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.]
[mark well the entering in of the house,] When we come to God through our faith in Christ, He will let us in that gate, and then we will be able to eat bread with Him. In fact, He wants to let everyone in, [Revelation 3:20-21 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.]
Jesus, is knocking on the door of every heart as we speak, but until they let Him in all He sees them as is a stranger. God, goes on to address that both Jew and Gentile strangers that were not only allowed in the temple, they were working in it as well.
[Ezekiel 44:9-11,15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. 10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. 15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:]
[Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary,] Say what? Why would God use the very people who forsook Him and worshiped idols and committed the very abominations that the heathens committed? The same reason He used Aaron to be the first high priest of the tabernacle and for the same reason He uses all of us who are saved, our soul is saved by grace and not of our works, [Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.]
This is proof that while we will all give an account of the works that we did for Jesus after we are saved, we will still have a place in the Kingdom of God should we mess up. Now, granted, the offending Levites would not be able to perform some of the duties that they once held, but they would still be used of God. God, goes on to explain this, even down to the garments they would be wearing.
[Ezekiel 44:17-18,22-23,28 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. 22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. 23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.]
[cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.] Today, the difference between the clean and unclean may not be in the food they eat, clothes they wear, or length of their hair (or beards), but it is in they way they present themselves. God’s acceptable rules for those who serve as pastors and deacons are really no different than it was for the priests, [1 Timothy 3:2-4 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;]
Do you see why it is important for every saved, born again Christian to be living in a way that is acceptable to God? It has nothing to do with our own salvation and everything to do with being the examples that we need to be in order to lead lost souls to Christ. The world deals with enough evil, how do you think they would react if the Church is more corrupt than their world? Sometimes I am ashamed of the way that my fellow Christians act, and even how I act at times, but that is what grace is for. Now, during the kingdom age, God, will also restore Israel their inheritance, but it is going to be different.
[Ezekiel 45:1-2,4,6 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. 2 Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. 4 The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. 6 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.]
[five and twenty thousand long…shall be for the whole house of Israel.] God, will set portions of land for divine service, both for the priests, and Levites and a special portion for the prince, but He will also have enough room for all saints.
[Ezekiel 45:7-9 And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. 8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. 9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.]
[a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side] Notice that the prince will be right in the center of them all. Jesus, needs to be at the center of all that we do, [1 Corinthians 10:31-33 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.]
During this time sin offerings will also be offered according to God’s appointment, while sin will be suppressed, the tendency to sin will not be removed until the new heaven and earth are established. And it will actually be the Prince who prepares the sacrifices.
[Ezekiel 45:16-17,21-22 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. 21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.]
[ye shall have the passover,] Now, we all know that Jesus is the Passover lamb that replaced the need for a yearly sacrifice, and again, this is just ceremonial to remind them that death passed them up through His blood. This is similar to our observing Communion (the Lord’s Supper), we do this in remembrance that He is the Passover, [1 Corinthians 11:26-29 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Ezekiel 44:2-3 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. Ezekiel 45:16-17 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.]
Today’s Prayer: God, We look to Your Son alone for our salvation, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved other than Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, Lead us and guide us, give us Your power to live by faith and in the power of Christ, not by our circumstances. With the aid of Your Holy Spirit dwelling in and guiding us, we will be able to overcome every situation that comes our way and be the witness that not only gets to sit at your table, but lead others as well. I ask these thing in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Do You Know Jesus?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Read The Bible: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2024 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.