27 June (Ezekiel 5-8)

Ezekiel 5

(v.2) First of all, in that time and that culture, a man who shaved his beard was very rare. Ezekiel must have looked weird to most people!

God's imagery here is prophetic...one third of the people will die in the fire and siege of Jerusalem. Another third will die by the sword, and the last third will be taken away from the land and scattered.

(v.7) Not only were the people of Israel blessed to have God reveal Himself to them, but they were blessed to have Him care for them as their Father. One would think that they would at least have some respect and gratitude, but they were more wicked than the pagan people all around them!

(v.8) God is patient, but He is also just. He pleaded with Israel and Judah to come back to Him, but they would not. So, just like those we know today that reject Him, they will have judgment come upon them for their own decision.

Ezekiel 6

(v.3) All the pagan people would put their pagan altars on the tops of hills, so everyone could see them. This was a great offense to God, and we do that today with our wicked billboards and big screens at ballgames that profess things of this world.

The only One who should be lifted high is Jesus!!!

(v.8) God always leaves a remnant, so His plan of redemption could be fulfilled. With all of Satan's attempts to wipe out the Jews over the centuries, there was always a remnant who survived and later flourished.

Ezekiel 7

(v.3) God is speaking of the last days here, where those who rejected Him will be judged according to the Law, and their own sins. We who gave our lives to Christ will be judged, but only for rewards...not to damnation.

(v.27) As the Apostle Paul tells us in Rom 7:7 we only are aware of sin because of the Law. Until Christ died for us, we were all doomed to hell by our sinful natures. However, since the blood of the Lamb of God washes away our sins, we won't be judged by the Law, but forgiven by our faith!

Ezekiel 8

(v.12) It seems silly that people could actually think that God couldn't see their sins, but we do this every day ourselves! We may not think He can't see them, but we do them without thinking of Him seeing them. What I mean is, we sin because we think we're good people, when EVERY SIN is an offense to God. We will be more like Christ if we stop and think of Him looking directly at us when we're about to sin...that would stop us in our tracks!

(v.14) Tammuz is the son of Nimrod and Semiramis, and the prototype of the Antichrist. As John describes Nimrod in Rev 6:8 who is the first and the last satanic world leader who will bring death and destruction to the world.

Do a study on Semiramis and Tammuz, and your skin will crawl, seeing the Babylonian pagan practices that have been adopted by the Catholic Church and other denominations. Don't trust me...look for yourself. In order for us to understand Revelation, we need to know the Old Testament first!