1. Condition of Israel
a. Rebellious (They violated all 10 commandments Deut:5 esp #1)
b. Greedy (Ez.7)
c. Spiritually blind (didn’t learn their lessons from history – Northern Israel’s captivity)
d. Reprobate Society (Secret sins uncovered 8:12)
Ezek 8:12-9:1
12 He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, `The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’" 13 Again, he said, "You will see them doing things that are even more detestable."
14 Then he brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, mourning for (the idol) Tammuz. 15 He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this."
16 He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
17 He said to me, "Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them." (God has had enough!)
2. Culture Driven Ideas
a. “The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord!” Jer. 7:1-4
"`Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"
b. God in a box? (America thinks they have God categorized and neatly tucked away in a box)
c. God doesn’t care – It doesn’t matter to God
3. God’s Judgment (Ez. 7:1-4; 23-27)
7:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 The end is now upon you and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. 4 I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will surely repay you for your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD. (Skip down) Ezek 7:23-27 "Prepare chains, because the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations to take possession of their houses; I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated. 25 When terror comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none. 26 Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor. They will try to get a vision from the prophet; the teaching of the law by the priest will be lost, as will the counsel of the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
a. Chapter 9 (1 scribe angel marks faithful and 6 death angels)
b. Sun worshipping Priests killed 1st – then everyone without mark
c. This occurred in a heavenly vision 1st – Thy will be done on earth as it is in ______.
4. God Leaves Jerusalem (Ez. Chapters 10 & 11)
Ezek 10:3-4
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.
Between leaving the Temple and leaving the city God kills the evil leaders of Jerusalem.
Ezek 11:22-25
22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me, 25 and I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
5. Aftermath of the absence of God’s presence
a. Jerusalem besieged and falls
b. Death, destruction and captivity
c. Life as they knew it vanished
i. Prosperity lost
ii. Freedom lost
iii. Their way of life was lost
6. God’s Promise
a. Remnant will return
b. God will be with them
7. Our Future (will be very much like the events in Ezekiel’s vision.)
a. God’s judgment is immanent
b. Jesus will return & rapture the church (1Thess. 4)
1 Thess. 4:13-17
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Listen, our first stop church, is a grand supper in Revelation 19 – God knows how much you all like to eat, so He’s gonna feed you reeeeal good! But, listen, there are 2 suppers in Revelation 19 – just make sure you’re at the right one.
Rev 19:9 (The chapter of the 2 suppers)
9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
i. You don’t want to be left behind
ii. What will happen if you are left behind?
Rev 19:11-19 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.
You don’t want to be invited to the 2nd supper here – you don’t want to be on the wrong side of this conflict. You don’t want to be like the people of Jerusalem during Ezekiel’s day – Rebellious, greedy and reprobate.
c. When will this happen? Sooner than you think!
1. Noah’s time
2. Jews of Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s day
d. What should our response be?
i. In light of all the information we have, how should we live?
ii. Repent of our secret sins
iii. Put God 1st in our lives (1st commandment)
iv. Invite people to church to get saved – sense of urgency
