Ezekiel Chapter 11
Sunday, 01/04/26 at 08:24
Solitary Man
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Eze 11:1 Moreover the spirit (ruach) lifted me up, and brought me unto the east (kad-mo-nee – ancient) gate of the LORD’S house, which looketh eastward (kaw-deem – front part): and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah (heard of Jah) the son of Azur (helpful), and Pelatiah (Jah had delivered) the son of Benaiah (Jah had built), princes of the people.
Why reinvent the wheel, so to speak? Ellicott’s commentary accurately describes what is occurring in this verse:
This is the same place, the main outer entrance to the whole Temple enclosure, to which the prophet had seen the cherubim go (Ezekiel 10:19). It is not expressly said where he was brought from; but the last place mentioned was the court of the priests (Ezekiel 8:16), and so far the vision appears to be consecutive. Standing in that innermost court, he had seen the Divine presence go forth to the outer entrance; and he also is now transported thither. [end]
So we see that God has moved the prophet in the spirit to where the latest action is. God is now at one of the gates to the temple, ie, ready to depart the temple for good. He wants Ezekiel there also.
Here he sees 25 men, the same number that were worshipping the sun in the previous chapter. In that instance, they were priests. Here they are the secular leaders. We have already discussed Jaazaniah back in Ez 8:11, where it was said that he was actually the grandson of Shaphan, and here accurately translated as the son of Azur. A man of noble and godly lineage, but who rejected his birthright and joined with the spirit of the age, most likely in order to fit in and prosper in his present culture. Of course, it is always possible that this is a different man with the same name, but see the commentary for Ez 8:11 as to why I favor the view that it is the same man.
The second man mentioned by name is put there because of the fate that will befall him later in this chapter. Having your name memorialized forever is not always a good thing. It depends for what reason, does it not?
I think there is great irony to be found in this verse. The bible places great store on a person’s name. But here, in the time and place of total apostasy and certain judgment, the names of these people serve as a mockery to them. Heard of Jah, helpful, Jah had delivered, and Jah had built. Maybe at one time in these people’s past, these names would have served as a glorious witness. Yahweh may have heard of them, they may have been helpful to Yahweh’s cause, Yahweh may have built and delivered them and their lineage. But not anymore. If these names teach us nothing else, it is that ‘once saved, always saved’ is a lie. No matter how they were named and set aside for the glory of God, these men were singled out as especially wicked, known for all eternity for their faithlessness and turning away from the living God.
They may have been princes of the people, but they had become nobodies in the eyes of God. They may have been right at the place where the prophet and the cherubim and the glory of the Lord was, but they saw nothing. They had blinded themselves to the truth, and now God blinded them from seeing anything of the reality of what was actually going on where they were standing. They had no clue that God was about to permanently depart from this place.
Eze 11:2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise (khaw-shab – weave, fabricate, plot, contrive) mischief (aw-ven – exert oneself for nothing or vanity or wickedness), and give (advise) wicked (rah – morally evil) counsel (ay-tsaw – advice) in this city:
These two were singled out by Yehovah as the ringleaders of the cabal that had taken over the government of Judah. They spent all their time in weaving fake news, fabricating stories out of thin air, plotting the downfall of the righteous, and contriving how to eliminate the knowledge of God out of their midst. Sound familiar? Is that not the job description of almost everyone in power in most nations today?
God says that all their fake news is an exercise in absolute futility. They exert themselves for nothing. All advice that they give is morally evil. All wokeness, all DEI, all CRT, all rantings about inclusiveness, it is all exerting oneself for nothingness. The millions of lives wasted in our generation to promote the most empty of vanities truly boggles the mind. The pursuit of some kinds of evil one can understand. If someone steals because they want to be rich and indulge their flesh without limit, that I can understand. If one wants to become a dictator in order to exercise the power of life and death over others, even that I can comprehend. But to give your life to promote transgenderism, or wokeness, or fake climate change, or promoting multiple genders and innumerable pronouns, those things are beyond my comprehension. The things that kids are throwing their lives away over, is just sad and truly pathetic.
Eze 11:3 Which say, It is not near (at hand); let us build houses: this city is the caldron (seer – boiled up, hook, pan, pot), and we be the flesh.
At first glance, this verse does not make sense. The image of the caldron is one of judgment, as found in this passage of Jeremiah’s:
Jer 1:13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer 1:15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Jer 1:16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Later in Ezekiel, we see this image:
Eze 24:3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
Eze 24:4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
Eze 24:5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
Eze 24:6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
Eze 24:7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
Eze 24:8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
The prophecy of Jeremiah would have already been given by this time. The citizens of Jerusalem would have been aware of it. What we actually have here is these wicked rulers mocking Jeremiah’s prophecy, comparing Jerusalem to a seething pot, ready to boil over. In effect, they are saying bring it on! If Jerusalem is the caldron and we are the flesh in it, then so be it! A caldron is strong and virtually unbreakable. Flesh is not taken out of the pot until it is fully cooked, thus we shall not be removed from the city until our lives are fully spent.
This is the final stage of apostasy. Not only has all fear of God left the land, but now the true word of God is a joke in the ears of the people.
These leaders are contradicting the word of God. They don’t believe in God’s mishpat, of his judgments. Build houses, engage in commerce. All is well. God is love. There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out all fear! Any judgment of God is so far away that no sane man would ever be worried about it. We’re in the boiling pot! It’s nice and warm in here. We’re not going anywhere. Enjoy your eternal security in the pot!
These scoffers didn’t believe in the judgments of the Lord. Peter spoke of such that would plague our last generation:
2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Rejoice, you holy apostles and prophets. When the people, and the church officials, mock and scorn the true prophetic word of accountability and recompense for your sin, know that your reward is great in heaven.
Eze 11:4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
God has noticed these morons. These leaders, who are leading their nations into hell. God will not stay silent. He has something to say in response. But the man of God must choose to speak. He must choose to speak, even when everyone will mock him to scorn.
Eze 11:5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell (naphal) upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come (mah-al-aw – the progression of ascending to a higher place) into your mind (ruach – wind, breath, spirit), every one of them.
Ezekiel must have felt something tangible at this moment. Remember, he is still in his breathtaking vision, seeing things that are going on in Jerusalem, while his body is hundreds of miles away. Yet even within this vision, he senses an anointing that is even greater in measure than what he is currently immersed in. There are circles within circles of intimacy that God calls us to. Remember that Jesus had his disciples. From them, he chose 70 to go and preach. From the 70, he chose 12. From the 12, he had 4 that were closer, from the 4, there were 3 that were especially close. From the 3, there was one that was especially beloved. God is not a communist. He does not reward every man with the same portion of blessing. While God’s choice rules all things, you have a part to play that influences the choices God makes regarding your privileges and blessings that he decides to bestow.
God says that he knows what has entered your spirit, or your heart (here translated mind in the King James). These things, or thoughts, are spoken of as having a progression to them. As of one climbing a mountain, or ascending in stages to a higher and higher place. This teaches that our departure from the things of God happens in stages. Instead of speaking of a descent, as in deeper and deeper rebellion, God speaks of an ascent, as in a greater height of pride being reached with each and every lofty thought that sets itself up in opposition to the truth of God’s word. Was not satan lifted up in pride, until he believed he should be equal to God? So God sees the wickedness in these men’s hearts. Their conclusions about what is really happening in their land is judged to be of a higher wisdom and understanding than what the prophets have spoken. In other words, they know better than God himself as to what the score really is.
Are not our pulpits filled with idiots who exhibit the same loftiness of mind? They think that all is well, and now is not the time for repentance. They mock and make fun of those doomsayers and label them as nabobs of negativity. A sermon from Jeremiah and Ezekiel you shall never hear pass from their lips. God is love, God is good, God is kind, all is well. Pass the offering plate and carry on.
Eze 11:6 Ye have multiplied your slain (khaw-lawl – pierced) in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain (khaw-lawl).
Yahweh slams these wicked ones with reality. You preachers of perversion, you practitioners of profanity, you purveyors of prohibited prurience, when will you cease your corruption of the just and righteous judgments of the Lord? You have done nothing but fill your streets with corpses. Murderers are you all, the whole lot of you!
I like the way Benson puts it:
Ye have, without law or justice, shed the blood of many in your streets. From this, and many other expressions in the Scripture, we may conclude that not only private murders were extremely frequent among them, but that they also frequently put to death, under colour of justice, those who were innocent of every crime deserving of death, but whom, for some wicked purposes, they wanted to be removed out of the way. [end]
We are now being flung into this same sort of culture in our day. How many millions were wantonly murdered by the jab, for the motive of profit or ideology or both? How many of the young and old have we done away with, all in the name of convenience? In another sense, how many corpses have been made because of your refusal to repent, thus bringing the Chaldeans to slaughter the lot of you? God holds these wicked rulers accountable for everyone who has died unjustly under their watch, and all those about to be slain by the enemy that they brought upon themselves.
Eze 11:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain (khaw-lawl) whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron (seer): but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
God loves to pay back according to our works, both good and bad. If you walk in mercy, God loves to show mercy to you. Conversely, if you mock God and his prophets, God will take your very own words and mock you with them instead. These vile ones thought they would stay in the city to live out the rest of their lives. Instead, God tells them that no, the living are not the flesh in the pot, but the dead. And you, who thought to stay in the pot (remain in the city), I am pulling you out of the pot (taking you out of the city). So go ahead and tell yourselves to build more houses. In just a few years you will be eating your own children, you despicable, disgusting vermin, you filthy ones who do not even deserve the name of human anymore! That is the sense of Yahweh’s mind as he has to watch these totally corrupted souls lead the rest of his people astray into the abyss.
Eze 11:8 Ye have feared (yaw-ray – be in dread of) the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.
Job knew about this kind of fear:
Job_3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
In Job’s case, he was not a sinful man, waiting for the inevitable hammer to fall. Thus, he was completely perplexed as to the why of what was happening to him. In the case in Ezekiel, these sinners, deep down inside, knew that the threat of Babylon was real. They may have strived to not think about it, and to tell themselves that they are safe, being God’s people and all, but that fear would have still been there.
God promises to bring their worst fear upon their head. Some commentators think that the ancients and the priests began worshipping the same idols as the Babylonians, reasoning that since these gods are helping them conquer the known world, then perhaps we can get them to help us. That is not out of the realm of possibility, as copying another nation’s gods occurred during Ahaz’s reign:
2Ki_16:10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
2Ki_16:11 And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
Some commentators say it would have been a Syrian altar. Syria had been defeated by Assyria. To copy a defeated nation’s altar, in order to sacrifice to their gods, may be looked upon as the height of stupidity. But perhaps there was some unique artistic merit in the piece, which captivated Ahaz’s fancy. Remember he built some sort of prominent sundial, that the bible mentions in Is 38:8. If the altar was one that Assyria has already installed in the conquered nation of Syria, then that is your precedent of Judah copying a successful nation’s religious practices. Or perhaps the current administration was simply continuing a more or less permanent practice that Manasseh had instituted. Josiah had wiped out the physical idols, but could not drive out the desire from the people’s hearts. As soon as Josiah died, Judah reverted back to the practices of Manasseh, who had 55 years to cement these wicked changes into the culture of Judah permanently.
Eze 11:9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers (zoor – those who turn aside, the profane, adulterous), and will execute judgments (sheh-fet – sentence, infliction) among you.
So much for these fools thinking that nothing could touch them inside their city walls. Their city was indeed a caldron, but not like a caldron that they envisioned. Rather, it was a place to cook these apostates. But they were such pieces of spoiled meat, that God the cook would fling them out of the pot, so that the dogs (goyim, Gentiles) outside would eat them up. God was bringing a profane race of people to gobble them up. Babylon is the pinnacle of a culture that had chosen to defy the creator. Their origin was Babel, the ultimate show of defiance in the scripture. As these worthless ones in Judah were tossed out of Jerusalem to be dealt with by the Babylonians, Yehovah wants it known that it is he, and not the pagan, that is actually executing judgment upon them.
We need to stop focusing so much on which instrument Yehovah is using to judge his people. In the end, does it really matter if we are consumed by the jab, or the chemtrails, or the DEW weapon, or the Chinese, or Antifa, or the Democrats, or the Liberals, or the Russians, or the muslims? Is not the fact that we are being consumed as we speak the only pertinent truth that we should be concerned with? Why are we being consumed? Where has God’s protection gone? Where has his presence fled to?
Eze 11:10 Ye shall fall (naphal) by the sword; I will judge (shaw-fat – pronounce sentence, punish, condemn) you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Even though they were to be tossed out of Jerusalem, yet within Israel’s land will God deal with them. This hints at the fact that unlike those who were deported in the first two deportations, they would not even be allowed that privilege. While those left in the city felt that those already deported were the big sinners and they were the virtuous, since God chose to spare them, the fact was the exact opposite. The ones deported were shown the mercy, as they were allowed to escape with their lives. Not so for these reprobates still left in the city.
This, of course, teaches us another timeless principle. What may initially seem like a terrible curse, may turn out to be a blessing, once a bit of time passes. For those of you who have read my spiritual journey that I posted a couple of years ago, we had entered into a disastrous real estate transaction. After many months of turmoil and struggle, we finally extricated ourselves, though at a great financial loss. At the time, it seemed like the worst disaster possible had befallen us. But in hindsight, this event was what propelled me into this current ministry of writing. Through the hours and hours of seeking God in all sincerity, God equipped me and opened the door to create this substack, to help equip and prepare the saints for what is to come.
Eze 11:11 This city shall not be your caldron (seer), neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge (shaw-fat) you in the border of Israel:
Yahweh employs the literary tool of repetition repetitiously, in order to attempt to make his truth known in this tome. Once again he wants them to comprehend that you are not the flesh in the caldron. The flesh in the caldron is not even alive, but dead, denoted by the corpses that you are responsible for. But rather, I have a different fate for you. It is a fate that never entered your mind. You may have thought that either I will be safe in the city, or I may have allowed for the possibility of dying in a siege, or of also being carried away to Babylon. But you never even conceived that you would be taken out of the city, only to be executed within the borders of your own land! This is what happened to many, as the king of Babylon set up his court at Riblah, while the siege was coming to an end. There he passed judgment and slew all the prominent leaders of this rebellion. And rebellion it was, as Judah had promised Nebuchadnezzar that they would submit to him, in return he left them with a limited form of self government. But treacherous hearts will always deal treacherously. We have no farther to look than Hamas. Within the first 24 hours of the historic peace deal with Israel and several other adjacent countries in 2025, they violated the terms, guaranteeing that this peace will not take hold until Israel wipes them off the map. And wouldn’t that be exactly like Yahweh? As Hamas has vowed to not rest until Israel is wiped off the map, so Yahweh will not rest until Hamas is wiped off the map. Peace deal or no peace deal, Yahweh loves to repay the wicked back in kind, using his own words as their judgment.
This is what often happens in the case of a false prophet, or erroneous or false teaching. I think of all the so called prophecy experts, who write endless books, predicting what’s coming next, purely out of an intellectual analysis of current events. And every time, they are wrong! And not just wrong, but God performs something that no one even imagined as a possibility.
God loves to make fools out of those who think they are wise, does he not?
Eze 11:12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes (khoke – ordinances, commandments, appointed times), neither executed my judgments (mishpat – verdicts, divine decrees), but have done after the manners (mishpat) of the heathen (goy – gentiles) that are round about you.
Mishpat is not some term relegated to God’s rules, or laws. Mishpat is mishpat. That is, everyone practices mishpat. We all decide and pass verdicts on everything that we see and hear. When we see our children misbehave, we decree to punish a certain way, or maybe we decree to not punish at all. We execute mishpat when we decide what to watch on TV. We make judgments all the time.
God indicts Judah here for abandoning God’s judgments and embracing the judgments of the heathen. This is what we have done in spades. How many churches, and how many believers, have embraced the decrees of our culture rather than the decrees of the Most High? As I have stated previously, a survey done in early 2025 stated that only 4% of American adults hold to a thoroughly biblical worldview. This means that only 4% agree with the mishpats of God. I can only shudder at the minuscule percentage that would be found in Canada! To hold to a biblical worldview means that you have the same opinions as God does regarding, well, everything! You agree with God as to what sin is. You also agree on the sort of punishments that each sin deserves. You do not shudder or gasp in horror when you read about God executing his judgments in the earth. You wholeheartedly attempt to enter into the mind of God when you read of his extreme anger that is written in books such as this one. You do not pretend that the book of Ezekiel is not part of your bible, just because it makes you squirm.
God’s statutes encompass not only his commandments, but also his appointed times. Now we know from the New Testament that the seven feasts of Israel are not for the Gentiles, so don’t go all Hebrew Roots on me! But the concept of appointed times is an eternal principle. The feasts are to teach you that there are specific seasons as to what God is doing. It is up to us who are filled with the Spirit to discern exactly which season we are in, and to act according to the proper pattern that scripture lays down for us.
Eze 11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down (naphal) upon my face, and cried (zaw-ak – shriek from anguish) with a loud (gaw-dole – great, mighty) voice, and said, Ah (a-haw – alas) Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end (kaw-law – completion, utter consummation) of the remnant (sheh-ay-reeth – residue, final portion) of Israel?
This proves that the anointing of God was present. While it heals the sick, it also kills the wicked.
Most seem to think that this was simply a vision of the man dying in some future death, but I do not agree. At least one old time commentator believes Ezekiel saw this ringleader of the apostates ‘die suddenly’ at this very moment, and that is why he shrieked in anguish! I agree with this sentiment.
It seems that the concept of ‘dying suddenly’ did not originate during covid. Which of us can ever forget the dozens and dozens of videos of television reporters, and young athletes, suddenly dropping dead in front of a live audience? Never in the history of this planet has such a thing occurred on such a massive scale. And to think that almost no one, even to this day, even thinks about this anymore, or is even aware that this ever occurred!
This event in this verse was a prophetic precursor of what we lived through in 2021. Yehovah sent us a spirit of death, to prefigure what to expect in the apocalypse, which is right around the corner. To prove that God never changes, he gave us a similar story of instant judgment in Acts chapter 5 (Ananias and Sapphira). Somehow our theology has gotten so twisted that we think that things such as this will never happen again. Well, 2021 put an end to such notions.
Assuming that planet earth continues for some time yet, I believe that when the church looks back at the numerous sudden deaths in 2021, we will be baffled as to how we did not see this as the direct hand of the judgment of God? We were all so consumed with discovering the facts of the deadly jab, that we tended to overlook that all of this was ultimately not orchestrated by Gates and Fauci, but by the sovereign hand of Yahweh himself. God is the one who killed our children. And we deserved it. In fact, we deserve far more. Thus, as Dana Coverstone kept telling us, brace yourself. The best (or worst) is yet to come.
This sudden death alarms Ezekiel greatly. He has been an eyewitness of two deportations thus far. The population is dwindling in Judah. Now God is killing off those who are still left in the land.
When Ezekiel asks if God is about to destroy the remnant, he is not speaking of remnant as we understand it. He is not asking about the few faithful believers, whom the bible consistently identifies as the remnant. Certainly this wayward fellow would not be a part of that group. He is simply using the word to label this last group of people left in the land, the remainder of the Jews.
Eze 11:14 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Even while Ezekiel is in the midst of a vision, he still recognizes when Yahweh is about to speak to him once again. Just because you may be in the midst of a vision, does not mean that God is guaranteed to speak to you while you are in one. So far God has spoken quite a bit, and now chooses to answer Ezekiel’s cry.
Eze 11:15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred (gheh-oo-law – those whom are the right and object of redemption as kinsfolk), and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession (mo-raw-shaw – heritage, possession).
One more time I bow to the wisdom of Ellicott’s commentary, who presents a concise, yet illuminating explanation as to what is found in this verse, and in the ones shortly after:
Thy brethren—i.e., those who were with Ezekiel in the Captivity. The expression is made emphatic by repetition, and by the addition, “men of thy kindred.” The people remaining in Jerusalem, with arrogant confidence in themselves, and without sympathy for the exiles, had said to them, by words and by deeds, “We are holier than you; we dwell in the chosen city, we have the Temple, the appointed priesthood and sacrifices, and we have in possession the land of the Church of God; you are outcasts.” The prophet is taught that these despised exiles, deprived of so many privileges, are yet his true brethren, and that he is to regard these as his true kindred rather than the corrupt priests at Jerusalem. In this word there is an allusion to the office of Göel, the next of kin, whose duty it was in every way to assist his impoverished or unfortunate kinsman. Still further, these exiles are called “all the house of Israel wholly; “the others, not these, are cast out, and God will make His people from those who are now undergoing His purifying chastisement. This contrast is carried out in the following verses. [end]
I suppose one could argue that God is speaking first of Ezekiel’s blood relatives, of whom they could act as a goel, or a kinsman redeemer, to each other. And then God adds all the house of Israel, who have already been exiled. It is to Ezekiel’s family, and to all the exiles in Babylon, that the remnant left in Judah have said that God has abandoned you and is with us, because he has cast you out of the promised land, while leaving us in it. So whether or not brethren refer to Ezekiel’s immediate family, or that he should consider his fellow exiles as immediate family, is not crucial. What is crucial is that Ezekiel would have felt a connection to the priests at Jerusalem, being one himself. But God says to forget about them, I have cut them off. Look to those whom I have chosen to preserve along with you. They are your true brethren. Who cares if those apostates think that I have cut you off. Appearances can be deceiving.
This is such a crucial truth. Our true family is not our blood relatives, nor those of our profession, or even our tribe. Our true family is the family of God. Bought with his blood, washed in the blood, saved by the blood. Just because they have kicked you out of their church for questioning the pastor, and charged you with being rebellious, do not care for it. Shake the dust off your feet, and go where the Lord will lead you.
Our churches are coming apart at the seams. As evil becomes bolder in their agenda, churches are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the goings on of the society all around them. Sooner or later, each and every one has to declare which side they will choose to stand on. And as more and more choose death, so there are less and less places for the true believer to go.
For some, the arms of Jesus is the only place left to go. Just try and find a church in Canada that you can wholeheartedly support, as a member of the true remnant. I can guarantee you that this will not be an easy task.
This verse is another example as to how deceived the people of this earth are. These Judeans looked at their circumstances, and drew an exact opposite conclusion about what God had to say about them. They judged according to what they saw, and what they felt, and where natural human reasoning led them to. None of them looked to the word, that promised severe judgment for the kinds of sin that they were engaging in. If they had read Deuteronomy chapter 28 or Leviticus chapter 26, there is no way in heck that they would have concluded what they had just concluded.
But this is the way of the apostate. Like most people on social media today, they chose to listen to what they wanted to listen to. They had Jeremiah telling them the mind of God. They had the Torah. But instead they listened to their wicked rulers, their corrupt priesthood, and interpreted their current circumstances according to their own corrupt desires and beliefs. In short, they stuck to their own denominational doctrine, regardless what reality was throwing at them. This led them to conclude a meaning and an explanation of their current situation that was the opposite of reality.
These fools thought that the exiles had only themselves to blame for their exile, as if the destruction would not touch those that were left. Jesus so eloquently puts the lie to that stupid, presumptuous notion that so many fall into:
Luk 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
In this case, those that were judged first would fare the best. Does not the word say that judgment begins at the house of God? Is it not a great blessing to be judged first? That means that God considers us as his own!
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
While we rejoice that God is cleansing the church, let us take heed to always preserve and maintain an attitude of abject humility and contriteness, lest Yehovah becomes angry at our insolence and presumptive attitude.
Eze 11:16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen (goy), and although I have scattered (poots – dash in pieces, broken) them among the countries (eh-rates – earth), yet will I be to them as a little (meh-at – small in time or place) sanctuary (mik-dawsh – holy place, consecrated thing or place) in the countries (eh-rets) where they shall come.
Yahweh continues his theme of doing the exact opposite of what these wicked apostate backslidden children of his are declaring (something for the flaky hyper charismatics to keep in mind). Those blinded sinful fools that yet remain in the cursed city of Jerusalem are telling everyone that they are the blessed ones and the exiles the cursed, as they are still in the land and the exiles are not. But the truth of the matter is that those whom God has wanted to spare, he has removed out of the city that has been marked as haram, or under the ban (devoted to destruction). Those that are left are the doomed ones, not those whom God has removed to a place of relative safety.
Some see a type of the rapture here. I don’t think so, as the rapture removes God’s remnant from the place of evil entirely, and into God’s presence. This is more a type of God removing his own out of the path of his judgment, and preserving their life. Think of Noah. He was not taken out of the world before judgment fell, but he rode above the destruction. Think of Lot. He was not taken out of the world when judgment fell, but he was removed out of the path of annihilation. Noah in the boat, and Lot in the cave, they certainly were not in heaven! But they were safe from God’s anger.
Incidentally, both of them then ended up becoming blind drunk. I’m not sure what to make of that. Does that mean that those of us who believe that God may hide away his true remnant as the apocalypse nears, will be sorely tempted to break into our trade goods that we may have squirrelled away in the form of alcohol (I hope that by now you can recognize my strange sense of humor!)?
If you have managed to stick around this far into this book of very hard truths, you must be wondering if Yahweh will ever have any positive news for any of his people! There was a bit in chapter 6, where God promised to spare a small remnant. But from the sounds of their response, I am not sure that you would classify them as the godly remnant. It was more the scenario where an army leaves one or two alive after a slaughter, to go and spread fear and terror to the rest of their people. So those left alive in chapter 6 showed no sign of repentance, but they were left as a witness of God’s wrath, to sigh and cry over their fate.
But here, we finally see a little ray of hope. First, Yehovah acknowledges that he has sent them far away among the Gentiles. They have not been sent to a five star resort. Just because he has spared them, he has not booked them accommodations at the Ritz. So too do we need to lower our expectations as God’s chosen few, who are attempting to remain faithful in these perilous times. It is not biblical to believe that God will set you up on your own desert island of paradise, to drink virgin Caesars until The tribulation has run its course. No, they had to learn to live without a lot of things. They had to learn to practice their faith in a land that did not know their God, nor respect him. But at least they were still alive.
But here is the first positive promise to be found. Yahweh says that he will be to them a ‘little sanctuary’ right where he has placed them! In other words, while his historical sanctuary is about to be destroyed, he will set up little holy places in the midst of them. The word for little can mean little in time or place. One could take the meaning either way. These refugees would have to endure a 70 year exile, as God decreed the land had to rest for 70 years, due to their sin, before God would allow them to return. One could also define the little as a little place. They would not have their own land to roam around in. No, they would be confined to whatever area the king of Babylon had placed them. Often Jews throughout history were herded into their own ghettos. Living conditions were harsh, but at least they were with their own kind. God promises to create tiny sanctuaries where they were. The most logical explanation is that he would be their refuge at this time in this strange, alien place.
No matter where God sends us, if we are in his will, we can look to a promise such as this in our own life. Jesus said that he would never leave us nor forsake us. As long as we are abiding in him, we have nothing to fear.
Eze 11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people (am – tribes, nations), and assemble you out of the countries (eh-rets) where ye have been scattered (poots), and I will give you the land of Israel.
Once again God promises to do the opposite of what the rebellious ones in Jerusalem have pronounced. Instead of them being given the land of Israel, it is these whom God has scattered that will eventually inherit it. This was partially fulfilled after 70 years, under the decree of king Cyrus. It has had a second fulfilment, with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. it is awaiting a third and final fulfilment at the time of the end. When Jesus returns to restore the kingdom, no one shall ever contest God’s right to give the holy land to his people ever again.
Eze 11:18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things (shik-koots – disgusting filthy abominable idols) thereof and all the abominations (to-ay-baw – morally abhorrent and disgusting) thereof from thence.
When the exiles first returned, we can read all about it in Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai, Zecharish and Malachi. While some sins were put away, other sins were called out and denounced by the prophets. At the very least, the visible idols of the heathen gods were certainly removed out of the temple, and out of the land. We know that in this book, the detestable and abominable things are the physical idols that had desecrated the temple itself. In fact, Pharisaism was born out of a desire to put a so called hedge around the Torah, to make sure than any and every behavior that could possibly lead to sin down the road was halted and prohibited, so that Israel would never again fall into idolatry. But like everything man conjures in his own imagination, they went far beyond the word of God, and created a culture that was crushing the life out of the people, which Jesus strongly condemned.
As Israel became a nation once more in 1948, we see only the beginning of the restoration that God has promised. The nation is less than 1% Christian. They are still blinded to their messiah. They have a very large percentage of sexually perverted people living in the land, especially in Tel Aviv. While God has been fighting on their behalf in the last 2 years, as they have taken on 7 enemies at a time and defeated them all, this is merely an intermediate step to rearrange the pieces on the chessboard, according to God’s desire. The real spiritual miracles are yet to come.
But at least at this moment in time in Ezekiel’s day, when Judah has lost its soul in idolatry, reaching almost the same depths of depravity as in Manasseh’s day, this promise would have warmed the hearts of the devout that were left.
Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit (ruach) within you; and I will take (soor – turn off) the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
It is not only in Ezekiel that we find this, the greatest of promises, of the New Covenant. Here it is in Jeremiah:
Jer 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:
Jer 31:32 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:
Jer 31:33 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.
Jer 31:34 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.
In both cases the first thing to understand is that this great promise was given to Israel, not to the Gentiles. We are miraculously blessed that God has chosen to ‘graft in’ a chosen few from the land of the Gentiles (that’s us, unless you’re a Jew by blood) into this covenant of eternal reconciliation. None of us could ever please God out of our own wicked hearts. Only when God steps in and gives us a new heart and a new spirit can we be reconciled to Yehovah.
So what was initially perceived by the exiles as a great curse (them being removed from the promised land), will actually end up to be a great blessing. Their bloodlines are allowed to continue. Future generations may encounter the Messiah. Those who are left in Jerusalem and Judah, who thought they were the blessed ones, are about to have their bloodlines cut off forever.
God’s ways are not our ways. How many examples do we need before this basic truth sinks into our skulls? Every time something bad happens, we all tend to freak out, as no one enjoys pain and suffering (at least, no one normal). But if we would just keep in mind that God has a way of doing things that we would never think of, could we not take comfort from that fact? We have all seen God take something bad in our lives and after a season or two, he turns it into good, or shows us the good in it. So it is with any new thing that will come our way. Maybe our own governments will continue to persecute us. Maybe they will take away all our money, and our possessions. Maybe they will even take away some of our children. Who knows? I am sure that the parents of the 3 Hebrew children were devastated, when the Babylonians snatched them away. Perhaps the parents were killed, perhaps they were also exiled. But it is possible that at least some of the parents had their children taken. Yet look at what happened to those 3 Hebrew children. Now that is no guarantee that this would happen to all snatched children, but even in this, the most extreme scenario of suffering, Yahweh calls upon us to trust him. Maybe he will take them home, before something worse befalls them.
We are in the hands of God, and he has given us enough promises to sustain us, even in our darkest hour. Even as here in the midst of the harshest book in the bible, God still reaches out with words of comfort and hope to his faithful remnant.
Eze 11:20 That they may walk in my statutes (khook-kaw – appointed manner), and keep mine ordinances (mishpat), and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
There is a reason why God would want to remake us from the inside out. And it’s not so that we can live a life free from judgment. It is not so that we can be happy, and live a pain free life. It is not so that we can now pursue our own dreams. Yahweh’s desire is that he has children that will live their lives according to his wishes, and that they will make consistently righteous decisions in everything that they do. This will glorify him, which is really our main purpose in life. This is the only way that they can be God’s people, and that God can be their personal God.
Yehovah knows that we cannot do this with our fallen sin nature. Unless he intervenes, and gives us a fresh start, we cannot serve him. It is certain that our Adamic sin nature will cause us to fall away from him. We cannot do anything but sin, in our own strength, and in our own understanding. That is why he must transform us on the inside. There is an appointed manner that we are to behave, and only if we do so, can God be our God. Most believers don’t take this fact seriously. They think behavior is of secondary importance. As long as we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that is what most of our duty consists of. Just believe.
I dread at how many mistaught believers will be shocked at judgment day. They will shriek and wail, saying that was how we were taught. It’s not our fault that we were taught wrong!
Well, yes it is. You’re not off the hook just because you chose to listen to lies, anymore so than anyone in the world who chose to listen to lies. Just because they were religious lies does not make it any the less a lie. You cannot get to heaven believing a lie. Faith without works is a dead faith.
We can’t seem to get along. Yet God promises those who are truly his own to be given one heart. That implies a unity in the most important things. If you can’t seem to get along with any of the brethren, that to me is a red flag. Search your heart until you get to the root of the matter as to why that is so. A true lover of Jesus will love the brethren, regardless of how they behave, or even what they believe. As long as they belong to our Lord, then they are our brothers and sisters. The fact that the church does not seem to be anywhere near one heart is alarming indeed.
Let Jesus take all the stones out of your heart, and give you a heart of flesh. Let him take that hatred, paranoia, and suspicion of everyone and everything, and fill you with a heart that believes the best of your brother and sister, one that gives them the benefit of the doubt. Everything in life is not a conspiracy, you know.
Eze 11:21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things (shik-koots) and their abominations (to-ay-baw), I will recompense their way (deh-rek – a road or course of life) upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Well it didn’t take Yahweh long to leave off happy hour and revert back to the one thing that is really consuming him at this time. And that is the gross idolatry that is being shoved into his face. One more time God reminds these rebels that he will repay them according to the path that they have chosen to walk in. You, who have betrayed your God, your God will betray you into the hands of your enemies. I will fight against you, and send my slaughtering angels to help your enemies cut you into bits! Your hearts are filled with detestable thoughts, even as my temple is filled with your detestable idols. You are going to be repaid with what you deserve.
This is why every soul must have grace. If God repaid every one of us according our our deh-rek, the path of life that we chose to live, we would all be consumed.
Eze 11:22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels (o-fawn) beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
Now we are coming to the end of this amazing spiritual experience. Call it a vision, call it a translation, call it whatever you want, the fact that people cannot agree about exactly what it was speaks to the sacredness, the mystery, and the rarity of what Ezekiel was given. Here we are yanked back into Ezekiel’s reality. In the midst of all these words of the Lord, we are reminded that Ezekiel is still in the presence of these cherubim, and that the shekinah presence of God is right above it.
Eze 11:23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side (keh-dem – front) of the city.
This mountain, east of the city, is the mount of Olives. Yehovah has removed himself not only from the temple, but from Jerusalem itself. One last time Yehovah pauses and perhaps takes one last, lingering look at this wayward city, filled with such wayward people. He cannot stand to be among them anymore. He has begged and pleaded and warned and threatened and punished and smitten. All to no avail. They have made their choice. And their choice is Tammuz, and Ashtoreth, and Baal, and Moloch, and who knows what other detestable fallen ones that their hearts had lusted after.
The devil’s greatest pleasure is the evil satisfaction that he takes in knowing that he has sent literally billions of souls to the eternal fire, all because they chose to indulge and satiate desires immediately, while rejecting the delay of any and every sort of gratification. If they were hungry, they ate to bursting. If lusty, they stopped at nothing to sate that lust. If they coveted, they did whatever it took to obtain the object of their desire. They could have had all the treasures of heaven for all eternity. Every desire of their heart would have been fulfilled in the presence of their creator. If only they could deny themselves for a few short years, and live for God and their fellow man. If only they would have chosen to practice even a measure of self control, and submit to the will of God. But that was the catch, wasn’t it? That submitting part. Mankind now had the nature of lucifer. There was a pride placed in our corrupt heart. Something that chafed at bending the knee to a god above. We wanted to live our own lives. We wanted to do things our way. So most choose to do exactly just that, thinking that they were choosing freedom. Only when they were dead, did they realize that they had enslaved themselves to the power of sin, and the power of lies and deceit. But now it was too late. Now they would spend all eternity in self pity and torment, cursing God in utter impotence. Screaming and screaming forever, while satan laughed.
This is the final progression of Yahweh abandoning his people. Not only did he abandon these rebels, but he vacated his house. Not only did he vacate his house, but he vacated his city. Not only did he vacate his city, but he is about to vacate his land, and return to his home in the heavens. When God leaves your land, you are defenceless. The Judeans were about to learn this awful truth. We in the west are in the process of living in the exact same circumstance, whether or not anyone recognizes it.
Eze 11:24 Afterwards the spirit (ruach) took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
Ezekiel’s spirit man now returns to his body back in Babylon. He now is back among those elders of Judah that were with him at the start of this vision in 8:1. The vision was now over.
Eze 11:25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things (words) that the LORD had shewed me.
Immediately Ezekiel felt a release in his spirit to relate everything that occurred. This would ensure that all the details would be remembered and recorded, while it was still fresh in his mind. Sometimes a man of God does not speak of what he has seen right away. Sometimes a message is to be sealed up altogether. Here are some examples from the life of Daniel, Ezekiel’s contemporary.
Dan 7:28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
Here Daniel was led to keep this word to himself for the time being.
Dan 8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Dan 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Here Daniel had to hide himself away for certain days until he physically recovered. The vision had caused him to actually become ill. It seems that he did share it with a select few, as it said no one could comprehend its meaning.
Dan 10:7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
Dan 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
Here God chased away any bystanders, as he wanted to speak to Daniel alone.
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
God commands Daniel to share this latest word with no one.
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Here it seems the interpretation has been sealed by heaven. Even if Daniel shared the prophecy, no one would be given the interpretation.
So here we see several different scenarios. Sometimes we are to share the sacred revelation, sometimes not. It seems that any word of warning should always be shared. Some of Daniel’s prophecies were singularly unique, in that they were revelations of earthly events that would come to pass at some unspecified future date. Those sorts of visions may not always profit every generation. We have seen so many stumble into error, some very serious, when they try to apply an interpretation to something that is not time for it to come to pass. How many times must we fall for the latest ‘secret revelation’ as to the identity of the anitchrist? And this is not a recent phenomena. People have been identified as the antichrist for almost as long as the church has existed.
This is why a book such as Revelation is so hard to understand. It is because a good portion of it has not yet been unsealed, as it is not quite time. I know that many have claimed that this seal has been broken, or this event has come to pass. While some of that may indeed be in the beginnings of fulfilment, the vast, vast majority of interpretations out there are full of nonsense. Believers would be far better off studying works that directly apply to the season that we are in. I believe that the west is in the season of Ezekiel. As we have seen, and have yet to see, the parallels of the spiritual condition of Judah and the west are quite striking.
Now that we have completed the study of Ezekiel’s singularly phenomenal personal spiritual experiences, which have compromised close to one quarter of the book, it is time to turn to the next section of this mysterious document.
Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/
