Amen.
All right, we're there in Ezekiel 45.
And we took a couple of weeks break
from the book of Ezekiel, of course,
when Brother Stuckey was here and preaching for us
on Wednesday night.
And we are back in Ezekiel.
We're almost done.
There's 48 chapters, and we find ourselves in chapter 45 tonight.
And if you remember, we are in this last section
of the book of Ezekiel, which is known as Ezekiel's temple
or Ezekiel's end times prophecy, even though Ezekiel
covers end times prophecy throughout the book.
In chapters 40 through 48, it's specifically
having to do with end times and the temple.
And if you remember when we have been in the book of Ezekiel,
the last four weeks, we've been talking about these theories
in regards to the temple.
And we've been kind of talking about them
and dismantling them.
And we'll review that later on tonight.
But we've been going through and showing you why we don't
necessarily believe those theories or the problems
with those theories.
Tonight, what I'm going to do is I'm
going to give you my theory in regards
to what I believe is happening here in the book of Ezekiel.
So we're going to start off by, like we've been doing,
just give you a real quick basic outline of the chapter,
just so you can have an idea of what's
going on in the chapter itself.
And then we're going to spend the majority of our night
talking about Ezekiel's temple and the end times prophecy
explained or explained to you my position or my theory on that.
So what I want to do is begin by just giving you
this basic outline.
We'll do it super fast because there's
a lot to cover in regards to the theory tonight.
But if you want to take notes or if you've
been taking notes in regards to these chapters,
let me give you the outline.
There's two major sections to this chapter.
The first is the land for the priest.
So if you're writing an outline, you
could write a number one or a letter A,
the land for the priest.
And you find that there was a portion that
was given to the Levites.
In verses 1 through 5, you'll notice there in verse 1,
it says, moreover, when ye shall divide by law the land.
So I want you to notice that the emphasis is on the land.
And the land has to be divided for inheritance.
Ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord
and holy portion of the land.
And he talks about the length, and he talks about the breath.
Notice verse 2, of this there shall be for the sanctuary.
So he's saying that this land is set aside for the sanctuary.
Again, he talks about the length.
He talks about the breath.
Notice verse 4, the holy portion of the land
shall be for the priest.
So he says this is for the sanctuary.
This is for the priest.
Notice the last part of verse 4, a place for their houses
and a holy place for the sanctuary.
So he talks about the fact that the land has to be divided,
but there has to be a portion of the land that is set aside
for the priest, for their houses, for their families
to live in, and then for the sanctuary or the temple itself.
In verse 6, we see a portion for the house of Israel.
So we've got the portion for the land.
Then we have the portion for the house of Israel.
Notice it gives the word for how broad it should be,
how long it should be.
Notice the last part of verse 6, it
says for the whole house of Israel,
and he gives that length.
Then in verses 7 through 8, he talks
about a portion for the prince.
So there's a portion for the priest,
a portion for the people, and then there's
a portion for the prince.
Verse 7, and a portion shall be for the prince.
He gives the length.
He gives the size.
Notice verse 8, and the land shall be his possession
in Israel, and my princes shall no more oppress my people.
So then we come into the second section
of this chapter, which is the offerings of the temple priest.
So the first section has to do with the land.
We talked about a land for the priest, a land for the people,
a land for the prince.
And then he talks about an offering for the temple,
and he goes into this detail about these offerings.
The first thing he does in verses 9 through 12
is he calls for justice and fairness.
He talks about the fact that this land needs to be
a land where justice abounds.
Notice verse 9, thus saith the Lord God,
let us suffice you, O princes of Israel.
He says, remove violence and spoil and execute
judgment and justice.
Take away your exactions from my people.
Notice verse 10, ye shall have just balances and a just ephah
and a just bath.
Notice verse 11, and the ephah and the bath
shall be of one measure.
Then in verses 13 through 17, I'm going through this quickly
because I've got a lot of other things
I'd like to cover tonight.
In verses 13 through 17, he talks
about the offering of the priest.
And notice verse 13, this is the oblation that ye shall offer.
And he gives an explanation there.
Notice verse 16, all the people of the land
shall give this oblation for the priest.
Notice verse 17, and it shall be the prince's part to give.
So basically, the people give to the prince,
and then the prince has a duty to give
on behalf of the people.
Then in verses 18 through 20, it explains the atonement
for sin done in ignorance.
And if you remember our study in Leviticus, if you're with us,
God differentiates between sins that are done in ignorance
or sins that are done on purpose.
And of course, you're still responsible and accountable,
but he does differentiate.
And in verse 18, if you look at the last part of the verse,
it talks about cleanse the sanctuary,
so you, of course, have to prepare the sanctuary.
Then in verse 20, if you look at the last part
or the middle part, it says, for him that is simple,
so shall ye reconcile the house.
So for him, that is simple, meaning for someone who sinned,
and they were not aware what they were doing,
they were simple in regards to that.
Then in verses 21 through 25, he talks
about the Passover offering.
So notice verse 22.
It says, and upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself
and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin
offering.
It talks about this offering, verse 24,
and he shall prepare a meat offering.
And it goes on to explain these offerings.
We, of course, read the entire chapter before we started.
So that's just a rough outline of what's
happening in this chapter.
And it's, again, just very similar to the other chapters
when it talks about the different offerings that
are being done.
And it's just explaining this time
that Ezekiel is talking about.
Now, if you remember, and this is
where I want to spend the majority of my sermon tonight,
and I'd like you to keep your place there in Ezekiel.
That's our text for tonight.
But go with me to the book of Isaiah.
If you go backwards, you're going
to go past Lamentations, Jeremiah,
into the book of Isaiah.
And let me just give a quick introduction or setup
for tonight.
As far as I can tell in the research that I've done,
there seems to be four major themes.
We've talked about them.
I know you're familiar with them.
But there seems to be four major theories in regards
to what is happening.
Because Ezekiel 40 through 48 may
be the most difficult chapters in the Bible.
And there's a lot of debate in regards
to what is going on here.
Because we have Ezekiel explaining a time
that nobody's been able to identify,
a temple that no one's ever seen,
and things that are happening.
And there are four major theories
that people have came up with in regards to answer
what is happening in these chapters 40 through 48.
I gave you all four.
I'll review them real quickly.
One is that the temple is symbolic,
that it's not literal, that it's not to be taken literally,
that it's all symbolism.
And we went through and talked about that in chapter 41
and kind of dismantled that.
And I gave you my reasons why I don't
believe that this is symbolic.
I believe that this is a real temple that
was to be taken literally.
And if you missed that sermon, you go back and review that.
Then we talked about the fact that there's
a theory that says that this is Ezra and Zerubbabel's temple,
that Ezekiel is in captivity.
And once the captivity was done, once the 70-year captivity was
over, the children of Israel went back to their land.
Cyrus released them.
They went back to the land.
Of course, that's when Nehemiah built
the wall around Jerusalem.
Ezra, Zerubbabel, those guys rebuilt the temple.
And they'll say, well, this is the prophecy of that temple.
That temple was fulfilled through Ezra and Zerubbabel.
In chapter 42, I took time to kind of go through
and dismantle that, explain why that doesn't make sense
and why it doesn't match up and why
we don't accept that theory.
Then there is the theory that this
is the temple of the eternal state,
meaning it's what we would call heaven or New Jerusalem.
It's after the millennial reign.
And it's this heavenly temple.
And in chapter 43, we went through and explained
why that cannot be the case.
And we showed that from the Bible.
And then the last time that we were together
in the book of Ezekiel, we dealt with the most popular theory
and definitely the most popular theory among Baptists.
And it is that this is the millennial reign temple.
This is a temple that will be built during the 1,000 year
reign of Christ.
And of course, we explained how that cannot be the case unless
you're a dispensationalist.
And we're not.
And there's lots of problems with dispensational theology.
But in order to believe that, and dispensationalist
accept it, because they'll say, hey, you know what?
The sacrifices are making a comeback.
And we're in the dispensation of grace.
And today, we get saved by grace.
But during the millennial reign, they'll get saved by works.
And they'll get saved by keeping the sacrifices.
And of course, we went through the book of Hebrews
and dismantled that and showed how that cannot be the case.
So that leaves us with my theory.
And before I give you my theory, and I
realize I'm giving you a lot of introduction,
but just bear with me.
I do need to give some credits and disclaimers, all right?
Some credits and disclaimers in regards to my theory.
First of all, let me say this.
This is just my theory, all right?
It's just a theory.
And I'm not dogmatic about it.
So we don't really know.
The Bible says that we see through a glass darkly.
The Bible says that the secret things belong
unto the Lord our God.
And so this is just my theory.
I believe this theory answers all of the questions
that we have problems with in regards to the other theories.
But I am open to hearing other people's theories
if anybody can come up with a better theory.
I also want to say this, that as I've
been studying the book of Ezekiel, and when
I started preaching through the book of Ezekiel,
however long ago that was, 45 plus weeks ago,
I knew that this passage was going
to be the most difficult part to go through.
So as I've been preaching through the book of Ezekiel,
even leading up to while we were still
studying through 1 Corinthians before we got into Ezekiel,
I was reading Ezekiel systematically,
going through it over and over and over,
and taking notes and writing notes.
And as I traveled, and I tend to travel more than I'd like,
as I've traveled and preached at different churches
and conferences or whatever, whenever
I got a chance to get around a pastor friend,
I would always ask them for their thoughts
on Ezekiel 40 and 48.
Now, let me say this.
It's not really fair to put somebody on the spot.
What do you think about the most difficult passage in Ezekiel
over dinner after a conference or whatever?
But I'd ask people, do you have any thoughts?
I'm preaching through this or whatever.
And people would give me their thoughts.
And a lot of things were kind of general
to what I already knew or heard or the conclusions
that I came to.
But I do want to give credit where credit is due.
And I will tell you that the theory that I'm giving you
tonight was actually given to me by Pastor McMurtry.
Pastor McMurtry was one person who kind of threw this theory
out there.
He said, well, you know, something I thought about
and something I think might be the case.
And he threw that out there.
He said that to me.
It just kind of made a lot of sense.
And I thought, you know, I'd like to look into that.
And as I began to think about it,
as I began to compare scripture, I thought,
I think he might be onto something here.
So I do want to give credit to Pastor McMurtry
because he actually gave me the seed thought for this theory.
That doesn't mean that everything I say tonight,
Pastor McMurtry agrees with.
I don't know.
Maybe he does.
I don't know.
But he didn't give me every single point
that I'm going to make tonight.
He just kind of gave me the thought.
And I kind of ran with it.
So we were emailing back and forth this week.
And we were talking about this sermon.
And he said he's going to listen to it
and give me some feedback.
So I'm curious to see what he thinks.
But I do want to give credit to him
that he was kind of the one that put this thought in my mind.
And I'm kind of going with it and running with it.
But again, I want to give a disclaimer.
That doesn't mean that he agrees with everything
I'm going to say tonight.
But I do want to say this.
Pastor McMurtry gave me the idea.
If I end up preaching just complete heresy tonight,
you'll know who to blame.
And you can send your emails to Pastor McMurtry.
But here's the theory.
Now, here's the thing.
My theory is not complicated.
And you're smart.
You are a smart group.
If you go to Verity Baptist Church, you're smart.
Not because of me, but just because you've
got to be smart to go to a church that emphasizes scripture
and things like this.
This is not a complicated theory.
I could give it to you in a couple of statements,
and you would get it.
But if I gave it to you in a couple of statements,
it would not answer all the questions that you may have.
So what I want to do tonight is I
want to give you statements, several statements,
many statements.
And we're kind of going to just go line by line
and build truth upon truth so that not only will you
get the theory, but you will answer the questions
that you may have after the theory.
And of course, you may still have some questions afterwards.
And that's fine.
You can ask me afterwards.
And I can try to answer that for you.
Or I may not have an answer for it.
We can try to wrestle it down together.
But I want to give you some thoughts
to kind of build into why this theory makes sense
and why this theory, in my opinion,
is the best theory that I've, at least that I've ever heard,
in regards to what is happening here in Ezekiel 40 through 48.
All right, are you there in Isaiah 46?
I guess what I'm telling you is you
got to put your thinking cap on tonight, all right?
It's Bible study night, and it's Ezekiel.
So just put your thinking cap on,
and we will walk through this.
I'm going to give you statements.
If you'd like to write these down, you're welcome to do so.
I'm going to give you a lot, though, just as a warning.
So I've kind of divided these statements
into three sections, all right?
And we'll kind of build through them as we go.
The first thing is that I, the first section
is that there are some things that you
need to know about God.
Now, I know that you probably know this about God already.
But I want to make sure we understand this, all of us
understand this together about God.
There are some things you need to know about God, Almighty
God, Creator God, all right?
Number one, just things you need to know about God
to help you kind of understand this theory.
God knows the end from the beginning.
God knows everything.
And the Bible says that he knows the end from the beginning.
What that means, and let's look at the passage together.
Isaiah 46, look at verse 9.
Isaiah 46 and verse 9, the Bible says,
remember the former things of old.
So God is speaking here, and he says,
I want you to remember the old things, the former things
of old.
He says, for I am God.
He says, here's why I want you to remember the old things,
because I am God.
He says, and there is none else.
I am God, and there is none like me.
That's a great verse.
I love that verse there, Isaiah 46 and 9.
Look at verse 10.
In verse 9, he just got done telling us, look, I'm God,
and there's nobody like me.
I am God, and there's nothing close to me.
And then in verse 10, he says, declaring
the end from the beginning.
And from ancient times, the things that are not yet done,
saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do my pleasure.
So I want you to notice that one thing that makes,
and there's many things that makes God God,
but one thing that makes God different than you,
the reason that God is God and you are not,
is because God is infinite in knowledge.
He's infinite in his power.
And the Bible tells us that God can declare
the end from the beginning, meaning
before something begins, he can already tell you
how it's going to end.
He says, from ancient times, I can tell you the things
that are not yet done.
So he says, things that have not yet happened,
I can tell you those from ancient times.
I can declare the end from the beginning.
So there's a couple of things you need to know about God.
Number one, God knows the end from the beginning.
Number two, go to 1 Samuel 23.
Towards the beginning of the Old Testament in comparison
to Isaiah, you'll find all the one, two books.
They're all clustered together.
1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles.
Go to 1 Samuel 23.
And then do me a favor and put a ribbon or a bookmark
in 1 Samuel, because we're going to leave it
and we're going to come back to it.
And I'd like you to be able to get to it fairly quickly.
1 Samuel 23.
I said, number one, things that you need to know about God.
God knows the end from the beginning.
Number two, and I want you to understand this.
God knows what would happen after any choice
you happen to make in any given situation,
no matter what choice you end up making.
I know that's a little wordy, but I
want you to understand what I'm telling you.
God knows if you find yourself in a situation
and you've got several options.
You've got option A, option B, option C.
God knows what would happen if you
were to choose any one of those options,
no matter what choice you ended up making.
God knows what would happen based on those decisions.
You say, prove that to me from the Bible.
Let me prove it to you.
1 Samuel 23, look at verse 7.
And it was told Saul that David was come to Calah.
Now, if you remember, David is running.
He's an outlaw from Saul.
He's running for his life.
And he's hiding in this city, Calah.
And Saul finds out about it.
It was told Saul that David was come to Calah.
And Saul said, God had delivered him into mine hand,
for he is shut in by entering into a town that
had gates and bars.
And Saul called all the people together to war
to go down to Calah to besiege David and his men.
And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief
against him.
And he said to Abiathar the priest,
bring hither the Ephod.
So David's in Calah, a walled city.
Saul finds out that David's in Calah
and says, God has delivered him into my hands.
I'm going to go get him.
He's trapped in this city.
And David knows that Saul has people
that are going to report back to him and that Saul knows
where David or that Saul potentially
knows where David is.
So David calls Abiathar the priest
because he wants to ask God about it.
Notice verse 10.
Then said David, O Lord God of Israel,
thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come.
So he says, God, I've heard that Saul
is seeking to come to Calah to destroy the city for my sake.
And then he asked these questions.
Notice the questions he asked.
Verse 11, will the men of Calah deliver me up into his hands?
So he says, if Saul comes, if Saul comes,
will the men of Calah deliver me up?
Then he asked this question, will Saul come down
as thy servant hath heard?
So he's asking several questions saying,
God, I need to know a couple of things.
Number one, is Saul even going to come?
And number two, if Saul comes, will the men of Calah
deliver me up?
Are they going to give me up?
Or will they fight for me?
Will they defend me?
He says, O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant.
And the Lord said, notice the answer,
because God can tell you the end from the beginning,
because God can declare from ancient times the things that
are not yet done.
The Bible says, and the Lord said, he will come down.
So here's the answer to the question.
God tells David, if you stay, he'll come.
Notice verse 12, then said David,
will the men of Calah deliver me up and my men
into the hand of Saul?
And the Lord said, they will deliver thee up.
So again, he says, if you stay, he'll come.
And if he comes, they will deliver you up.
But notice what happens, verse 13.
Then David and his men, which were about 600,
arose and departed out of Calah and went whithersoever
they could go.
And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Calah.
Notice what it says at the end of verse 13.
And he forbear to go forth, meaning Saul decided not to go.
And you might look at that and say,
well, that's a contradiction, because God told him
that he would come down.
But here's what I want you to understand.
David had several options.
He had an option, I can stay or I can go.
And he says, Lord, if I stay, what will happen?
And God says, if you stay, Saul will come.
And if Saul comes, they will deliver you up.
So David decides to go.
But notice, when David goes, Saul
decides not to even come down.
You say, is that a contradiction?
No, I believe that God put that there in the Bible,
because God wanted to show us that based on our decisions,
different choices may come based on those decisions.
And God knows all of them.
God knew what would happen if David would stay.
And God knew what would happen if David would go.
Now, David didn't ask that question.
But if David would have asked, well, what would happen
if I leave?
God could have said, Saul won't come.
Because here's what I want you to understand.
God knows the end from the beginning.
And God knows what would happen in any given situation
where you've got different choices to make.
He would know what would happen at the end of any one
of those choices.
Go to Psalm 90.
Keep your place there in 1 Samuel 23.
Go to the book of Psalm.
You're there in 1 Samuel.
You've got 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,
Esther, Job, Psalm.
Psalm 90.
And here's the point that I'm trying to make.
It's not that in life you've got,
you come to a situation where you've got to make a choice.
And you've got choice A, choice B, choice C.
And God knows you're going to choose B
so he has a detailed plan at the end of B. It's not that.
It's the fact that God has a detailed plan for any choice
you might make.
And whatever choice you end up making,
he can tell you how that choice will end.
My kids, you know, I wanted to use this as an illustration.
My kids, I remember when I was a kid, I read a book like this.
And my kids have read several books like this.
I think they're called Choose Your Adventure.
But I know there's different kinds
and they might go by different names.
But my kids have this book.
It's a series of books where you read them
and you kind of track along with the main character.
And at certain points in the book,
the character has to make a decision.
He has to make a decision whether he's going to do this,
or he's going to do that, or he's going to do whatever.
And then the reader actually gets
to make the decision in the book.
And the book is written to where it tells you
if you make this decision, go to this page.
If you make this decision, go to this page.
And the book is written in a way where
there is a storyline and a plot and a storyline that
continues on a different storyline for every decision
you make.
So you can read the same book several different times,
making different decisions and seeing
what happens to this character.
So there is a storyline written for every choice that is made.
And that's kind of how it is in my life and in your life.
In fact, the Bible says, are you there in Psalm 90 verse 9?
The Bible says, for all our days are passed away in my wrath.
We spend our years as a tale that is told.
Your life is kind of, the Bible says
that your life is written out like a tale that's
already happened.
And God already knows what decisions
you're going to make, but it's kind of like that book
where you've got decision A, decision B, decision C,
and God already has written out what
would happen based on those decisions that you make.
So here's what you need to understand about God,
and we're getting to a little bit of theology of God.
God knows the end from the beginning.
God knows what would happen after any choice in any given
situation that you happen to make,
no matter what choice you make.
Number three, God also knows what choice you will make.
Does that make sense?
Not only does he know what would happen in any choice
you might make, he also knows which choice you will make.
Psalm 139, you're there in Psalm 90, flip over to Psalm 139.
Look at verse 1.
Psalm 139, look at verse 1.
Psalm 139, 1, the Bible says this,
to the chief physician, a psalm of David.
Oh, Lord, thou has searched me and known me.
Here, the Bible says, David is saying to God, God,
you've searched me.
You know me.
Notice what he says there in verse 2.
Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising.
Thou understandest.
Notice what it says.
Thou understandest.
God understands my thought afar off.
What does that mean?
It means that God knows my thoughts or my ideas.
When my thoughts and my ideas are far away from me,
God knows my thoughts and my ideas
before I've even had the thought or the idea.
Notice verse 3, thou compasses.
That means to surround, to completely be around my path
and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
You know what ways I could go.
You are acquainted with all of them.
Verse 4, for there is not a word in my tongue,
but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
God knows what you're going to say before you say it.
Notice verse 5, thou has beset me.
That means you surrounded or you completely
covered me behind and before.
When you leave, God was there.
When you get there, God is there.
Thou has beset me behind and before,
and laid thine hand upon me.
And here's what I want you to understand.
And here's what I'd like you to go.
And I need you to go to Deuteronomy
because we're going to look at a lot of passages tonight.
So I'm trying to kind of keep you moving.
Go to Deuteronomy chapter 30, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy.
I know you kept your place in Ezekiel,
and I think I asked you to keep your place in 1 Samuel.
But I also need you to keep your place in Deuteronomy.
OK, we're going to leave it, and we're
going to come back to it.
Deuteronomy chapter 30.
And let me just say this, OK?
I want to make sure you're understanding
what I'm telling you tonight.
God knows the end from the beginning, meaning
he knows how the story is going to play out.
God also knows how the story could play out if you
were to make different choices.
God knows what would happen in any given situation
if you were to make any given choice,
no matter what choice you make.
God also knows what choice you're going to make.
So when you get to a situation where
you've got to make a choice and you've got A, B, or C,
God knows what would happen if you chose A,
God knows what would happen if you chose B,
God knows what would happen if you chose C,
And God knows which one you're going to choose.
Now, this is important, all right?
Although God knows what choice you will make,
that does not mean that God made the choice for you.
We are not Calvinists.
God gives you the free will to make your own choice.
God knows what choices you could make.
God knows what would happen based on whatever choice
you decide to make.
And God knows what choice you're going to make.
But that doesn't mean that God made the choice for you.
So here's point number four.
Although God knows what choice you will make,
God gives you the free will to make your own choice.
Just because God knows what choice you will make
does not mean that God made the choice.
Now, we could go to a lot of different passages for this.
I'm just going to give you one.
Deuteronomy 30, verse 19, here's what the Bible says.
God says, I call heaven and earth
to record this day against you.
Notice what he's telling the children of Israel.
He says, I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing.
Therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed may live.
Notice that God's not making the choice for them.
He said, you've got choice A. You've got choice B.
I know what will happen if you choose A.
I know what will happen if you choose B.
I know what choice you're going to make.
But I'm not making the choice for you.
I am pleading with you to choose life.
He says, therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed
may live.
So I want to make sure you understand.
We are not Calvinists.
Although God knows what choice you will make,
God gives you the free will to make your own choice.
Just because God knows what choice you will make
does not mean that God is making the choice on your behalf.
Go back to 2 Samuel, if you kept your place there,
2 Samuel chapter 12.
Just because God knows what choice you will make,
that does not mean that God chooses for you.
That's statement number 5, if you'd like to write that down.
Just because God knows what choice you will make,
that does not mean that God chooses for you.
Here's statement number 6.
Since you get to make your own choice,
God has an ending plan for every choice you make.
And I know we've already kind of covered that.
But I just want to make sure you understand that.
Since God does not choose for you,
he has written out a story for every choice.
And you get to make the choice.
And he knows what would happen.
And he knows what choice you'll make.
But just because you get to make your own choice,
because there is a such thing as free will,
God has an ending plan for every choice you may make.
2 Samuel 12, look at verse 7.
Here, of course, we've got the famous story of David
committing adultery with Bathsheba.
This is the aftermath when Nathan the prophet comes to him.
I want you to notice what Nathan says to David.
2 Samuel 12, 7, the Bible says,
And Nathan said to David, thou art the man.
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel.
I anointed thee king over Israel,
and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul.
And I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives
into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel
and of Judah.
And if that had been too little, notice what he says,
I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Now, we don't know what those such and such things are.
But we know this, that when David got to the place where
he had to make a choice whether he
was going to commit adultery with Bathsheba
or whether he was going to forbear from committing
adultery with Bathsheba, God already
knew what would happen if David went down this road.
God already knew what would happen
if David went down that road.
You say, well, how do you know that?
Because here, Nathan is telling David
that if you would have not done this,
God had more things for you, such and such things.
But now those things are off the table,
because you made this choice, David.
But God knew what would happen if you made this choice.
God knew what would happen if you made that choice.
And God also knew what choice David was going to make.
So since you get to make your own choices,
God has an ending plan for every choice that you make.
And the sad thing is, let me just give you
a quick preaching application.
If you can go to Numbers 18 from Deuteronomy,
just go backwards to number.
Let me say this, it'll be sad to get to the end of our lives,
to get to heaven one day and realize
that there were such and such things
that God had planned for us that we missed out on,
based on the choices we made.
So remember, I've got three sections
I need you to just kind of follow with me
and track with me in regards to theology, all right?
The first one is this, things you need to know about God.
What do you need to know about God?
You need to know that God knows the end from the beginning.
You need to know that God knows what
would happen after any choice you happen to make in any given
situation, no matter what choice you end up making.
God also knows what choice you will make.
Although God knows what choice you will make,
God gives you the free will to make your own choice.
Just because God knows what choice you will make,
that does not mean that God chooses for you.
And since you get to make your own choice,
God has an ending plan for every choice that you make, all right?
You need to know that about God.
Number two, things you need to know about the covenants.
Because we're talking about the covenants, right?
The Old Covenant, the New Covenant, the Old Testament,
the New Testament.
Maybe you can write these down.
Number one, the Old Covenant was meant
to carry the children of Israel through the end of time
or through what we call the end times.
The Old Covenant, when it was given,
was meant to carry the children of Israel
through the end of time or through end times.
Are you there in Numbers 18?
Look at verse number 19.
Numbers 18, verse 19.
All the heave offerings.
Now, we're in the book of Numbers,
so we know we're in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament,
of course.
But we're even in verses that are specifically
applied to the Old Covenant.
A heave offering is Old Covenant, right?
All the heave offerings of the holy things
which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord
have I given thee and thy sons and thy daughters with thee,
notice what he says, by a statute forever.
It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord unto thee
and to thy seed with thee.
So I want you to notice that in Deuteronomy 18, 19,
we're told that these certain offerings that the children
of Israel were doing, God said, hey,
I'm giving you this covenant forever.
This covenant will carry you forever,
or it has the potential to carry you forever,
or it can take you unto the end of times,
or it can take you into the end times.
Go to Numbers 25.
Numbers 25.
Look at verse 11.
Numbers 25 and verse 11.
Are there in Numbers 18?
Just flip a few pages over.
Numbers 25 and verse 11.
The Bible says this.
Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron, the priest.
So we're in the Old Covenant, right?
Old Testament.
We've got the Levitical priest.
He's the son of Aaron.
Have turned my wrath away from the children of Israel
when he was zealous for my sake among them,
that I consume not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
Wherefore, say, behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace.
He's talking about Phinehas, a Levitical priest, verse 13.
And he shall have it and his seed after him,
even the covenant of an, notice this word, everlasting
priesthood, because he was zealous for his God
and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
Here's what I want you to understand.
When the Old Covenant was given, the Old Covenant
was meant to carry the children of Israel
through the end of time or through the end times.
And it's important for us to understand this,
because as New Testament or New Covenant believers,
we've read the rest of the story,
and we realize that the Old Covenant eventually
was done away with, and it was replaced
with a better covenant, the New Covenant that we're in today.
But I want you to understand that God did not give
the Old Covenant as a joke.
It wasn't like, I'm going to give you this Old Covenant,
I'm really going to take it away, psych.
God fully intended for the Old Covenant
to be the only covenant and to carry the children of Israel
through the end of time or through the end times.
Now, I'm not going to preach the sermon,
we talked about it before.
We know that the Old Covenant's been done away with.
We know that the Old Covenant's done,
and you say, well, does this make God a liar,
because there's these different things
that are supposed to be everlasting?
And here's what you need to understand.
Even though the Old Covenant was done away with,
the requirements of the Old Covenant
were fulfilled through Christ and in Christ,
so all of those things, look, God's not dumb, obviously.
God finds a way to keep his word even when man messes up.
So, well, the Passover was supposed to be forever.
Well, now it's in Christ, who's our Passover,
so guess what, it's forever.
Well, there's supposed to be a priesthood, yeah,
well, there was a priesthood before the Levitical priests
called Melchizedek, who the Levitical priests
actually gave offerings unto,
and that priesthood will continue on forever.
By the way, that's the priesthood you and I
happen to be in, which is why we believe
in the priesthood of the believer,
which is why we can go to God directly in prayer.
Look, you can't outsmart God.
God's got it all figured out.
He's got all his ducks in a row
and he's checked off all the boxes.
You're not gonna find somewhere in the Bible
where, here, God messed up, he forgot this one.
No, even when the Old Covenant was done away with,
God made sure and God had a way of making sure
that all of these everlasting promises were fulfilled.
God is not a man that he should lie.
So here's what you need to understand about the Covenant.
The Old Covenant was meant to carry the children of Israel
through the end times, or through what we call the end,
you know, through the end of time,
or what we call the end times.
Here's point number two,
and I'd like you to go to Hebrews chapter eight.
Hebrews chapter eight.
If you go to the Old Testament,
excuse me, the New Testament, I'm confusing myself.
Start at the book of Revelation and head back.
You've got Jude, 3rd, 2nd and 1st John,
2nd and 1st Peter, James, Hebrews, Hebrews chapter eight.
And I realize I'm giving you a lot of information tonight,
and I apologize, but I don't know how else to do it.
I just need to give you all this info.
There are some things you need to know about the Covenant.
All right, we talked about,
there are some things you need to know about God.
I hope you got those.
Then there are some things
that you need to know about the Covenant.
Number one, the Old Covenant was meant
to carry the children of Israel through the end times,
or through the end of time.
Number two, the Old Covenant was disannulled,
meaning it was canceled, it was declared no longer valid,
and replaced by a new and better Covenant.
I know you know that.
Let's just look at a verse, Hebrews 8, six.
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry
by how much also he, that's referring to Jesus,
is the mediator of a better Covenant,
which was established upon better promises.
So notice the New Covenant, or the New Testament,
is a better Covenant established upon better promises.
Now, let me answer some questions.
You're there in Hebrews 8, six.
Just stay there for a second.
Let me answer this,
and I wanna make sure you understand this.
In fact, just write this down.
Here's point number three.
The Old Covenant, the Old Covenant was not replaced
because of a problem with the Covenant.
You need to understand that.
The Old Testament, the Old Covenant,
was not replaced because of a problem with the Covenant,
but instead because of a problem
with the people keeping the Covenant.
You're there in Hebrews 8, look at verse seven.
He says, he just got done telling us
that Jesus is the mediator of a better Covenant, right?
Look at verse seven.
For if that first Covenant had been faultless,
then should no place have been sought for the second.
He says, if that first Covenant would have had no fault,
then there would have been no need for the second Covenant.
You say, well, that kinda makes it sound
like there's a problem with the first Covenant, verse eight.
For finding fault, not with the Covenant, but with them.
You see that?
For finding fault with them, he saith,
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,
not according to the Covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand
and let them out of the land of Egypt.
What is that?
The Mosaic Covenant on Mount Sinai,
the Covenant he made with them, with Moses,
he said, not according to that Covenant,
he says, because they, why, why?
Why did he replace that Covenant with a better Covenant
that had better promises?
Here's why, because they continued not in my Covenant.
And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
So here's what you need to understand about the Covenant.
The old Covenant was not a fake Covenant.
It was not a psych Covenant.
The old Covenant was meant to carry the children of Israel
through the end times and to the end of time.
The old Covenant was disanoled.
It was canceled.
It was declared no longer valid
and replaced by a new and better Covenant.
But the old Covenant was not replaced
because of a problem with the Covenant.
The old Covenant was replaced because of a fault
with the people keeping the Covenant.
Does that make sense?
Have I lost you yet?
Don't raise your hand.
I need to hear that.
But I need you to understand all these things.
Hopefully you've got all that
and that's kind of the introduction, all right?
The foundation.
Now let me give you my theory, all right?
With all that said, with all what said,
that God knows the end from the beginning.
God has a plan for every choice
and God knows what choice you will make.
God gave a Covenant that was meant to carry the people
to the end of time.
And that Covenant ended up getting replaced
not because of a problem with the Covenant
but because of a problem with the people
who were supposed to keep the Covenant.
With all that said, let's talk about Ezekiel's Temple
and end times prophecy, chapters 40 through 48.
What's going on here?
And let me just say this.
When I talk about Ezekiel's Temple
and end times prophecy chapters,
I'm talking about Ezekiel 40 through 48.
I realize there are other chapters that deal with end times
but that's what I'm referring to.
When I say Ezekiel's Temple and end times prophecy,
maybe you'd like to write this down.
I've got six statements, all right?
So I had six statements
about things you need to know about God.
I had three statements
of things you need to know about the Covenant
and I've got, excuse me, seven statements
about things that you need to know
about Ezekiel's Temple and end times prophecy chapters,
Ezekiel 40 through 48.
We'll try to get this done in like 10 minutes, all right?
Number one, Ezekiel's Temple and end times prophecy chapters
what we read about in Ezekiel 40 through 48
describes what the end times would have been like
under the Old Covenant
if the Old Covenant would have continued.
What we are reading about when we read Ezekiel 40, 41,
42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48,
we are reading what the end times
would have been like under the Old Covenant
if the Old Covenant would have continued.
Number two, Ezekiel's Temple and end times prophecy chapters
Ezekiel 40 through 48
is like the Book of Revelation for the Old Covenant.
Just like we get to the end of the New Testament
and God gives us the Book of Revelation
which says this is what the end will look like
under this Covenant,
Ezekiel 40 and 48, in my opinion,
is the Old Testament version of the Book of Revelation.
When I say Old Testament,
I'm not talking about the division in your Bible,
I'm talking about the Old Covenant.
It is the Old Covenant version of the Book of Revelation,
meaning what we are reading is
what end times would have looked like,
what end times would have looked like
if the Old Covenant would have continued.
Number three, because the Old Covenant
was disannulled, canceled, declared no longer valid,
and replaced with a new covenant, a better covenant,
built upon better promises,
Ezekiel's version of the end times
described in Ezekiel 40 through 48
has also been disannulled and replaced as well
and will never happen.
See, this temple that we're reading about in Ezekiel 40
and 48, it's not gonna happen.
It didn't happen with Zerubbabel.
And it's definitely end times,
especially as we get into chapters 46, 47, and 48
over the next three weeks.
It's definitely meant to be end times literature,
but this specific prophecy is not gonna happen.
You say, well, was there a problem with the prophecy?
No, the prophecy was under a covenant,
and there was no problem with the covenant,
but the covenant was disannulled and replaced
because of a fault in the covenant.
You say, with the covenant?
No, with the people who kept the covenant.
So Ezekiel's temple and end times prophecy
describes what the end times would look like
under the old covenant, if the old covenant continued.
Ezekiel's temple and end times prophecy
is like the book of Revelation.
You can think of it as the book of Revelation
for the old covenant,
and because the old covenant was disannulled and replaced,
Ezekiel's version of end times
described in chapters 40 through 48
has been disannulled and replaced as well
and will never happen.
Number four, Ezekiel's version of the end times
under the old covenant as described
in Ezekiel 40 through 48 of the temple and the end times
as described in chapters 40 through 48 is very similar,
is very similar to the book of Revelation's end times
description under the new covenant
because of the fact that it's the same God
orchestrating both covenants.
So as we've studied Ezekiel
and as we continue to study Ezekiel,
we will find things that overlap.
We'll find things like, for example,
Ezekiel describes Gog and Magog.
Revelation describes Gog and Magog.
You say, well, what do you mean?
I mean, this was a version of the end times
under the old covenant.
Yes, but the version of the end times
under the new covenant also involves Gog and Magog,
also involves King David, also involves a millennial reign,
also involves all those things.
You say, why?
Because it's the same God.
It's not two different gods with two different covenants.
It's the same God.
He just had one plan and then he had to get rid of that
and he created a new plan,
but the second plan has a lot of overlap
with the old plan.
Look, as New Testament believers,
we didn't just start a new thing.
This came out of the old covenant.
The New Testament came out of the Old Testament.
Our New Testament belief is founded on Jesus Christ,
and the Old Covenant speaks of Jesus Christ,
prophesies of Jesus Christ,
gives all these descriptions of Jesus Christ.
Number five, if you're thinking to yourself,
and why in the world have we just spent
the last several weeks studying the book of Ezekiel
in these last chapters?
Number five, studying Ezekiel's temple
and the end times prophecy chapters, 40 through 48,
is no different than studying the book of Leviticus
or any other passage dealing with the old covenant.
I mean, we spent a long time going chapter by chapter
through the book of Leviticus, did we not?
And remember, when we started Leviticus
and all through Leviticus,
I kept telling you, this doesn't apply to us.
This is written to an old covenant, a different covenant.
We're in New Testament.
You say, why do we study it?
Because you can still,
because all scripture is given by inspiration of God
and all scripture is profitable.
And because of the fact that you can still learn from it,
you can still glean truths from it,
you can still learn about God from it,
you can still get symbolism from it.
So when you're studying Ezekiel 40 through 48,
you should consider it
like if you're studying the book of Leviticus.
It's a different covenant.
It doesn't apply to us.
We're not gonna go and perform these sacrifices.
We're not gonna go and do these things,
but we can still learn about God
and what God thought or felt in regards to these things.
Number six, and let me just kind of help you with this.
The main parts, and of course,
the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.
Those things which are revealed belong unto us.
The book of Revelation belongs unto us.
Those things have been revealed.
There's other things that we don't know for sure.
We see through a glass darkly.
God's gonna have to fill us in when we get to heaven.
But let me just help you.
The main parts about Ezekiel's temple
and the end times prophecy chapters,
Ezekiel 40 through 48, that will not happen
is what was changed from the old covenant
to the new covenant.
The sacrifices, the priesthood, the holy days, the Sabbath.
There's no different thinking here.
The same things, the same way that we look
at the New Testament and say, hey,
the Old Testament still applies
except for these specific things that were done away with,
that were done away when the law was changed,
when the priesthood was changed
from the old covenant to the new covenant.
We just need to realize that Ezekiel is prophesying
of end times under an old covenant.
And after Ezekiel, that old covenant was changed.
That old covenant was changed.
And now we just need to realize
that everything that was changed under that old covenant,
we say, when Leviticus, that no longer applies.
When Ezekiel, that doesn't apply either.
So there's no sacrifice in the millennial reign.
There's no burnt sacrifices.
None of those things are gonna happen
in the millennial reign.
The book of Hebrews is extremely clear on that.
Are you there in Hebrews?
Look at Hebrews seven.
I just want you to notice this verse again.
We saw it recently, but I'd like you to see it.
Hebrews seven, verse 12.
For the priesthood being changed,
there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
When the priesthood was changed and done away with,
it was necessary to make a change to the law.
Now people say, God got rid of the law.
That's not what this verse says.
It doesn't say that God got rid of the law.
It says that God made a change to the law.
Well, what did God change?
Well, he's talking about the fact
that he had to change the thing
because the priesthood was changed.
So everything that has to do with the priesthood,
the Sabbaths, the washings, the sacrifices,
those things have been done away.
So if you're reading Ezekiel 40 through 48
and you're wondering, and you're thinking to yourself,
I wonder what if this is gonna not apply
in the New Testament version of the end times.
Anything that has to do with the priesthood
doesn't apply anymore.
It's been changed.
Go to Zechariah chapter six.
Zechariah chapter six.
I wanna share this passage with you.
This is actually a passage
that Pastor McMurtry emailed me.
A couple of days ago.
Zechariah chapter six, if you started
at the end of the book of the Old Testament, Malachi,
and then you head back, you got Zechariah chapter six.
You say, okay, I think I get it.
God doesn't make choices for us.
He gives us choices.
And those choices have consequences.
God knows what will happen at the end
of every choice that we make,
and God also knows what choice we will make.
That doesn't mean that God made the choice on our behalf,
but it just means that God knows.
He's all knowing, and he knows what will happen.
And I understand that there was an old covenant.
There's nothing wrong with that old covenant.
That old covenant was meant to take the children of Israel
to the end of time, or to what we call the end times.
But that old covenant was disanoled and replaced
because not of a fault within the covenant,
but because of a fault with the people
who were keeping the covenant.
And I understand that Ezekiel was prophesying
within that old covenant.
He was prophesying what would happen in the end times
if that old covenant continued.
But here's a question somebody might ask.
I say, well, if Ezekiel's gonna prophesy in the end times,
and God knew that the old covenant
was gonna be done away with,
why didn't Ezekiel just give us a prophecy
like the book of Revelation,
with no sacrifices, with no temple?
What's the point of that?
Why would he give us that?
If God knew, hey, he's prophesying about something
that very much has the potential of happening
based on your decisions and your choices,
this could be what the end times looks like
based on your choices,
but God knew that wasn't going to happen.
Why would God even give that to us?
Why would he put it in the canon of scripture?
Why would he give us all these chapters
to let us know about a future that could happen
under the old covenant that's not going to happen?
You say, what's the point of that?
And the answer to that question is this, God's grace.
You say, what do you mean?
Number seven, the purpose of Ezekiel giving us
Ezekiel's temple and end times prophecy chapters,
chapter 40 through 48.
Because remember, Ezekiel is prophesying in the old covenant.
It has not yet been done away with.
In fact, it's going to be a long time
before it's done away with.
The children of Israel still have to come back
into the promised land.
Ezra is going to begin to rebuild the temple.
Nehemiah is going to begin to rebuild the walls.
Zerubbabel is going to finish that wall.
We're going to have all that, you know, we're still,
look, after Ezekiel,
there's still a lot of Old Testament Bible left.
You've got all those stories about Daniel and Shadrach
and Meshach and Abednego and Esther.
You've got all those great stories.
There's a 400 years of silence
between the Old and the New Testament.
And then you've got John the Baptist show up on the scene.
There's a lot of time that is still left
when Ezekiel is prophesying within the Old Testament
or the old covenant.
You say, well, what is the purpose?
Here's the purpose.
The purpose of Ezekiel giving us Ezekiel's temple
and end times prophecy, Ezekiel 40 and 48,
is as one last attempt to get the people
to get right with God.
You say, what do you mean?
By explaining to them that God has a plan for them.
And by explaining to them what you are walking away from
when you choose to walk away from God
and what you will miss out on.
See, God gave Ezekiel this prophecy
because of God's grace.
Because God was not giving the children of Israel
a psych covenant, gotcha.
I was just kidding.
The New Testament was too short so I had to write more.
He actually wanted the covenant to work
and he wanted to work with those people.
And Ezekiel is prophesying within that covenant
and telling the people, this is what God has planned for you.
This is what God wants for you.
This is God's will for you.
Don't walk away from it.
Zechariah six, verse 12, let me prove it to you.
And spake unto him saying, this is again,
Zechariah giving us an end times prophecy
from the old covenant.
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying,
behold the man whose name is the branch.
And you can study this out on your own,
I'll just give you the answer, that's Jesus.
And he, Jesus, shall grow up out of his place
and he, Jesus, shall build the temple of the Lord
and he, Jesus, shall bear the glory
and shall sit and rule upon his throne
and he shall be a priest upon his throne
and the council of peace shall be between them both
and the crown shall be to heal him
and to Tobiah and to Judea and to Hen and to Zephaniah
for a memorial, notice the emphasis,
in the temple of the Lord and they that are far off
shall come and build in the temple of the Lord
and he shall know that the Lord of hosts
has sent me unto you, the Zechariah preaching
within the old covenant of an end times,
just like Ezekiel, an end times,
what the end times would look like in the old covenant
but notice what Zechariah says at the end of verse 15,
and this shall come to pass if, you see that?
If ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God,
I want you to notice that this covenant,
not the Abrahamic covenant,
one day I need to do a sermon where I just go through
and explain the different covenants,
not the Abrahamic covenant and not the Davidic covenant,
those were fulfilled in Jesus Christ
but that Mosaic covenant that was given on Mount Sinai,
that was a conditional covenant.
God says, if you do this, I will do this,
if you do that, I will do that and even here in end times,
God says, hey, I'm gonna raise up this branch,
he's gonna build you a temple,
he's gonna do all these great things
and this shall come to pass if,
you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God
and there's a big condition and there's a big disclaimer
that this will only happen as a result
of the decisions and the choices that you make.
Go back to Ezekiel 43, we're done.
Ezekiel 43, look at verse nine.
God explains this in Ezekiel as well,
I just wanted to show it to you.
Ezekiel 43, verse nine.
Ezekiel 43, nine, the Bible says this,
now let them put away their whoredoms.
This is Ezekiel speaking to the children of Israel.
He's prophesying about this great time
where they're gonna have all this land
and they're gonna have this temple
and they're gonna have this and they're gonna have that
and God wants to bless them
and God wants to do all these things for them
and this is what Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 43 in verse nine.
He says, now let them put away their whoredoms.
This was actually given to me by Brother Nate
since I'm getting everybody credit,
everybody that helped me with this sermon.
Ezekiel 43, verse nine, now let them put away their whoredom
and the carcasses of their kings far from me
and I will dwell in the midst of them forever,
thou son of man, notice what God is telling Ezekiel,
thou son of man, here's the purpose of Ezekiel 40 through 48,
thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel.
You say, why do we have all these chapters
where God is telling us and the windows were this big
and the doors were this big
and the entryway was this big
and the court was like this and the court was like that,
why do we have all that?
Here's why, because God told Ezekiel in verse 10,
thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel.
He said, show the temple, show this temple
to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed
of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern.
Notice verse 11, and if they be ashamed
of all that they have done, show 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.
Why, because Ezekiel was given this as a last effort
to say, this is what God has planned for you
and this is what you will miss out on
if you don't keep the covenant.
And they had a choice, they had a choice,
do we keep the covenant or do we not keep the covenant?
And God already knew how either choice would play out.
If they kept the covenant, it would play out
like the book of Revelation.
If they did not keep the covenant,
it would play out like Ezekiel 40 through 48.
God knew what choices they could make,
God knew how those choices would play out
and God also knew what choice they would make,
which is why you and I are here today.
We are here today to talk about the end times
and what the end times would have been like
under this covenant, in this testament,
as New Testament believers.
Let me just real quickly just review this real quick for you
and we'll be done.
Things you need to know about this,
Ezekiel's temple, end times prophecy,
Ezekiel's temple, end times prophecy chapters 40 through 48
describe what the end times would have been like
under the old covenant
if the old covenant would have continued.
Ezekiel's end times prophecy and temple chapters
because the old covenant was disannulled and replaced,
Ezekiel's version of the end times
described in chapters 40 through 48
has also been disannulled and replaced
and will never happen.
Number four, Ezekiel's version of the end times
under the old covenant as described in Ezekiel's temple
and end times prophecy chapters 40 through 48
is very similar to the book of Revelation's end times
description under the new covenant
because it is the same God in both covenants.
Number five, studying Ezekiel's end times chapters 40
is no different than studying the book of Leviticus
or any passage dealing with the old covenant.
It doesn't apply to us specifically,
but we can still learn from it.