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["In the Hall of the Mountain King"] I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. 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I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. I'm going to do a little writing, and I'm going to be out in the room. Ezekiel in chapter 6, if you remember last week, had talked a lot about idolatry, and the high places, and they're worshiping the false gods, and he was going through a lot of the sins that they had been committing, and then here in chapter 7, it's talking about the judgments that they're going to be facing as a result of their wickedness. They think that things are bad, but things are actually going to get much worse, and that's what Ezekiel is prophesying in this early part of the book of Ezekiel. It says in verse number 1, Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel, An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Basically saying, they're going to get it from all sides, the four corners of the land, all quadrants. It's all going to be judged. They think that maybe they're going to get out of this with any kind of a semblance of their nation staying intact, and he says, Nope, this is going to be the end. All four corners of the land. This is going to be a total destruction of the nation of Israel because, you know, it's a 70 year captivity. Then they're going to come back and reestablish things in the days of Ezra, Nehemiah and guys like that when they come back and build the temple and build the wall and do all that. But for now, this is an end to things for the nation of Israel. Verse number three. Now is the end come upon thee and I will send mine anger upon thee and will judge thee according to thy ways and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. And this is a big theme of the chapter that keeps coming up over and over again is that it's going to be according to your abominations, according to your sins. It's going to come right back at you. Go to the very last verse of the chapter just to see how this is the theme. Verse 27 says the king shall mourn and the prince shall be clothed with desolation and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. And I will do unto them after their way, meaning according to their way is how I'm going to deal with them and according to their desserts, their desserts, meaning according to what they deserve, I will do to them according to their way, according to their desserts while I judge them and they shall know that I am the Lord. You know, this is very similar to what we see in Proverbs chapter one. You don't have to turn there, but in Proverbs chapter one, it talks about people who are not choosing the fear of the Lord and they hated knowledge and he says in verse 30, they would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. They are going to get what they deserve. They're going to get what's coming to them and if you read Proverbs chapter one, it's really similar to Romans chapter one in a lot of ways. And in Romans chapter one, what does it say? Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. So they didn't want to retain God in their knowledge. So God says, well, I'm through with you as well. And there are a lot of scriptures like this that say that God will show himself pure unto the pure, but he says unto those that are froward, unto those that are wicked, he will show himself to be unsavory. So God can either be a blessing to you or he can be a destroyer unto you and it depends on what you do. You know, it depends on which side of God's wrath or his love you're on. And so these people are facing the wrath of God for their abominations and their way, their abominations, their iniquities are coming back to bite them. And so what God's teaching us here in Ezekiel chapter seven is that these people deserve what's coming to them. They did this to themselves. That's what he's saying when he keeps saying it's going to be your dessert, it's going to be what you have done coming back upon you. Judge thee according to thy ways. It says in verse four of Ezekiel seven, and mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity. And again, this goes with the theme of saying what? You deserve this. You did this to yourself. I'm not going to spare you. I'm not going to have pity. Now what does the word pity mean? Again, it means being sad for, feeling bad for someone. God's basically saying, I don't feel bad for you. I'm not sad for you. I'm not going to hold back. I'm not going to spare. You have done these abominations. You've done this to yourself. You deserve this. And I am going to just hit you with everything. Now you say, well, I thought God is a God of love and mercy and grace and compassion. Yes, it's true. But eventually you cross a line with God and it becomes too late. God is the God of the second chance. But remember how many times has God been sending the prophets unto Israel, rising up earth early and sending them. And they're not listening, not hearkening, not getting right. Eventually God's patience runs out and he says, you know what, you're going to get what you deserve. I'm not going to feel bad about it. I'm not going to spare. I'm not going to pity. Because we know that elsewhere in scripture, the Bible tells us the Lord is very pitiful. The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. Yes, God is loving. God is merciful. God is pitiful. But there's a limit. And you've got to be careful that you don't push God past that limit here because eventually God's wrath is unleashed. And once that switch is flipped, it's too late for people at that point. Now of course we're saved. We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior, so we could never lose our salvation. We're never going to face God's wrath in the sense of being punished in hell or, or dying or anything like that. We have everlasting life. We're going to spend eternity in heaven, but we can face chastisement on this earth whom the Lord loveth, he chaseth and scourgeth every son and we receive it. So we still want to be careful that we stay on God's good side because we don't want to get severely punished even as his children. But woe unto the unsaved. I mean the unsaved, if they push it too far with God, they end up just getting the full unfiltered wrath of God and an eternity in hell into the bargain. And so this is a chapter about God's wrath. And you know, I hate to say it, but the book of Ezekiel is a book about God's wrath. I mean, it's pretty negative for the next, uh, you know, 40 some chapters. So buckle up people, but it's the word of God and it's written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. And all scripture is today in 2021 still profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness. And so if we're smart, we would read Ezekiel chapter seven and we'd apply it to ourselves. We'd apply it to our nation. We would apply it to our generation. And so he says here, I will not spare, I will not pity. This shows that yes, even though he's a God of love, mercy, grace, compassion, there are people who are on the wrong side of God's wrath where he does not have any pity for them. He does not spare them. And and that's a theme for the next several chapters in fact. So it says in verse number five, thus sayeth the Lord God, an evil, an only evil behold is coming. Because see, sometimes there's evil with a silver lining. You know, a lot of times when bad things happen to me, I always think to myself, this is happening for a reason. All things work together for good to those that love God. Someday I'm going to look at this evil thing that happened to me and I'm going to be glad that it happened because God's going to work this out for good and everything happens for a reason. You know, that's how I think all the time because I love God and I know that all things work together for good to them that love God. So I think that way. But see, for people in this situation, he says this is an evil and it's an only evil, meaning that there's nothing good about it. There's no silver lining. There's no way that this is going to kind of all work out and it's all going to be okay in the end. No, it's just bad on top of bad with a side of bad is what he's saying. It's an only evil that's come. An end has come. The end has come. It watcheth for thee. Now this is an interesting phrase, it watcheth for thee. It's basically like personifying the evil and judgment like it's a monster that's watching for them, like ready to just ah, you can get them. It watcheth for thee. Behold, it is come. The morning is come unto thee. O thou that dwellest in the land, the time is come. The day of trouble is near and not the sounding again of the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee and accomplish mine anger upon thee and I will judge thee according to thy ways and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And in case you missed it the first time, mine eyes shall not spare, neither will I have pity. I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations. Is this a little repetitive or what? He keeps saying, look, you did this to yourself and that's why I'm not going to have any pity, that's why I'm not going to spare. And then abominations that are in the midst of thee and you shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth. He's saying, look at your abominations, look at all the garbage you're doing and then look at the judgment that's coming down on you and then realize that I'm the Lord, I'm the one who's doing this to you, I'm the one who's punishing you, I am the Lord that smiteth. Verse 10, behold the day behold it has come, the morning has gone forth, the rod has blossomed, pride hath budded. So again, this is the symbolism that we see in the book of James. Lust hath conceived and it brings forth sin, sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. And then here basically sin is bringing forth death here, you know, lust has conceived brings forth sin, sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. So pride has budded, violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness, none of them shall remain nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs, neither shall there be wailing for them. So what he's saying is that sin has been building up, it's been growing and it's been getting worse and worse and worse and now God's judgment is the fruit, God's judgment is the product of this growth of sin and wickedness and abomination. Now God's wrath is not always immediate. If God's wrath were always immediate and every time you did something good you were instantly rewarded and every time you did something bad you were instantly punished, then there'd almost be no faith required because it would just be so obvious like I push the button the light bulb comes on, I sin and it's like if we had like a shock collar every time we say the wrong thing it's like oh better not say that. Okay that would be a little bit too easy. So a lot of times God's punishments come a little bit later because without faith it is impossible to please God. God requires us to believe, that's the number one most important thing that we need to have as Christians, faith in the Lord, we need to believe the Lord. And so he doesn't make everything super obvious. He does things and if we believe the word of God and then we look around we see everything being fulfilled and we see how it's all happening the way that he said it would happen. But it's done in a subtle way to where the unbeliever could look at that and say oh that's all a coincidence, that was going to happen anyway. I mean think about it, if we look at a history book that's just a secular book explaining things like why this empire collapsed or why this nation collapsed or why this system failed or why this bad thing happened, it's not going to say God was mad, they got too sinful, they had too many queers, so God was punishing them. As Christians we look at history and that's kind of how we look at it. We look at these ancient empires and they get all decadent and adulterous and even queer in some cases and then we look at that and say well that's why they got destroyed because God's punishing them for that wickedness that they did there. We would look at that place in Jamaica, who was on that Jamaica trip and heard that big story about Port Royal and it was like, refresh my memory quickly, yeah they call it the Sodom and Gomorrah of the West Indies, Port Royal, Jamaica and in a natural disaster the city, correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't it completely buried under the ocean now, it's just like completely wiped out, doesn't exist and even the tour guide told them God was judging them because it was this horrible wicked city. Now that's a great tour guide, I hope you guys gave them a tip or something, but the point is that typically history books are going to look for other reasons why people fail and suffer and why things go wrong, why did Israel have a heyday and then things went bad, why did the Romans destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD and then again 135 AD, they're going to have all these historical reasons for that, but we know why they were wiped out in 70 AD don't we, because they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus predicted that their city would be burned and that the temple would be destroyed. Jesus looked at the temple and said, one stone shall not be left upon another that should not be thrown down. He predicted that that temple was going to be completely wiped out, that's why it was wiped out, but God does things in a subtle way, it's not like Jesus died on the cross and then basically like the next year everything's wiped out. It's almost 40 years later that the full fruition of that happens where the temple is destroyed in 70 AD, Jesus Christ obviously being crucified in around 29 to 30 something AD, the exact date's debatable on that, and so whenever that happened in around 30 AD, it's not until 70 AD that Jesus prophecy comes true, so you could look at it and some things did happen when Jesus was crucified, there's an earthquake and it gets dark and stuff like that, but see a lot of people could just explain that away, just say well earthquakes happen, earthquakes are a thing, earthquakes happen. So the point is that we have to believe the word of God and then we see all this and Ezekiel's telling them look, you know you're doing these abominations, I'm a prophet of God, I'm predicting this destruction and when this happens you need to look at this and realize that it's God that's punishing you, that I the Lord am smiting you, you need to realize that, but here's the thing, not everybody's going to realize that because some people are just going to say well this is just because the Babylonians are powerful and blah, blah, blah, they're just going to come up with some other explanation, but God wants us to acknowledge the fact that this is the punishment for sin. So he says in verse 11, violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness, none of them shall remain nor of their multitude nor any of theirs, neither shall there be wailing for them, meaning nobody's even going to mourn them, they're not even going to have a funeral. Time has come, the day draweth near, let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof, for the seller shall not return to that which is sold although they were yet alive, for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof which shall not return, neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. He's saying everybody's going into captivity, everything's getting destroyed, the nation's getting wiped out, and nobody's coming back, because remember this is a 70 year captivity. That means pretty much nobody's coming back because everybody who's an adult when this happens is going to be dead by the time the captivity ends and they start coming back. You know if you're 20 and then 70 years go by, you're 90, you're not coming back because you're already in the Babylonian retirement home or you're probably already dead, but even if you're alive you're not ready to go all right let's go back to Jerusalem, you're too old, you're done, nobody's coming back he says, and he says they've blown the trumpet verse 14 even to make already, but none goes to the battle, for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof, the sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within, he that is in the field shall die with the sword, he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. Remember that from back in chapter 4 verse 16, but they that escape of them shall escape and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valley, all of them mourning everyone for his iniquity. So we see that most people, the majority are going to get wiped out if you remember when he gave himself the haircut and he divided the hair into three portions and he threw a third of it in the fire representing the pestilence and death in the city and then he smote a third with the sword representing the ones who are just going to be killed in the way and then he threw a third into the wind and chased after them with the sword which represented the ones that are going up into captivity and then he had that little handful that he kind of tucked into his belt that seemed to be spared. He's like just kidding and threw him in the fire just to show nobody's going to escape. Okay so the only ones who survive are basically the ones where he scatters them into the winds and then follows them with the sword. Some of them survive so it's like less than a third of people of who he's talking to that make it of this group. Okay and so the ones who do make it though the Bible says that they are going to be mourning everyone for his iniquity. So this small group of people and it's not even a third it's less than that. Okay they are sad about what they did. You know they're mourning because of their iniquity so eventually it's these people's children and grandchildren that are eventually going to be right with God and come back with Ezra and Nehemiah and all that and reestablish the nation later. So it says all hands shall be feeble and all knees shall be weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth and horror shall cover them and shame shall be upon all faces and baldness upon all their heads. So they're going to be humble they're going to feel bad they're going to be humiliated and so they're going to be in a position where they're ready to get right with God. And then he says in verse number 19 they shall cast their silver in the streets and their gold shall be removed their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They shall not satisfy their souls neither fill their bowels because it's the stumbling block of their iniquity. So what he's saying is that as they flee as they escape into the mountains and they flee from the carnage they're going to be like casting out their gold and silver. Why? Because gold and silver are heavy. Gold is a very heavy metal silver is a pretty heavy metal. And so when you're running for your life you know you have to basically leave all that stuff. And so they're having to even drop valuables just to get out of there with their skin just to survive because they can't carry any extra weight. And so they're not going to escape and have a bunch of money and be able to just kind of set up shop somewhere else. You know they're getting out with nothing they don't have any food in their stomach they're hungry they're in the mountains they're crying they're you know shaving their heads bald they're in sackcloth they're mourning they're humiliated they've lost literally everything. And these are the these are the ones who survive let alone all the other ones that get wiped out these are the ones who are actually going to make it. Now look at verse number 20. So that that stuff is all verse 1 through 19 is all just a lot of you're doomed you're doomed you're going to die it's bad it's really bad. So now he kind of gets into a different subject in verse 20. As for the beauty of his ornament. He said it in majesty. Now what is he talking about here. I think as we read through this you're going to see that what he's talking about is the temple because it's talking about the Lord. As for the beauty of his ornament meaning the Lord's ornament. He said it in majesty but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein therefore have I said it far from them. So the ornament the beauty of his ornament I believe here as we read you'll see that I'm that I'm telling you the truth here that it's the temple of the Lord is the beauty of his ornament set in majesty and they have filled the temple or God's house with images of their abominations and their detestable things so they brought idolatry into the house of the Lord is what we're going to see here. And so he says they've defiled it so I've said it far from them. Verse 21 and I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil and they shall pollute it. Now why would the temple be a prey or a spoil unto their enemies because everything is gold plated. So if you remember the description of the temple it's overlaid with gold. You know it's made out of stones and wood but it's overlaid with gold. So obviously if you're coming in as an invading army you're going to want to strip all of that precious metal and all of the vessels of the house of God any kinds of cups and pots and pans and and different forks and hooks and things anything that's made out of a precious metal that stuff's a major commodity even today and especially in the ancient world that stuff is extremely valuable and so they're obviously going to strip all that from the temple. It's going to be a spoil. They're going to pollute the house of God as they just come in and just start ripping it apart and just taking everything that's not nailed down and even what is nailed down and it says in verse 22 my face will I turn also from them and they shall pollute my secret place. So he's talking about the ornament of his beauty the beauty of his ornament and then he also talks about his secret place. This would be the most holy place because if you remember with the tabernacle and also with the temple there are like these kind of concentric rings of layers of holiness like as you move in it gets holier and who can go in there gets less and less because you've got basically the courtyard around the tabernacle then you've got the tabernacle itself then you've got the holy place then you've got the most holy place and when you get to the most holy place only one guy goes in there once a year. You know everybody could go into the courtyard only the priest can go into the holy place only the high priest can go into the most holy place once a year so it gets more and more holy and that secret place is the most holy place or what the New Testament calls the holiest of all place and he says they will pollute my secret place for the robbers shall enter into it and defile it. So they're going to go in robbers now when the robbers go into the secret place and again we started out dealing with the tabernacle but at this time the tabernacle has been replaced with the temple but the temple is very similar to the tabernacle it has the same components of a holy place and a most holy place and altars and things but it's just a permanent structure as opposed to being a tent like the tabernacle of the congregation was. So what are the robbers going to find when they go into the most holy place? What are they going to find when they get in there? They're going to find the Ark of the Covenant right there's a golden sensor the golden pot I mean there's different things there. Go if you would to Hebrews chapter number nine Hebrews chapter number nine and let's see what was there originally in the tabernacle now here's an interesting thing is that when the book of Hebrews talks about the old covenant it basically just ignores the temple and acts like the temple doesn't exist and only talks about the tabernacle so it's kind of going back to God's original intent in the books of Moses because the books of Moses are not about the temple the temple is a David thing right centuries and centuries later in God's law it's the tabernacle and Hebrews kind of just skips over the temple and just talks about the tabernacle because that was the purest form that God gave them made after the pattern showed unto Moses and the mount. So look at Hebrews chapter nine verse one then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary for there was a tabernacle made the first wherein was the candlestick and what it means there the first is that basically when you walk in you're in that first layer of holiness you know before you get to the most holy place so in the first layer the first one was the the candlestick and the table and the showbread which is called the sanctuary and sanctuary literally means holy place the sanct at the beginning is like saint or Santa in Spanish right so the holy place or the sanctuary and after the second veil the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all what the Old Testament calls the most holy place what we're seeing called in Jeremiah or in Ezekiel the the secret place so what is in the holiest of all the golden sensor which is for incense and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid roundabout with gold what's in the Ark of the Covenant wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tables of the covenant and over it the cherry bims of glory shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly now don't forget that phrase right there we can't talk about this particularly now but he's saying this is what was in the tabernacle in the most holy place there was a golden sensor and there was the Ark of the Covenant overlaid roundabout with gold and what was in the Ark of the Covenant three things right the golden pot that had manna Aaron's rod that budded and the tables of the covenant that's what was in there and over it the cherry bims of glory shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly when the book of Hebrews is being written he says we can't talk about this particularly now now go back if you would to 2 Chronicles chapter 5 don't let me lose you on this part here 2 Chronicles chapter number 5 we're talking about the fact that in Ezekiel he says that the secret place of the temple is going to be looted by robbers it said robbers will come in and defile the secret place of the ornament of God's beauty and they will go in and defile it now we could look at what I'm about to show you in Kings but we're gonna choose to look at it in Chronicles but if we went to Kings we could find the exact same thing is what I'm about to show you so let's go to 2 Chronicles chapter number 5 and this is when King Solomon has just built the temple right look what it says in verse 10 of 2 Chronicles 5 Solomon is is a you know dedicating the temple and it says there was nothing in the Ark save save means accept so he's saying there's nothing in the Ark except the two tables which Moses put there in at Horeb when the Lord made a covenant with children of Israel when they came out of Egypt so what's missing the golden pot that had manna is already gone and Aaron's rod that budded is already gone everybody see that the Bible is very clear at this point the Ark has only one thing in it there's nothing else in it except for that the two tablets that Moses made at Horeb that's the only thing left so what we see here is basically a deterioration in the Ark right because it's like you know in the original tabernacle you've got the Ark of the Covenant and it has these three elements now at a later date we've deteriorated we're in the temple now instead of the tabernacle and now the Ark of the Covenant has already been stripped of a couple of items and now it's down to where it's just the tables of the Covenant that's all that's left the other things have been taken or removed from it now here's the thing about the Ark of the Covenant go if you would to Jeremiah chapter three Jeremiah chapter three here's the thing about the Ark of the Covenant is that it's a big deal for part of Israel's history I mean it's it's a huge deal in the book of first Samuel it's a big deal when David becomes king it's still a big deal and he's saying you know we need to bring up the Ark of the Covenant we sought not after it in the days of Saul and he brings up the Ark and of course you got the story of Uzzah touching the Ark and he dies people look into the Ark and then they get sick and die and the Philistines in earlier the Philistines when they had the Ark they're getting emerods and their secret parts and they're being plagued with mice and sores and bad things are happening to them because they've stolen the Ark and so it's a big deal throughout that time the last time that we see anything about the Ark of the Covenant though is in the days of Josiah which is kind of the last really good king in Judah shortly before the Babylonian captivity the Ark's there and Josiah talks about reinstalling the Ark into the into the most holy place presumably it's been removed for some reason maybe and there are a couple of reasons why it could have been removed maybe because you know Josiah is renovating things and they took it out renovated because the temple had fallen into disrepair and Josiah is bringing them back to the worship of the Lord cleaning out idolatry fixing things up so maybe it's taken out and then it's being reinstalled and it's like a big deal that it's being reinstalled okay you know or perhaps it had just been kicked out so they could put idols there who knows why the Bible doesn't say but here's what the Bible says it's reinstalled in the days of Josiah and that is the last time we ever see the Ark of the Covenant in the whole Bible the last time you see it actually being there is with Josiah and then you never hear about it again now what about in the New Testament you know is the Ark of the Covenant a thing in the New Testament the only mentions of it in the New Testament are that you've got the what I just read you in Hebrews where he's you know looking back to the tabernacle way long time ago and then in Revelation heaven is open and John sees the Ark of the Covenant in heaven but but what you have to understand is that according to the Old Testament everything that was made on this earth for the tabernacle the Ark all that was modeled after the real one in heaven so in heaven there's a tabernacle in heaven there's a holy place in heaven there's a most holy place in heaven there's an Ark of the Covenant in heaven so the one that John sees in Revelation chapter 11 with the sounding of the seventh trumpet that Ark that he sees that's the one that's always been there the one on this earth was modeled after that one because the Bible says that the things on this earth were the figures of the true the real the Lord Jesus Christ with his blood entered into the real tabernacle in heaven he sprinkled his blood on the real mercy seat in heaven the ones on earth are the figures of the true meaning that there are replicas of what is in heaven the true Ark of the Covenant is the one in heaven the one on earth was always a replica of that made after the pattern showed to Moses in the mount so let's look at Jeremiah chapter 3 because the question is you know what happened to the Ark what happened to the Ark of the Covenant why no talk of the ark in the New Testament it's just not even a thing in the New Testament is it is it a thing in Matthew is it a thing in Mark is it a thing in Luke is it a thing in John is it a thing in acts just not even a thing here's another good question is it a thing in Ezra is it a thing in Nehemiah you know I mean they're coming back I mean look Ezra Nehemiah give us a lot of mundane details hey they fixed this part of the wall then they fix this part of the wall this gate this guy's house this guy here's a list of everybody's name who came back oh here's all the ones that we didn't let come back it goes into tons of detail all kinds of dedications here's when the foundations laid here's when it's finished here's how everybody feels about it here's Ezra preaching here's a pulpit of wood here's everybody listening to the law being read but isn't interesting that there's absolutely no mention of the Ark of the Covenant in Ezra or Nehemiah when they're reinstating and re-consecrating the house it isn't there there's no mention of it now look what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter 3 verse 16 and it shall come to pass when you be multiplied and increased in the land now just for sake of time I'm just gonna give you the context here instead of reading you the whole chapter this is talking about them returning from the Babylonian captivity Jeremiah is predicting the captivity and their return and he says in verse 13 only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou transgressed against the Lord thy God and has scattered thy ways to the strangers and he says in verse 14 turn O backsliding children say at the Lord for I'm married unto you I'll take you one of a city and two of a family and I'll bring you to Zion he's talking about them coming back after being destroyed and I will give you pastors according to my heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding here's the key verse 16 and it shall come to pass when you be multiplied and increased in the land because look when they come back in the days of Ezra and Jeremiah they're few in number compared to the nation they used to be they're much less because most people got wiped out as Ezekiel described but when they come back from the Babylonian captivity and they be multiplied and increased in the land in those days saith the Lord they shall say no more the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it neither shall that be done anymore so what is the Bible predicting here in Jeremiah chapter 3 verse 16 that when they come back to the land and they multiply in the land that the Ark of the Covenant is not going to be a thing that's what the Bible actually says so you have a mention of it in the days of Josiah and then what's the next mention the next mention is oh by the way when you guys come back from the captivity the Ark of the Covenant is not even gonna be a thing they're not gonna think about it you're not gonna talk about it you're not gonna mention it well maybe that's why it's not mentioned anywhere in Ezra or in Nehemiah or in Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans first second Corinthians right because it's not a thing anymore but you have people out there that would claim that oh you know the Ark of the Covenant over there and it's hidden and you know I mean Indiana Jones found it and everything but you know but the point is it's gone you want it you know I'll tell you exactly where the Ark is in Ezekiel chapter 7 what does he say is gonna happen robbers came in and they spoiled it they defiled it and you know what they did they took the gold and they melted it down and that's what they did and that's where it went and it's gone forever and it doesn't exist now I'm sure I wouldn't be surprised if in the end times when the Antichrist shows up all of a sudden some Ark of the Covenant is found would that surprise you at all when the Antichrist shows up and it's like oh look you know Ron Wyatt Ron Wyatt the Seventh-day Adventist heretic was right here's the here's the you know the Ark of the Covenant is hidden you know I mean this crawl these crazy sort you know Ron Wyatt was secretly allowed in and he got to go in and he touched it and it still had the blood on it and then he DNA tested the blood of Jesus and all folks that stuff is a hoax it's garbage it's not real don't fall for that stuff don't fall for all this kind of crazy wild internet stuff okay that was like a crazy wild VHS stuff because that was around even when I was a kid but but the point is that if we go by what the Bible actually says God says robbers are gonna come in and defile the temple including the secret place and then what is what does Jeremiah say it's not going to be a and then what do we actually see in Scripture that it's not a thing that it's not mentioned that it's like now here's where this is coming from second Maccabees and let me just tell you right now the Apocrypha is trash it's complete trash well I think it's good for historical reading and it's good for nothing it is the most worthless literature ever written in the history of mankind okay so don't even think for one second that the Apocrypha is somehow valuable or important now some people would try to say like well you know it's included in the King James Version because they thought it was scripture no wrong because it's included in the King James Bible between the Testaments in a special section labeled at the top of every page Apocrypha okay so it's not like it's in a Catholic Bible where they put it with the biblical text where they put the parts in with Daniel they put the parts in with Ezra because a lot of the Apocrypha is parts of books that are added later and those will be in that section you know the story of Belle and the dragon Susanna and the Song of the Three Holy Children none of that stuff is included in the Book of Daniel and the King James or or included in the relevant portions of Ezra or anywhere it's in a special section called Apocrypha and if you even look at the notes that they write in there they sometimes criticize it oh this is corrupt here or this guy's clearly imitating Solomon he's a poser you know they didn't use that word but that's basically what they're saying and so if you look at because keep in mind the King James Bible is being printed and published and overseen by King James and the Church of England and obviously they have a team of you know 54 expert scholar translator linguist guys but it's the thing is overseen by the Church of England well the Church of England had a statement of faith at that time called the 39 articles of the Church of England and the 39 articles of the Church of England specifically say the ones that were enforced in 1611 specifically say no doctrine shall be derived from these 14 books called Apocrypha these are basically saying these are not the Word of God because all scriptures given by inspiration of God is profitable for what doctrine it specifically says in the articles of the Church of England these books no doctrine shall be based on any of these books and they they could only be used for like historical reading or moral reading something like that like you know it could be profitable to read it just for like the historical value or the moral value but that it's not scripture that's what they believe that's what they said in their statement of faith and so it has never been thought of as part of the King James Bible as part of the text of the scripture they translated it because they're kind of weaning people off of the Catholic Church they're weaning people off of those books so they're translating them so that people can still read them and see what's there because you know it's sort of like when the the missionary is it William William Carey went to India and he's translating the Bible into their language translating it into Bengali and other Indian languages he also translated the Hindu scriptures into their language too why would a Baptist missionary translate the Hindu scriptures into their legs so he could show them how stupid it was and so that he could show them you guys aren't even following your own scripture your religion doesn't even follow your own scripture you don't even know what your own religion is so he's like here let me tell you what you guys even believe so that then I can tell you why you're wrong you know so that's the only reason why the 1611 edition of the King James has that in there is because they're weaning people off of it and so they're showing them like here it is don't base any doctrine on it you can read it if you want they're basically just kind of easing them out of it and weaning them off of that that stuff and you know you have to translate it into English so that people can see what garbage it is and you know I'm I really like the fact that the King James translators translated the Apocrypha because then you can't blame how bad it is on a bad translation you know because the King James translators are great so I mean it's not that it's a bad translation it's just that the Apocrypha is just so lame I I can't even read one chapter of the Apocrypha without just being like are you serious it's such a it's such a cheap imitation like anybody who actually knows the Bible who actually reads the Bible and then reads the Apocrypha they're just gonna be like what is this because it's just it's not the same it's not the same quality and and and that's and it's the exact same translators King James translators so you can't blame the translation it just isn't any good and and you say well it's good for historical oh really that's funny because it's constantly contradicting the Bible and contradicting historical fact like like how about this in Judith 1-1 in the Apocrypha it talks about when Nebuchadnezzar you know rained over Assyria in Nineveh that'd be like if we said you know in the days when President Trump ruled Canada from Ottawa you understand what I'm saying like they're taking a very famous world leader putting him in the wrong capital ruling over the wrong country yeah I really care what the book of Judith says and by the way these apocryphal books of the Maccabees they don't even claim to be the Word of God they they actually disparage themselves they're just these Jewish fables they're junk they're not quoted by Jesus Christ Jesus and the apostles are quoting the Bible they don't quote this stuff so in Maccabees here's what here's what Maccabees claims happened of course written hundreds of years after Ezra and Nehemiah hundreds of years after Ezra and Nehemiah all of a sudden this second Maccabees I forget which chapter it's in but it pulls out this story of Oh Jeremiah the prophet hid the Ark of the Covenant in a cave and then pulled it out later that's funny because Jeremiah is the guy that told us it's not even gonna be a thing in the actual Word of God and then you've got this apocryphal book claiming oh yeah you know Jeremiah hid it in a cave and whatever so why didn't Ezra talk about that why didn't Nehemiah talk about it why didn't any actual Bible books talk about that why did this fake imitation fraud book be the only one to talk about I'll tell you why cuz it's a made-up story that was made up hundreds and hundreds of years later because it didn't happen I'm sure Ron Wyatt loves that story but I don't know about you but you know to me I'm gonna base what I believe on what the Bible says and I would completely discard anything that the Maccabees says because it's not historically accurate it's not even good literature it's it's got theological problems historical problems it conflicts with the Bible I think that the articles of the Church of England were wrong when they said it's good moral teaching and good literature because it's not it's just junk it should be thrown in the trash that's what I think is good for it nothing really truly nothing a lot of people claim like oh it fills in the gap you know in the 400 years of silence from God there were not 400 years of silence from God other books fill that gap the book of Daniel fills that gap and you know we have everything we need right here in the Bible there's nothing missing it's all everything we need is right here and so the point being that if you look at the evidence in Scripture it's clear that the Ark of the Covenant was destroyed at the time that the Babylonian captivity took place and it was never seen again and so in the New Testament when Jesus died on the cross and the veil in the temple was rented in half then you know either one of two things were the case either number one the veil is rent and there's nothing there there's nothing in there there's no ark in there or they had just made another ark they just made a box and they had made that ark but it wasn't the one with the tables in it and remember the ark had already previously gone from being the ark that has three things in it to being the ark that has one thing in it to the ark being completely gone and ceasing to exist now I would very strongly be of the opinion that there was no Ark of the Covenant there at the time of Christ because of Jeremiah chapter 3 verse 16 you know I think that that's clear that it's not mentioned or anything like that and also now to bring us back around to that point that I was making in Hebrews chapter 9 when he as soon as he starts describing the Ark of the Covenant what does he say of which things we cannot now speak particularly you know why can we not speak in any kind of detail about the Ark of the Covenant now because it's been gone for 500 years when Hebrews is being written so can't really talk about it because it's gone it isn't there that's that's what I believe the scripture teaches but for sure the one thing we know for sure though is that God said in Jeremiah 3 16 that at some point the Ark of the Covenant would stop being a thing so when some guy pulls out the Ark of the Covenant in the end times it's gonna be a fraud I'm calling it right now you know that when the Antichrist comes they're probably gonna pull out their red heifer that you hear so much about you know the red heifer and the Ark oh what the Ark of the Covenant is gonna conveniently pop up after being missing for at least 2,000 years I say it's been missing for 2,500 years but after being missing for 2,000 years it's just gonna pop up and oh we found the Ark and oh you know that it's gonna be the Antichrist that's gonna be it's all you know rebuild the temple and all they're gonna rebuild the temple and they're gonna want to put something in there and they're gonna put their fake fraud Ark of the Covenant in there you know you know that's what I think is gonna happen so anyway let me just hurry to quickly finish here I wanted to explain that but he says you know they will the robbers will enter in and defile it we're back in Ezekiel 7 just to close out real quick make a chain for the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence wherefore and this is a this is a great statement here in verse 24 wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen and they shall possess their houses so he's telling them not only are you gonna be invaded by a foreign army I'm gonna bring in just the worst possible people you know to take over you know and God will often use very wicked people to judge his people when they go astray from him he'll bring in people that are even worse you know Habakkuk describes this exact incident of the Babylonian captivity as the wicked devouring the man that is more righteous than he but God says well yeah I mean I'm gonna bring in the worst kind of people I'll bring in the worst of the heathen they're gonna live in your house they're gonna sit in your chair and sleep in your bed the worst gnarliest foreign nation is gonna come and sleep in your bed and eat out of your cereal bowl and he says I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease and their holy places shall be defiled destruction cometh and they shall seek peace and there shall be none mischief shall come upon mischief and rumors shall be upon rumor then shall they seek a vision of the Prophet but the law shall perish from the priest and counsel from the ancients the king shall mourn and we already read the last verse but basically you know verse 26 is a powerful truth because a punishment from God is a famine of hearing the Word of God you know when when you can't find a preacher that's preaching the Word of God when you can't find the preacher who has the Word of God or is preaching the Word of God or is willing to speak the Word of God and you can't find the prophets and the teachers that that's a punishment from God on a wicked nation you know there there are nations in this world right now where you can't find a good church you know and it's like like we're spoiled in America because we you know we want every church to be like right on every single doctrine and just straight down the line and you know I do think we should go to the best church that we can find but no church is gonna be perfect but you have a lot of people just like oh there's no good church in my area and they live in a city with like millions of people and there's like 30 independent fundamental Baptist churches and yeah there's something wrong with all of them but there's a lot of good options like if faithful word Baptist Church just stopped existing tomorrow there are a whole bunch of other independent fundamental Baptist churches in this area that do soul winning where you could go and you could grow in the Lord and you could raise your family and and and live a good Christian life there I said it there's other churches out there of course you know our church is not the only right church in Phoenix there there are literally and I'm not saying that these are all good churches but there are literally like 40 independent fundamental King James only Baptist churches in Phoenix 40 and I could I'd say at least 10 of them go soul winning and probably more than that but I I can I could I could list 10 of them that have some kind of a soul anymore now hey obviously faithful word Baptist Church is the best church okay but I'm saying there's other great church out there but I'm saying all over America you can find a church where the pastor is saved and where people are saved and where people love God and God cares about them and God's working in their lives and they're doing things for God and everything I mean but but let me tell you something when I talk about that how hey because a lot of people are like well I don't go to church because I can't find a good church you just shut up and find a church and go there but when I say that I'm talking to America because everywhere in America you can find a church to go to if you're in America you can find a church to go to it's not gonna be perfect but you can find a church where you could go but let me tell you something some of these other countries they truly have no church I mean there are other countries where there's nothing where they they'll travel several hours and just it's the pastor's not even saved and they've traveled five hours to be there you know you know the pastor's favorite Baptist preacher is like Martin Luther King Jr. or something who didn't even believe Jesus bodily rose from the dead and that's on his website listed as his role model or something you know the point is there are truly countries out there where you cannot find a good church anywhere near you you know in America you're gonna find one other countries sometimes it can be rough no you know not some countries have a lot of good churches but man some of them it's it's a spiritual wasteland it's a spiritual desert and let me tell you something it's a punishment from God on a nation you know one of the nations that we hear from sometimes is Canada and I'm sure there are a lot of great churches in Canada but a lot of people saying that they just can't find any good church in Canada you know or especially like European countries you know place of parts of Germany or France or you know Spain or something you know it's like they just have a hard time finding any Bible but let me tell you there's a punishment from God on these countries they're being punished when that when that when there's no prophet there's no preacher the the Word of God isn't there it's a famine of hearing God's Word and that is a punishment from God why because going because church is a blessing don't take it for granted that we have church that we have the Bible in our language you know other other countries where they used to have the Bible translated in their language and now it's like out of print it's totally out of print all they have is some brand new version that came out last week that completely corrupts things but their old traditional Bible that used to be in their language is now out of print you have to go find an antique store or something that's a punishment from God and so don't take for granted church pastors teachers preachers the Bible these are blessings to help us and it's good that we have them because other people don't have them and and God often talks about how you know one day you're gonna want to hear God's Word you're gonna go the prophet and he's gonna have nothing to say to you you're gonna go to the priest he's not even gonna have a copy of the Bible and there's gonna be a famine of hearing God's Word take advantage of it while it's available for you let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer Lord we thank you so much for this chapter and Lord it's a it's it's always sobering when we read these chapters about death and destruction and carnage upon the wicked Lord help us to be sober and to realize that you are a consuming fire and Lord help us not to be carried about with every wind of doctrine about the Ark of the Covenant resurfacing or these internet hoaxes Lord help us to base our beliefs on the word and and help us also to realize what a treasure we have that we have the entire Bible translated into our language and that we have the full Bible preserved inspired perfect Word of God in our language and we've got people preaching it in every city in America Lord help us to listen and take heed to what the Bible is saying and what preachers are saying from your word in Jesus name we pray amen amen let's take our song books and turn to him number three hundred and twenty seven three twenty seven higher ground number three hundred and twenty seven let's sing out on that first verse I'm pressing on the upper way I'm pressing on the upper way I'm pressing on the upper way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I'm pressing on the upward way I am playing that I have found Oh, what might be the fire ground? Thank you for watching!