May 14, 2016 ©Homer Kizer
Commentary — From the Margins
We Start Over — Again
Part Two
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"Son of Adam, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I [Ezekiel] opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. And he said to me, "Son of Adam, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house." Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear or refuse to hear." (Ezek 3:1–11 double emphasis added)
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2.
The predictions of the holy prophets that Peter referenced in his second epistle [the epistle he most likely wrote by his own hand late in his life] include the visions of Ezekiel, who was given a forehead even harder than the flint-like foreheads of uncircumcised of heart Israel, a nation that would not listen to the Lord even after being sent into physical captivity; a nation that even today will not listen to the Lord.
The prophet Daniel’s visions were sealed and kept secret until the time of the end, not until one generation before the time of the end; not until a millennium before the time of the end; not until two millennium before. Daniel’s visions were sealed and kept secret by the physical events that seemed to fulfilled them, making them amazingly accurate prophecies, too accurate for modern scholarship. Therefore, when historical events didn’t exactly dovetail with Daniel’s visions, especially following the victories of the Hammer; these events caused modern scholars to date composition of the Book of Daniel to when Daniel’s visions parted company with historical reality, little realizing that the “shadow” that sealed and kept secret Daniel’s visions until the “time of the end” ended with the spiritual sons of light, not physical sons of light, defeating spiritual sons of darkness [demonic kings and princes] in a different manner from how the Hammer achieved military successes against allied Seleucid forces; ends with the Second Advent, the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.
The generic “time of the end’ will not come upon humanity until mankind can get no farther from God than mankind is at that particular moment. Only one problem with this scenario exists: how will human persons know when humanity can get no farther from God until humanity begins a turn back toward God? And when humanity begins a return to God, the midnight hour of the long spiritual night that began at Calvary will be upon humanity. The Second Passover liberation of greater Christendom from indwelling sin and death will be upon humanity, with all “uncovered” [by the blood of the Passover Lamb of God, Christ Jesus] firstborns, natural and “legal,” being slain in a day … approximately a third part of humanity will perish in a day analogous to the days of Noah, with Noah having entered the Ark on the 10th day of the second month and the fountains of the deep erupting on the 17th day of this second month.
Noah had “risen” and was floating on water that was the death of all breathing creatures not in the Ark on the morning of the 18th day of second month. Christ Jesus had risen and had ascended to heaven on the morning of the 18th day of the first month [on the morning of the 18th day of the second month of Rabbinical Judaism’s calculated calendar when this calendar is projected backwards before its creation], with the glorified Jesus’ ascension forming the reality of the Wave Sheaf Offering as Sadducees calculated when the Wave Sheaf Offering was to occur. Therefore the symbolism of Christ Jesus’ ascension to the Father includes the projection of “death” onto all of Israel not “covered” by the ark of the covenant …
The reality of the preceding sentence will be a subject I’ll address in greater detail once I get to Adak and resume my calling to reread prophecy. Today, I’m answering a question with this Commentary, a question that needs addressed before I go as the person asking has an emotional attachment to natural Israel, the nation that is spiritually analogous to Noah’s neighbors who were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until Noah entered the Ark and the foundations of the deep erupted, producing earthquakes and volcanic activity and torrential rains from supercharging the atmosphere.
But the physical eruption of the foundations of the deep was a one time act of the Lord, evidenced by the covenant the Lord made with Noah and ratified by the bending of light, splitting the visible spectrum as the spectrum passes through round raindrops. For as Peter instructed those disciples who have faith equal to his:
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Pet 3:1–10 emphasis added)
A physical means of destruction doesn’t destroy what is not physical … when a person is foreknown by the Father, predestined to be glorified, called by Christ Jesus, justified by Christ, and glorified by the indwelling of Christ, the person is a son of God, born of spirit: this person is neither male nor female — the house of flesh in which this new creation that is a son of God resides remains either male or female, Jew or Greek, for the house doesn’t change, only the occupant of the house changes. And with the change of occupant, the “house” loses all significance. It doesn’t matter if the “house” is bundled with others and sold into slavery or brought out of slavery. It doesn’t matter what type of sound comes out of the house. It only matters what the new occupant of this house desires to do with the house. It really doesn’t matter what the new occupant actually does with the house; again, it only matters what the new occupant wants to do with the house for following the Second Passover liberation of Israel, whatever this new occupant wants to do, the occupant can do through being empowered-by and filled with spirit.
The preceding doesn’t give a son of God [the new occupant of the fleshly body of the old self] permission not to do what the son of God knows is “right,” such as keeping the Sabbath … every son of God will inwardly do good on the Sabbath for this son of God is always before the Lord and in His presence, and every son of God will outwardly rest on the Sabbath day that forms a shadow and type of entering into God’s rest. Fancy footwork performed to avoid keeping the Sabbath (to dance around keeping the Sabbath) might impress the Adversary, but doesn’t impress either Father or Son.
Once the spirit was given to Christ Jesus, physical death could not destroy Jesus. His fleshly body could be killed, but His inner self could not be killed, the logic for what Peter wrote in his first epistle in which he feeds lambs:
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to Him. (1 Pet 3:12–22 emphasis is for Peter’s citation)
Once Jesus was born of spirit, His inner self was made alive in a fleshly or earthly house through the spirit of the Father [pneuma Theou] entering into (Mark 1:10 in Greek) His spirit [pneuma Christou], with this “house” being crucified and killed at Calvary.
But Jesus—His inner self that was the Firstborn Son of God—was alive throughout the three days and three nights that His earthly body lay dead in the Garden Tomb. This dichotomy between physical life and spiritual life is what Peter sought to convey to spiritual infants: lambs. This is what Paul tried to convey to Gentile converts in Galatia … once a human person is born of spirit, the human person through spiritual birth and baptism ceases to be like Noah’s neighbors and joins the spiritual Noah [Christ Jesus] in the Ark [of the Covenant], thereby crossing from one world [death because of its lawlessness and unbelief] into the next world [life in heaven]. The Christians, like Noah’s neighbors, who are not aboard the Ark of the Covenant as a second nation of Israel, will be destroyed in the lake of fire, not in another flood; for water precedes fire and visibly reveals what non-oxidizing fire does on the spiritual (rather than physical) plane.
In symbolism, Noah and the seven people with him on an Ark of wood represent Christ Jesus and the seven spirits/angels to the seven churches in the Ark of the Covenant. The seven pair of clean animals on the Ark with Noah represent the seven named churches that form the seven horns on the Head of the slain Lamb of God (Rev 5:6). These seven churches are also represented by Joshua [in Greek, ‘Iesou, or Jesus), whereas the single pair of every unclean species represent spiritual Caleb.
In symbolism, the Body of Christ died spiritually seventy years after Calvary, and remains dead to this day. It will not live again until the Second Advent; however, it will live as the seven pair of clean animals and the single pair of every unclean animal following the Second Passover liberation of a second nation of Israel. It will live at a lower hierarchal plane than the glorified Christ and the seven angels to the seven churches throughout seven endtime years of tribulation.
It is those human persons who have truly been born of spirit that today have the indwelling spirit of Christ in which resides the spirit of the Father, with this spirit of Christ having entered into [having penetrated as a man penetrates a woman] the spirit of the person [to pneuma tou ’anthropou] to bring forth a new creature, a son of God that has the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:11, 16). And as badly as a person not yet born of spirit wants to understand the things of God—especially biblical prophecies—the person not born of spirit simply cannot understand the secret things of God; cannot understand prophecy at anything other than an intellectual level, meaning that while the person not truly born of spirit can read my words and understand what I write, the person will not necessarily believe what I say. I’ll be to this person just another voice amidst the confusion of Christianity. And that is fine; for when it is the Father’s will, the person will be called. Until then, I can do nothing for the person other than add to the person’s confusion. I certainly cannot predestine the person to be spiritually born as fruit borne out of season. I can only harm the person by giving to the person knowledge he or she is not yet able to understand or grasp.
If, however, the person has been foreknown by God the Father, the person will be “haunted” by what I write, unable to shake the logic undergirding my words. The person will be “convicted” through having the indwelling mind of Christ. And for this person, I write the basics for understanding biblical prophecy:
As history, the biblical narrative runs chronologically from one giving of genealogy to the next. But these narratives, while chronological inside themselves, are not necessarily presented chronologically as “narrative distance” and “perspective” changes. Therefore, to better see what was just presented, a repeating of what was just said from a more closely focused perspective can and does occasionally appear in the biblical narrative.
The visions of the prophets are also given a chronological order within themselves, with for example Ezekiel chapter 36 preceding in time chapter 37, but with chapter 37 giving a more focused perspective of Israel’s recovery and resurrection than seen in chapter 36 which backs up to the Second Passover liberation of Israel.
In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 there is a gathering of armies that seem time-linked, but cannot be from the details given. In reality, there is an earlier gathering of Gog and a latter gathering of Gog as seen in Revelation chapter 19:19 through 20:2 versus Revelation 20:7 through verse 10. There is a gathering of armies before [or at the beginning of] the Thousand Years, and a gathering of armies after [or at the end of] the Thousand Years. These two gathering of armies form bookends for the Millennium, and these two gatherings are seen in Ezekiel as well as in John’s vision, with the separation of these two gatherings of armies seemingly not in evidence in either Ezekiel’s vision or in John’s vision, suggesting that the passage of time in the Millennium will seem to go quickly by, a sign of little or no stress; for the perception of time and of the passage of time seems linked to the cultural stress present. Hence, in an extremely stressful situation such as an automobile accident, time seems to stand still. A person’s perception of time distorts. Likewise, prophetic time and the passage of prophetic time is distorted [slowed way down] during prophetic events; for prophets are not the bearers of good news, but bad news:
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD, and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet." (Jer 28:5–9 double emphasis added)
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"Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."