Ezekiel 24
1
Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2
Son of man, Write for thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
3
And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
4
Gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
5
Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them boil its bones in it.
6
Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
7
For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
8
That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
9
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
10
Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11
Then set it empty upon its coals, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be melted in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12
She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
13
In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
14
I the LORD have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the LORD GOD.
15
Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
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Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thy head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
18
So I spoke to the people in the morning: and at evening my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19
And the people said to me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
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Then I answered them, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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Speak to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellence of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22
And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23
And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one towards another.
24
Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
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Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,
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That he that escapeth in that day shall come to thee, to cause thee to hear it with thy ears?
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In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him who hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
True Christianity #764
764. After This Night Comes the Morning, Which Is the Lord's Coming
Since the successive stages of the church on both a large and a small scale are described in the Word as the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, fall, and winter) and as the four times of day (morning, afternoon, evening, and night), and since the modern-day church, which is Christianity, is the night, it follows that now the morning is at hand. The morning is the beginning of a new church.
The following passages make it clear that the Word describes the successive stages of the church as the four parts of the day, which are determined by light.
Through the evening and the morning, for two thousand three hundred [days], what is holy will be made just. The vision of the evening and the morning is the truth. (Daniel 8:14, 26)
Someone was crying out to me from Seir, "Watchman, watchman, what of the night?" The watchman replied, "Morning is coming, but so is the night. " (Isaiah 21:11-12)
The end has come. The morning is upon you, O you who dwell in the land. Behold, the day has come; the morning is over. (Ezekiel 7:6-7, 10)
In the morning, in the morning Jehovah will bring his judgment to light; it will not be lacking. (Zephaniah 3:5)
God is in her midst. God will help her when she looks for the morning. (Psalms 46:5)
I have been waiting for Jehovah. My soul waits for the Lord like those who watch for the morning. They watch for the morning because with him there is the most redemption. He will redeem Israel. (Psalms 130:5-8)
[2] In the passages just quoted evening and night mean the time when the church is at an end; morning means the time when the church is just beginning.
The Lord himself is also called the Morning, as we see in the following passages:
The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me, "He was like the morning light, a morning without clouds. " (2 Samuel 23:3-4)
I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the shining morning star. (Revelation 22:16)
From the womb of your dawn comes the dew of your youth. (Psalms 110:3)
These quotations are about the Lord. Since the Lord is the Morning, he rose from the tomb first thing in the morning, in order to begin a new church (Mark 16:2, 9).
[3] What the Lord says about his Coming makes it obvious that we are to await it:
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him and said, "Tell us what the sign of your Coming and of the close of the age will be. " (Matthew 24:3)
Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Humankind will appear, and they will see the Son of Humankind coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. (Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27)
Like the days of Noah, so will the Coming of the Son of Humankind be. Therefore be prepared, because you do not know at what hour the Son of Humankind will come. (Matthew 24:37, 39, 44)
In Luke:
When the Son of Humankind comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)
In John:
Jesus said of John, "If I want him to remain until I come . . . " (John 21:22-23)
[4] In the Acts of the Apostles:
When they saw Jesus taken up into heaven, two men were standing near them in white clothes. They said, "Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way you saw him go up to heaven. " (Acts of the Apostles 1:9-11)
In the Book of Revelation:
The Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show his servants what must happen. "Behold, I am coming. Blessed are those who keep the commandments of this book. Behold, I am coming, and my reward is with me, to give to all according to their works. " (Revelation 22:6-7, 12)
And from the same chapter:
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, a shining morning star. The spirit and the bride say, "Come. " And those who hear, say, "Come. " And those who are thirsty, come. Those who wish to, take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:16-17)
And again in the same chapter:
He who testifies to these things says, "I am indeed coming. " Amen. Do indeed come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (Revelation 22:20-21)
