Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 14:32:28 -0800 From: Christian Prophecy <christianprophecy@thekingdomwithinyou.com> To: bugs@freebsd.org Subject: [Prophecy] November 20, 2014 Communique - Gog And Magog - Part IV Message-ID: <Q51CIR02-G8O0-GO0W-MRE0-RR5LDS4ZGBQ@thekingdomwithinyou.com>
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Christian Media Communiqu=E9 GOG AND MAGOG - Part IV The Two Houses Of Israel And Judah United Under Jesus In studying the Gog and Magog prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39, so far we’ve focused on the preceding chapters – for in these chapters, we find the true nature of the identity of Gog and Magog=2E These statements, in the run up to the confrontation with “Gog,” emphasize the Apocalyptic Linguistics which the LORD utilized to communicate the forthcoming Spiritual salvation of Israel= =2E In a half dozen of Ezekiel’s chapters which chronologically precede the Gog and Magog prophetic panorama, we find vivid language in which the LORD vows enmity against the Edomite identity, even as He renews His long standing promise to redeem, and bless, “the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 36:1)=2E Pivotal to the finale in which Gog clashes with the LORD, we find the reunification of the two houses of Israel, which is styled under the imagery of two sticks which the prophet holds in his hand=2E At God’s instruction, Ezekiel is told to press them together, to signify the forthcoming reunion of the two houses: “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, for Judah…then take another stick…=2Ethe stick of Ephraim…And join them one to another into one stick, and they shall become one in thine hand” (Ezekiel 37:16, 17)=2E This prophecy immediately follows the famous Valley of Dry Bones prophecy, in which the prophet sees a large valley of dried bones, which are gathered together, then equipped with flesh and blood, and subsequently seen as the resurrected people of the LORD=2E In the prior installment of the present work, we showed how God’s promise to indwell this body of people with His Spirit, was fulfilled at Pentecost, when the “rushing mighty wind” came upon the disciples of Jesus Christ=2E The fact the “Two Sticks” prophecy of Ezekiel is found in the very same chapter as the “Valley of Dry Bones” prophecy is not coincidental=2E Indeed, the Spiritually deceased nation of Israel seen in the dry bones prophecy is specified to be “the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11), a euphemism for the combined body of the two houses of Israel and Judah=2E Thus, as we showed in this series, the Jewish repatriation to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple – a significant endeavor led by Nehemiah – was necessary, in order for the LORD Jesus Christ to “suddenly come to this temple” (Malachi 3:1)=2E Students of Scripture know the dividing of the Northern house of Israel (referred to as Samaria, Ephraim, or Israel in the many texts on the subject) from the Southern house of Judah, was a pivotal judgment because of the sins of the king and the people=2E The forthcoming dividing of the kingdom was pronounced in the days of Solomon, the son of King David, many centuries before the time of Ezekiel=2E “And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice” (I Kings 11:9)=2E For many centuries after the time of Solomon, the two houses of Israel and Judaea were estranged, but the prophetic expectation of the longed for arrival of the Messiah, included the reunification of the two houses=2E In fact, it is in this very passage of Ezekiel, which images the reunion as “two sticks” joined together, that we learn there was to be one king who would bring an end to the division: “And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Ezekiel 37: 22)=2E Although most believers are aware of the many references to the Jews in the Gospels (a term related to Judah or Judaea), many don’t yet recognize how Jesus clearly announced He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel – even as He walked the streets of Judaea: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24)=2E Although Christ publicly announced His mission was to Israel, it is self evident He was to redeem the house of Judah as well, for even the wise men from the East, who sought the Christ child in His infancy, recognized that He was born the King of the Jews: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2: 1, 2)=2E There is historical evidence indicating the Magi – the “wise men” in the Gospels – were actually of the priestly caste which resided in the Eastern empire of Parthia=2E This is relevant because the Parthian kingdom, which rivaled Rome in that period, is believed to have included a significant presence comprised of Israelites descended from the long dispersed Northern tribes=2E Thus, the mysterious Magians (where we get our word magic), who journeyed to Jerusalem to see the great king, likely had an expectation of the wonderful work in which the Saviour would bring back the glory days of Israel, through a miraculous reunification with the house of Judah=2E Ezekiel’s prophecy also indicated this “one king,” who would be “king to them all,” was associated with David – another reason the prophetic tradition included the widespread understanding the Messiah would be the “Son of David,” referred to so frequently in the Gospels: “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd…and my servant David shall be their prince forever” (Ezekiel 37: 24, 25)=2E The prediction that David “shall be king,” and “David shall be [the] prince” of the reunited whole house of Israel was connected to an earlier promise of the LORD, in which God told David his son would rule on David’s throne forever=2E This was hundreds of years before Ezekiel’s time, when David had purposed to build the LORD a temple=2E However, God said David’s son would build Him a “house,” and that son would sit on David’s throne over the whole house of Israel forever: “I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom=2E He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne forever” (I Chronicles 17:11)=2E This is the “throne” of David, of which JESUS CHRIST is the heir – so that the “house of David” (I Chronicles 17:24) was to be established forever, to rein over all Israel=2E However, the Apostle Peter would later tell us the “house” the LORD was to build consisted of a reconfigured body of believers which included both “houses” of Israel and Judah, and Christ constructed this great temple by dwelling within the bodies of those who have received Him as LORD: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5)=2E At the Pentecost episode when the “rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2) of the Holy Spirit swept through Jerusalem, in fulfillment of Ezekiel 37 where the LORD called upon the “wind” to breathe life into the resurrected dry bones of Israel, the Apostle Peter also connected David to the arrival of Jesus as the one king: “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day=2E Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne” (Acts 2:29, 30)=2E The “throne” of David was the undivided house of all Israel, and since the prophets repeatedly told us the LORD referenced Israel as “mine inheritance” (Isaiah 19:25), the believers in Jesus Christ “have obtained an inheritance” (Ephesians 1:11) as born again Israel=2E Thus, the reunion of the two houses of “Ephraim” and “Judah” has already occurred through the magnificent ministry of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ – and this means that all who are in the Spiritual “house” of Christ are those who were gathered from all the nations into one body, where we all live in the metaphoric “mountains of Israel,” with King Jesus already sitting on the throne of glory, at the right hand of the Father=2E “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land=2E Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you=2E A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you…And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them=2E And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all” (Ezekiel 36:24-27; 37:22)=2E These prophecies are spread out in multiple chapters, and they conclusively identify the body of believers in Jesus Christ as those who have been redeemed in “the mountains of Israel=2E” Thus, when we move into the very next chapter, and the specific Gog and Magog prophecies, which speak of a great evil which is to be arrayed against those very same “mountains of Israel” which are “gathered out of many people” (Ezekiel 38:8), something is very wrong when we assign the role of Israel to a physical nation of people who revile the name of the “one king” who lives and reins within us=2E -- James Lloyd Next: The True Identity Of Gog And Magog ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Dear Christian Friend, This prophecy article was sent to you by one of our volunteers – a person who believes the LORD is doing a very special work at the ministry which produces this writing=2E People need to receive this information, but the resistance is fierce in these end times=2E The Communique is but a part of the Christian Media ministry=2E A lot of people are trying to stop us from what we’re doing in Bible Prophecy, so if you’d like to read more along the lines of the present writing, we would love to send you the Communique in the future -- but we need to hear from you, as there are far too many people out there to continually send it on an unsolicited basis=2E To get the next installment of the Communique (it’s all free), just hit reply and put the word YES! in the subject line, and the person who forwarded this email to you will arrange for us to send you links on prophecy and predictions of things you can expect to see in the near future=2E We also stream prophecy audio 24/7 and have downloadable video shows as well, so a YES! response will get you all the links you need to access these materials=2E Some are convinced Christians should never send an Email to someone without permission (Did the Disciples of Jesus ask people for permission to tell them the Good News?), while others don’t consider prophecy important – and there are other reasons people don’t want to receive our material=2E If that’s the case, just reply with the word REMOVE in the subject line (that part is important as our software looks for that word), and we will cheerfully delete your name from our database=2E Thanks for reading this far, and we hope you’ll respond favorably, reply with a YES!, and take a look at what the LORD has shown us here at the Christian Media ministry=2E ________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Welcome To The World Of Christian Media! 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