Ezekiel 10:1-22
Now we continue our series in the
book of Ezekiel titled Harder than Flint.
John showed us last
week that the mark was a Tau or Tav the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet and
this letter in the ancient Hebrew was made in the shape of a cross and later
changed to the shape of and x and still later changed to its present shape.
As we saw last week
the word “Tav” is found in Ezekiel 9:4, where God put a mark (Tav) on the
foreheads of the people who opposed the worship of idols. The death angels were
told, “Do not come near anyone who has the mark (Tav).” This same idea is in
Revelation 22:4, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their
foreheads.” Some believe that mark will be the Hebrew letters Aleph and Tav.
The names of these
letters written separately have individual words that are associated / synonymous
with them.
Read from right to
left in individual Hebrew with words that are associated / synonymous with
these letters it would read as follows:
Aleph (The Creator) +
Mem (gives His life) + Tav (on the cross).
The Creator gives His
life on the cross.
But these 3 letters
written together spell the Hebrew word “emet” which is translated in English as
the word Truth.
Remember Jesus said
in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” This is essentially
the Gospel message.
The gospel is also
embedded in the word “Torah” written as (תוֹרָה ) in Hebrew
This word Torah (תוֹרָה ) written with its Hebrew names for the letters is:
Heh + Resh + Vav +Tav
These names of
letters also have words that are associated/synonymous with them.
Heh(Behold!) + Resh (the head, Captain or Leader) + Vav (the nail) + Tav (the cross)
Read from right to
left it would read in Hebrew as follows:
the
cross the nail the Captain Behold!
Read from left to
right it would read in English as follows:
Behold! the Captain
the nail the cross.
As John mentioned in Ezekiel’s
time the cross was changed to the shape of an X. The approximate date of the Square
Hebrew Alphabet is 600 to 100 BC. Square Hebrew gradually displaced the Aramaic
Alphabet which replaced the Earlier Hebrew in Palestine. It was not until the 2nd
and 1st centuries BC that the Square Hebrew became established and
developed into the modern Hebrew alphabet over the next 1500 years. As I was researching this, I found that there
is a difference between the Aramaic Alphabet and the Arabic Alphabet.
The words Aramaic and
Arabic sound alike but they are very different.
Why is that
important. It is important because the
Arabic countries now believe in a God named Alah. A combination of the modern first letter of
the Arabic Alphabet (a) and the modern last letter of the Arabic Alphabet (la).
See Table in slide. The initial first letter of the Arabic
language was two dots, and the last letter of the Arabic language was two
dots.
This was changed to
the final letters seen here and given different the spoken or phonetic sounds and
la. Spoken together they form the sound
of ala or alah or allah (the name believers in the religion of Islam have given
to their god).
Could this be a plagiarism
of the name of the God of the Old and the New Testament (i.e., The Alef and Tau
(Tav) of the Old Testament and the Alpha and Omega of the New Testament or it
could be by Divine design? I am not sure. What I do know for sure is that the
official Arabic religion is Islam and their so-called holy book is called the
Koran. And I know that many things in the Koran were plagiarized from the Bible. And I know that the Koran teaches that Jesus
was a prophet one of many prophets but not God.
Now a good litmus test of a false religion is to answer the question
“Does that religion teach that Jesus is God?” If the answer is “No.” then it is
a false religion. Jesus even used this
test with His disciples in Matthew 16:13-15 “Who do people say that the Son
of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others,
Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said*
to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
We also learned last
week in Ezekiel chapter 9 that God told the six men coming from the direction
of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand, to
follow him (the man who was putting the mark on the foreheads) through the city
and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and
maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark.” Then he
said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So,
they went out and began killing throughout the city. Then the man in linen with
the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you
commanded.”
Now this slaughter in
Ezekiel 9 is reminiscent of God commanding Moses to have the people of Israel
slaughter a lamb and put the blood on their two door posts and on the lintel of
the house which they eat it just before He sent the angle of death to kill all
the first born of Egypt but to Passover the house with the mark of the blood.
“For the LORD
will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the
lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not
allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. “And you shall
observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. “When you
enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall
observe this rite. “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite
mean to you?’ you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed
over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but
spared our homes.’” And the people bowed low and worshiped. – Exodus 12:23-27
This Ezekiel 9 slaughter
vision is also reminiscent of God having the Levites go throughout the camp and
kill every man his brother and friend and every man his neighbor because they
had bowed down and worshiped the molten calf.
Now when Moses
saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of
control to be a derision among their enemies—then Moses stood in the gate of
the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” And all the sons of
Levi gathered together to him. He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of
Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth
from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man
his friend, and every man his neighbor.’” So the sons of Levi did as Moses
instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then
Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD—for every man has been
against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing
upon you today.” – Exodus 32:25-29
These slaughters of
the Egyptians and the Hebrews was bad back in Moses’ time but in Ezekiel 9’s slaughter
vision it was even worse because not only old men and young men were to be
killed but also women young maidens and children.
This mark on the
foreheads of those to be spared who grieved over the sins of Jerusalem appears
to be plagiarized by Satan in the book of Revelations 13, where it says:
He
also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy
or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of
his name.
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666. – Revelation 13:16-18
Now before we begin to look at
today’s passage in Ezekiel 10 let’s pray and ask God to give us understanding
and application of these visions of Ezekiel that we may apply them in our
everyday relationship with Him and in our relationship with those who are lost
or discourage that He puts in our path. Pray
that we should speak truth and encouragement and hope to them.
I
looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire above the expanse that
was over the heads of the cherubim. The LORD said to the man clothed in linen,
“Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning
coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I
watched, he went in. – Ezekiel 10:1-2
Now these coals
signify God’s burning wrath and judgement on the city. Remember this is the city where He had
Solomon build the original Temple and it was destroyed by the Babylonians and
the walls of the City were broken down and burned and many of the people were
captured and taken back to Babylon. It
was during this time in Babylon that Ezekiel vision occurred. Sometime later Nehemiah
would come and rebuild the walls of the City and a smaller replica of the
original temple would begin construction on the original site, but it too would
later be destroyed in 70 AD when the City of Jerusalem was sacked by the
Romans.
But back to Ezekiel’s
vision.…
Now
the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went
in, and a cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD rose from
above the cherubim and moved to the threshold (or front door) of the temple.
The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the
glory of the LORD. The sound of the wings of the cherubim
could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty
when he speaks.
Now supposedly the
fire that He took out would be unleashed upon the Israelites as punishment for
their many abominable sins of worshipping idols and sacrificing to them.
I
looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the
cherubim; the wheels sparkled like chrysolite. As for their appearance, the
four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As
they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced;
the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in
whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. Their entire
bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely
full of eyes, as were their four wheels. I heard the wheels
being called “the whirling wheels.” Each of the cherubim had four faces: One
face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of
a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. – Ezekiel 10:9-14
Now I have read that these
four faces described here are a metaphorical or allegorical figure of speech describing
the character of Jesus as presented in the four Gospels. The Gospel of Matthew representing Jesus as the
Lion of Judah and the Gospel of Mark representing Jesus the servant or ox and
the Gospel of Luke representing Jesus as a man and the Gospel of John representing
Jesus’s deity from above by the face of the eagle in His divine nature. Now this explanation could explain why there
would be four of these creatures instead of just one. Depending on the Gospel writer’s perspective
one characteristic face is dominant in each of the four Gospel but the other
three faces are also present in those same Gospels only in a lesser
degree. Of course, we will not know for
sure until all things are revealed to us at the end of the age.
Then
the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the
Kebar River. When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when
the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not
leave their side. When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and
when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living
creatures was in them. – Ezekiel 3:15-17
Now when I read these
verses, I picture this image in my mind of a vertical takeoff jet like they
have in the Marine corps. It hovers and
lands straight down and when it gets ready to leave it goes straight up. That is not too far beyond my imagination
because I have seen many films of these war machines taking off and
landing. Do not misinterpret me. I do not think that this vision was of a
vertical takeoff jet at all because God does not need something manmade to
accomplish His purpose. It is just the image that comes to my mind based on
past Airforce Experience.
Then
the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and
stopped above the cherubim. While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings
and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They
stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of
the God of Israel was above them. – Ezekiel 10:18-19
Here the glory of the
Lord is leaving the temple dooming it to destruction. In the next chapter you will see the glory of
the Lord depart from Jerusalem altogether.
This was to be a sad
day for the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The thing that set them apart from other
nations was the Glory of the Lord that resided in the temple. But now because of the severity of their sins
and because they had broken His covenant with them the Glory of the Lord was
now departing from the temple in this vision.
However, based on
those who were spared by the mark on their foreheads, God still had a plan for
the house of Israel and for us that He revealed to the prophet Jeremiah in
Jeremiah 31:31-34 and repeated through the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 8:7-12. Reading in context from Hebrews verse 1 we
see a plan for a better ministry.
Now the main
point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken
His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a
minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched,
not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices;
so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if
He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who
offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the
heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the
tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on
the mountain.” But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as
much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on
better promises.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,
“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
When I will effect a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
I will put My laws into their minds,
And I will write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
For all will know Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
And so it has disappeared. The new covenant is made in the blood of Christ and is made with all who would put their faith in His death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. – Hebrews 8:7-13
Acts 4:12 tells us:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved.”
The Apostle Paul also
tells us in Romans chapter 10:
“The
word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of
faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who
trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between
Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on
him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:8-13
Let’s pray.
Now as we prepare to
take communion both here and for those who are on ZOOM let us take a minute to
examine our hearts and to remember the Lord’s body was broken for us and His
blood was shed for us for the forgiveness of our sin.
This word Torah (תוֹרָה ) written with its Hebrew names for the letters is:
Heh(Behold!) + Resh (the head, Captain or Leader) + Vav (the nail) + Tav (the cross)
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666. – Revelation 13:16-18
For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,
“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
When I will effect a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
I will put My laws into their minds,
And I will write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
For all will know Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
And so it has disappeared. The new covenant is made in the blood of Christ and is made with all who would put their faith in His death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. – Hebrews 8:7-13
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