Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1911 — OLD TESTAMENT TIMES BROOKLYN TABERNACLE BIBLE STUDIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OLD TESTAMENT TIMES BROOKLYN TABERNACLE BIBLE STUDIES

SET AS A WATCHMAN Ezekiel iii—Oct. 1 "Bear the Word of My mouth and give them warning from Me.' I —Ezekiel iii, n. 6ZEKIEL ranks amongst the great Prophets. Most realistic were his visions and powerfully described. A portion of his prophecy was written before the final serious troubles upon the kingdom of Judah, which resulted in the overthrow of Zedekiah’s kingdom. The remainder of the book was written after the complete overthrow of the kingdom. "The entire prophecy was given in Babylon. Ezekiel himself residing there and ministering as a Prophet chiefly to the captives, arous ing their hearts to an appreciation of their situation and to a hope of return in God's set time to their own laud.

It would be a mistake, however, tc suppose that Ezekiel’s mission was en tirely or even chiefly to the Jews of

his time. Rather we are to understand, through St Peter’s statement that he, with other Prophets of old, spoke and wrote things which they themselves and the people who heard them did not understand things which God did not wish to have under-

stood until after the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost—things which would be “meat in due season” for the spiritual Israel throughout this Age. For instance, when Ezekiel tells the people, “The soul that slnneth. It shall die,” he was delivering a truth applicable to the Gospel Church during this Age, and a truth which will be applicable to the whole world during the Messianic reign, but which was not applicable to the Jews at the time of the utterance. Why? Because the whole world at that time was lying in the Wicked One; as St. Paul explains, they were all under sentence of death already through Adam’s disobedience. Hence they could not be put on trial for life, individually, until first they should be redeemed from the Adamic condemnation.

The blood of brills and goats could never take away sin from the Jews; the redemption could come only in the Divinely appointed way—through the death of the Savior; and the Savior had not yet come, had not yet brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. And as for Israel’s Law Covenant, it was merely typical of the New Covenant of the future.

"Times of Restitution” In the 16th chapter of Ezekiel’s prophecy the declaration is clearly set forth that in the Divine Plan a great restitution is sure to come which will affect not only Israel’ and the living nations of Ezekiel’s time, but also the dead of all nations. From the 40th verse onward the Prophet describes the certainty of God’s promise to recover Israel, to bring them back into His favor, and that on a better basis than ever in the past. At the same time the Lord declares, through the Prophet, that the Samaritans will be restored and blessed, and that the Sodomites will be restored and blessed. The latter nation had been entirely destroyed by fire from heaven, as the Redeemer declared. It follows that their restoration must be from the tomb, from death, hades, sheol. The prophecy goes on to declare that the Lord will not do this because of any worthiness of the Israelites or others, but for His own Name’s sake—of His own good pleasure. In other words, this is the purpose which God purposed in Himself from before the foundation of the world. This is the purpose which He declared to Enoch, saying that in due time Messiah would “crttoe with myriads of holy ones” to establish justice and righteousness in | the earth, to bless the people. Ttis description is found in verses 40 to C#- the conclusion being that when Israel thus experiences the goodness

of God in their restitution they will be ashamed and never open their mouths again by way of boasting or complaint This will be after God’s favor shall have been restored to them and He shall be pacified toward jfckem in respect to all of

their idolatrous doings of the past. [ The pacification of Divine Justice-is found in the redemption accomplished by our Lord and Savior,

Not Torment but Death It is worthy of note here that neither the Prophet nor those whom he typified were ever commissioned to say to mankind that the sinner would be eternally roasted, nor suffer eternally in any condition. The extreme penalty for sin presented to us in God’s Word is, “The soul that sinneth. It shall die.” In other words, God declares that He will not give eternal life to the wicked, but only to those who will turn from sin to righteousness. Thus we read. “Turn ye, turn ye. for why will ye die?” And again. “He that bath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son shall not see life (everlasting), but the wTath of God a bidet b on him" —the sentence of death eve Casting.

A picture of restitution.

Ezekiel prophesying.