Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto G.o.d, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d: In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know _it_? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord G.o.d: _Art_ thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days for _many_ years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pa.s.s at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord G.o.d, _that_ my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy _and_ in the fire of my wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel: So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that _are_ upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord G.o.d: every man"s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that _are_ with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I _am_ the Lord (verses 14-23).
The awful fate of the invaders is now prophetically announced. The prophet is commanded to address Gog. They know that Israel dwelleth safely and they come to take the prey, to carry away silver and gold, cattle and goods and a great spoil (verse 13). The Lord permits it all so that He might be sanctified and magnified by the manifestation of His power in judgment, so that through this judgment the nations might know Him (verses 16, 23). When they come into the land then His fury will come into His face. "For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel." The next chapter gives the prophecy of the judgment upon Gog in detail.
THE DEFEAT OF THE INVADERS.
Chapter x.x.xix.
Once more the prophet is commanded to prophesy against this final invader of Israel"s land and to describe the judgment which falls upon the Northern army. This chapter concludes the prophecy of the last enemy of Israel; the concluding chapters of this book mention no longer enemies, nor Israel"s apostasy. They are taken up with the glory of the restoration of the nation and the great millennial temple, the construction, the order of worship, etc.
I. The Judgment and Destruction of Invading Gog.
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord G.o.d. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles; and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not _let them_ pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I _am_ the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord G.o.d; this _is_ the day whereof I have spoken.
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years; so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down _any_ out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire; and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord G.o.d (verses 1-10).
Jehovah announces now their complete judgment and destruction. The invading hordes are permitted to come upon the mountains of Israel, and like the a.s.syrian of old, "Shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem" (Is. x:32). Then the Lord will act in behalf of His people. Let us remember that the Lord is then with His people. His glory is with them and they have found rest and dwell in peace. The blinding power of Satan, who uses Gog and his companions in a final effort to dispute the authority of the King of Kings, is demonstrated by these nations, who, led by the Prince of Rosh (Russia) invade the land. The nations and their kings forming the Western Confederacy were equally blinded when, previously to this final attempt, they made war against the Lord (Rev. xix:19). Jehovah speaks His "I will;" it is the sovereign "I will" in judgment. As He spoke to His people Israel the "I will" of sovereign grace (chapter x.x.xvi), so now He speaks the word which seals the doom of Israel"s last enemy. "And I will turn thee back and lead thee on[34] and will cause thee to come up from the sides of the north, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel." There the invaders are to be smitten. Upon the mountains where the Lord led them and permitted them to come, the hordes shall fall and their carca.s.ses will be given to the ravenous beasts and to the beasts of the field. And those who helped Gog in the wicked endeavor, who dwell securely in the isles, who probably a.s.sisted them with ships and in other ways, will also be judged. Fire will be sent upon Magog. It will be a sweeping judgment. As a result of what takes place will be the vindication of His holy Name and both Israel and the nations of the earth shall know Him in that day. "And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel." And what an a.s.suring statement is added: "Behold, it cometh, it shall be done, saith the Lord G.o.d; this is the day whereof I have spoken."
[34] This is the more satisfactory rendering. The marginal reading, "Strike thee with six plagues" or "draw thee back with a hook of six teeth" is incorrect.
The weapons the invading hordes left behind will be used for firewood by Israel for seven years. It seems the invaders carried mostly wooden instruments. Perhaps the preceding wars exhausted the metals so that they had to resort to weapons made of wood. Israel shall then spoil those that spoiled them and rob those that robbed them.
II. The Burial of the Slain.
And it shall come to pa.s.s in that day _that_ I will give unto Gog a place there of a grave in Israel, the valley of the pa.s.sengers on the east of the sea; and it shall stop the pa.s.sengers; and there shall they bury Gog and all his mult.i.tude; and they shall call _it_ The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury _them_; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord G.o.d. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, pa.s.sing through the land to bury with the pa.s.sengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it; after the end of seven months shall they search. And the pa.s.sengers _that_ pa.s.s through the land, when _any_ seeth a man"s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. And also the name of the city _shall_ be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land (verses 11-16).
Gog"s delusion was to take Israel"s land for a possession. Territorial aggrandizement was the motive of the invasion, besides the wicked defiance of G.o.d; but instead G.o.d gives them graves in the land of Israel. All the mult.i.tude of Gog will be buried in the valley of the pa.s.sengers of the east of the sea, which is the Dead Sea, outside of Israel"s territory; that place will be called then "the valley of Hamon-gog," which means "the mult.i.tude of Gog." Seven months will it take to put away the bodies of the slain. And those who pa.s.s through that region will stop there to consider the judgment of the Lord which was executed upon Gog. It will be a solemn memorial of what G.o.d hath done; even a city will be named on account of the disaster which has come upon Gog, the city Hamonah. The whole land will be cleansed of the defilement. Whenever, after the seven months, one who pa.s.ses that way sees a man"s bones, he shall mark the place with a sign and the buriers will put these bones away in Hamon-gog.
The day will surely come when all these events will come to pa.s.s. Much may be obscure at this time but G.o.d will see to the fulfilment in His own time. As we have shown in the exposition of the previous chapter, Russia is the leader of this final a.s.sault. In these significant days Russia is in the grasp of anarchy. What will be the outcome? Will Russia side with Germany? Will the two form a strong confederacy with other semi-oriental and oriental nations? Are these things, as seen by the prophet at the river banks of Chebar, even now preparing? No mortal man can forecast the immediate future. G.o.d alone knows what is about to come.
III. The Sacrifice of Jehovah.
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, a.s.semble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, _even_ a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice, which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord G.o.d (verses 17-20).
In view of the great slaughter executed upon Gog and his vast army, the feathered fowl and every beast of the field are summoned to attend the sacrifice which Jehovah has prepared for them upon the mountains of Israel. They are to eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, which are compared to rams, lambs, goats, bullocks and the fatlings of Bashan. He promised these fowls and the beasts of the earth a feast, which will completely satisfy them. The table which is spread for them is His table: "Thus shall ye be filled at my table."
Rev. xix:17, 18 contains a similar scene. It is the great supper of G.o.d, which the angel standing in the sun announces, and to which he invites the fowls in the midst of heaven. The great supper in Revelation and Jehovah"s sacrifice in Ezekiel are not the same. The great supper of G.o.d, that awful judgment supper, is in connection with the beastly empire (the Western Confederacy)--the kings and armies of apostate Christendom. And probably for this reason the fowls in the midst of heaven are only mentioned, because Christendom apostatized from the heavenly testimony of Christianity. These kings and their armies refused and rejected completely the invitation of the Lord to the Gospel-supper and now they will fall in the hands of G.o.d and receive their reward at the judgment supper. When Gog falls upon the mountains of Israel, the great supper of G.o.d announced in Rev. xix has already been executed.
IV. The Future of Glory.
And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I _am_ the Lord their G.o.d from that day and forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespa.s.sed against me, therefore hid I my face from them and gave them into the hands of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; after that they have borne their shame, and all their trespa.s.ses whereby they have trespa.s.sed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made _them_ afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies" lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I _am_ the Lord their G.o.d, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord G.o.d (verses 21-29).
The moral effect of this judgment is described in verses 21-24. The Lord will then establish His glory among the nations. From this we learn that the glory of the Lord will be made known world-wide to cover the earth after this final invasion has come to pa.s.s, and this last judgment of nations has been executed. The nations will be the witnesses of this judgment. Of course these nations are those who have been converted and are embodied in the Kingdom of Christ. And then the Lord is vindicated for having dealt with Israel as He did. They went into captivity--the dispersion among all the nations of the earth--on account of their iniquities. G.o.d dealt righteously with them when on account of their transgressions He hid His face from them. All G.o.d"s ways are righteous and in that day all His dealings in judgment will be openly justified.
Then comes the prophecy of the bright future of Israel. It is one of the many found in this book of Ezekiel and the greater number in the other prophetic books. The captivity of Jacob is ended. Mercy will be bestowed upon the whole house of Israel. They have borne their shame; but now it is all ended through the mercy of the Lord. He will bring them again from the peoples, and gather them out of the enemies" lands and sanctify them, by taking away their sins, in the sight of many nations.
None will be left behind; all will be gathered back. It is next to inconceivable that, with so many promises in the Word of G.o.d as to Israel"s future restoration and blessing, that the greater part of professing Christians can ignore these things and refuse to believe in a glorious future of the Jewish race.
The last verse contains an important statement. The Lord says that He hides His face no more from them. This in itself shows that all this is not yet here; for still He hides His face from them. The hiding of His face from them will be no more when His Spirit is poured upon them. "I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord G.o.d."
There comes then a time when the house of Israel, the literal descendants of Abraham, will receive an outpouring of the Spirit of G.o.d.
Such is also the message of Joel, in which restoration and spiritual blessing, through the outpouring of the Spirit are blended together (Joel ii).[35] We call attention to another pa.s.sage which should be linked with the statement in this chapter. Isaiah x.x.xii:13-18 is a very striking prophecy. There is an announcement made first of all concerning the judgment which is to fall upon Israel"s land. "Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city," etc. But this is not to last forever. An "until"
follows. "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high." This is the same future outpouring of the Spirit of G.o.d. Up to now it has not been.
The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost came to form the body of Christ, but this outpouring in connection with Israel has another significance.
We read, therefore, in the above pa.s.sage what will happen when this outpouring has come to pa.s.s. "And the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and a.s.surance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." It is a description of the Kingdom to come, when Israel has found rest and when all the earth will receive the blessing, when righteousness will have given peace, lasting peace to the world.
[35] See "The Prophet Joel," by A. C. G., where this interesting and important chapter is explained in full.
[Ill.u.s.tration: GROUND PLAN OF EZEKIEL"S TEMPLE]
A. The Temple House, xli.
B. Altar of Burnt Offering, xliii:13.
C. Inner Court.
D. Gates to Inner Court, xl:28.
E. Separate Place, vli:10.
F. Hinder Building, xli:12.
G. Priest"s Kitchens, xlvi:19.
H. Chambers for Priests, xlii:1.
I. Chambers, xl:44.
K. People"s Kitchen, xlvi:21-24.
L. Gates into Outer Court, xl:6.
M. Pavement, xl:18.
N. Chambers in Outer Court (30) xl:17.
O. Outer Court.
---------------Temple Stream
THE GROUND PLAN OF THE TEMPLE.
THE MILLENNIAL TEMPLE AND ITS WORSHIP. THE LAND AND ITS GLORY.
Chapters xl-xlviii.
The final nine chapters of this book form the climax of the great prophecies of Ezekiel; they belong to the most difficult in the entire prophetic Word. Once more the hand of the Lord rests upon the seer and in the visions of G.o.d he is brought into the land of Israel. In the very beginning of this grand finale we learn therefore that the visions concern the land of Israel. Let us remember that after the fall of Jerusalem had been announced to Ezekiel (chapter x.x.xiii:21), his prophetic utterances and visions concern the future when Israel is to be regathered and restored to the land. The previous two chapters dealt with the last invasion of the land of Israel and the complete overthrow of Gog and its hordes. The vision contained in this last section follows after Israel"s final deliverance. So much is clear as to the time when the prophecies of these eight chapters will be accomplished. They have not been fulfilled in the past, certainly not in the remnant which returned under Zerubabbel and Ezra. Nor have these prophecies been fulfilled since then. All is future. Only when the Lord has gathered Judah and Israel, when He has established His glorious Kingdom in their midst and delivered His people and the land from the last invader, will this last vision of Ezekiel become history.
This disposes then at once of the different modes of interpretation employed by so many expositors of this book. These are the following:
1. The theory of interpretation which looks upon the vision of these chapters as fulfilled in the return of the remnant from Babylon. One of the expositors who follows this line stated that these visions are "an ideal representation of the Jewish state about to be restored after the captivity." It does not need much argument to show that this mode of interpretation is erroneous. The temple which the remnant built does in no way whatever correspond with the magnificent structure which Ezekiel beheld in his vision. The fact is, if this temple is a literal building (as it a.s.suredly is) it has never yet been erected. Furthermore, it is distinctly stated that the glory of the Lord returned to the temple and made His dwelling place there, the same glory which Ezekiel had seen departing from the temple and from Jerusalem. But the glory did not return to the second temple. No glory cloud filled that house. And furthermore no high priest is mentioned in the worship of the temple Ezekiel describes, but the Jews after their return from Babylon had high priests again. Nor can the stream of healing waters flowing from the temple as seen by Ezekiel be in any way applied to the restoration from the Babylonian captivity. Expositors who follow this mode of interpretation claim that all has been fulfilled and that there is nothing in store for Israel in the future. It is the most superficial method and totally wrong.