Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
So Athena is asking welcome back, Athena. I’m going to presume. This is been tuning in Ezekiel 45:15-17. It says, sheep will be offered to the prince. Is this referring to? Yeshua. Is this when God sets up his kingdom on earth? If so, why isn’t an animal sacrifice still necessary since Yeshua gave himself a sacrifice for our sins? Thank you.
Speaker 2
All right, good question. And Athena, just honestly, a lot of people struggle with Ezekiel. A lot of people, there’s tons of scholarship on there and everybody has their own ideas. And one reason for that is just there’s kind of at least two ways of looking at it. Yeah. Are these messianic prophecies? Are these prophecies about just the children Israel before making me cry, but showing up, or is it even more in the future? So we have at least three different perspectives, and maybe one or more of these could be right, but let’s take a look at the context. So first let’s take a look at the verse that you mentioned, ezekiel 45, starting at verse 15, it says, and one lamb shall be given from a flock of 200 from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, bird offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for them. Says the Lord and the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel. Then it shall be the princess part to give burnt offerings, grant offerings, and drink offerings at the feast, the new moons, the Sabbath, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel.
Speaker 2
He shall prepare the sin offering, grand offering, bird offering, and peace offering to make atonement for the house of Israel. And I think you have already picked up, Athena, the issue here of this verse where if that prince being spoken there with Jesus, then it’s like, okay, why are we having these sacrifices going on to make atonement when we’re told in the New Testament that God made the atonement through the blood of Christ? So right there I think we could reach a conclusion. This can’t necessarily be speaking of Christ and post Christ time, if we go to Zebra 45, verse one, it says, moreover, when you divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land. It’s linked to Be, and then it gives different sizes of it. But here, I mean, it’s hard about dividing the land and how you’re going to do it. Set up a district for Lord. To me, this is sounding like, okay, this is how Israel should be set up, how they should run. And this would have been pre Christ. And a theory that I agree with is probably God is sharing a vision, his greatest hope for the Israelite people.
Speaker 2
If they had remained faithful and true to Him, even up through to the coming of Christ, what would things have looked like. And so this is what it is when you in fact look at the temple that’s described here in Ezekiel, in this section of Ezekiel. It doesn’t fit the description, the dimensions of the temple that then was built at the time of restoration. And people are crying and oh, it’s smaller than the last one. And people believe that even at that point God said, you people are going astray, you’re not fitting my plans. So even then God’s chipping away at some of these prophecies because they are choosing to go their own way. I say Ezekiel, these parts have got high aspirations. Look at Ezekiel 43. So we’re going two chapters earlier. God says Son of man described the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement exists and it sends its entire design and all its ordinances, all in its form and all its laws, write it down in their site so that they may keep the whole design and all its ordinances and perform them.
Speaker 2
So even right here almost, I think what I was just talking about, that theory of maybe God was trying to show Israel his highest hopes and aspirations for them. This verse supports that. Show them what I would like, the true pattern of what I would want them to do, that they may be ashamed, realize how short or how they come up short with what they’re currently doing. Ezekiel 44 six now say to the rebellious to the house of Israel that says, lord God, O house of Israel, let us have none, have no more of all your abominations. So to me this rules out this isn’t even necessarily way in the future, even post millennium, this is probably the time that fits the most is going to be, again, pre Christamental period or very end of the Old Testament. If we flash forward to Ezekiel 46, we get more insights. So Ezekiel 46, verse 18, it says, moreover, the prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritances by evicting them from their property. He shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property so that none of my people may be scattered from his property.
Speaker 2
Okay. So right here, now what got me to make a law saying that Jesus wouldn’t take away the inheritance of his people? No, if the priest was Jesus, God wouldn’t have this law. We wouldn’t be worried about Jesus taking anybody’s inheritance. He’s always promising to provide us with an inheritance. So to me that rules out again, this is speaking of Christ, and I really believe this was speaking of the intertesamental period and God really showing again his highest hopes and aspirations, which sadly did not come to pass. What about your thoughts? Definitely be interested to hear yours.
Speaker 3
I concur. I think that was very thorough. So I think that was really good. Yeah.
Speaker 1
For people who might not be clear on what the Inner testamental period is.
Speaker 2
Between the Old Testament and New Testament yeah, there’s about 400 years in between them.
Speaker 1
Got you.
Speaker 3
I’m looking over and seeing quite a few comments. I just want to say Bible Ask says hello to everyone. We say hello, and I see Darius Stone says hi, lads. Hope you’re well. So we hope you’re well. Thank you, Darius.
Speaker 2
Welcome, Darius. And then we actually do have Athena joining us, so great. We have a couple more yours coming up.
Speaker 3
Definitely, yes. She’s saying it jumps around in time, so she’s commenting on your answer as well, so that’s great. Thank you for that comment. We appreciate it. We appreciate your thoughts.
Speaker 2
And then she has a great version. I love in Isaiah, chapter 57, I think, where God talks about how he will have compassion on Israel and be I agree no more. And that this is like a true love story that really is the case. I think it’s in Ezekiel, right, where God really goes into graphic detail about just how much he feels like he’s been cheated on by the house of Israel and how much he’s just tenderly cared for them, really loves them, and just keep being betrayed and yeah, every time we sin is in a sense of cheating and betraying on God, and he keeps taking us back. It’s really he is the greatest love story ever told. Amen.
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