Because Inspiration tells us that “Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us” (Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 339), we need occasionally to examine those prophecies to determine if and how they apply to us now. In this article, we will examine a series of Old Testament prophecies from the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel said, “Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
“ ‘And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:2–10).
Who is the house of Israel today? Ellen White wrote, “I was shown that those who are trying to obey God and purify their souls through obedience to the truth are God’s chosen people, His modern Israel.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 109.
Ezekiel was to give a message that he knew would not be received. He was told: “But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. … Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 3:7, 9).
“So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. … Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (verses 14, 17). This experience was similar to that of Jeremiah when he decided that he got in so much trouble delivering God’s messages that he would not speak the word of the Lord anymore, but there was a fire in his bones and he couldn’t stop.
The Lord said, “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand” (verse 18).
This is also a warning for today. If you are called to be a watchman and refuse to give the warning message, regardless if it is heeded or not, God will require it of you. He will ask why you didn’t give the warning? Would you rather be in trouble with men or with the Lord? Seventh-day Adventists have been given a warning message to share with the world and will be held accountable for how they handled that message.
Ezekiel 5:5, 6 says, “ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.” ’ ” Have you noticed the word rebellion continues to come up?
Everything in this prophecy will happen again in the modern house of Israel just before the close of probation. Read the first verses of Ezekiel 7, the prophet that says the end has come, the day of judgment has come, and the day of doom has come.
In that context, with Ezekiel sitting before the elders, the Lord gave him a vision. God knows everything. He knows all the secret things that are going on in your life, everything that you attempt to cover. Adam and Eve were the first to attempt to cover their sin by hiding from God and making for themselves fig leaf garments. The very fact that they covered up shows that they were aware that they had done something wrong. So it is with all who attempt to cover their sins.
In vision, God showed Ezekiel exactly what was going on in the house of Israel that almost nobody knew about. Ezekiel said, “He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.
“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.’ So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.
“Furthermore He said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations’ ” (Ezekiel 8:3–6).
The Lord then said it gets worse. “So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, dig into the wall;’ and when I dug into the wall, there was a door” (verses 7, 8).
Today, this would be referred to as digging up dirt, and if the problem is brought out, the one responsible would be accused of being critical, or of church bashing. But, in reality, those who criticize the watchman are actually criticizing the One who sent him to give the warning message.
The Lord told Ezekiel to dig, to investigate. Because the apostasy was covered up, unless you dig you would not know anything was wrong. So Ezekiel dug, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, dig into the wall’; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And He said to me, ‘Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.’
“So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up” (verses 8–11).
Who were they burning incense to? Ellen White said, “Anciently it was a great sin for the people of God to give themselves away to the enemy, and open before them either their perplexity or their prosperity. Under the ancient economy it was a sin to offer sacrifice upon the wrong altar. It was a sin to offer incense kindled by the wrong fire.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 300.
“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, “The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.” ’
“And He said to me, ‘Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.’ [This is the third time Ezekiel was told to turn and see something worse.] So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz [a Samarian, Babylon deity, the god of vegetation and fertility].
“Then he said to me, ‘Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.’ [The fourth mention of greater abominations.] So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east” (Ezekiel 8:12–16).
Pagans worshiped the rising sun in the east. When God instructed His tabernacle to be built, the entrance was situated so that those walking into it faced toward the west. On entering, they would face toward the altar of incense before the veil into the Most Holy Place where God’s holy law was kept within the ark with their backs to the sun. But here Ezekiel saw people at the temple who had turned their backs on the Lord and were facing the rising sun in the east. These people had turned their backs on the cross of Christ and the way of salvation.
What we are reading about here also is to take place just before the close of probation. Ezekiel 9:1–3, first part says, “Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let those who have a charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.’ And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood before the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple.”
It is very serious when God leaves His own temple. “And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’ To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill’ … ” (verses 3, last part–5, first part).
These are the people accused of digging up dirt. They refuse to go along with the mainstream who are not living according to Biblical principles. They recognize there is something drastically wrong and are compelled to speak up. They are not liked because they are not quiet, and if there’s anything that human organizations don’t like it is someone protesting what the majority are doing. These people are not popular because they are “crying out,” they are making a noise.
Look at the context here. It is those who cry out who are marked by the angels with a mark on their foreheads. This mark is the seal of God and is only received by those who protest the apostasy. They are hated by many people who consider them critical and negative. So the first person comes and puts a mark on people, and then after him there are several others who come and kill.
Notice what it says: “ ‘Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the temple” (verses 5, last part, 6). Notice that it is the ministers who will feel the wrath of God first.
“Then he said to them, ‘Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!’ And they went out and killed in the city. So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel’ ” … (verses 7, 8)? Are you not going to have any people left in the world? Are all the people that profess to serve You, are they all going to be killed?
“Then He said to me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!” And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.’
“Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, ‘I have done as You commanded Me’ ” (verses 9–11).
This is a Scripture that needs study to understand. We are not to sit by and do nothing when we see wrong done in our families or local church, but be faithful watchmen if we want to receive the mark or seal of God in our foreheads.
Ellen White commented on this Scripture saying, “The Lord reads the heart as an open book.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1303. Nothing escapes His attention.
The Lord declares concerning those who are not connected with God and follow their own evil imaginations: “ ‘They have turned unto Me their back, and not the face, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them; yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction’ (Jeremiah 32:33). We are amid the perils of the last days, the time will soon come when the prophecy of Ezekiel 9 will be fulfilled; that prophecy should be carefully studied, for it will be fulfilled to the very letter. Study also the tenth chapter which represents the hand of God as at work to bring perfect method and harmonious working into all the operations of His prepared instrumentalities. The eleventh and twelfth chapters [of Ezekiel] also should receive critical, thoughtful attention. Let these prophecies be studied on your knees before God.” Ibid.
She says, “… unless you take up the stumbling-blocks which by your own perverse spirit you have laid in the way of many who have been connected with you, God will turn His face utterly from you and your associates.
“True religion is the imitation of Christ. Those who follow Christ will deny self; take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience in all His commandments.” Ibid., 1303, 1304.
Can we really call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ if we don’t obey His commandments? Jesus Christ is the commander of the heavenly hosts, and a commander must be obeyed. He is a general of the armies of heaven. She says, “Following Christ means obedience in all His commandments. No soldier can be said to follow his commander unless he obeys orders.” Ibid., 1304.
Notice: “Those who do not now appreciate, study, and dearly prize the word of God spoken by His servants will have cause to mourn bitterly hereafter. I saw that the Lord in judgment will at the close of time walk through the earth; the fearful plagues will begin to fall. Then those who have despised God’s word, those who have lightly esteemed it, shall ‘wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it’ (Amos 8:12). A famine is in the land for hearing the Word.” Last Day Events, 234, 235.
When that time comes, you will not be hearing any sermons like this. “The ministers of God will have done their last work, offered their last prayers, shed their last bitter tear for a rebellious church and an ungodly people.” Ibid., 235.
No more sermons, no more prayers, no more tears. It’s over. Inspiration says, “Their last solemn warning has been given. O, then how quickly would houses and lands, dollars that have been miserly hoarded and cherished and tightly grasped, be given for some consolation by those who have professed the truth and have not lived it out.” Ibid.
No minister of God will then be praying for you or giving you an offer of salvation. At that time the last prayer has been made. All will have received the mark of salvation or the mark of destruction.
O, “for the way of salvation to be explained, or to hear a hopeful word or a prayer or an exhortation from their ministers. But no, they must hunger and thirst on in vain; their thirst will never be quenched, no consolation can they get; their cases are decided and eternally fixed. It is a fearful, awful time.” Ibid.
My dear friend, that time has not come yet but we are told that probation will close suddenly and when we are least expecting it. It is dangerous to hold on to something with the intention of overcoming it at some time future. There are many stories where people waited too late and then tragedy struck. Right now is the time of our visitation, not some future time.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on His final journey, He wept, but not primarily for Jerusalem, which would soon be destroyed. He saw a much bigger catastrophe.
Our eyes need to be open to what is happening in Adventism today. As was presented to Ezekiel, we need to dig and see what has been covered up as the average Adventist has no idea how closely the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is linked up with the papacy. “When the Saviour saw in the Jewish people a nation divorced from God, He saw also a professed Christian Church united to the world and the papacy. And as He stood upon Olivet, weeping over Jerusalem till the sun sank behind the western hills, so He is weeping over and pleading with sinners in these last moments of time.” The Review and Herald, October 8, 1901.
Dear friend, if you are one of the sinners that Jesus is weeping over and pleading with, now is the time to call upon His name and repent. “Soon He will say to the angels who are holding the four winds, ‘Let the plagues loose; let darkness, destruction, and death come upon the transgressors of My law.’ Will He be obliged to say to those who have had great light and knowledge, as He said to the Jews, ‘If thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes’ (Luke 19:42)?” Ibid.
If you have turned your back on the Lord, now is the time to turn around. We all will have to face God one of these days. May God help us all to get the things in our lives into perspective and make sure our sins are blotted out before Jesus returns.
(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)
Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.