Now today’s Text is a little longer. You might skip this Lesson (if you’re in a big hurry or only a casual student) … but you will be robbing yourself of a great truth! Or so I think …

“20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. 21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezekiel 36:20-27

When Israel began to live in Gentile environments, they essentially “backslid” on God. (An expression only found around two dozen times in the entire Old Testament. Not once in the New Testament!)

They began to live like the “heathen” among whom they had settled. And in so doing, from God’s Perspective, they “profaned” His name. The verb is “chalal,” meaning “to pollute” 23 times in the Bible. Other definitions: “to desecrate, to violate honor, to make common.”

It’s not just all the bad things they did … they “hurt” God’s Reputation, “belittled” His great Name!

Remember: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7

Now verse 21 of our Text is amazing: “But I (the Lord) had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.”

So God is going to do something about His Name being “dragged through the mud,” so to speak.

He is going to “change” Israel’s heart.

Here’s God’s Plan, for starters … 22 “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified IN YOU before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:22-24

Israel, regathered in her Land, in the “Holy Land.” (We are seeing this being partially fulfilled right now. And have been since Israel became a Nation again, since 1948!)

The Lord sanctified (made Holy, “un-profaned”) “IN YOU,” Israel! (Israel some day will believe in Jesus!)

A salvation described like this in our Text: “25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Wow!

Is this the “water” of the Word, Ephesians 5:26?

Is this the “water” of the Holy Spirit, John 7:38?

Genuine conversion, followed by lives of obedience!

Why this earth-shaking Program?

Primarily for God’s NAME to be glorified, sanctified, uplifted, realized!

Secondarily, that the lost world too may KNOW this great Lord God Almighty!

What a Revelation!

What I have learned this morning … afresh and anew how much God expects HONOR for His name!

And rightly so …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Does Ezekiel add to the Millennium Composite?

Yes, he does. (In fact, if we include his nine chapter description of the coming Millennial Temple and its environs … this Prophet contributes a lot to our knowledge of this coming Age of Glory. That would be chapters 40 through 48, inclusively.)

But for this morning … let’s particularly read Ezekiel 11:17-21. It truly describes a “conversion.” (Some teachers call it a “reversal.”) And I know of no other place to locate this “miracle” than the end of the Tribulation/Beginning of the Millennium timeframe.

“17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 11:17-21, as indicated earlier.

Verse 17 is a sermon unto itself! God regathering Israel and giving them the Land! The Holy Land, the Promised Land! (From the “river of Egypt” to the Euphrates, and extending westward to the Mediterranean Sea! According to Genesis 15:18 and Numbers 34:6.)

Then verse 18 shows Israel (her people) in the act of repentance. Cleaning up their lives! And their Land, apparently … “They shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.”

Verse 19 is the greatest miracle, I think. where God promises Abraham’s seed: “I will put a new spirit within you.” A reference to the Holy Spirit of God, to soul salvation. (Our King James Version does not always capitalize the noun “spirit,” even when referencing the Godhead.) By the way, this is what happened to each of us when we were saved as well. The Holy Spirit “within!” Praise the Lord!

Now in verse 20 … the “fruit” of this great “salvation event” … Ezekiel tell us: “They will walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

Obedience!

Relationship!

Millennium!

But what if a (relatively speaking) few do not obey? An occasional rebel? (Maybe a little bit like “Judas” among the Twelve.)

Verse 21 … “But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.”

Apparently not all hearts will be sincerely devoted to Christ. For at the end of the Millennium, we learn: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10, too much Scripture to be a “Proof Text,” but I know of no other way to present this sobering fact.

Probably this crowd is a cadre of people born during the Millennium who have not totally submitted to Jesus! And yet people who have not been tempted of the Devil for all that 1,000 years! (The Devil having been incarcerated, chained!) What an illustration of the “old sin nature” born within humankind!

Yes, I’d say God will “recompense” them!

His Fire of Judgment “devouring” them!

And thus ends one of Ezekiel’s clearest “snapshots” of the coming Millennial Reign, one aspect of it anyway.

Let’s read it one more time: “Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.”

A little more easily comprehended this time, to me at least.

Until tomorrow, and some Ezekiel again …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Please pray for the Revival, actually a Prophecy Conference, beginning this morning in Hiram, Georgia. At the Ridge Road Baptist Church here. (I have the honor of preaching five Sermons, from one of the Prophetic Psalms! I am excited!)

The missions house where I am staying this week is quaintly decorated in a “old-fashioned” theme. Look at the old Bible beside the typewriter, if anyone remembers one of these machines …

God’s Word, what a Book!

Join us tomorrow for another Millennium Lesson …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I no longer write Lessons on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Being an Evangelist, those are heavy travel and preaching days!

But, the Lord willing, Monday a new Article on the coming Millennial Reign of Jesus will be written and posted right here.

Meanwhile … the Website is full of interesting Bible information and exposition. Check the “Bible Study Pages Archive” to see what I mean. Not counting the last few years not referenced there but noted down the right hand column of this Post (under our picture), all the way back to June of 2015!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I have almost unknowingly emphasized the Old Testament view of the Millennium. And we’re not through yet!

But in a week or two (maybe a little more) we will see what the New Testament says as well. Is it not amazing that the Old Testament seems to emphasize the Second Coming of Jesus more than His First Coming? At least it seems that way to me.

If these Millennium Passages are not going to be literally fulfilled, we have certainly lost a lot of our Bible’s Specificity. And Scripture is just not that vague, folks!

Today’s Verse … Jeremiah 50:20, powerful!

“In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”

“Iniquity” and “sins” … both obliterated!

“Iniquity” is in Hebrew spelled “avon” (pronounced “avone”) and means “perversion.” (Something grotesquely “twisted” from God’s Original Plan, Purpose.)

And “sins” (“chattah”) hints at our “missing out” on God’s Best for our lives. “Missing the mark” is the usual definition. To me: “missing God’s gracious salvation, redemption.” (1st John 2:2, speaking of Jesus: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”)

“In those days, in that time,” when Israel is gloriously saved (Romans 11:26) … at the inception of the Millennium, at the end of Battle of Armageddon. (Some fundamental prophecy experts now say the “War of Armageddon.”)

Why can no wrongdoing be found?

For a whole Nation?

Because God has “pardoned” them!

“Salach” means “to forgive” 19 times in the King James Version of the Bible. And “forgiven” 13 more times. And “to spare” 1 time.

We now know the only basis for such cleansing is the shed “Blood” of Jesus Christ the Son of God!

Here is Zechariah’s “take” on the moment of Israel’s salvation: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced (Jesus), and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son.” Holy Ghost conviction leading to repentance and belief in Jesus! By grace through faith! (“Piercing” involves Blood Shed!)

But one more comment on today’s Text … “I will pardon them WHOM I RESERVE.” This verb is “shaar,” suggesting a “remnant” who have survived some ordeal. Those whose lives God has spared! (Remember, the Anti-Christ had been trying to kill the Jews for years!) Jesus in Matthew 24:22, His great Prophecy Sermon … “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” Speaking of this very time. Yes, Jesus the Prophet!

Wow!

What “good news” for Israel!

“In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.” Jeremiah 50:20

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Here’s some more good news for us all … “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Jesus Himself in John 5:24.

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