The Mystery of Ephraim

As Ezekiel continues his visions of God in Jerusalem, and remember, Ezekiel’s prophetic message wasn’t for the house of Judah but to the house of Israel; hence we must try to read the prophetic meaning behind all those historical setting.

Its timing was a great distance into the future (Ezekiel 12:27), into our time and the message is primarily and principally for the United States of America, and secondarily her Western allies.

The prophecies in these chapters have a bitter/sweet and/or sweet/bitter themes:

And I went unto the angel and said unto him, “Give me the little book.” And he said unto me, “Take it and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.”

And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. Revelation 10:9-10

More on (1) Ephraim / The United States; (2) Ephraim and Manasseh

Ezekiel 11

— ye or they “shall know that I am the Lord” expressed 3 times in this chapter alone (v10, 12) and in all, 51 times in the book of Ezekiel. In other chapters the phase could apply to some Gentile nations, but for this chapter it, again, applies solely to the house of Israel.

¹ Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord’S house, which looketh eastward; and behold, at the door of the gate five and twenty men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

— and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men as we may guess they were the same as in Ezekiel 8:16 “their backs to the Temple of the Lord” and “their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun;”

— now these twenty-five were between the porch and the altar; and performing services and worshipping there; including the priests at the door of the eastern gate, sitting as a court of judicature, and were civil magistrates;

— there is evident of a small difference in the locality, the priests standing between the porch and the altar, whereas the men here stood at the outer side of the temple; these are not those who administer his temple, but further out; that is, rulers and governor; cities chiefs; mayors and their rich and influential: “princes” of a city; and the likes of Bill Gates, George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch.

— princes of the people; men who were entrusted with power and authority to exercise the laws of the nation; and who should have been wise counsellors of the people, but to God, these are the men that give wicked counsel!!!

— among whom I saw Pelatiah; named here for that dreadful, sudden death (v13), whereby he became a warning to others; perhaps he started this mocking, “This city is the cauldron, and we be the flesh.”

² Then said He unto me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise mischief and give wicked counsel in this city,

— these are men that devise mischief, who formed schemes for the holding out of the siege, and for the security of the city, and of themselves in it, which was all folly and vanity:

— and give wicked counsel in this city; either in ecclesiastical affairs, to forsake the worship of God, and cleave to the idols of the nations; or in civil things.

³ who say, ‘It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the cauldron, and we are the flesh.’ — it is not near; that is, the threatened invasion; this mean the Chiefs of the city are advising the people to ignore Ezekiel’s warnings;

— in fact, these infidels are mocking and sneering at Ezekiel, saying: “We will run all risks, we will abide in the city. Though it be the cauldron, and we the flesh, yet we will share its fate: if it perish, we will perish with it.”

— parallel Scripture to add further meaning; this city is the cauldron, and we be the flesh; referring to, and laughing at the prophets, namely Jeremiah, who had said of them, comparing them to a boiling pot, Jeremiah 1:13 “And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I (Jeremiah) said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.”

— ‘It is not near; or it’s as in Ezekiel 12:27, “of the times that are far off,” where their elders dismissed that Ezekiel’s vision were meant for many years yet to come: “of the times that are far off.”

⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.” — prophesy a judgement upon their kings, princes, rulers, royal officers and military commanders of the nations;

⁵ And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, “Speak! Thus saith the Lord: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. — the spirit of the Lord; the Targum interprets it of the spirit of prophecy; and if prophecy then it is for the future; and in this case it is the Lord prophesing against the house of modern Israel.

⁶ Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. — “multiplied your slain“ capital crimes increasing, blood upon blood, murder upon murder, shedding of innocent blood, gun violence everywhere in the United States today.

⁷ Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the cauldron; but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. — but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it: where they promised themselves safety; ye shall not be permitted to do so, but God will ensure they shall be carried away as captives.

⁸ Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God. — “ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain;” these crimes, to God, are serious stuff! Hence numerous repeats of a returning “sword” and reminders; repeats “I will bring a sword” and reminders. “Whatever crimes you inflict on others, these will be inflicted back on you.”

— the Targum says, “ye have been afraid of them (meaning the Chaldeans) that kill with the sword” but not afraid of the Lord.

⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers and will execute judgements among you. — indeed the Sword appeared in 70 AD; this time by the hands of the Romans, but it was actually God executing His judgement on:

— (a) the Essenses (who formulated their own calendar, but God is a jealous Being); and;

— (b) the Sadducees (who observed a Passover and Pentecost similar to the Samaritan’s) where both defiled the tenets from the Sanhedrin and were wiped out by the Sword!

¹⁰ Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. — and ye shall know that I am the Lord” ~ this implies the house of Israel, even their numerous churches, doesn’t know God today!!!

¹¹ This city shall not be your cauldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel. — neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst of it; or the Targum renders it “but ye shall be in the midst of it, as flesh that is boiled in the midst of a pot,”

— again, this is repeated, that the Lord is prophesing against the house of modern Israel.

¹² And ye shall know that I am the Lord; for ye have not walked in My statutes, neither executed My judgements, but have done according to the manner of the nations who are round about you.” — and ye shall know that I am the Lord” ~ this implies the house of Israel, even their numerous churches doesn’t know God’s statutes and judgement!

¹³ And it came to pass when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord God! Wilt Thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” — this Pelatiah was one of the “princes of the people” and probably the ringleader of the scorners mentioned in Ezekiel 11:1-2 as “those that devise mischief and give wicked counsel”

— a parallel incident involved prophet Jeremiah against Hananiah the false prophet; where Jeremiah prophesy against Hananiah to trust in a lie, that he would die, and he died the same year, the seventh month; (Jeremiah 23,15, 17);

— multitudes would die, especially the wicked; and conditions would be so bad that those few who survived would ask, “Would God make a full end to the remnant of Israel?”

— the answer is “no.” Nebuchadnezzar left a few Jews back in their land, but they had a pay taxes and tributes to their new Babylonian governors.

— but in II King 25, an assassination of Gedaliah in 423 BCE ocurred: and to commemorate this event it is now one of the four fasts taking place each year on 3 Tishrei.

— wilt thou make a full end of the remnant; is Pelatiah’s destruction to be the token of the destruction of all, even of the remnant? The people regarded Pelatiah as a mainstay of the city. His name (derived from a Hebrew root, “a remnant,” or else “God delivers”) suggested hope. Is that hope, asks Ezekiel, to be disappointed?

²² And as for the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.

²³ And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah at Mizpah even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said unto them, “Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”

²⁵ But it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

²⁶ And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

¹⁴ Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — the Targum calls it, “the word of prophecy from the Lord.” It’s a prophecy, thus reference to the future.

¹⁵ “Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get you far from the Lord; unto us is this land given as a possession.’

— all the house of Israel wholly . . . ‘unto us is this land given as a possession.’ Does this mean that the “whole house of Israel” are coming back to claim the land of Israel that were originally given? If so it would include the whole of West Bank, all of Golan Heights and a large chunk of Jordan onward to the land of Iraq.

— perhaps this organization, BNEY YOSEF NORTH AMERICA https://bneyyosefna.com would take a lead.

¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Although I have cast them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.’

— it may be rendered, “the sanctuary of a few” especially those that were truly God-fearing. The Targum says, “I have given them synagogues, second to my sanctuary, and they are as few in the provinces where they are carried captive.”

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.’ — returning back the Promise Land, perhaps this house of Joseph, https://bneyyosefna.com could take a lead.

¹⁸ And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. — there would be a lot of cleaning to do, their idols and all things detestable since the birth of their nations;

— all these abominations should be wholly rooted out; historically this had its accomplishment under Zerubbabel, Ezra, Haggai, and so there should be another revival.

— but who, if any, would clean the detestable filths and abominations of the latter-day house of Israel?

<<< there seems a great gap in time in between from their detestable filthy and abominable stage above to one where the house of Israel would be ready to accept God’s new spirits, statues and judgments below; from Ezekiel 2 to Ezekiel 37 >>>

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 a 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.”

²² Then the cherubims lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. — the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city — this vision demonstrates that God did not abandon this people all at once; he departed by little and little.

²⁴ Afterwards the Spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea to those of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. — from Jerusalem, Ezekiel was brought back to the land of the Chaldea, back with fellow captives by the River Chebar;

— but all this was done in vision; under the influence of the Spirit of God, as if he was carried to Jerusalem, and there saw and heard all he did, and then was brought back again to Chaldea.

²⁵ Then I spoke unto those of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shown me.

~~~

This vision of Shekinah departing (verse 23 above) demonstrates that God did not abandon this people all at once; he departed by little and little. First, he left the temple. Second, he stopped a little at the gate of the city.

Third, he departed entirely from the city and went to the Mount of Olives, which lay on the east side of the city. Having tarried there for some time to see if they would repent and turn to him.

Fourth, he departed from earth to heaven. Now, the vision being concluded, Ezekiel is taken away by the Spirit back to Chaldea, and there announces to fellow captive Israelites what God had shown him in the preceding visions, and the good that he had spoken concerning them; but they did not seem to believe him, which the prophet reprimands severely.

Ezekiel 12

Ezekiel 12 explains why a few are going to be left to survive, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations. And that the vision that Ezekiel seeth is for many days to come, “and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.”

The prophecies in these chapters have a bitter/sweet and/or sweet/bitter theme.

¹ The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying, — the Targum calls it, “the word of prophecy from the Lord.” So Ezra expounds it as a prophecy and a reference to our time.

² “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see and see not; they have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious house. — this is true even for those dwelling in the Sanctuary, in the house of God; they have ears but couldn’t hear, eyes to see but couldn’t see; they don’t even know what the Oracles of God are; not to say about a willingness and the spirits to keep them.

³ Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee supplies for departure, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house. — prepare thee stuff for removing; the same expression are translated in Jeremiah 46:19, “Furnish thyself to go into captivity.” The action seems to be that of one who must abandon his home and comfort.

⁴ Then shalt thou bring forth thy goods by day in their sight, as supplies for removing; and thou shalt go forth at evening in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. — and you shall bring forth your baggage by day in their sight, as provisions and supplies for going into exile; and you shall go forth yourself at evening in their sight, as those who usually go forth into exile;

⁵ Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out through it. — dig, as Zedekiah was to escape like one digging through a wall, furtively to effect an escape (Eze 12:12).

⁶ In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders and carry it forth in the dark [עֲלָטָה H5939 thick darkness]. Thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground; for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.” — in the dark [עֲלָטָה H5939 thick darkness]; so the soon exiles-to-be should make their exit stealthily and restrain from looking around, be hurriedly should be their fight;

— perhaps the MSG might be easier to understand for the few verse around here:

God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, you’re living with a bunch of rebellious people. They have eyes but don’t see a thing, they have ears but don’t hear a thing. They’re rebels all. So, son of man, pack up your exile duffel bags. Leave in broad daylight with everyone watching and go off, as if into exile. Maybe then they’ll understand what’s going on, rebels though they are. You’ll take up your baggage while they watch, a bundle of the bare necessities of someone going into exile, and toward evening leave, just like a person going off into exile. As they watch, dig through the wall of the house and carry your bundle through it. In full sight of the people, put the bundle on your shoulder and walk out into the night. Cover your face so you won’t have to look at what you’ll never see again. I’m using you as a sign for the family of Israel.” The Message Bible

⁷ And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my goods by day, as supplies for captivity, and in the evening I dug through the wall with mine hand. I brought them forth in the dark [darkness], and I bore them upon my shoulder in their sight. — and in the evening (the early part of the night: 6 to midnight) Ezekiel digged through the city wall with his hands; not with an iron instrument; and being in haste, and also that it might be done without noise;

⁸ And in the morning came the word of the Lord unto me, saying, — in the morning came the word of the Lord unto me, saying; that is, in the morning after he had done all the above commanded him; explaining the meaning of them, and showing to whom they belonged.

⁹ “Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, ‘What doest thou?’ — again, this “house of Israel” is repeated, that the Lord is prophesing against the modern house of Israel; chiefly the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

¹⁰ Say thou unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel that are among them.’ — thus saith the Lord God: this to add weight and authority to God’s word;

—this burden or warning of a coming calamity most probably concern the future captivity of the house of Judah for 40 years and for the modern house of Israel for the final 190 years (see study on Ezekiel chapter 4).

¹¹ Say, ‘I am your sign: as I have done, so shall it be done unto them. They shall remove and go into captivity.’ — your sign; the change of pronoun is intentional. Ezekiel’s action was to be a sign not only to Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem, but also to those would be in captivity of the modern house of Israel and for the house of Judah (see study on Ezekiel chapter 4).

¹² And the prince who is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark [darkness], and shall go forth; they shall dig through the wall to carry out through it. He shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. — the Targum says, “he shall cover his face because he hath sinned:” rendering it as if he, refering to Zedekiah, shall not see with his eyes, and he shall not see the land again.

¹³ My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. — and he shall be taken in my snare; as a bird is taken in the snare of the fowler; or a wild beast by the hunter;

— in Jeremiah 52:11, Jeremiah makes it plain by recording that Zedekiah’s eyes were put out in Riblah, before he was carried to Babylon, where he would die there;

¹⁴ And I will scatter toward every wind all who are about him to help him, and all his troops; and I will draw out the sword after them. — God will scatter toward every wind; the people of Judah were not carried captive to Babylon only, but many of them were scattered wherever they could find refuge;

— they shall be scattered among the nations; and, finally, the remnant left in the land by Nebuchadnezzar, after the murder of his governor Gedaliah, escaped into Egypt.

¹⁵ And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the countries. — ye or they “shall know that I am the Lord” expressed 3 times in this chapter alone (v15, 16, 20) and in all, 51 times in the book of Ezekiel. In other chapters the phase could apply to some Gentile nations, but for chapter 12, it applies to both the house of Judah and the house of Israel;

— this implies that neither those teaching in the synagogues nor those in their numerous churches know God today!!! Strange, isn’t it?!

¹⁶ But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine and from the pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come; and they shall know that I am the Lord.” — “that they may declare all their abominations among the nations;” this explains why a few are left to survive;

— if they have hidden in some secret hideouts, they won’t be able to “declare all their abominations among the nations” whither they come; who, observing their calamities, and distresses, could deserve and a need to know, and hear those who are well-versed to explain their sins, abominations and judgement to the nations.

¹⁷ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁸ “Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with sorrow; — those remnants who survive would explain to the nations that they have been guilty of great enormities;

— so that their punishment was a visible and standing declaration and warning to the nations of their abominable sins; which they, of the house of Israel, had been guilty of; and not to repeat them in their own nations.

¹⁹ and say unto the people of the land, ‘Thus saith the Lord God of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with sorrow, and drink their water with dismay, that her land may be desolate of all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. — unto the people; the common sort of people, distinguished from rulers, of the land of Chaldea, in which the Jews were captives;

— her land will be desolated: men, cities, towns, houses, vineyards, fields, fruits and cattle are all in ruin. Those who could see, only sorrow and dismay.

²⁰ And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.’” — again, this implies that neither those teaching in the synagogues nor those in their numerous churches know God today!

²¹ And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

²² “Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth’? — this is another way for the hardhearted (also stiffnecked) in the “land of Israel” to dismiss Ezekiel’s warning, “every visions faileth!”

²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say unto them, ‘The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. — but say unto them, the days are at hand, and the effect of every vision; the time is hastening on and will quickly come when every prophecy shall be fulfilled.

²⁴ For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. — the emphasis here is of the modern house of Israel: chiefly the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

²⁵ For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more put off. For in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word and will perform it, saith the Lord God.’” — and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; the word of prophecy delivered out in his nature by the true prophets never fails, but is always accomplished; 

²⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.’ — see, this warning vision that Ezekiel saw concerning Israel’s ruin and the prophecy which he delivered, the house of Israel say, were not for their time to be fulfilled; dismissing that that they were only meant for many years yet to come: “of the times that are far off.”

²⁸ Therefore say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: There shall none of My words be put off any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.’” — but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God: not one jot of it shall pass away till all be fulfilled; sooner may heaven and earth pass away than that shall; it is forever settled in heaven, and shall be fulfilled on earth; he that has said it is of one mind, and none can turn him; and is able to do whatsoever he pleases.

~~~

Please allow me to elaborate (on verse 27 above): God must had told Ezekiel that the visions were for a time far into the future, and Ezekiel, in turn, repeated God’s message to the house of Israel, which seems unrecorded. Being hardhearted, the house of Israel, or their elders, turned around, brushing off those warnings by saying the visions were only meant for those living in the far future, which is recorded as in verse 27; hence they could continue to practice their abominable things which they were doing.

But more calamities were to fall for the house of Judah a few years later when Nebuchadnezzar took more captives; and a few hundred years later, in 70 AD and 132 AD, this time by the Romans; hence God’s warning messages were meant for the house of Judah since those days; timeless, and another meaning “of the times that are far off.” That is, it was a warning meant for the endtime, our time, and this prophecy is primarily and principally for the United States of America and secondarily its European allies.

~ by Joel Huan on October 23, 2022.

Posted in Ezekiel