Chapter twenty is a chapter that shows us that God keeps his word. When you thinks that your burdens have become to great, it is a good chapter to return to.

Ezekiel 20:1 "And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord, and sat before me."

The elders of Israel recognized that Ezekiel was a prophet of God, and they came to Ezekiel to seek God. In the past these elders have listened to false priests and preachers, and went off to follow after the ways of the world, and the other nations with their heathen religions. God made it clear that there would be seventy years of the captivity, that the king of Babylon would come, and the entire nation of "the house of Judah" would fall under Nebuchadnezzar's rule.

In the New Testament this is given as a type that will come in the end times, so as you read of what these people did, and what God did, relate it also to these times of the end. The ancient men of Judah simply did not believe Ezra and Jeremiah when they detailed out what God had told them, and they closed their eyes until it was to late.

Today the preachers are blasting forth their quick escape route of the rapture theory, instead of reading to understand the actual word of God. The entire church world today is being set up as the "Judas goat", and is being pointed toward this slaughter houses of spirituality, because they do not listen to God's Word. Just like Ezekiel stated from God, "There will be seventy weeks of years" to old Israel, Today in this end generation, God has warned us "there will be seven years", symbolicly however that time has been shortened for the elects sake, and the church will go through exactly what is stated by Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, as well as the book of Revelation, and all the other prophecies dealing with the end times.

Ezekiel 20:2 "Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,"

Ezekiel 20:3 "Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God; 'Are ye come to enquire of Me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you'."

God is telling Ezekiel to tell these elders that inquire of Him, that the words that He is speaking, is true, and He swears them to be true by himself. God tells them that you have gone out and listened to all the junk and garbage peddled by those false prophets, and now you have the nerve to come here and inquire of Me? God is jealous and angry with them.

God loves you and then in that love, He sees you going whoring around spiritually with all these false teachings and prophecies, and you don't go to His Word, and follow what His word teaches. The Christian churches today is an exact type of what the elders of the Judah were. Remember back in chapter thirteen, God told us that He hates those that teaches others to fly to save their souls. This is called the "rapture doctrine, or any moment doctrine today. This is the main doctrine that will cause most Christians to fall before the Antichrist, because the have been taught to do so.

God is saying when you chase after these false prophets, don't come to Me for any knowledge.

Ezekiel 20:4 "Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:"

God is telling Ezekiel twice for emphasis; "Ezekiel, are you going to plead for that bunch of heathen?" I believe if I was Ezekiel, I would have backed off. God has expressed hatred and anger towards them.

God instructs Ezekiel instead is to let them know the abominations of their fathers, and where they went wrong. Let them know all the abominations their fathers have committed, and show them where they are no different from their fathers.

Friend, it is time to apply this to each of us today. We had better wake up to the fairy-tales being taught as the "Word of God", and the abominations that this becomes in the eyes of God. An example of this is the rapture theory that came to life in the mind of a mentally sick woman, Margaret McDonald, in 1830, in Scotland. From there it grew in Europe, and later came to America and was promoted by the Brethren Church [who gladly takes credit for it's birth]. The idea of this false doctrine is sick and the outcome is deadly, for it will cause death to the life of your soul, as it sets you up in these end times to go directly into the Antichrist's system. Friend, there is no rapture, and you will face all the prophecies that Jesus has warned you about, so you better start waking up to the events of the day. They are the prophecies of the end times.

God has given us in detail what the end shall be in His Word, and He also gave the same detailed warning to these elders of Ezekiel's day. The response in both cases is the same, and now we can see our Heavenly Father's feeling towards them. Next time you start pleading for these false prophets [ministers] I would be a little careful, for God is very unhappy with them. They will never have a revival until they clear out their whore houses of religion with all the heathen concepts and doctrines, and get back to the word of God, God will not hear them. Friend, it is not to wise to plead their case before the Father.

It is time that the Bible goes back into the church where it belongs, and becomes the center piece of the altar, rather then stuff that is peddled in the name of religion today.

Ezekiel 20:5 "And say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God; ' In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up Mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself know unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up Mine hand unto them, saying, 'I am the Lord your God';"

Israel did not volunteer to be God people, but God chose them. God made Himself know to them in the land of Egypt, before they were a nation, but were part of the house of Jacob. They were twelve sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The promises that God gave to Abraham were passed on through Isaac to Jacob, and thus a part of that Abrahamic Covenant, these sons of Jacob became the chosen because of that Covenant. God let it be know to them while they were in Egypt that He was their God, and showed that love by the miracles He performed in bringing them out of their captivity there.

Ezekiel 20:6 "In the day that I lifted up Mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:"

When God brought this rag-tag bunch of slaves out of Egypt, He already had a places "espied", or checked out and selected for them. This place was a clean land, for all the giants were cleared out. God had prepared the way.

We are in a time today where we are being turned free from these bonds that are putting a grip on the world, and the time is short whereby we will enter the new Millennium age. It will be a time of complete peace, and all of God's elect will reign with him in this kingdom of Jesus Christ.

In that day of old Israel the entire nation listen to the false prophets, and believed in the fairy-tales told, of there being Giants in the land, and in this state of non-belief God sealed their doom. Today there are no Giants out there either that can come between you and God. Some of these governmental agencies, and political bureaucrats may think they are giants, however before God's Word, they are nothing more then hot air. It is time to prepare yourself with the gospel armor on and in place for the spiritual battle has already begun, and shortly the heat of the battle will be lead by Satan himself, as the Antichrist.

You start putting on that armor of God when you repent of your sins, and then God will totally blot out all of you past sins, and then by getting into His Word, you prepare your mind for the great deceptions that are coming upon us today. What is going to happen is no secret to God's elect, for God as told us everything through His prophets.

Ezekiel 20:7 "Then said I unto them, 'Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God'."

This command of the Lord has been spoken in every generation since the time of captivity in Egypt. Cast away your abominations, defile not yourselves with idols; and in each generation, the abominations may have change, and the idols changed in form, yet the they were all sin in the eyes of God. Today we have to cast away most of the things that are being taught in the church houses. The church of today is based on the traditions of men, and spoken of as if they were of God. They are an abomination unto God, and the toys and trinkets we use for spirituality and nothing more then idols and idolatry.

Ezekiel 20:8 "But they rebelled against Me, and would not hearken unto Me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt:: Then I said, 'I will pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.' "

This happened when Moses had returned, after being gone forty years from the children of the captivity. Moses brought the plagues upon Pharaoh, to the point that Pharaoh finally released them from the life threatening daily work. God is not talking about the gold and wealth that the Israelites left Egypt with, but the spiritual idolatry of turning their back on God when the first sign of trouble came, as they stood with their backs to the red sea.

There was no reliance on God, and faith that He will see them through when the Israelites came out of Egypt. The People of the House of Judah did the same thing, a thousand years later, when the pressures of Babylon came. And now in the Latter days, the same murmuring are going on as their lack of faith, and the hope in the Christian worlds idolatry, and false doctrines are becoming the staff of the modern day Christian. The idea is to just squeak by in the good old life, and chase after their prosperity doctrines.

It is time to become a true champion of God, and the only way that you can become the champion for God, is to put on God's armor, as He has told you to. That armor is the entire Word of God, and it take time to study and prepare for the battle that is coming. That armor is named in Ephesians 6:10-20.

Ezekiel 20:9 "But I wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made Myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt."

God is saying that He wanted to kill the whole bunch of those Israelites, for their idolatry, but He didn't for His own Names Sake. The heathen saw how God delivered His children out of the hand of the enemy and the many miracles that He did for them, and God said, I would have polluted my own Name before the enemy, had I done that. It wasn't for our forefathers sake that God didn't destroy them.

Ezekiel 20:10 "Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness,"

Ezekiel 20:11 "And I gave them My statutes, and shewed them My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them."

If a person uses God statutes as his [her] outline to life, God is saying that he will have a pretty good life.

Ezekiel 20:12 "Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them."

God's Sabbaths are the rest that He gives us. The Sabbaths in the old testament were not only the last day of the week, but also the feast days. In the New Testament, Hebrews 4 we see that God is our Sabbath [rest]. It is in Jesus Christ that we get our rest, and we had be in Him every day of the week. Colossians chapter two makes it clear how important it is that we continually stay in that rest.

Ezekiel 20:13 "But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness: they walked not in My statutes, and they despised My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them."

Keep in mind that God is explaining why He has interceded on behalf of Israel, "for His name sake", and not because of them. He said get them out of my sight, I don't want to see them because of their idolatry and abominations. God is pointing out that the things that are precious to God, His Sabbaths, His laws and statutes, and judgment, and He is saying that this house of Israel Has polluted everything that He hold dear.

Ezekiel 20:14 "But I wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out."

God said, "I wrought", "I changed my mind". God, while in Egypt claimed Israel as His people by saying, "let My people go". He brought them out of Egypt, and into the wilderness with the nations of the world watching what was going on. If God would have destroyed Israel in the wilderness, the heathen then would have said, there is no God. So for the sake of the knowledge of God in the minds of the heathen, God preserved His people.

When we think of God's disgust with those Israelites of old, think of what He must think of our present day generation that claim His name, yet follow into every form of idolatry, and pagan mixture, and then call it a holy thing of God.

Also think of God's love and pride that He has for those of His elect, for those that will take the time to repent, and study His word, and will talk to Him and tell Him that they love Him. If you are not aware of God's emotions, then how can you please Him? You can't. To know God's emotions, you have to know what pleases Him, and that comes through His Word.

Ezekiel 20:15 "Yet also I lifted up My hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;"

When this ancient house of Israel was going into the wilderness, they came to a point at the edge of the promise land, at Kadesh-barnea, that Moses sent out twelve spies. When these spies came back from their viewing of the land, ten of the spies made up fairy tales of the giants being in the land, while two told the truth. Joshua and Caleb reported the truth, and told of the beauty and wealth within the country. The people of today are no different then they were in those ancient times. They would rather follow fairy-tales, and believe lies and distortions, that the truth. God had already cleaned the land out with droughts, and so on, and the few that were left would be no problem for God's people.

God's people listen to man's lies, and that kept them out of the promise land. This is exactly what we will face now. If you allow yourself to listen to the lies of false prophets and teachers as they are spying out the promise land, and coming back to spout off the lies of the traditions of Men, this will prevent you from entering into the promise land that is fast approaching, and is even at the door, of these end times.

Ezekiel 20:16 "Because they despised My judgments, and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols."

"Because they despised My Judgments", or way of doing things, and followed after their own way of doing things, they went after their own idols. They went after something they could see and touch, something that the could reason with, and be in control of, and in this way they made their gods. Even today mankind hasn't changed much in all their modern day theories.

The Christian religion on the whole today thinks that because they speak something, God has to perform what they say, they put God on a little lower status then the gene in the bottle. They like to give orders, yet they are to self-righteous to repent. The religious orders of today that is called Christianity has combined fragments from all the religions of the world, to make a doctrine that will conform to the new religious order that is controlling not only our nation, but the world.

Their heart is their minds that went after other gods, and the form of God became what there senses could imagine. What they could see, hear, smell, touch and imagine became the factors for their reasoning; and reasoning was substituted for faith. Yes, faith was required as much then as it is now, for we believe God because of what is in our minds, not because of what we see, or feel, but because God said it. Your mind is the intellect of your soul, and it is from your mind that you go after Christ by faith, or other forms of worship.

Ezekiel 20:17 "Nevertheless Mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness."

In disgust, God only destroyed one generation in the wilderness. Remember in the eighteenth chapter how God said that the sins of one generation will not be passed to the next generation. The sins of the father were not going to be passed to the son. God required the generation that sinned against Him in the wilderness to die off, then He brought the next generation into the promise land. However because Joshua and Caleb gave a true and righteous report, God allowed them many years living in the promise land, with land and position. They were faithful to God, and they were well rewarded by God for it.

Ezekiel 20:18 "But I said unto their children in the wilderness, 'Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:"

God is talking to the next generation, the one that will enter into the promise land. He is commanding them to stay away from the ways and idols of their fathers. Their Judgments are their false teachings, and ways of doing things.

You hear the term today, "My mother [grandmother] said..." and they go on to spout off some foolish proverb. You had better check it out for yourself, rather then rely on some false "judgment" of other generations.

Ezekiel 20:19 "I am the Lord you God; walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them;"

God is telling them that He has given them the laws and ways to follow in, and now live as He has instructed you.

Ezekiel 20:20 "And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.' "

God is saying that He has given them the Sabbaths for rest and peace of mind, this is a sign, or marking that you will have to show that you are the Lord's. Today Christ is our only true Sabbath, and when we rest in Him, then all the promises that He has given us in His word, we can claim as ours.

Ezekiel 20:21 "Notwithstanding the children rebelled against Me: they walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted My Sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness."

God did kill the entire generation that sinned against Him coming out of Egypt, and only the two that knew and told the truth were spared.

Ezekiel 20:22 "Nevertheless I with drew Mine hand, and wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.

God did spare the next generation, and the heathen were watching as God guided them for forty years, and protected and fed them, to bring them into the promise land. God said I did this for My name sake. So that even the heathen would know that in God all mankind could receive blessings. But His own children let Him down.

At the close of the twenty second verse, God makes a change in directions, and now He is focusing in on the punishments, and the reasons for those punishments, for all those that do not keep His Word.

Ezekiel 20:23 "I lifted up Mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;"

This came to pass, and it is ancient history to us today. After the monarchy of Solomon ended, the nations of Israel split into two separate nations. They were known as the "House of Israel", the ten tribes to the north, and the "House of Judah", comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; with the Levites scattered amongst all the tribes.

God dealt with each of these two nations individually, He divorced the House of Israel, while He kept the House of Judah. All prophecy from the monarchy of Solomon to today, God either addresses one of the houses or the other, individually.

God scattered the House of Israel first by Assyria between 745 and 722 B.C., and several hundred years later, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon scattered the House of Judah. Over a million of the house of Judah went to Babylon in captivity, yet only about twenty four thousand people of Judah returned out of Babylon, along with a equal number Nephinim [Kenites]. God did disperse all of Israel and scattered them around the world.

The book of Hosea address who and where the House of Israel is in these end times, while there is also much prophecy of the House of Judah. In fact the most important sign marking the final generation of this flesh age, is the return to Jerusalem of the house of Judah, with the Nethinims that are still mixed with in their group.

Hosea 1:10 states; "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, 'Ye are not My People,' there it shall be said unto them, 'Ye are the sons of the living God." The entire book of Hosea is directed not to the Jews [the house of Judah], but to the House of Israel.

It is said of the House of Israel, that they are not God's people, by the House of Judah, the Jews, and that is because God divorced them. Yet in the place where these people of this house of Israel are in the latter days, the time that this prophecy is directed, they are called "the sons of the living God". Jesus Christ is the one we call the "living God, and those sons are called "Christians".

Ezekiel 20:24 "Because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, and had polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers idols."

God said that it was because of their own ways of doing things and worship that He brought judgment upon them. The religious forms of what is called Christianity today is quite different from what God's word teaches. The "Kenites" have infested all denominations to plant seeds of doubt, and twist the true meaning of the word of God. They plant scare words, and tell you that certain things are important, and that you don't need to study certain parts of the Bible, and so forth. These Kenites, and false teachers set up a list of dos and don'ts for direction, and then make their list out to be "God's Word".

Christianity is a reality, and not a religion. God's houses are precious, yet it is sad what is being taught in most of them.

Ezekiel 20:25 "Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;"

Do you get what God is saying here? It is God that is going to send false doctrine, and false ways to live and think, that if they follow them, they shall surely die. God is laying the trap for them. Why would He do this? If you want to believe in fairy tales, and chase after pagan traditions and call it of God, then He [God] will make it believable in your mind, so that you will destroy yourselves. This is what happened in the wilderness with the first generation of Israelites out of Egypt, and is also happening in our generation today.

God is saying that if you want to be a whore spiritually, then He will take your mind and make you one. In the Hebrew text, "I gave.." used the Hebrew idiom word "nathan", or to "suffer" in the sense, and not so much as when one gladly grants permission. But is the sense of when one has his mind so set in doing wrong, and refuses to change it, God allows them to go to their own destruction. Today this is part of free will, or free choice. It is a Hebrew idiom, and the true meaning has lost much in the translation.

So lets now put it in another form; "Wherefore I aloud them, because of their own stupidity, in listening to the traditions of men, and their fathers teachings, to receive a bunch of bad statutes, and I let them absorb the stuff, whereby they would die."

The apostle Paul talked about this in II Thessalonians 2:11-12; "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: [11] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." [12] Do you find pleasure in the doctrines that your church house teach, and feel secure. You had better know that those doctrines are in line with God's Word, or your in trouble. God will give you your strong delusion that you get from it, and God will also make you secure in it. If you are to lazy to secure the truth for yourself from His Word, God will allow you to be deceived, just as He did to that first generations of Israelites in the wilderness.

Again, God doesn't give bad law, but He will allow people to deceive themselves, when they are set in creating their own statutes. Today it is called "one-up-manship", trying to be a little holier then the next guy, to have the latest information to reveal secrets of God's word, and to be a little richer, a little larger a little closer to God then the others. Where does this happen? Try any of the so-called TV preachers, for a start.

Ezekiel 20:26 "And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord."

Hell, fire and damnations, do you think that is from God? Those that are teaching and preaching it are lying through their teeth. Jeremiah 7:31 talks about this; "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My heart."

The parents scare their children out of their minds by telling their kids that if their don't do this or that "God will throw you in hell, and you will burn in hell fire forever." This was done in Jeremiah's day, and it is done today, and it is a lie and the parents will account for it before the almighty God for it. It is called the "practice of Moloch", and comes out of the most ancient of all religions, the Sumerian from Babylon. They then go to the parable of Lazareth and the rich man, which is nothing but a parable. A story talking about something entirely different. The parable is a story using the things that you can understand to explain something that is hidden.

God is saying that you take the word of God, and you distort the idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech to where you lie to your children, and make them afraid of the living God, that loves their very souls. God said, I didn't teach you what you are teaching your children. Every child that breaks through the womb, your going to teach them the practice of Moloch, which is the idea of burning for ever and ever.

What did God say of the soul that sinneth? It shall surely die. That soul shall be Blotted out, as if it never existed, there is no condition of pain the exists, it is a state of non-existance, not even in the minds of those who they called "loved ones". Friend, this is a warning to all Christians that like to be spiritual in disciplining the children. Using Hell fire, and the fear of God in destruction, is the most heathen of all practices, and God doesn't like it. He is telling us that we will be held accountable to Him for it. If it is done, it is time to repent for it, for our heavenly Father forgives all sin.

Ezekiel 20:27 "Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God; 'Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me, in that they have committed a trespass against Me."

God is naming the act of using the practice of Moloch, as blaspheming against God. In that act, you are committing a trespass against God, and and breaking one of his laws.

Ezekiel 20:28 "For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings,"

Do you know what this is saying? These "thick trees" on the "high hills", is where they made their grove worshipping altars, to false religions. It is there that they offered their sacrifices, and it is also there that they gave up their offerings, their tithes. This is where they had their feasts, and their drink offerings. Friend this is idol worship. and the tithe that is offered here is unacceptable to God. It is better that you would have never given it if false teaching is taught there, for it is a form of idolatry.

Is your church house teaching traditional form that will lead you to the Antichrist, of forms of idolatry, and false doctrine. If so, the tithe that keeps it going is considered idolatry in the eyes of God, God will not honor it, nor will He respect it. For when you know the difference, and what God is saying here, it becomes a curse brought upon your own family.

Ezekiel 20:29 "Then I said unto them, 'What is the high place whereunto ye go?' And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.' "

The "high place" is the place of worship, and God is asking why you go to the place of worship. "Bamah" is a Hebrew word meaning "Big place, High church", showing a place that is popular, and not referring to His place of worship.

Ezekiel 20:30 "Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, 'Thus saith the Lord God; 'Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?"

God is asking you directly. Do you follow this Bible chapter by chapter to find the true way of your heavenly Father, or are you continuing in the whoredoms of worship form that has gone on for generations in your family? God wants you to answer Him, if not now, you will later. Do you accept what men say, or do you check them out by His Word?

Ezekiel 20:31 "For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you."

The gifts that you offer, are the threatening of your children with hell fire from God; if you don't come to our denomination your going to hell; God will burn you forever and ever; and so forth. It is the creating and using to false sayings and traditions as if they came from God, when they are against what God's Word teaches. It shows that first you are listening to the traditions of men, and secondly that you simply don't understand the true meaning of God's Word.

The manuscripts are solid, and unchanging, and the word usage doesn't change, even though it does in the English. When the Bible says, Thus saith the Lord, you have to properly transliterate, for the exact meaning of the idiom or expression that is said. Because of this misunderstanding, people cause their children to hate and be afraid of God. Your gifts are anything that you think you are doing for God, and in the name of God. When you do these things, and they are not of God, then it is polluting yourselves; and God is saying it has to stop.

God is saying that if you keep this up, and you seek after Him, He will not allow you to find him. He will so mix up your mind in understanding that should you see the truth, it will seem as foolishness to you. What we are talking about are the traditions of men that have taken a higher priority then God's Word. God is telling you to take your gifts and put them elsewhere. God is telling you that if you don't follow His ways, He doesn't want anything you got, and that includes your tithe. A tithe given to the work of a false prophet [minister] goes to promote the work of Antichrist.

It is time to have a personal relationship with God, but when you seek after Him, you do it God's ways, and all of the traditions of men have to be set aside. God is a loving God, and He seeks your love and obedience, and He will reveal Himself to you when you study to know Him, and then follow His ways.

Ezekiel 20:32 "And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, 'We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone."

To put this in common terms of today; we will build our beautiful churches of wood and stone; we will show the world how beautiful our church is; we will wear our badges of support; and so on. It is the external things of this world that puts on a show for the world, and to the world. The church world today makes statements and goals just to be seen of the world, and approved of the world.

Our Heavenly Father is not wood, and He is not stone, He is not traditions, but He is this Word that we must study.

Ezekiel 20:33 "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:"

God did take care of Israel, as her protector, and judge for many years under the times of the Judges. Though this is history, it applies even more so today, and the the Millennium age to come.

Friend, this is the best promise that you can ever hear, and God says that you can count on it. God is telling us that He is going to stretch out his arms, and with all the power that is within Him, He will rule over us. He will be our king. He is coming shortly, at the second advent as King of Kings. Even though you keep messing around in your whorehouse religions, God will still give you the chance in the Millennium age to be taught and turn to him. God's elect will rule over you, and provide the discipline for that thousand years, and their judgments will be fair, and absolute. It is written, and you had better be glad that God loves you, and on the first day of the Millennium age, every knee on the face of the earth will bow to Him, and the others will be gone forever.

Ezekiel 20:34 "And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out."

Keep in mind that we were told earlier that what is written to and about Israel in ancient times is a type of what would befall us in the time of the end. Just as the God brought out His people from the first captivity, it is exactly as it will be in the second captivity. Just like Nebuchadnezzar came in to save the world, to provide prosperity, and and supply all their needs, this is exactly as the Nebuchadnezzar [the Antichrist] of the end times is coming. He will come to love everyone, feed everyone, and care for every one. It is a type, and we can see this attitude forming now and framing the mindset of the people of the entire earth.

This; "bring you out" is part of the punishment that God put on the people, back in the twenty third verse, and after the captivity. God scattered the people and God will make a way back to Him. Is this the "fly away rapture theory"? No, this is the gathering of the Elect of God, of those with their gospel armor on and in place, and ready not only to stand against the Antichrist, but to be used in the Millennium age as teachers, the Zadok, for Jesus Christ's kingdom.

Ezekiel 20:35 "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face."

Jesus Christ is going to bring all His people into His kingdom, and there they will be taught face to face. Then the discipline [the pleading] will come to see if you understood what you were taught.

Ezekiel 20:36 "Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God."

Before the great entering onto Jesus Christ's kingdom of the Millennium age, it will be as it was in the wilderness after leaving the land of Egypt. I believe that the generation we are living in today is that generation. God is going to check out those that call themselves Christians, to see who and what they are following.

Ezekiel 20:37 "And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:"

The covenant is everlasting, and there is nothing that you can do about that. That covenant was made and given by God to Abraham, and in the New Covenant, through the blood of Jesus Christ those outside the covenant can be brought under the bond of the covenant. What is required is that you allow the blood of Christ to cover all your sins, through repentance, and turn from those wicked ways.

When you are born from above, under the blood of Jesus Christ, this separates you from those that have not. The separation that is given here is as the rod of a shepherd. The shepherd holds the rod over the entrance of the gate of the sheepfold, and as the sheep enter the fold through the gate, they pass under the rod. The shepherd counts each sheep that passes under his rod, and checks to make sure that they are his, with his markings. Those that are not his, are not allowed to enter the fold, for the shepherds rod has a hook on the end, and the hook goes around the neck and that sheep is pulled out and put in the out pasture. 

Jesus Christ is using this comparison to show how each person shall be marked and pass under His rod, When they have His mark, they enter for He knows his sheep, and they know him, and He counts them one by one. There is no accidental entry, or mix-up. You either are, or you are not.

If you follow the traditions of men, and by the teaching fall for the Antichrist, you are no, and you are eliminated from passing under our Lords sheepfold. However by knowing the truth of God's Word, you know what to expect, and the events of the day, and you do not follow the Antichrist.

At this point, remember that in the end times, the Christian nations are the House of Israel, We know that from Hosea 1:10. In Amos 9:9 we are told how the separation will take place; "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the House of Israel among all notions, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." The grain is qualified by those that believe on the son of God. Anyone that believes in Jesus Christ is part of those that will be sifted, and that includes all races.

Ezekiel 20:38 "And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

Jesus Christ, the good shepherd has His hook to grab all those that are not of His. It is Jesus Christ that will separate them from His people, and they will not enter into the Israel land that God has planned for the next age. The Millennium age is discussed in detail in the last eight chapters of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 20:39 "As for you, O house of Israel,' thus saith the Lord God; 'Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto Me: but pollute ye My holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols."

God is telling you that that you have to chose His ways or the World heathen ways; you can't serve both. If you desire to follow the idols of men, the traditions of the the world, such as the rapture doctrine, evolution, or any doctrine that goes against what the Bible teaches, God says, if you want to allow these things to have part in your life, any part, He will not allow you to pollute His holy name, in any form. Don't say your giving to God in tithe or service when the when that man, or church goes against God's Word.

Ezekiel 20:40 "For in Mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things."

Those that are part of the true family of our Lord, He expects that you serve Him in all manner. That you study his word to know His ways, and know the pit falls of the world. God expects your tithe, and offerings, and he requires your first fruits. Why does He require them? Because they are not your, they are the Lords. When you get your blessings, that first part is not yours, it is the lords, and the word tithe means 'tenth'. That is your oblation, and the holy things that God holds dear.

It is not for anyone to tell you where that tithe goes, but the Lord. It goes for His work, and as the Lord lays it on your heart. If it promotes false doctrine, it is not unto the Lord, and only you will be accountable for the blessings or curses that it will bring. There is a blossom of the gospel that is going forth, just as the world is being set up for the damnation that is developing at the same time.

Time is running out for your making up of your mind. The time of preparation is getting short, and it is your house that you are responsible for. Remember the whole theme of this chapter is, If you don't want to do it my way, I don't want to hear from you.

Ezekiel 20:41 "I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen."

For those that do repent and try to learn the ways of God, and follow in all His ways, they are accepted by God. their gifts and tithes are accepted as sweet savor, and he will draw you out from where ever you are, and set you high in His Kingdom. The heathen will know your Savior by the way you are. They will desire Jesus Christ, because you draw them to Him.

Ezekiel 20:42 "And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to your fathers."

God is saying, don't mess up like the fathers did.

Ezekiel 20:43 "And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed."

The time is coming when those that refuse to shed their traditions of men, will see the evils and abominations that they have committed, and they shall be greatly ashamed for what they have done. They will lothe themselves for their words and there acts, even of following the Antichrist. The elect of God will be glad of this day.

Ezekiel 20:44 "And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for My name's sale, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.' "

God is saying that, I am gathering you back, but it is not because you deserve it.

Ezekiel 20:45 "Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,"

Ezekiel 20:46 "Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;"

The "south field" is the House of Judah. So the words that Ezekiel is told to pass on is not only addressed to the Christian, House of Israel, but the the Jews also. The trees are the people, and the forest is all the people combined, together.

Ezekiel 20:47 "And say to the forest of the south, 'Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein."

It is the Holy Spirit of God that is the quenching fire that will burn on the hearts of all men. The burning that will take place on the earth is only directed to those that are not the true and faithful of the Lord. God's love will build a wall around you, and protect you, regardless of what comes upon the earth. However those that follow the false teaching of traditions will be scorched, which is the shame and embarrassment for what they have done, when they face the Almighty Father.

Ezekiel 20:48 "And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched."

All flesh, all mankind will know that the judgments coming are brought by the Lord God. It doesn't mean that they burn in hell, but all mankind will come to know who Jesus Christ is. When they have finally accepted Him, they will have eternal life, and if they chose not to, they will simply be blotted out.

Ezekiel 20:49 "Then said I, "Ah Lord God! then say of me, 'Doth he not speak parables?' "

When many people talk about the word of God it sounds like a riddle, and a parable, for their mind is closed to the understanding of God's Word. When much of what you say about God's Word is understood by you, and when you try to relate it to others, their minds will be closed to receiving it, and you will be bothering to them. You will feel just like Ezekiel is here. When he talks to others about what God said, they think it is all parables.

This is why Jesus spoke in parables while on earth. When asked why He spoke in parables He answered; "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Matthew 13:11 To some people they are not intended to understand. When you try to give the word of God to a person and it is irritating to them, plant the seed of thought, and leave it alone. It will be the Holy Spirit that does the work in their mind, and you have done your duty to the Lord.