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868. Bible Study: Ezekiel 44 (Zadok priests restored; Levites humbled) · Faith by annm2705

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  Chapter 44 from Ezekiel, Dear Lord, please be with us as we
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  read through this chapter and give us wisdom and insight to
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  what you have to say. We ask this in Jesus name.
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  This is called the priesthood restored.
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  Then the man brought me back. So this is Ezekiel talking, and
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  he refers to this person who's showing him these things as the
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  man. Then the man brought me back to
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  the outer gate. This is all of a vision that
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  Ezekiel had, or he was like transported, or he had this
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  vision. It's a continuation of prior
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  chapters. Let's start.
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  Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary,
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  the one facing east, and it was shut.
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  The Lord said to me, this gate is to remain shut.
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  It must not be opened. No one may enter through it.
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  It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel has
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  entered through it. The Prince himself is the only
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  one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence
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  of the Lord. He is to enter by the way of the
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  of the gateway and go out the same way.
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  Then the man brought me by the way of the Northgate to the
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  front of the temple. I looked and I saw the glory of
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  the Lord filling the temple of the Lord, and I fell face down.
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  The Lord said to me, Son of Man, look carefully, listen closely
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  and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the
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  regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the
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  Lord. Give attention to the entrance
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  to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.
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  Say to the rebellious Israel, This is what the sovereign Lord
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  says. Enough of your detestable
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  practices, people of Israel, In addition to all your other
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  detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised
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  in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my
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  temple, while you offered me food, fat and blood and you
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  broke my covenant. I want to pause for a minute
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  because when I read this, it came, you know, scripture came
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  to mind about how God was, was saying that his house will be a
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  House of prayer for all nations. And while that is true and that
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  is those are the words of God. I don't believe he is saying it
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  will be a house for all religions.
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  It'll be a House of prayer for all nations, but not for all
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  beliefs. And so I think this might be, I
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  know some of the recent developments have been wanting
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  to unite Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and there is some
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  sort of unification of this saying, well, we all worship the
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  same God. But that's can't be true when it
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  says that there I have I have no son on mosques and the deity of
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  Jesus is denied and Jesus even said like if you've seen me,
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  you've seen the Father and the Father and I are one.
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  So that is the oneness of God. But yet both Judaism and Islam
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  deny that Jesus is the son of God, that Jesus is the Messiah.
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  So you wouldn't, you can't be worshipping the same God if you
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  were saying that his Son is not who he is.
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  And so this is a different God that is being worshipped.
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  So that could be a very practical way that God would be
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  upset where he says you brought foreigners uncircumcised in
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  heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my
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  temple, while you offered me food, fat and blood and you
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  broke my covenant. So eventually we believe from
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  pop, from prophecy that the Jewish people will begin
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  sacrifices once again. And so that just brought that to
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  mind that so Isaiah 56 verse 7 says these I will bring to my
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  holy mountain, give them joy in my House of prayer.
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  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on
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  my altar for my house will be called a House of prayer for all
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  nations. And then Jesus said, and as he
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  taught them, he said, is it not written my house will be called
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  a House of prayer for all nations?
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  But you have made it a den of robbers.
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  So this is when Jesus got upset with what was happening in the
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  temple where they were actually just like selling things and
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  they were. It just became like a
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  merchandise place rather than a House of prayer.
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  And so yes, maybe all nations were there, but they weren't
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  praying. They were selling and buying
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  things. So in Isaiah chapter 56, verse
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  7, when it says these I will bring to my holy mountain and
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  give them joy in my House of prayer.
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  This is what it's the the prior sentence says.
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  And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord, to
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  minister to him, to love the name of the Lord and to be his
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  servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it,
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  and who hold fast to my covenant.
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  These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my
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  House of prayer. So it's a, it is a unification,
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  but we have to be aware of who God is and when Jesus is denied.
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  Jesus is the only way for us to enter the Kingdom of God and to
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  become become the children of God.
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  So if we deny Jesus, that means we won't have eternity with God.
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  We won't have that presence of God.
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  We won't be living with God if we deny Jesus.
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  And if you notice that these other religions deny Jesus, so
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  we have to be very careful about it all sounds good when you say
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  just bring love to everybody and let everybody love God and let's
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  all worship together. OK, that's great.
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  But who are you worshiping? Because God doesn't deny Jesus,
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  he said multiple times. This is my son and, and he, it
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  was when Jesus got baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon
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  him and he said this is my son who I'm well pleased.
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  And then I believe it was also at the transfiguration.
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  I think he also said that too, where he claimed that Jesus was
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  his son as well. So there's been and God
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  establishes 2 witnesses for everything and we see that
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  Scripture gives us 2 witnesses that Jesus is the Son of God.
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  So anyway, going back to verse 8, instead of carrying out your
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  duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge
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  of my sanctuary. This is what the Sovereign Lord
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  says. No foreigner uncircumcised in
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  heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the
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  foreigners who live among the Israelites.
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  So it's where our heart is. These people have not turned to
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  God. They are still resistant to
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  Jesus. And that's not who God is saying
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  can come into his House of prayer for all nations.
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  All nations are welcomed, but they need to know and believe
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  who Jesus is in order to be within this temple.
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  The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray and who
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  wandered for me after their idols, must bear the
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  consequences of their sin. Now this is kind of sad because
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  the Levites were established as a priestly order from God, and
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  now because of their idolatry, God is saying they must bear the
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  consequences of their sins. So now they're going to be
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  limited in their duties. So verse 11 says they may serve
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  in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and
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  serving it in a way. They may slaughter the burnt
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  offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the
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  people and serve them. But because they served them in
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  the they served them in the presence of their idols, and
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  made people of Israel fall into sin.
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  Therefore I have sworn with an uplifted hand that they must
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  bear the consequences of their sin, declares the sovereign
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  Lord. They are not to come near to
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  serve me as priest, or come near any of my holy things or My most
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  holy offerings. They must bear the shame of
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  their detestable practices. Just think about when Jesus says
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  this to people, how terrible they're going to feel about what
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  had happened. But there are consequences to
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  our sin, consequences to our rebellion.
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  And even though they are Levitical priest, they will be
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  told this from Jesus and I will appoint them to guard the temple
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  for all the work that is to be done in it.
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  So when I read this verse 14, I will appoint them to guard the
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  temple for all the work to that is to be done in it.
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  I was thinking that which just a few days ago, I, I realized that
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  the plans that the Temple Institute have right now, that
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  they have right now is not reflective of Ezekiel's
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  description of the Temple Mount or the future temple, the third
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  temple. I guess that's what we call it,
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  but it might be the 4th temple. So there is another temple and I
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  think it's based on the second temple that that the Temple
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  Institute has. So, and from the research that I
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  did, I guess just searching online to see if that temple was
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  just a little bit smaller and could it be expanded, It
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  basically says no, that it couldn't be changed to match
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  what Ezekiel describes because Ezekiel's temple is so large.
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  And we know that in the final new heaven and new earth that
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  come down out of this, out of the heavens that God brings to
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  the earth, that will not have a temple in it.
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  So the only temple that's going to be is during the Millennium
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  period, the 1000 years that Christ reigns.
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  So there's apparently some work that will be done, and the
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  Levites are going to guard the work that's going to be done, I
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  guess, during the Millennium period.
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  But the, OK, verse 15. But the Levitical priests who
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  are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the
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  Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister
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  before me. They are to stand before me to
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  offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Lord.
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  They alone are to enter my sanctuary.
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  They alone are to come near my table to minister before me and
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  serve me as guards. When they enter the gates of the
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  inner court, they are to wear linen clothes.
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  They must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the
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  gates of the inner court or inside the table and inside the
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  temple. They are to wear linen turbans
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  on their heads and linen undergarments around their
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  waist. They must not wear anything that
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  makes them perspire. When they go out into the outer
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  court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they
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  have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred
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  rooms and put on clothes. Listen to this reason why So
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  that the people are not consecrated through contact tact
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  with their garments. That was kind of new to me.
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  But we also do see that like there was this woman who had
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  bled for like 12 years and when she grabbed the cloak, the power
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  came out of the cloak. And I think this was when Jesus
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  was wearing the cloak and a woman grabbed his, his garment
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  and he said he felt power leave from it.
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  And he asked who grabbed my cloak?
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  And it was this woman. And so she had known that if she
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  was able to reach his cloak, that she could be healed.
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  And she had been bleeding for these 12 years and she was
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  healed. And so that was one part of
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  evidence about this. But that was that's something
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  that you know about the healing and Jesus.
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  That was very interesting. But now reading this in chapter
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  44 that says so that the people are not consecrated through
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  contact with their garments. That's was very interesting to
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  me. So when we're talking about the
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  priesthood, I did look up like, what's the comparison between
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  the Levitical priest compared to the Zadok priest?
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  So I'll read to you what I found.
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  Zadok Priest where the faithful elite lineage within the broader
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  Levitical priesthood specifically rewarded for
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  loyalty by being granted exclusive rights to minister
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  directly to God in the temple. Ezekiel 44 that we're reading.
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  While all Zadokites were Levites, not all Levites were
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  Zadokites. The latter were chosen for
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  upholding holiness, while the others were demoted for
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  idolatry, lineage, and fidelity. The the Levitical priest,
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  descendants of Aaron, held general priestly roles.
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  The Zadok priest descending from Zadok, a descendant of Aaron,
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  were recognized for remaining faithful during times of
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  national apostasy, particularly during the rebellions against
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  King David. Access to the Sanctuary In
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  Ezekiel's prophecy, ordinary Levites are restricted to
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  subordinate temple duties, guarding, assisting as
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  punishment for their unfaithfulness.
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  Conversely, the sons of Zadok are the only priest permitted to
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  enter the inner sanctuary, approach the table of the Lord,
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  and offer the fat and blood sacrifices.
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  Role and ministry. The Zadokite priesthood is
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  characterized by intimate, direct service to God,
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  ministering to his heart. They are quote keepers of the
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  charge of the altar. Other Levitical priests focused
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  on serving the people and maintaining general religious
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  order. Inheritance.
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  Zada Kite priests are described as having God himself as their
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  inheritance, setting them apart to live holy, distinct lives.
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  In summary, the Zadok priesthood represents the highest standard
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  of faithful service within the Levitical tradition, ultimately
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  chosen to serve in the inner sanctuary due to their
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  unwavering loyalty to God and the Davidic line.
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  So, the history of the Zadok priests Zadok was a pivotal Old
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  Testament high priest during the reigns of King David and King
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  Solomon, 10th 10th century BCE, establishing A priestly dynasty
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  that served in the First Temple until 587 BC.
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  As a descendant of Aaron, he remained loyal to David during
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  Absalom's revolt, brought the Ark to Jerusalem, and anointed
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  Solomon. Key historical aspects of Zadok
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  rise to power. Initially serving alongside
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  Abiathar, Zadok became the sole high priest after supporting
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  Solomon's succession over Adanasia role in David's reign.
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  He was a trusted righteous meaning of Zadok leader, often
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  appearing alongside David as a loyal supporter in both military
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  and religious capacities. Serving as a priest at Gibeon
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  First Temple Priest, he was the first to hold the office of high
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  Priest in Solomon's Temple, setting the standard for the
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  priesthood. The Zadokite line.
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  The sons of Zadok became the recognized legitimate priestly
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  line, emphasized by Ezekiel for their loyalty, while other
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  Levites strayed. Legacy.
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  His name is synonymously associated with faithfulness and
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  was used to define the priesthood in later post exilic,
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  I guess exilic prophecies. He is distinct from later
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  separate figures named Zadok mentioned in the books of
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  Nehemiah and the Talmudic tradition.
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  So when did the Zadok priest end their temple service?
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  The Zadok priest ended their primary unbroken high priestly
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  service in Jerusalem during the 2nd century BCE, specifically
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  around 171 to 152 BC. Their monopoly ended when
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  hellenistic reformers Jason slash menelaus and subsequently
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  the hasmonean dynasty replaced them, causing many to abandon
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  the Jerusalem temple in protest. Key points regarding the end of
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  Zadokite service The transition 175 to 152 BC The last day
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  Zadokite high priest in Jerusalem is generally
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  considered to be Onaius the Third or his brother Jason, who
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  is Hellenized. The Maccabean revolt further
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  cemented the Hasmonean, not Zadokite line.
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  Alternative Temple 154 BC. Onaius the 4th, a rightful
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  Zadokite heir, left Jerusalem and established A rival temple
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  in Egypt at Leontopult, Leontopolis, which continued
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  until 73-CE. Qumran Community.
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  Many scholars believe the Zadakite priest formed the
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  leadership of the Qumran community or the Dead Sea
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  Scrolls in protest, maintaining their strict ritual purity laws
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  until 68-CE. The original lineage, the sons
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  of Zadok served from the time of Solomon 10th century BCE until
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  the Babylonian exile 587 BCE, and again upon the return of
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  exile until the Hellenistic period.
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  So another question. These are all the topics that
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  came up as I was studying this. So the Maccabean revolt, what
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  happened? And so I went to
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  godquestions.org and I'm going to read their answers.
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  So what happened in the Maccabean revolt?
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  The Maccabean revolt was a Jewish rebellion against their
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  Greek slash Syrian oppressors in Israel around 167 to 160 BC, as
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  well as a rejection of Hellenistic compromises and
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  worship. The history of the Maccabean
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  Revolt is found in 1st and 2nd Maccabees and in the writings of
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  Josephus. The origin of Hanukkah is traced
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  back to the Maccabean Revolt. First, some background on the
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  events leading up to the Maccabean Revolt.
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  The Old Testament closes with the Book of Malachi, covering
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  events roughly 400 BC. After that, Alexander the Great
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  all but conquers the known civilized world and dies in 323
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  BC. His empire is distributed to his
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  four generals, who consolidate their territory and establish
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  their dynasties. The Ptolemy, one of his
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  generals, ruled in Egypt. Seleucus, another of his
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  generals, ruled over territory that includes Syria.
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  These generals founded dynasties that were often at war with each
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  other. Israel, located between the two
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  kingdoms, occupied a precarious position.
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  Potomac rule of Israel in quotations Palestine was
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  tolerant of Jewish religious practices.
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  However, the Seleucid empire eventually won control of the
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  area and began to curtail Jewish religious practices.
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  In 175 BC, Antiochus the Fourth came to power.
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  He chose for himself the name Antiochus Epiphanes, which means
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  God manifests. He began to persecute the Jews
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  in earnest. He outlawed Jewish religious
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  practices, including the observance of kosher food laws,
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  and ordered the worship of the Greek God Zeus.
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  He His ultimate act of desecration precipitating the
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  Maccabean revolt was to sacrifice a pig to Zeus in the
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  temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC. Now the pig was one of those
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  unclean animals in the temple. And when I read all of this for
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  the first time, it really is like an Antichrist or like
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  Daniel's prophecy. And it seems like this was a
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  partially fulfilled event that happened because when I first
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  read it, I thought, wow, was this already fulfilled or is
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  there still something more to come?
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  And I think some of it ties back to the last days.
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  But that does make a question something to study further
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  because just taking on that name, Antiochus Epiphanes, which
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  means God manifest, it's almost like calling yourself God and
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  and then he's, you know, worshipping another God on the
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  temple grounds and then sacrificing a pig in the temple,
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  so desecrating the temple area. So again, this is, you know,
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  perhaps a foreshadowing. We'd have to look in details to
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  see if he fulfilled the specifics of the Daniel prophecy
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  about this future person who would do these things.
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  Continuing on, what got questions?
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  Faithful Jewish opposition had been an undercurrent all along,
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  but Antiochus overt act of desecration bought it, brought
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  it to the surface, and the result was the Maccabean revolt.
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  Mattathias, a Jewish priest, led the organized resistance along
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  with his five sons, John Gotti, Simon Dasi, Ileazar Avaran,
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  Jonathan Apaphas, and Judas Maccabees.
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  Maccabees comes from the Hebrew word for hammer.
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  Mattathias started the rebellion by preventing a Jew from
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  sacrificing to a Pagan God and then killing an officer of the
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  king. Mattathias escaped with his
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  family to the hills, where he was joined by many other
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  faithful Jews. From there he can They conducted
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  guerrilla warfare against the Seleucids, but much of their
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  wrath was also directed against fellow Jews who had embraced
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  Greek culture, the Hellenized Jews.
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  The rebels tore down Pagan altars, circumcised boys, and
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  forced Hellenized Jews to become outlaws with no rights or legal
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  protection. Upon Matathias death in 166 BC,
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  his son Judas Maccabees took command of the rebellion.
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  Judas saw himself as a leader like Moses, Joshua and Gideon
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  Under the leadership leadership of Judas Maccabeus, the
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  rebellion continued successfully in the maccabees, as they were
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  called, were able to capture Jerusalem and rededicate the
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  temple in 164 BC. It is from this time that the
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  festival of Hanukkah comes. From there, Maccabeus took took
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  the war to Galilee in an effort to reclaim all Jewish territory.
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  In 164 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes died and his son and successor
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  Antiochus Eupator agreed to peace following the resumption
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  of Jewish practices. However, the war resumed shortly
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  after that and Judas fought and received help from the fledgling
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  power of Rome to finally throw off Seleucid control.
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  Judas died in about 161 BC and was succeeded by his brother
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  Jonathan. Finally, under Jonathan's
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  leadership, peace was made with Alexander Bayliss, the Seleucid
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  king, in about 153 BC. After Jonathan, his brother
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  Simon ruled over a semi independent Jewish nation with
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  the collapse of the Seleucid Empire in 116 BC, the nation of
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  Israel enjoyed full independence until 63 BC when Rome installed
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  a puppet king in Jerusalem. In spite of the fact that Judas
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  Maccabees neither started the rebellion nor saw it to
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  completion, he is considered to be the central figure in it.
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  Mattatheus and his family are sometimes called the Hasmoneans.
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  They are also referred to as the Maccabees after Judas and the
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  revolt they LED is referred to referred to as the Maccabean
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  revolt. The history of the rebellion is
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  recorded in Josephus, the Jewish Wars and in the non canonical
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  books of 1st and 2nd Maccabees. So that kind of gives a story
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  about that, the story of Hanukkah.
• 29:26
  This let's see, without repeating a lot about the
• 29:31
  Maccabees, I was trying to find the what happened here.
• 29:42
  They basically had oil that they had a limited amount of oil, but
• 29:48
  they were able to keep the candles lit and that was
• 29:51
  considered miraculous from the limited amount that they did
• 29:55
  have because it was for eight days that they had to keep the
• 30:01
  lamps lit. It just reminds me keeping the
• 30:05
  lamps lit also reminds me of that was something that the the
• 30:10
  priest had to do. So from Exodus chapter 27, verse
• 30:14
  21, in the tent of the meeting outside the curtain that Shields
• 30:19
  the Ark of the Covenant, Aaron and his sons are to keep the
• 30:24
  lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning.
• 30:28
  This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites
• 30:32
  for the generations to come. So and then it also made me
• 30:37
  think about the parable of the 10 virgins too, because they
• 30:43
  also have lamps and they need to keep oil in them and half of
• 30:48
  them are don't have enough oil and so they go to refill their
• 30:56
  oil. But in the time that they so it
• 31:00
  says in Matthew 25 verse 10. But while they were on their way
• 31:03
  to buy the oil, the bridegroom, which is a reference to Jesus,
• 31:08
  arrived. The virgins who were ready went
• 31:12
  in with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut.
• 31:18
  That's something that we all need to pay attention to because
• 31:21
  there is preparation that's required.
• 31:23
  We need to. I believe this oil is
• 31:26
  representative of the Holy Spirit and those who have the
• 31:31
  Holy Spirit will be able to go in with Jesus to the wedding
• 31:37
  banquet, but the door will be shut.
• 31:40
  Those who don't have the oil. That's why you don't want to put
• 31:44
  this off. You don't want to put off
• 31:47
  surrendering your life or asking God to guide you in.
• 31:51
  The only way that we can change or become ready for the Kingdom
• 31:56
  of God is to have the Holy Spirit.
• 31:58
  And the Holy Spirit is received through Jesus.
• 32:03
  So if we don't believe Jesus is the Son of God, that means we
• 32:06
  can't receive the Holy Spirit. And Jesus said that no one may
• 32:12
  enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born again, born of the
• 32:16
  Spirit. So Holy Spirit is so critical
• 32:21
  about when you think about the return of Jesus, which is said
• 32:28
  to be no one knows the day or the hour.
• 32:31
  So you must have the Holy Spirit.
• 32:34
  Matthew 25 verse 11 says later the others also came.
• 32:39
  Lord, Lord, they said, open the door for us.
• 32:42
  But he replied, truly I tell you, I don't know you.
• 32:47
  And the summation of this is therefore keep watch because you
• 32:53
  do not know the day or the hour. That means we can't be slack in
• 32:59
  our commitment to Christ. We need the Holy Spirit.
• 33:05
  OK, going back to verse. Oh, there was a little bit more
• 33:10
  that I wanted to talk about. I had something about the spirit
• 33:15
  of the Lord. I, I don't know why I did this
• 33:22
  yesterday, I guess, and I'm not sure why, but I did search the
• 33:26
  fear of the Lord. And the only thing that really
• 33:31
  comes to mind when I say fear of the Lord is the verse that says
• 33:35
  the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
• 33:38
  And there are, let's see, fear of the Lord occurs 453 times in
• 33:48
  67 verses, including 21 exact phrases.
• 33:54
  So the fear of the Lord, I guess when it's the beginning of
• 33:58
  wisdom, it's just knowing that the power that God has and, and
• 34:05
  it's, you know, like another verse in Scripture says, you
• 34:08
  know, what good is it to gain the whole world, but then to
• 34:12
  forfeit your soul because knowing what God requires it, it
• 34:22
  makes us want to be prepared. Because if we're not prepared,
• 34:29
  if we don't have this fear, it's not like the fear that we're
• 34:33
  worried that God's going to come and beat us up or anything like
• 34:37
  that. It's, it's a fear of respect.
• 34:41
  I mean, it's really respect of God.
• 34:43
  Do you not have respect of God? Are you not going to get ready
• 34:50
  for the day that Jesus arrives? And that's what I believe is the
• 34:54
  fear of the Lord. We need to be prepared.
• 35:00
  And if you don't think it's, you think I'm good, you know, are
• 35:06
  you going to end up like the five virgins who didn't have the
• 35:09
  Holy Spirit? Because I do think there are a
• 35:13
  lot of Christians who think they're fine because they
• 35:16
  believe. And but at the same time,
• 35:22
  believe is not you, you. All you have to do is think
• 35:27
  about the one verse where I think it's from James, where he
• 35:30
  said even the demons believe and shudder.
• 35:34
  So it's not just belief because Jesus said that we must be born
• 35:38
  again, born of the Spirit. The only way we get the Holy
• 35:42
  Spirit is from Jesus because Jesus told his disciples when he
• 35:46
  left that it'll be good for you when I leave.
• 35:49
  Because when I leave, I will send you the Advocate and to
• 35:53
  wait for the advocate, the Holy Spirit who will teach you things
• 35:57
  and will remain with you until the end.
• 36:01
  So the Holy Spirit empowers us, the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom.
• 36:06
  I mean, there's so many things. The Holy Spirit helps us
• 36:09
  overcome our sinful ways. So if we try, if we just trust
• 36:15
  in ourselves to accomplish righteousness, it'll never
• 36:20
  happen. But if we trust in God, the Holy
• 36:24
  Spirit can work enough in US, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies
• 36:29
  us. The Holy Spirit changes us.
• 36:32
  The Holy Spirit makes not not forcefully, but gives us the
• 36:38
  desires that God has. So then we start wanting the
• 36:42
  things that God wants and not necessarily just the things that
• 36:46
  we want. Our desires start changing.
• 36:49
  So I think the fear of the Lord should be explored by more
• 36:54
  people because I don't know that people have that respect for God
• 37:01
  And I think it's very clear in Proverbs 1.
• 37:05
  So Proverbs is a lot of like wise advice and Proverbs one the
• 37:10
  very first chapter of Proverbs, verse 7, it's kind of
• 37:14
  interesting how it ended up that number because 7 is, you know, a
• 37:17
  number of God. But here it is the fear of the
• 37:20
  Lord is the beginning of of knowledge, but fools despise
• 37:26
  wisdom and instruction. And in Proverbs, which are all
• 37:31
  these like wise statements, it's I'm just going to read some of
• 37:36
  them, not even the whole verse. But then you will understand the
• 37:41
  fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
• 37:45
  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
• 37:48
  This is in Proverbs 9, verse 10. It's repeated again.
• 37:51
  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and
• 37:54
  knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
• 37:58
  In chapter 10, the fear of the Lord adds length to life, but
• 38:04
  the years of the wicked are cut short.
• 38:08
  In chapter 14. The fear of the Lord is a
• 38:12
  fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.
• 38:18
  So sometimes we need a little bit of fear to turn away from
• 38:23
  the things that will lead us to death better.
• 38:28
  And then chapter 15, better a little with the fear of the Lord
• 38:34
  than great wealth with turmoil. Verse 16 or chapter 16, verse 6,
• 38:44
  through love and faithfulness, sin is atoned for.
• 38:51
  Through the fear of the Lord, evil is avoided.
• 38:58
  Chapter 19, the fear of the Lord leads to life.
• 39:03
  Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
• 39:07
  So there's like a promise for that in in chapter 22, verse 4,
• 39:14
  humility is the fear of the Lord.
• 39:17
  Its wages are riches and honor and life.
• 39:24
  In chapter 23, it says do not let your heart envy sinners, but
• 39:29
  always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
• 39:34
  And then in Isaiah Chapter 11, verse 2, this is talking about
• 39:42
  the Spirit of the Lord resting on Jesus.
• 39:45
  So the Spirit of the Lord, and this happened at Jesus's
• 39:48
  baptism. The Spirit of the Lord will rest
• 39:52
  on him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of
• 39:59
  counsel and of might or power, the spirit of the knowledge and
• 40:07
  fear of the Lord. And he will delight in the fear
• 40:12
  of the Lord. He will not judge by what he
• 40:15
  sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears.
• 40:23
  But with righteousness. He will judge the needy.
• 40:27
  With justice. He will give decisions to the
• 40:30
  poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with
• 40:34
  the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips.
• 40:39
  He will slay the wicked. Now that really describes Jesus
• 40:43
  coming on the horse with the sword in his mouth and in the
• 40:49
  very end time. So Isaiah was basically saying
• 40:54
  something early, early on, and then it's repeated in Revelation
• 40:59
  and this is describing Jesus. So then he will be the sure
• 41:05
  foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and
• 41:09
  wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key
• 41:13
  to this treasure. So now we're connecting the fear
• 41:16
  of the Lord to a key to the treasure.
• 41:20
  Like if you have the fear of the Lord, that's a good thing.
• 41:23
  You have a key to this treasure and then an acts, it says.
• 41:29
  Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria
• 41:33
  enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened living in the fear
• 41:38
  of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in
• 41:45
  numbers. So there's, there's some good
• 41:48
  things about the fear of the Lord.
• 41:50
  The fear of the Lord is not running away from God.
• 41:54
  It's recognizing the power of God and then drawing near to
• 42:00
  God, not running from him. So I was curious, is Wisdom one
• 42:10
  of the seven spirits standing before God?
• 42:14
  So yes, it is. The Spirit of Wisdom is
• 42:17
  generally considered one of the seven spirits, or sevenfold
• 42:22
  aspects of the Holy Spirit standing before God.
• 42:26
  Often identified through a symbolic interpretation of
• 42:31
  Isaiah Chapter 11 verse 2 and Revelation 4 verse 5.
• 42:37
  These seven spirits represent the perfection and complete
• 42:42
  ministry of the Holy Spirit. So the sevenfold spirit.
• 42:48
  So I'm just going to read those because I think it's just
• 42:52
  interesting, important to know. So the Spirit of the Lord,
• 42:56
  that's the main spirit, the spirit of wisdom, spirit of
• 43:02
  understanding, spirit of counsel, spirit of might or
• 43:08
  strength or power, the spirit of knowledge and the spirit of the
• 43:14
  fear of the Lord. These are often associated with
• 43:18
  the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God in
• 43:24
  revelation. Some, however, interpret these
• 43:27
  seven spirits as representing the perfection of the Holy
• 43:31
  Spirit rather than 7 distinct separate beings.
• 43:36
  So there's interpretations of these, but the, you know, these
• 43:42
  are all different attributes of the Spirit and that's who is
• 43:49
  standing before the Lord. So I think those are all
• 43:54
  important things. You know, you have the main
• 43:57
  spirit, wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and
• 44:01
  the fear of the Lord. So there was another part when
• 44:07
  we were talking about the very last sentence that I read from
• 44:10
  Ezekiel 44 that said about the priests garments where it says
• 44:17
  so that the people are not consecrated through contact with
• 44:20
  their garments. We talked about the woman with
• 44:22
  the blood, but this was a just something that I was very
• 44:26
  curious about, like can people become consecrated by touching
• 44:31
  holy garments? So here's what I found.
• 44:35
  In biblical and theological context, touching holy garments
• 44:40
  or consecrated items can symbolize a transfer of sanctity
• 44:47
  as quote, whatever touches the altar or holy objects shall
• 44:53
  become holy. And that's found in Exodus 29
• 44:58
  verse 37 and Leviticus chapter 6 verse 27.
• 45:03
  However, this quote contagious holiness was highly regulated to
• 45:10
  prevent ordinary people from being set apart for exclusive
• 45:15
  priestly duties requiring peace to change clothes to avoid
• 45:21
  inadvertently sanctifying the laity and that is referencing
• 45:26
  Ezekiel 44 verse 19, the biblical biblical precedent.
• 45:33
  Leviticus 6 verse 27 states quote Whatever touches it's the
• 45:41
  sin offering flesh shall become holy preventative measures.
• 45:46
  Priests in the Old Testament changed their garments before
• 45:50
  entering the outer court to protect the people from being
• 45:54
  accidentally consecrated or damaged by the intense holiness.
• 46:01
  One thing that just came to mind is I read that it's not like it
• 46:05
  probably wouldn't be a good thing if they came in contact
• 46:08
  because the priests were prepared by God.
• 46:12
  They were anointed. They were consecrated to do what
• 46:18
  they were doing. And so if somebody said, well, I
• 46:21
  want to become holy and I want to touch this, that's not the
• 46:25
  way God had it established. Because we know that story of
• 46:32
  Uzziah, I guess is his name. That was with David when they
• 46:36
  were carrying the Ark of the Covenant.
• 46:39
  And the Ark of the Covenant started to slip and Uzziah put
• 46:43
  his hand out there to stabilize the Ark of the Covenant
• 46:47
  covenant. But it was only the Levitical
• 46:50
  priests who were supposed to hold that or carry the Ark of
• 46:53
  the Covenant. And so when someone who wasn't
• 46:57
  prepared touched it, he died. But we also remember when God
• 47:03
  came to Moses, he gave Moses at Mount Sinai.
• 47:08
  He gave Moses all of these instructions about what to do
• 47:14
  before Moses came up. And he also told, like, Moses
• 47:19
  was the one who could come up there, but all the people
• 47:23
  couldn't. And they were not to touch the
• 47:25
  ground because everything was holy because of the Lord's
• 47:28
  presence. And he even told Moses if they
• 47:31
  touched it, they would die. So that's, I think it has to, I
• 47:37
  mean, there's some law obviously, or something that we
• 47:40
  don't quite understand. But, and I think a lot of the,
• 47:45
  the prophets were very sensitive to that because like, I think it
• 47:50
  was Ezekiel where maybe it was Ezekiel.
• 47:53
  I can't remember which prophet it was, but he's like, don't
• 47:57
  come near me because I'm a man of unclean.
• 47:59
  Or maybe it was Isaiah, a man of unclean lips and then there was
• 48:04
  a coal that like purified his lips.
• 48:06
  But there, you know, there is a again, it's the fear of the
• 48:12
  Lord. You can't get close to holiness
• 48:17
  when you are in a sinful state. And that's another reason why
• 48:22
  when Jesus returns, people will receive their incorruptible
• 48:29
  bodies. I believe that is when people
• 48:31
  can be in the presence of the Lord once their bodies are
• 48:35
  changed. That's what Paul tells us
• 48:37
  happens when Jesus returns. And the first, the dead in
• 48:42
  Christ rise, and they get their incorruptible bodies, and then
• 48:45
  everyone who's remaining and alive at the time that Jesus
• 48:49
  comes will then be changed in an instant.
• 48:53
  And that's necessary because as we know, you can't have sinful
• 48:59
  beings in front of a holy God or they will die.
• 49:04
  The wages of sin is death, so that's what the law is.
• 49:09
  So God had to has to do something for people to prepare
• 49:14
  them to be in His presence. But the only way that can happen
• 49:19
  is if we have the Holy Spirit. That's why Jesus says we need
• 49:22
  the Holy Spirit, so that we can be sanctified by the Holy
• 49:27
  Spirit. So then there's another
• 49:30
  reference that says New Testament context.
• 49:32
  The woman with the issue of the blood who touched Jesus's
• 49:35
  garment was healed, demonstrating a positive
• 49:39
  transmission of divine power through the touch, rather than
• 49:42
  just a formal ritual consecration.
• 49:45
  Now, why she was able to do that, I don't know.
• 49:50
  Maybe it was because Jesus was there and Jesus is the mediator
• 49:57
  between US and God, I don't know.
• 50:00
  So contrast with purity law. While ritual impurity tamie was
• 50:06
  easily transferred by touch, the transference of holiness was
• 50:10
  more restrictive and often required specific authorized
• 50:14
  contact. In summary, while touching
• 50:18
  sacred consecrated garments in the biblical context was
• 50:21
  believed to transfer a form of holiness, it was generally
• 50:25
  treated as a dangerous or highly restricted action intended to
• 50:32
  set apart objects or people for exclusive divine service, rather
• 50:38
  than a daily experience. So I don't think you want to try
• 50:45
  to touch something holy without God saying it's safe.
• 50:52
  And then Exodus 2937, this was for seven days, make atonement
• 50:58
  for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most
• 51:03
  holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
• 51:07
  And then Leviticus says whatever touches any flesh will become
• 51:11
  holy. And if any of the blood is
• 51:14
  splattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary
• 51:18
  area. So there are very specific rules
• 51:22
  that Moses originally gave. It's interesting too about a
• 51:27
  seven day period for purification.
• 51:31
  When you think about 7 days, there were seven days of
• 51:35
  creation and then there were seven days of the week.
• 51:41
  Then there were 7 sevens which were shabuo I think or shabuim I
• 51:50
  can't remember the right word for it.
• 51:52
  But it was like the the period of 49 and and then just the
• 52:00
  seven day purification. And then the what Peter says is
• 52:05
  that a day to the Lord is like 1000 years.
• 52:08
  And we look at the time from when Adam was created and we
• 52:16
  have different calculations of the dates.
• 52:20
  But if we go to what was found in the Qumrum caves that was
• 52:24
  held by the Essenes as their calendar, we are in the year
• 52:29
  5950. So if there are a complete 7000
• 52:36
  years and Jesus reigns for the last 1000 years before
• 52:42
  everything gets then turned over to the Father, then we have no
• 52:48
  more than 50 years before Jesus reigns.
• 52:52
  And we don't know when Jesus will return.
• 52:55
  But it seems like if that calendar is correct, we don't
• 53:01
  have, you know, there's only like 50 more years if it doesn't
• 53:05
  happen sooner than that. And anyway, the seven days.
• 53:11
  So if a day is like 1000 years right now, according to the
• 53:17
  Essenes calendar, that lines up with all of the holy days and so
• 53:22
  forth, we are in the year 5950. So we have 50 more years to get
• 53:28
  to the year 6000. And then Jesus reigns from 6000
• 53:33
  to 7000 and then after that he turns everything back over to
• 53:37
  the the Father. So that means that, I mean, I
• 53:44
  think there might be some symbolism here that during that
• 53:47
  seven day or 7000 years, it's purification of all of us and
• 53:55
  getting us ready to be in the Kingdom of God.
• 53:58
  And we have to go through sanctification before we can be
• 54:02
  in the Kingdom of God. So in the Bible, A7 day period
• 54:06
  for purification symbolizes completion, perfection, and the
• 54:09
  total restoration of an individual to a state of ritual
• 54:13
  purity, often echoing the seven day creation cycle.
• 54:18
  This duration was required to remove ceremonial defilement
• 54:23
  stemming from death, disease or bodily discharges allowing
• 54:27
  people to re enter the holy presence of God.
• 54:31
  Key aspects of the seven day purification.
• 54:34
  The symbolism of wholeness. The number 7 represents the
• 54:38
  completion of a process ensuring the cleansing from sin or
• 54:43
  impurity is thorough. Restoration of holiness Rituals
• 54:48
  lasted 7 days to separate the individual from uncleanness,
• 54:53
  maintaining the sanctity of the community and the Tabernacle.
• 54:58
  Contact with Death Individuals touching a corpse were unclean
• 55:03
  for seven days, with purification rituals occurring
• 55:07
  on the 3rd and 7th day. Childbirth.
• 55:11
  Following the birth of a son, a woman was considered
• 55:14
  ceremonially unclean for seven days and then purified for an
• 55:19
  additional 33 days. Kind of interesting that that
• 55:23
  was at the age that Jesus was believed to be 33 years, but
• 55:29
  this is 33 days and that's for a male.
• 55:31
  A period that reflected the loss of life force and allowed for
• 55:35
  physical recovery. Skin diseases, Lepers or those
• 55:40
  with infectious skin diseases were quarantined often for seven
• 55:44
  day periods to ensure they were fully healed and ritually clean.
• 55:49
  Consecration Priest and items for the Tabernacle were often
• 55:54
  consecrated over a seven day period.
• 55:57
  These laws were not just about physical hygiene, but
• 56:01
  highlighted the necessity or the necessary holiness to approach a
• 56:06
  holy God. So that's probably what Jesus is
• 56:09
  doing during that Millennium is that final sanctification.
• 56:15
  And it sounds like it's probably mainly for the his, the chosen
• 56:21
  people, the elect the Jewish people because there will be a
• 56:25
  temple during that time. They will be doing sacrifices.
• 56:29
  The people who already believed in Jesus and had their heads
• 56:35
  chopped off, they're actually going to be ruling with Jesus in
• 56:39
  the millennial reign. So, and I believe that people
• 56:45
  who were prepared in advance are going to be teaching and helping
• 56:50
  and actually serving the Jewish people, the chosen people, the
• 56:55
  Israelites. And it'll be interesting.
• 56:59
  I mean, there's, there's just clues here and there along Bible
• 57:02
  prophecy. But that's what I've gathered
• 57:04
  from the Bible prophecy that I've read so far.
• 57:08
  So we'll can, we're going to go back to verse 20 of chapter 44
• 57:15
  of Ezekiel. They must not shave their heads
• 57:19
  or let their hair grow along. This is talking about the Zadok
• 57:22
  priest. They must not shave their heads
• 57:25
  or let their hair grow along, but they are to keep the hair of
• 57:28
  their heads trimmed. Now, I don't know why, but I
• 57:33
  just thought, OK, this hair stuff, I wanted to look it up
• 57:38
  because I recalled, you know, sometimes people grew out their
• 57:42
  hair. But here it's saying that these
• 57:44
  Zadok priest need to keep their hair trimmed.
• 57:48
  And so I, I did a bunch of research on I, I searched in the
• 57:55
  Bible, shaved head and hair and there were several different
• 58:02
  verses. There's 20 or 8 verses in the
• 58:05
  NIV. So in Judges chapter 16, it
• 58:10
  talks about like a Nazarite who would it was dedication to the
• 58:17
  Lord and for a special purpose. And they didn't shave their head
• 58:22
  during the time of their vow. They would not shave their head
• 58:27
  and even Job. So when Job tore his robe and
• 58:34
  shaved his head, that's, you know, an act of humility or
• 58:39
  humbling or mourning. So we see that when a head is
• 58:43
  shaved, it was it was about weeping and sadness.
• 58:50
  And like in Isaiah 15 two, it talks about every head, head is
• 58:55
  shaved and beer cut off. And then in Jeremiah 48 it talks
• 58:59
  about every head is shaved and every beard cut off.
• 59:02
  And this is like clothed in sackcloth.
• 59:04
  So the people are mourning about that.
• 59:07
  Ezekiel 718 talks about every head will be shaved and then you
• 59:13
  get to some verses that have a little bit of questions
• 59:21
  surrounding them that Paul talks about in First Corinthians 11
• 59:25
  verses 5 and 6 because it says but every woman who prays or
• 59:30
  prophecies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.
• 59:35
  It is the same as having her head shaved and then in verse 6
• 59:40
  it says for if a woman does not cover her head, she might as
• 59:44
  well have her hair cut off. But it is a disgrace for a woman
• 59:48
  to have her hair cut off or her head shaved.
• 59:51
  Then she should cover her head. So there were like head
• 59:58
  coverings for women for. Many years and I did find
• 1:00:03
  something, I think it said that in 1983 is when they actually
• 1:00:08
  stopped requiring women to cover their head.
• 1:00:13
  And and it's just kind of a very interesting thing because I
• 1:00:17
  didn't see that in the Old Testament.
• 1:00:19
  It was the first time that it, you know, it really came up
• 1:00:22
  about that. That I recall was through Paul,
• 1:00:26
  and so there are lots of debates that I found, and I guess not
• 1:00:33
  everyone agrees on the same reason for that.
• 1:00:38
  One of the things is symbolism. So I went to gotquestions.org
• 1:00:43
  and I'm not going to read their entire answer on this, but they
• 1:00:47
  did state God's order is that the husband is the head of the
• 1:00:51
  wife as God is the head of Christ.
• 1:00:55
  But there is no inequality or inferiority implied.
• 1:01:00
  God and Christ are equal and united just as the husband and
• 1:01:05
  wife are one. This is not a passage that
• 1:01:08
  teaches the woman is inferior to man or that she should be
• 1:01:12
  submissive to every man. It is teaching God's order and
• 1:01:17
  spiritual headship in the marriage relationship.
• 1:01:22
  So in the Corinthian culture, a woman who covered her head
• 1:01:25
  during worship or when she was in public to play displayed her
• 1:01:29
  submission to authority. So let's see.
• 1:01:37
  It was a vow. There was something more that I
• 1:01:40
  found that was kind of interesting about this, about
• 1:01:45
  the hair. OK, this is another explanation,
• 1:01:50
  too. It was from
• 1:01:52
  theologyintheraw.com. It says the only kinds of women
• 1:01:57
  who didn't cover their heads were single women who were
• 1:02:01
  sexually available prostitutes, slaves, or married woman women
• 1:02:08
  who were looking to have an affair.
• 1:02:10
  Paul's concern, then, is that some married woman were
• 1:02:15
  uncovering their heads, perhaps taking their newfound freedom in
• 1:02:19
  Christ a bit too far, and we're giving the impression that they
• 1:02:22
  were sexually available and therefore dishonouring their
• 1:02:26
  heads, that is, their husbands, or downright promiscuous.
• 1:02:32
  Even if this wasn't their intention, Paul is concerned
• 1:02:36
  that outsiders might misinterpret their behavior.
• 1:02:40
  So again, it seems like it was. I mean, he gives a whole bunch,
• 1:02:44
  he or she gives a whole bunch of information about the hairstyle
• 1:02:49
  and length. So it's a very debated topic,
• 1:02:53
  but it does seem like this might be a cultural thing since I
• 1:02:58
  don't know that I I recall it from Leviticus or anything.
• 1:03:02
  So it seems like it was a something about at the time,
• 1:03:07
  kind of almost like today where if somebody's married in the
• 1:03:10
  United States, they wear a wedding ring.
• 1:03:13
  So that they it's shows people that they are married.
• 1:03:17
  So it may be like if you're married and you're out and about
• 1:03:20
  and you're not wearing your wedding ring, it would it would
• 1:03:25
  be basically saying you're available.
• 1:03:28
  So it's probably somewhat of a similar type concept.
• 1:03:33
  So anyway, verse 21 in chapter 44, no priest is to drink wine
• 1:03:43
  when he enters the inner court. They must not marry widows or
• 1:03:48
  divorced women. They may marry only virgins of
• 1:03:53
  Israel descent or widows of priest.
• 1:03:57
  And you know, at first that's like, OK, this is very
• 1:04:00
  restrictive, but think about it. So when God says that when
• 1:04:07
  someone, when a man leaves his family and unites with his wife
• 1:04:13
  or a woman leaves her family and unites with her husband, the 2
• 1:04:16
  become one. So there is some kind of
• 1:04:21
  spiritual exchange or attachment that happens apparently.
• 1:04:29
  And so in order to keep the priestly line pure, it seems
• 1:04:38
  like this restriction may have been necessary because if the
• 1:04:43
  priest would marry a widow or a divorced woman, you don't know
• 1:04:50
  who her husband was, if he wasn't a priest or what he was
• 1:04:57
  like. And there could be some
• 1:05:00
  spiritual attachment. This is where the spiritual side
• 1:05:03
  of things actually comes out in, in the Scripture.
• 1:05:07
  And but then if they married only virgins, that means they're
• 1:05:10
  pure. They've not been touched by a
• 1:05:12
  man. They haven't become one with
• 1:05:14
  another man. And it says of Israelite descent
• 1:05:18
  or widows of priests. So if a priest married a virgin,
• 1:05:24
  and the Virgin was only with the priest, then the priest was
• 1:05:28
  consecrated and holy. Then if he died, then another
• 1:05:32
  priest could marry that priest's wife because she was with
• 1:05:37
  someone, her spirit became connected with one who was
• 1:05:42
  already consecrated. So to me, it makes sense and it
• 1:05:45
  really emphasizes some of the spiritual information that is
• 1:05:51
  kind of out there that, you know, talks to people about, you
• 1:05:55
  know, be careful who you sleep with and why it should be within
• 1:06:02
  a marriage. Because when you unite yourself
• 1:06:06
  with all these people, you don't know what you're bringing in
• 1:06:10
  spiritually from another person. And the Bible doesn't explain
• 1:06:18
  all of that detail, but it it seems very, it seems to fit in
• 1:06:26
  with what is stated here in Ezekiel.
• 1:06:29
  So anyway, it says verse 23. They are to teach My people the
• 1:06:34
  difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to
• 1:06:38
  distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
• 1:06:43
  In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide in
• 1:06:48
  accordance to My ordinances. They are to keep My law and My
• 1:06:52
  decrees for all My appointed festivals, and they are to keep
• 1:06:59
  My Sabbaths holy. A priest must not defile himself
• 1:07:03
  by going near a dead person. However, if the dead person was
• 1:07:09
  his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried
• 1:07:17
  sister, then he may defile himself.
• 1:07:22
  After he is cleansed, he must wait seven days.
• 1:07:27
  On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary to
• 1:07:31
  minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering for
• 1:07:37
  himself, declares the Sovereign Lord.
• 1:07:40
  I am to be the only inheritance the priest have.
• 1:07:46
  You are to give them no possession in Israel.
• 1:07:50
  I will be their possession. They will eat the grain
• 1:07:53
  offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings, and
• 1:07:56
  everything in Israel devoted to the Lord will belong to them.
• 1:08:02
  The best of all, the first fruits and all your special
• 1:08:06
  gifts will belong to the priest. You are to give them the first
• 1:08:11
  portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your
• 1:08:17
  household. Isn't that interesting?
• 1:08:18
  You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so
• 1:08:22
  that a blessing may rest on your household.
• 1:08:26
  The priest must not eat anything, whether bird or animal
• 1:08:30
  found dead or torn by wild animals.
• 1:08:35
  And that concludes chapter 44 from the book of Ezekiel.
• 1:08:40
  If you're not subscribed, please subscribe and join us for
• 1:08:45
  Chapter 45 next time.