| Author | Message | ||
| Asurprise Registered user Username: Asurprise Post Number: 2046 Registered: 7-2007 |
Ezekiel 36-39 says that God would bring Israel back into their land after God scattered them among the nations. Adventists believe that Christians (particularly Adventists) are "Israel" now, and that literal Israel is now out of the picture, but check out verses 19-24 of chapter 36, especially verse 22 where God says that He isn't doing this for Israel but for His own Name's sake. That defeats SDAs argument that this promise is a conditional promise, because it's not based on Israel's performance, but on God's Holy Name's sake. And also notice the reality of Israel's miraculous existence back in the land of Israel!) "I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land." Also notice chapters 38 & 39 (and the last three chapters of Zechariah) where it says that the nations will attack Israel in the end times and that God will defend Israel. | ||
| Thegoldenway Registered user Username: Thegoldenway Post Number: 83 Registered: 5-2011 |
I never could understand these passages when I was brainwashed by SDA understanding of end time events. Now I realize that these are real and true prophecies and they WILL happen and they will happen with the REAL nation of Israel. I was always told that these were "conditional" prophecies that depended on Israel's obedience to God's Law. But when you go over to Romans 10 and 11 it talks about set times....time for the gentiles and at the conclusion of that time all Israel will be saved. In studying Revelation I discovered that the 1000 yrs are not spent in heaven but here on earth. I think that these OT prophecies take place during the 1000 yrs. This is just stuff I have just learned not long ago...and honestly I really haven't done any super in depth study on this stuff so I could be all washed up too LOL lynn | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 2058 Registered: 10-2002  |
The rest of Ezekiel after that also says that after God brings them back, their prince (the son of David) will approach God and offer sacrifices for his own sins and the sins of the people, and that the name of their city will be "The Lord is there". And the Sabbaths and New Moons and other festivals will be celebrated and God will accept their offerings, etc. The end of Zechariah also says that all nations will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If we've come out of the Sabbath shadow, we had best start dealing with the reality that Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah and other OT prophetic books which have apocalyptic passages are written with those shadows. The best thing that we could do here is pray and ask God to open our eyes and lift veils that are still in place--not only from Adventistm, but that many people in mainstream Christianity are wearing about these things. And then we could do something like look at how the NT apostles & prophets interpreted OT prophecies, whether they held to "the letter" (literal interpretation) or not.  |
