Sunday, 14 January 2018

EZEKIEL AND JESUS CHRIST.

Not in vain, does Ezekiel (1:1) prophesy "in the 30th Year, in the 4th Month, on the 5th Day of the month, and I was in the midst of the captivity by the River Chebar (River of the World), and the heavens were opened," at the beginning of his Book. He lived in exile in Babylon during the period before and after the Fall of Jerusalem. His message was addressed both to the exiles in Babylonia and to the people in Jerusalem. For Ezekiel, his name itself, means "power of God," and the power of God is none other than Christ the Lord.
Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians addresses the meaning of Christ in this way: "God has shown that the wisdom of the World is foolishness! For God in His Wisdom made it impossible for people to know Him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called "foolish message we preach," God decided to save those who believe. Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. As for us, we proclaim the 'crucified Christ,' a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, 'this message is Christ, Who is the Power of God' and the Wisdom of God." (1 Cor 1:20-24)
Christ Jesus is the one who took on human sufferings, but, in order to do so, he had to undertake human birth. For He would not have been capable of human feelings, words, behavior, the cross and death if he had not received a human beginning. His birth was not from the seed of a man and a woman coming together, but in accordance with the Scriptural declaration which says,
"Behold a virgin will conceive in her womb and she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Emmanuel."(Isa 7)  Emmanuel, then, is not to be pronounce as an empty name, since it signifies a reality, "God is with us."(Matt 1)The Scripture says:"This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly so he made plans to break the engagement privately. While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will have a son, and you will name Him Jesus -because He will save His people from their sins." Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, "A virgin will become pregnant and ahve a son, and he will be called Immanuel"(which means "God is with us").  (Matt 1: 18-23)
It is also written at the beginning of the Book of Ezekiel that he was 30 years old and the Lord Jesus Christ, "when Jesus began His work, he was about 30 years old,"by the Jordan River (Matt 3:13), and "the heavens were opened"(Luk 3:21). And through the entire prophecy of Ezekiel, he is called: "son of man."The heavens had been closed and they are opened for the advent of Christ, so that the Holy Spirit may come first upon Him in the form of a dove (Matt 3:16). For He could not pass to us the Holy Spirit unless He first came down, One who shared in all ways human nature. The One who descended is also the very One who ascended above all heavens, that he might fulfill all things.
Hebrews 1 says, "The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the Name that God gave Him is greater than theirs."(4) "What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by Him to help those who are to receive salvation."(14) Hebrews 2 says, "That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the Truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away.The Message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and those who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved."(1-2) "God has no placed the angels as rulers over the New World to come -the World of which we speak. .What are human beings, O God that You should think of them; mere human beings that You should care for them? You made them for a little while lower than the angels; You crowned them with glory and honor, and made them rulers over all things." .. It says that God made them 'rulers over all things'; this clearly include everything. We do not, however, see human beings ruling over all things now. But we do see Jesus, Who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace He should die for everyone. We see Him now crowned with glory and honor because of the Death He suffered. It was only right that God, Who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in order to bring many children to share His glory. For Jesus is the One Who leads them to salvation. (2:5-10)
It is also written Ezekiel "the son of Buzi"(Ez 1:3), which means "despised."
The parallel with Christ is in Hebrews 10, it says,"We have complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the Death of Jesus. He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain -that is, through His Own Body. We have a Great Priest in charge of the House of God. So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. ... For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the Truth has been made known to us. Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce Fire which will destroy those who oppose God! Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses. What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's Covenant which purified them from sin? .. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God." (Hebrews 10: 19-31)
Ezekiel 1:1 also says, "By the River Chebar." This refers to that very heavy River of the World.
"And the heavens opened," meaning that the heavens had been closed and they now are opened for the advent of Christ. It is not sufficient for one heaven to be opened, but many are opened, so that not from one but from all the heavens angels may come down to those who are willing to follow God's New Covenant, in the body of Jesus Christ.

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