Ezek. 11: To The East Gate

Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord’s house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. (Ezekiel 11:1 to 3)

As I was looking at this portion of the prophecies, there’s something that I noticed: this entire chapter is a summary of what we’ve seen in the previous three chapters. First, chapter eight reveals the truth behind the false claims that far too many have made of being a follower of Jesus. Then, chapter nine shows us that there will be a separation made, between those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done”, and those who are walking in their own ways, in the church. This will result in the beginning of judgments upon the rebellious in the church. And in chapter ten we see the administration of the fire of the Holy Spirit upon the church that will both separate the rebellious from the faithful and will destroy their works, and will also purify and cleanse the faithful. Finally, in this chapter, we see two different groups of people and what God will bring upon them; while there’s a defining occurrence that separates the two in verse thirteen.

The Lord started by pointing out that the twenty-five men who were at the east gate were the ones who “devise mischief, and give wicked counsel”. In Hebrew, it reads “plotting sin and giving evil advice”. These are they who hold substantial sway over many in the church. There’s something that you may not have noticed, however. True: they can be found in the church, and they can be found giving counsel in the church, but they have no business doing so. You see, those who were called to ministry in the temple were called priests of the sanctuary; but, amongst the twenty-five were two who were called “princes of the people”. In other words, they weren’t actually recognized as legitimate ministers of the temple; yet they were giving counsel anyhow. In essence, they were secularized counselors; and there are far too many in the church. They may hold positions of authority in the church, such as bishops or pastors or teachers, but they counsel those over whom they have authority based upon the values of the world. They promote those things that the Lord calls sin and abomination, and they twist them to appear to be in agreement with the true doctrines of Christianity.

As I looked at the third verse of this chapter, I found something a bit confusing: the Authorized Version (the King James Version) seems to say just the opposite of the original Hebrew.

And He said to me: “Man, these are the men plotting sin and giving evil advice in this city. They say, ‘There is no need now for building houses; the city, she is the pot - we are the meat!’”

The TANAKH (the original Hebrew) says that there was no need for the people to build houses, whereas the Authorized Version says that something is not near and the people should build houses. To understand this, we need to go to the book of Jeremiah. In chapter twenty-eight we read the account of the false prophet Hananiah and him telling the people that the Babylonian captivity would come to an end just two years from that time. In response, Jeremiah told Hananiah that he was prophesying a lie, and that the Lord would judge him. Then, in the twenty-ninth chapter, we read that Jeremiah sent letters to the captives in Babylon and told them to ignore those who were prophesying that they would soon be set free.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. (Jeremiah 29:4 to 6)

The letter continued on to say that their captivity would be accomplished after seventy years; so he was letting them know that many of them would be spending the rest of their lives in Babylon. As a result, the leaders in Jerusalem were responding to the letter by saying that Jeremiah was lying, and that the people didn’t need to build houses, but that they would soon be coming back to Jerusalem, where they would be protected from the Babylonians, as a caldron, or pot, protected the meat from the fire. In essence, they were calling Jeremiah, and, by extension, God, a liar.

We see that exact same thing today. There are multitudes of ministries who are teaching the people that they don’t have to worry about whatever is going to happen in the days to come. They claim that, because they’re the church, God’s chosen and beloved people, then they’ll be safe from the full onslaught of the enemy that is looming on the horizon. The unbelievers will suffer those things that are written in the book of Revelation, but the church won’t be here upon the earth at that time. Hananiah is alive and well and fully active in the church today. And the complete effect of not preparing the people for what is coming has yet to be fully realized and is one of the gravest sins that the ministry will have to answer for.

There’s something that the Lord lays to their charge; and that’s the death of multitudes. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean physical death; but, because they’re promoting the abominations in their agendas, as well as teaching the lie of a false escape, then they’ll be responsible for the spiritual death of those multitudes. They’ll have contributed greatly to their inability to recognize not only the signs of the times, but the truth of what is going to transpire in the days to come. Consequently, because those rebellious ministries have misunderstood the prophecies concerning the last days, and have devised alternate concepts to create the scenario that the church will bypass the judgments that the Lord has determined is vital for her preparation, then they’ll find themselves subjected to those judgments. After all, we need to understand that the Lord holds us accountable if we don’t speak the truth to the best of our knowledge, whether or not it has a devastating effect on the hearers.

This chapter started out with the mention of four names: “Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah”; and they were called “princes of the people”. When I looked up the meaning of their names, there was a definite conflict, since Jaazaniah and Pelatiah were among those who “devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city”. To understand what I’m talking about, take a look at the meaning of the four names. Jaazaniah means “May God hear”, Azur means “He that assists or is assisted”, Pelatiah means “Yahweh delivers”, and Benaiah means “Yahweh builds”. These are all connected with the Lord and what He does for His people. In a nutshell, when we’re oppressed and downtrodden, God “hears” us, He “assists” us, He “delivers” us, and He “builds” us back up. So, to have those positive aspects associated with those who were doing what those men were doing appears to be in direct conflict.

But God is telling us something about far too many in the church today, if we have an ear to hear; and it has to do with this thirteenth verse. You see, two of the men mentioned at the beginning were Jaazaniah (“May God hear”) and Pelatiah (“Yahweh delivers”). And here, in verse thirteen, as Ezekiel prophesied, Pelatiah died. Can you see what the Lord is saying to us here? Just as the ancients in chapter eight were convinced that “the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth” (Ezekiel 8:12), so many who claim to be Christians are convinced that God doesn’t hear us. However, He DOES hear (“Jaazaniah”), and He sees. And since He knows exactly what is going on within each and every one of us, then He’s fully aware of who are His and who is standing against Him. Consequently, when He sends us into the churches in the days to come and we speak His warnings to them, and when the rebellious reject us, then Pelatiah will die. By refusing to submit to the Holy Spirit (“Azur”), God will no longer deliver them from judgment (“Pelatiah”), and will no longer continue to build them as part of His true church (“Benaiah”).

However, as I’ve said, from here there’s a change, where the focus switches from the rebellious within the city to the exiles who went into captivity. For this, take a look at the following portion of Scripture from the book of Jeremiah. It’s a little long, but it speaks about the situation today.

The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a Proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. (Jeremiah 24)

Just as the Lord made a difference between the good figs and the bad in the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and as He has done all throughout the ages, so is He doing today. You see, the natural Jews who still dwelt in Jerusalem were convinced that those who had gone into captivity with Jeconiah were removed because the Lord was displeased with them; and, therefore, they had no lot nor part in the city. Actually, the Lord sent them out to keep them from the judgment that had been determined and established a century earlier because of the sins of Manasseh. Today, there are multitudes of people who are either backslidden, as the church calls them, or who want nothing to do with the church system. Sadly, many within the churches believe that those who are outside really have no lot nor part of God as long as they choose to remain outside. Actually, in many cases, the Lord has assured that they don’t become entangled in those systems so that they won’t be partakers of the judgments that are to come. Again, I want to say that there are multitudes of good, honest, devoted believers who honor the Lord. The churches which He’s speaking about, however, are those who have chosen to stand in rebellion against Him; and He’s allowed them to believe the delusion that He won’t administer any judgment whatsoever simply because of who they are. But they haven’t understood that it’s because of who we’re supposed to be and what His intentions are for us that necessitates His judgments.

Therefore, though the spiritual exiles will have been cast “far off among the heathen”, yet will the Lord turn the tables. He’s always been working within them, albeit unseen; but the time is coming when He’ll draw them closer to Himself than they’ll have ever been in their entire lives. And when that begins to happen, then He’ll be able to use them as part of this company of believers whom He’ll send to the churches with His words of warning.

Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. (Ezekiel 11:22 and 23)

After having explained to Ezekiel, as well as having allowed him to see, that what He was going to bring upon His people was fully justified because of their thoughts and words and actions, and after telling Ezekiel that His intention was to restore them to their former estate by removing every last detestable thing in their midst, the Lord then ascended from the midst of the city and went and stood upon the mountain that was located to the east of Jerusalem. Do you know what that mountain was? Olivet. The mount of Olives was situated directly to the east of the city across the Kidron valley. And upon the mount of Olives, directly across from the east gate of the temple was the garden of the olive press. In the time of Jesus it was called Gethsemane. That was where the Spirit of the Lord ultimately stood.

It may have appeared that He had abandoned His temple and His city, but that wasn’t the case. He was standing aside to allow the judgment to happen, but He was watching over His true followers to assure their protection. It’s the same today, and it’ll be the same in the time to come. When He begins to administer His judgments, He’ll still be there for those who will call upon Him. After all, His mercy is everlasting.