| As it was brought out in the essay "The Two Jerusalems", there is a distinct difference between the "holy city" of Revelation 21:2, and the "beloved city" of 20:9. If the literal city of Jerusalem (and the Land if Israel) is still in God's plans, is it possible that because of the atrocities that have taken place throughout the history of the city on earth that God cannot consider it "holy", perhaps until one day when the land has been cleansed? Perhaps the answer lies in what Ehyeh considers....... "The Place of My Throne" (Adapted from a contribution by Brother Michael Steven Jacob) "And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places." -Ezekiel 43:7. Ehyeh speaks first of “the children of Israel” where He will dwell. He then goes on to say that “the house of Israel” will not defile His name or His holy place. Does “the children of Israel” represent the lost ten tribes of Israel, while the “house of Israel” represents the house of Judah and the Levites who remained in the land of Israel? It is clear that both of these peoples (the Levites and Israel that went astray) fell into disfavor with God and became two separate nations, so that there were two representatives of the Hebrew people. Ezekiel 44:10 says: “And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.” It appears that there are two representatives of the Hebrew people once they become separated, and that there are two sets of prophetic scriptures, with some applying to literal Israel and some to spiritual Israel. For example, notice the similarity in these two passages: "Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel." -Ezekiel 44:9. "But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." -Romans 2:29. As the prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 44 continues, it appears that it is depicting events during the conclusion of the system of things surrounding not only the spiritual Jew but Israel and Judah as well. At verses 11-16 we read (House of Israel in blue; House of Judah in red): "Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them." "Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein." "But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge." Within Ezekiel it appears God is giving us two scenarios dealing with his spiritual house and where his ancient peoples connected to ancient Israel will reside. One will be the place where Gods throne, New Jerusalem and Jacobs house will reside. Considering that there are promises connected with the actual real estate in Jerusalem, where will the Old Testament faithful reside? Consider the possibility that God intends to not only keep his promises to the Old Testament faithful by placing them in their ancient land, but also find a new promised land for the divided two houses (Israel and Judah) in the place where God will designate his holy place! Jesus and his bride will be in a spiritual sense the residents of Gods holy place and New Jerusalem, as we see at Revelation 3:12 -- "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." Revelation 21:2 says: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." God's House and Throne on Earth "And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places." -Ezekiel 43:7. This verse is a crucial key to understanding where Jesus will reside and where his throne will be when he returns to the earth to rule the nations of the world. What it says is where Jesus will not be and why, more than it says where He will be. It seems that the holy place where God will reside on earth is outside of the land known as Israel today. Considering that Jesus was slaughtered in Jerusalem, and it will most likely be the site of future abominations in a rebuilt Temple of Solomon, it may be that the land is unfit for Gods holy place and throne. Due to the "whoredom" of Israel, Ehyeh will not put his throne in a defiled and unclean place. When combined with “nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places" it becomes clear that the throne of God will not be in the place where ancient Israel buried their Old Testament kings and rejected the Eternal God's son and impaled him. This concerns both the spiritual Jews (Spirit begotten Christians) and all literal Jews (Citizens of Judah in the land now called Israel) and members of the ten tribes of Israel (Scattered among the nations and a type of Christianity or spiritual Israel). The “house of Israel” encompasses both the literal house of Judah and Israel as two entities with one heritage. The world of Christianity in its two factions forms the nominal Christian house and the non nominal minority composed of various Christian groups, both formed from the same roots: "In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever." "Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them." "This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." -Ezekiel 43:8-12. Remember this last point as we move forward! The New World and New Jerusalem--Spiritual and Literal It seems that two central places will be the residences on earth for Gods people: one for the ancient and present Jews designated by the Old Testament faithful of the pre-Christian Age (literal Judah in Old Israel’s location) and one for the New Testament remnant (New Jerusalem’s future location). While the locations differ, they originally came from the same nation, and this will not be lost in the transition to a new kingdom arrangement. Next we notice that Ehyeh says: "And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession." -Ezekiel 44:28. Moving back to Ezekiel 44:12-14, we see where the dividing of the Hebrews takes place: "Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein." In verses 15-18, we see that the priests of the Levites are retained to minister to God: "But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge." "And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat." Those who God said He would not allow to come near to him would represent the Old Testament Jews once they are redeemed. The remnant of Israel and Judah would be those who come near to God to minister to Him, and they stand before Him. Here are a few more scriptures to consider: Isaiah 37:32 says: "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this." (Isaiah 37:32) "The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God." (Isaiah 10:21 *Remember this verse!) "Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it." (Ezekiel 14:22) "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved." (Romans 9:27) "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace." -Romans 11:5. Now notice Micah 4:1-7, where it says: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." "And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it." "For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, (halteth meaning limping, Hebrews and Israelites who kept God's Law but had rejected the Messiah) and I will gather her that is driven out, (scattered spiritual Jews) and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant (the Christian Congregation), and her that was cast far off a strong nation, and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion (Spiritual place of Gods eternal home and throne) from henceforth, even for ever." If two places will exist in God's new order of things, it makes sense that God would put his spiritual throne over the whole earth while maintaining a typical kingdom in the place of its fleshly origin. New World Divisions Ezekiel 45:1,4 says: "Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about.....The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary." “The holy portion of the land” is where the Lord and his bride or chosen ones will reside in the New Jerusalem, not located where Old Israel or Judah existed. Verses 5-8 continue: "And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers. And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel." "And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes." 1. A location for the New Testament Throne of God; 2. Old Testament faithful heritage in their old land. Ezekiel 47:13 says: "Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions." "Whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel” is the inheritance of the Old Testament faithful once redeemed and placed in the millennial kingdom of Gods New World. It will exist in the ancient land where these peoples once lived called Israel today. The next set of verses deals with the location of the residence of the lost ten tribes of Israel and present Judah, near the location where the spiritual throne of God is. As we examine Ezekiel chapter 48, we notice that the Old Testament sacrifices are not mentioned as they were in chapters 45 and 46. Ehyeh seems to be showing us the distinction between the two tribes or nations that would exist in the kingdom age. One was connected to the Old Testament rituals of sacrifice which they fulfilled in Old Testament times, and the other came after Jesus ended the need for such sacrifices. Both deal with the nation of Israel past and present, and have their types represented in the Christian World as Nominal Christendom (Jerusalem Type) and non-nominal Christians of various sects (Judah types both represented as one nation Israel). Even though two places of residence emerge from one nation (O.T. Israel) and will exist in two different places in the kingdom age, only one place will house the spiritual throne of God and his bride. This will not be in Old Israel but in the new land which God has cleansed in the great time of trouble, and He is making this land ready for his return and eternal rule. The end result is that where God returns will be the true holy place forever. Ezekiel 43:12 says: "This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." The key word is "law". It is clear God wanted his throne separated from the Old Land of Israel, because it had been defiled, by this previous statement from the same set of verses that started with Ezekiel 43:7- "And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and my holy name, shall , neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places." Notice that the place of God's throne is not where Israel once defiled the land and buried their kings and leaders. God says that this land “shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places”. These verses also show that New Jerusalem will reside among the gentiles and not the present land of the Jews or Judah: "Israel is swallowed up: As a vessel wherein is no pleasure." (Hosea 8:8) "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed." -Isaiah 61:9 The next verses show a connection between Israel and Jacob: "And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver." (Micah 5:8) "And many people shall go and say, 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."(Isaiah 2:3) "The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the Mighty God." (Isaiah 10:21) "For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob." (Isaiah 14:1) Notice that God says He will “set them in their own land", not in the land promised to Judah. "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness." (Isaiah 48:1) "And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: (Remember that Jacob is among the Gentiles) and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there." (Isaiah 65:9) "And I will set my throne is Elam (a land yet to be determined) and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 49:38) "And he said, 'It is a light thing that thou shouldest, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.'" -Isaiah 49:6. Notice the mention of the house of Jacob and Jacob as the servant of God defines the peoples from the servant. Isaiah 49:6 says it all, and this will take place among Gentiles, not the literal Jews. This is why the tribes of Jacob must be where the throne of God is located. Further evidence of this point is found in the following verses: "And many nations shall come, and say: 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.'" (Micah 4:2) "And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people,as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver." -Micah 5:7,8. Conclusion If what we have learned thus far proves to be true we know that Israel in the Old Testament was one nation that existed in one place. In modern times we have come to understand that Israel, represented by the lost ten tribes, exist in other lands outside of Old Israel. Only the house of Judah remains in Old Israel making Israel of today really Judah, and its people the only Jews recognized by God at this time. A unification of modern day peoples of Israel and Judah could occur in the coming kingdom very soon. They could or will be gathered in the location where the throne of God will reside in the near future, making way for the Old Testament faithful Jews to return to their promised land of ancient Israel. The promised land of the New Testament Hebrews, identified as the lost ten tribes and Judah, will inherit a different promised land that their forefathers did not know. Could it be.....AMERICA? Back to Top Home |
