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以西结书 第四十三章(英文)

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After a lengthy tour rich with details of God’s new temple, Ezekiel watches his guide measuring the external temple dimensions. The section ends with the image of a wall and God’s purpose for this temple: “to separate the holy areas from the common(Ezekiel 42:20).

Holiness is key for God’s glory to return and fill this temple in the vision (Eze 43:2-5). After all, a lack of holiness caused God’s glory to depart from the temple. To His people, God instructs, “No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name.” (Eze 43:7)

We, too, have the great honour of receiving the Holy Spirit today and becoming God’s temple (1 Cor 3:16-17). But this is more than just accommodation logistics.

Being God’s temple has much to do with beating death and receiving everlasting life through holiness.

When God resurrected the dry bones of Israel into an exceedingly great army, being the Spirit’s temple was part of it. God declared to them, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live” (Eze 37:10, 14).

As God’s temple, we are called to live out holiness:

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor 3:19-20)

But we are not alone, for we live when we overcome our sinful nature with the Spirit’s help (Rom 8:13).

Having the answer to history’s perennial question of achieving immortality is a wondrous thing. So is witnessing God’s glory fill the temple. Thunderstruck, Ezekiel falls on his face.

Isn’t it incredible that the glorious God chooses to make you His temple and home (Jn 14:23)? We need to be renewed in our sensitivity to God’s awesomeness.

So shatter the shell of numbness cementing over your heart. Brush away the sediments of sin and the dust of doubt.

Renew your actions through this glorious truth: God chooses to make you His temple. Let His glory be shown to the world through you.

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以西结书 第四十七章(英文)

以西结书 第四十七章(英文)

God subjected Ezekiel through an immersive experience in the vision of walking in the river. From Ezekiel’s first account that the water reaches his ankle, to the next encounter where the waters reaches his knees, to the point that the waters reaches his waist and finally when the waters became so deep that it was impossible to walk but one needs to swim, and even so the currents are so strong that one cannot swim across. From our personal experiences, such first-hand experiential activities leave a deeper and more lasting impressions, as compared to just seeing (visual) and listening (audial). So why did God use this approach? What key and essential message did He want to impart to Ezekiel? And what bearing does it have for us today? “And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.” “And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.” The power and significance of the river can be seen through the effects. The teeming vitality, the abundance of life brought about by the healing powers of the river. Jesus proclaimed on the last day of the feast (John 7:38 – 39), “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” And the scriptures continued to explain that the river of living water refers to the Holy Spirit. Paul also declared to us “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor 6: 19 – 20) Is this same power that God revealed to Ezekiel manifested in us as well. Do we bring God’s healing power to the people that we meet each day. Do we live up to God’s expectations of us? Have we truly and sincerely do all that we can to repay God for His great love and mercy towards us. There is definitely still much that we must do. Let us continue to stir up and encourage one another as we see the day of the Lord approaching. “But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.” Alas, we do see also that there are areas that the healing power of God do not reach. Let us however not be mistaken thinking that it is the limitation to the power of God. Rather, it is sadly the deplorable state of man’s heart as Stephen declared in Acts 7:51, “ You stiff - neck ed and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Let us thus guard our hearts with all diligence, that we do not fall in the same error in our ways. Let us not be the barren fig tree that waste the ground (Luke 13:6 – 9), nor should we be the enlightened but to fall away and put our Lord to open shame (Heb 6: 4 – 8).

以西结书 第四十八章(英文)

以西结书 第四十八章(英文)

Ezekiel 48 outlines the division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel and the city of the Lord. The division of the land shows that in God's Kingdom there is a place for all who believe in and obey the One True God (John 14:1-6). Ezekiel 48:1-7, 23-29 details the allocation of land to the tribes of Israel. This reminds us of God's faithfulness in keeping His promises. Despite Israel's history of rebellion, God remains true to His word. So, let us continue to trust in God's faithfulness, even when circumstances seem challenging. Remember that God’s timing is perfect, and His promises are sure. Ezekiel 48:8-22 describes the holy district set apart for the Lord, including the sanctuary and the land for the priests and Levites. This highlights the importance of holiness and dedicated spaces for worship. The pressures of everyday life may cause us to lose focus and forget God. That is why worship is so important . We need to dedicate time and space in our daily lives for worship and communion with God, which includes prayer, reading the Bible and reflecting on His words. The book of Ezekiel begins by describing the holiness of God that Israel had despised and ignored. As a result, God’s presence departed from the Temple, the city and the people. The book ends with a detailed vision of the new Temple, the new city and the new people, all demonstrating God’s holiness. No matter what challenges we face today, remember that God ‘s plan is always good for us. So, let us continue to hold on to the eternal hope we have in Christ and to look forward to the fulfilment of His promises in His glorious Kingdom, where God shall dwell with us, and we will be His people, and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE (Ezekiel 48:35).

以西结书 第四十四章(英文)

以西结书 第四十四章(英文)

After entering the temple, the glory of God was recorded to have filled the temple (v4). God let Ezekiel witness the majestic view of the glory of God filling the temple. Subsequently, God commanded Ezekiel to carefully note down all of His laws and ordinances. These laws governed various aspects of God’s sanctuary, including who shall enter it and how the priests should minister their duties there. These laws are important because there must be separation between the unholy and holy. As the glory of God which is holy has filled in the temple, nothing unholy should come near it, lest they will defile the sanctuary. Another group of people who are not allowed to come near His Holy Place are the Levites who are unfaithful. These were the Levites who strayed away from God after their idols (v10). For their unfaithfulness, God counted them to be unworthy to continue ministering to Him as priest. Instead, they shall bear their shame. Whereas for the priests from Zadok’s lineage, God gave the honor to enter His sanctuary to minister to Him. Even more, God is their possession and meaning that all of the Israelites’ offerings would be theirs. For their faithfulness, God will continue to bestow upon them the responsibilities to play the roles of a teacher, judge and most importantly priest in His sanctuary. Reflecting on this, are we holy and faithful towards God that we are able to serve Him? May God guide us to be able to keep His laws and keep our holiness as God is holy (Lev 11:44a).

以西结书 第四十和四十一章(英文)

以西结书 第四十和四十一章(英文)

From Chapter 40, it marks the start of the vision shown to Ezekiel of a new temple that is to be built in Jerusalem. Did your eyes glaze over as you read the 2 chapters?   Imagine you were Ezekiel and you were told to pay close attention to everything that he was being shown and then go and tell the people everything he had seen.   4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.”  ~ Ezekiel 40:4 ~ What follows is Ezekiel being first led to see the Eastern Gateway of the Temple, then the Outer Court, Northern and Southern Gateway to the Temple, Gateways to the Inner Courts, where the sacrifices were made, the chambers for the priests and singers.  And then, very careful recordings of the dimensions of the different parts of the temple were specified and recorded down. Why do you think this was done? Being a person who is not very detail oriented, I cannot quite understand the need for all the exact measurements to be spelled out.  What’s wrong if the measurements are out by an inch or two? Then it struck me.  God cares for His people so much that He does not want to leave any stone unturned for His people.  In our daily lives many things happen - big or small.  Some are blessings and some are trials.  Some are good things, some are bad.  God is interested in us, His People.  Even to the most minute detail! And He has given us specific instructions in His Holy Word for many areas of our life.  The question is, do our eyes glaze over the Words from the Bible.  Or do we, like Ezekiel, listen carefully and then tell it to others? Last night I had a dream and in that dream, I had a very big pain in my leg and could not figure it out.  And for some reason, a Deacon of the church was examining me as if he was a doctor.  And then after he diagnose that there was some issue with my leg (could not remember what was said), his conclusion was this… “This is why you need to get better and after that, go out and preach the Gospel!” Tears welled up as I recall this and am writing this now.   Was this a rebuke?  Areminder?  A warning?  An admonishment?  An encouragement? God through His infinite wisdom. Mercy and grace has given us all the details (truth) of Salvation. Should we not go and tell others about it so that they also know of it? And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ~ Mark 16:15-16 ~ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ~ Romans 1:16 ~ Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ~ 2 Timothy 4:2 ~ May we be interested in all the little details that God reveals to us and after listening carefully to it, tell it to others as well.

关于本会

我们是真耶稣教会,一间建立在耶稣与使徒们的教导上的全球性非宗派教会。藉由圣灵创立,我们的使命是把全备的救恩真理传向地极/世界尽头。

关于本会

We have four places of worship, and we gather for Sabbath and night worship services. We welcome you to join us for any of our in-person services!

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