Two Sticks No Tricks Israel Regathered in Christ by the Holy Spirit

All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the All Bible Prophecy Fulfilled broadcast, brought to you by All Things Fulfilled, and we are delighted to study with you again from the book of Ezekiel. And what we're doing is looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in relationship to the new creation, the new birth, but also the resurrection and the regathering of Israel and their restoration. And this is what the work of the Holy Spirit is all about in Ezekiel 37. It helps to give us the proper hermeneutic and method of interpretation for this chapter, of which there's been so much controversy. People believing that Israel was reborn in 1948. We also have people believing that Israel is yet to be reborn. We have people thinking that it has something to do with the transatlantic slave trade. Others believe that it's all about a resurrection of a body coming out of the literal ground and literal bodies coming out of the grave. And so all of these things we want to talk about and we want to try and help people understand and clarify them. So we hope that your minds are open, that your Bibles are open, that you have an open heart and that you are willing to listen with open ears those things that are found written upon the inspired Word of God. So let's begin and let's talk about Ezekiel 37 just a little bit. We've gone over the new creation and the new birth. We talked about resurrection in the last broadcast and showing that the time of the new creation, because that's what was happening when God said that He was going to cleanse them from all their filthiness and from their idols, that He was going to give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them, and that He was going to take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. This is a new creation. It's like Psalm 102 in verse 18, when He said that this is written for a generation, for a time for the generation to come, that a new people would serve the Lord, that He was going to create a new people to serve the Lord. So this is that new creation of which He's talking about. And in order to recreate them, it was going to be like it was in the beginning when God created man and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And so what He's doing here is He's breathing the spirit within them by saying, I will cause or I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. And when He does that, remember, this is new creation. This is the new birth. But in connection with that is the gathering of Israel out of all the countries where they have scattered out of all the nations and bringing them into their own land. And we certainly encourage you to listen to the comments that we made in the previous video, in the previous audio recording podcast to talk about the regathering and into the land and what that was all about. It's very important that you take note of that. But also in 37, He talked about the resurrection of these dry bones that He was going to breathe the breath of life into and they would live coming out of all these nations. But we got to go to the New Testament to find out how they came out of the nations and what it meant for them to come out of the nations. But the important thing to understand is that when they are coming out of the nations, it is the time that God has placed His spirit within them. In other words, He says in verse 13 again, then you shall know that I, the Lord, or I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, all my people and brought you up out of your graves. Now, who is this that He's addressing this to? He says, it is the whole house of Israel, not the Southern kingdom of Judah only, but it is the whole house of Israel. Verse 11. Then He said to me, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say our bones are dry. Our hope is lost and we ourselves are cut off, but God was going to bring all 12 tribes back together. And thus in verse 14, it was being done through the work of the Holy Spirit. I will put my spirit in you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord. Now, after talking about resurrection, then He goes right into the discussion of the regathering of Israel, the restoration of Israel. In other words, He's going to get rid of that division, that breach that exists between Israel and that is Judah and Israel. And so He says in verse 15, again, the word of the Lord came to me saying, as for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it for Judah and for the children of Israel and his companions. Then take another stick and write on it for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel, his companions. Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick and they will become one in your hand. And when the children of your people speak to you saying, will you show us what you mean by these? Say to them, thus says the Lord God, surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and of the tribes of Israel, his companions, and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah and make them one stick and they will be one in my hand. So here's God saying, he's going to join these two sticks together and they're going to be one in his hand. Now let's listen further to find out how this is going to be accomplished and when it is going to be accomplished. Two very, very critical points. And so in verse 21, the Bible says, then say to them, thus says the Lord God, surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. Now, did he not say that about the new birth and the new creation of Israel in Ezekiel 36 verses 24 through 28? Look at verse 24, for I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all the countries and bring you into your own land. But he's doing that through the work of the spirit. That is the time of the new birth and the new creation of Israel. But also notice when he was raising them from the dead in Ezekiel 37, he said the very same thing. He said in verse 12, therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold, all my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God. When I have opened your graves, all my people and brought you up from your graves. So here again, he's talking about bringing them out of all the countries wherein they have been scattered. And that is what is considered as resurrection. It is being done through the spirit is being done through the outpouring of the spirit. We cannot turn a blind eye to what the work of the spirit. Then in verse 21 of 37, concerning the two sticks being brought together as one, the Bible says, thus says the Lord God, surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone and we'll bring or we'll gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all. They shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms. Again, they shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions, but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people and I will be their God. See there's the same covenant language that was spoken before concerning them. And the scripture says that God would be their God. He's going to cleanse them and he's going to deliver them. So the cleansing and the delivering and the gathering and the raising are all taking place at the same time with the same unifying work of the Holy Spirit. Now, when did Joel say that Holy Spirit was going to be poured out? He said it was going to be poured out in the last days. And not only did he say it was going to be poured out in the last days, but he said it was going to be poured out for a period of 40 years. That is in terms of Micah chapter seven and the verses 15. And according to the days or as in the days of your coming out of Egypt, I will show works of wonders or wonderful works of power. I will show miracles. It depends on the translation you're looking at. It will say that, but I will show wondrous things. This was the scope of that 40 years that Israel came out of the land of Egypt. And that's when God would do it. Now in verse 24, he says, David, my servant shall be king over them and they shall all have one shepherd and they shall all walk in my judgments and observe my statutes and do them. Now, John Wilbert of the Dallas Theological Seminary wrote in his book, I think it's like 14 Bible prophecies or something to that extent in that particular book that David here is literal David who is raised from the dead. And this is the David under whom they're going to serve. Well, that's not what the Bible says when the spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, because when the disciples were gathered together with Christ and he told them that a few days in a few days, the Holy spirit would be poured out. And then on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy spirit came and they were explaining what it was all about, they said, David is dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day. They could point to it and say, there it is. But at the same time, Jesus Christ was sitting on the throne and the scripture says he has shed for this, which you now see and hear. And so we're not talking about literal David. We're talking about Messianic David here as it relates to Christ. And then the Bible says they will walk in my judgments and observe my statutes. Now remember how, by whom, through whom they were going to walk in God's statutes, it was through the work of the spirit. Look again in Ezekiel 36 and 27, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. So the only way they were going to do this was through that earnest, that miraculous work of the spirit at that time when God is reforming them. And so when you read in Ezekiel 37 with the regathering of Israel, he's saying, David, my servant shall be King over them. They shall all have one shepherd and they shall also walk in my judgments and observe my statutes and do them. What's the implication here? It's being done through the work of the spirit. That's how they're walking in God's judgments and statutes. And by the way, for those who think that just because they were not under the law, that they didn't have any statutes and judgments to walk in, this tells us very clearly that through the spirit, they are walking in God's statutes and judgments. And so it is not the case that to be not be under the law means to not be under any requirements from God, but also notice this is the same time that they're gathered into the land. Then they shall dwell in the land. Do you see that adverb of time there that says, then they shall be gathered into the land? When is then? When the spirit is poured out on them and God requires them and has them to walk in his statutes and judgments. That was through the work of the spirit, Ezekiel chapter 36 and the verse is 27. That's when they were walking in the statutes and judgments through the work of the spirit. That's in the first century. The miraculous work of the Holy spirit only lasted for 40 years. Now I've been getting questions from several people who are listening to these lessons and they are asking me, does that mean we don't have the spirit? Absolutely not. But it does mean that we do not have the earnest of the spirit as they had. It means we don't have the miraculous measure of the spirit. It means we don't have any apostles to impart miraculous gifts to us. It means that we have the spirit just like we have the father and the son. And that is through reading and studying the word and being led by it. Paul said that in Ephesians chapter three, even though at the time he was still under the power of the spirit, but he does tell us how we can understand his knowledge in the mystery of Christ. And he says it was through the revelation of the spirit that they were able to do it when they read. And so the scripture says, this record has been left for us to read and learn what the spirit taught. We're reading about what the spirit taught now. And if we follow that, that means we're being led by the spirit. So don't think just because you are not, um, under the miraculous power of the spirit, that it means you don't have Christ or you don't have the father because that's not true, but it also doesn't mean that you don't have the spirit, but you have to understand the medium of the spirit when Israel was in the wilderness and God was giving them water out of the rock and, uh, giving them manna from heaven and allowing quail to fly down on the ground basically. So they could just run around and pick them up. Those were special miracles. When he parted the red sea, those were special miracles that were done for a specific time. When Israel entered into the land, they weren't doing those special miracles anymore. Now I realize that, uh, and we know the man has ceased at that point. I realized that there were still some miracles being worked because God's plan and work of redemption hadn't been completed, but we're now in a completed state of redemption. And the Bible tells you how long the spirit was going to last only until the great and awesome day of the Lord. Now here's what's important as we close out. And I hope that we have enough time to develop this. And if we don't, we'll have to pick it up again, but he says moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them. This also was a part of the work of the Holy spirit. That's what's being stated in second Corinthians chapter three, and also in Hebrews nine verses eight and nine, I will make a covenant of peace with them. And of course, almost the entire book of Hebrews and especially chapter eight, and it will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them and multiply them. And what else was God going to do? He was going to set his sanctuary among them. In other words, the temple would be rebuilt during the same time. Now that has to just blow some people's minds because they are still looking for a temple to be built. When president Donald Trump announced that Jerusalem, the capital of Jerusalem or of Israel was going to be in Jerusalem, the world went bananas. And many of them thinking that the temple is about to rebuild. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you're like 2000 years too late because the scripture says that the foundation had already been laid. First Corinthians three and verse 11 says no other foundation. Paul said, I have laid the foundation and let every man take heed how he builds on it. For there is no other foundation under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved. Jesus Christ is the only foundation. He is the chief cornerstone and the foundation for the temple has been laid. We will show you that in the new Testament. And we will show you that it is being done through the work of the spirit. So all of this takes place during the time of the spirit, I will establish them and multiply them. And I will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them. Indeed, I will be their God and they shall be my people. There's the covenant language. Once again, the nations also will know that I, the Lord sanctify Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst. And so ladies and gentlemen, what we're looking at here is the work of the spirit. This is key to understanding the new birth, the new creation, the resurrection and the restoration and regathering of Israel. If you ignore the miraculous work of the spirit in the first century generation, you're going to mess every single one of them up. There is just no other way that you can do it. You've got to get the spirits work, right? The framework, right? And then you can work with the regathering of Israel into the land in the first century. And certainly it's not Palestine over in the modern country of the Israelis. Well, that's all the time that we have. I'm William Bell with All Bible Prophecy Fulfilled saying, have a very pleasant day. I will see you in the next podcast.