(Part 3 – continued from the same day)
The Abomination that Causes Desolation
Speaking of Ezekiel 33 (which refers to the blood being on our hands if we do not give warning), during this recent season of intense seeking, He gave BOTH of us (separately) this passage again ON THE SAME MORNING.
Though He gave the whole chapter, He especially emphasized 21-33 to Jesse.
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been captured!” Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
The Cause of Judah’s Ruin
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’ “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?”’ “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence. For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’
Hearing and Not Doing
“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them (they do not put them into practice); for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them (they do not put them into practice). And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
(On the same day, He gave New Testament passages also speaking to the phenomenon of believers being deceived by equating hearing/knowing the truth with doing it – James 1). Deeply sobering.
This reminded me that in 2011, I believed the Lord may have been showing me a profound revelation through this passage. Though people have various opinions about the prophetic “abomination that causes desolation” in the temple, let’s bring this down to a personal level. We must remember that in the New Covenant, we individually, and collectively as His church, are His temple. Though there may still be a literal temple to come in Jerusalem where the abomination of an idol will be set up within, I believe He was showing me that any time His people set up “idols”, sin, in our own hearts and lives (or as the church collective), this is an abomination that will cause desolation in our personal lives if we do not repent. As Ezekiel 33 shows, the same can hold true for a nation when God’s people (and the nation as a whole) turn from Him and set up the abomination of sin/idols in their lives. If not corrected, this is an abomination that will cause desolation for a nation.
Another passage He gave said that if we do not continue to speak the truth to the people that x, y, and z are going to happen ~ listing horrific, unimaginable things that one might only expect if our nation was overthrown by our adversaries in war.
Though He is definitely saying that it is vital that His people not back down from speaking and standing for the truth, the message of “circumcision” means we must remove any “flesh” surrounding our approach to doing so. We saw many complaints about this very thing this past week in the firestorm surrounding the popular Christian TV personality whose views resulted in his suspension from his highly rated show. We haven’t seen the show or read the alleged interview, but according to the comments we’ve seen from some, it’s possible this was a very recent and relevant public demonstration of this. Many are thankfully supporting him for His boldness to speak the truth of God’s Word, but many have also mentioned that they wish he would have phrased certain things differently. Again, God is calling for His people to “circumcise,” removing the “flesh” from the approach, but not to “castrate,” cutting off the truth that is essential for us to fulfill our purpose.
As the II Chronicles 29 passage emphasizes – He is urging His people not to be negligent now. We must consecrate ourselves as His priests who are set apart for Him, carry the filth out of the innermost parts of the temple (our lives and the collective church), and fully resume His service.
He is repeating the messages that He has given us the power to do this through His total victory over the enemy and that His grace/power is MORE THAN ENOUGH to enable us to overcome and walk free from the tyranny, bondage, and shackles of any sin.
Lastly, in order for us to rise up and fulfill His purposes and plans, He is also continuing to stress the necessity that the church believe and live in the fullness of the truth that He is here with us, IN US, through His Holy Spirit to empower us to do the SAME THINGS that He did when He was here in the flesh, and even GREATER THINGS. We must come into the fullness of the gifts (His power) AND the fruit (His character) of the Spirit in these last days. We continue to pray all will have the greatest possible knowledge of the Lord and all He has done for us as heart revelation which produces life transformation and covenant manifestation in every area of our lives! May God’s priests consecrate ourselves, clean out the temple, resume His service, and see the church and nation turned fully back to Him!
…So the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.II Chronicles 29:35-36
Copyright © 2013, Laura Jewell Tyree
