₦airaland Forum

Add

[Ezekiel 14:14 AKJV] — "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, said the Lord GOD."

[Ezekiel 14:14 ISV] — "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job lived in that land, they would only save their own lives on account of their righteousness," declares the Lord God."

[Ezekiel 14:14 NIV] — even if these three men–Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Okay here, this Bible verse in red bears the content that concludes the context and opening to the paragraph in the preceding verse: Thus, to join them together, the full paragraph would read thus:

[Ezekiel 14:13-14 AKJV] – Son of man, when the land sins against Me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out My Hand on it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine on it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, said the Lord GOD."

Now, this paragraph (bible reference) above, especially the Bible verse in red, made comparisons between the “Sin with its Judgment (Punishment)” of some party on one hand and the “Righteousness with its Salvation (Deliverance)” of some other but connected or related party on the other hand. This teaching will help priests and national shepherds to understand on how to intercede or stand up for a land, country or nation, in more effective or efficient way that saves.

To illustrate these, let me begin by citing a good example of the Bible paragraph above: — That would be Adam’s sin in the beginning, and representing the Hand of God stretched over the land was the "Curse” on the ground because of Adam’s sake: that curse brought famine, hunger, death that cut off both man and animals [Genesis 3:17-19]. In this context, the land or country that sinned or trespassed against God was basically Adam — For Adam and Eve were all the people of the entire country or land of all the earth. So, that happened until Noah.

No fallen man was saved or delivered from the curse on the ground until Noah, the first of the three men mentioned in the Bible verse in red. He was named Noah with a prophecy that he shall deliver or comfort us from the curse of the ground that had been there because of Adam [Genesis 5:29]. However, he couldn't save his people by his own righteousness, though his righteousness saved only him while his faith supplemented his righteousness in saving his three sons, their wives, and the living creatures with him in the Ark during the deluge.

Now compare “Adam’s Sin” and “Noah’s Righteousness” — Adam’s sin was far stronger in scope and impact than Noah’s Righteousness before the flood, but after the flood, Noah’s Righteousness equated the scope and impact of Adam’s sin on the ground — Which was one of the key but hidden reasons the curse was nullified and removed from the ground. Yes, by Noah’s righteousness, he had the curse that was on the ground, because of Adam, removed from the ground.

But how or why was the righteousness of Noah inadequate enough to overcome Adam’s sin before the flooding, but after the flooding the same righteousness became adequate enough to overcome the sin?

The reason is because, Adam was literally the Ruler of the entire land or earth, and with his wife, was all the land. So, their righteousness or their sin applies to all the earth's lands, all countries, all peoples or all nations. But as population increased, one man's sin or righteousness could not equate for the land’s or country's sin or righteousness. It was not like the kingdom of God being like a leaven which a woman hid in three measures of meals, and the entire three meals were leavened or influenced by just one leaven in them. Neither was it even like, if I find 10 righteous men in Sodom or Gomorrah, I will spare or save the cities for the sake of the 10 righteous men. No.

I recently cited reference where David saw the angel of God, the first time David literally saw an angel, but with sword about to strike Jerusalem. Was it David's righteousness that stopped the angel, or it was God's Mercy for Jerusalem that stopped the angel? David was the one who sinned, so he had no righteousness in this matter.

These are the three men God mentioned as having Righteousness that can save their own souls in this case— Noah, Daniel and Job. But don't get it twisted: for these men's righteousness was still below sin in the land of the dead, but not entire below sin in the land of the living. In the land of the living, the righteousness of Noah, Daniel and Job, was enough for each of them to be saved or delivered from any curse or plague from God because of sin. But in the land of the dead (that is in death), the righteousness of Noah, Daniel and Job, could not save them nor give them resurrection from the dead and immortality.

Adam’s sin had still had greater impact in spite of even Noah’s Righteousness or the righteousness of any saint, until the Messiah Himself or Second Adam (the Lord Jesus Christ) came with His Own Righteousness that is far greater than the sin of the first Adam.

[Proverbs 14:34 AKJV] — "Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people."

So, in interceding for a nation or land that sinned and was plagued: —

▪︎1▪︎ If all people therein sinned, then all people therein must repented and not just few people repenting while others continue their ways. See how the king of Nineveh made everyone in that city to repent and seek the face of God, including the animals. The scope or numbers of people that repent and seek God for that land must be measurable to the number of people that sinned in that land before it was counted against that land or country as trespass or sin against God.

[2 Chronicles 7:13-14] — "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people; If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Are we not looking into Daniel's confessions and seeking the face of God over the sins or captivity of Israel and Jerusalem at the end of the 70 years sentence? Daniel was righteous, and was among the three men God said will be able to deliver or save their own souls by their own righteousness. But Daniel alone trying to make God stop the captivity of Jerusalem, even at the end of 70 years of the captivity, was not going to happen as he attempted: for instead of 70 years, were 70 weeks, before the trespasses or transgressions of Jerusalem were to be completely resolved and the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) will then bring in a better righteousness than that of Daniel, even a righteousness called “The Everlasting Righteousness.”

Have we not looked into Job, one of the three men mentioned that could deliver or save their own souls by their own righteousness, even Job praying for his children incase they sinned, and yet Job couldn't save those children by his own righteousness alone when they all perished in the same day?

▪︎2▪︎ If all people therein sinned, and you can get all people therein to repent, then a Sacrifice or Sacrifices worth equally or more than the sins committed will atone for the land or country. But the Sacrifices must be spiritual, acceptable to God and able to drain the sins and give righteousness or atonement instead. To achieve these, there must be blood in the Sacrifices: for remission of sins. Without blood remission of sins. If the sin was murder or the sin of blood on the land, then the blood of the murderers, sinners and guilty ones will atone for the sin of that land. Some deaths will cleanse a land or country of sin.

↝ THIS FAMINE IS OF THE HAND OF GOD ↜

[Ezekiel 14:13 AKJV] — "Son of man, when the land sins against Me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out My Hand on it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine on it, and will cut off man and beast from it:"

[Ezekiel 14:13 FBV] — "“Son of man, if a people in a country sin against me by being unfaithful to me, then I will act against them by cutting off their food supply, so they experience famine, with no food for people or animals."

[Ezekiel 14:13 NIV] — “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by being unfaithful and I stretch out My Hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals,

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

There will be knowledge and revelation of what happens or happened when a land, a country or an earth-ground trespassed in sin against God, and then God punishes or judges the land by His Hand over it.

The natural people would see or experience these things but try explaining them naturally or scientifically, e.g. as natural disasters or climate change effects, failures or collisions of some things with others, or some cosmic accidents.

But we know that the spiritual man does not attribute such things to natural or cosmic accidents, knowing that in the beginning God created and ordained all things to work together in state of goodness and efficiency. God commanded the earth to bring forth fruits, foods and living creatures, and God blessed them. So, if there be anything strange, different and hostile to how God made and ordained them in the beginning, we know such thing came because of sin against God found on or inside the land where such disaster or disorder thrives.

According to this Bible verse in red, famine on a land, intense poverty, and starvation that kills both people and animals on a land, are neither accidentally nor natural: — The Hand of God takes full responsibility for them, not just as the acts of God but as reactions of God toward the land that has sinned in trespass or unfaithfulness against God. In nutshell, the spiritual discerns the cause (sin) and the solution in God.

Read the Handwriting on the Wall, but also read the Handwriting on the Land.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, He that is without sin should cast the first stone, but then He continued writing on the ground though He delivered the accused sinner from condemnation. Many heard what He said, but did not read what He wrote down on the land.

In this Bible verse in red, the Hand of God would be stretched over the land that sinned against God, and there will be cutting off food supply or there will be famine, which will be strong enough to kill both people and animals of the land. In this case, reading the land is good but reading the Hand of God stretched over the land is better. For what goes on the land comes from the Hand over the land. Don't just see the death by famine or hunger in the land without seeing the Hand of God stretched over the land. This Hand of God stretched over the land or over the sinners could be angel of God representing the hand of God like David saw and understood in this Bible reference below:

[1 Chronicles 21:16-17 LG] — "And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord, standing between earth and heaven, and his sword was drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the elders clothed in sackcloth fell upon their faces. And David said to God, “ Was it not I that gave orders to number the people? And I am the guilty one; I have greatly sinned; but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord God, let Your hand be upon me, and upon my father's house, and not on Your people for destruction, O Lord!””

↝ THE COMMUNICATION STORY OF GOD'S WORD↜

[Ezekiel 14:12 NKJV] — The Word of the Lord came again to me, saying:

[Ezekiel 14:12 GNT] — The Lord spoke to me.

[Ezekiel 14:12 GWN] —"The LORD spoke His Word to me. He said,"

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

The Bible verse in red reveals distinct communication in the series and midst of numerous communications from the LORD God to Ezekiel His prophet. Here, the focus is not yet on the conversation but only on the communication: Therefore, it's a story of God's Communication without the Conversation or the Content of the communicated exchange.

TELL THE STORY…

The three variations of the Bible verse in red I cited above already told the story in different versions, taking us into three different realms of perception:

■1■ If Ezekiel the prophet tells us the story using the terms of GNT, he will simply tell the story this way, — “The Lord spoke to me.” — Well, that was simplified and plain, but basically left some details (things) or some characters out of the story. “The Lord spoke to me” — is indeed a communication story in which the narrator (Ezekie) is the first person eyewitness or ear-witness, but the Lord Himself is the Chief Witness and the Chief Speaker who initiated or made the communication.

■2■ If Ezekiel the prophet tells us the story using the terms of GWN, he will tell the story this way, — “The LORD spoke His Word to me. He said,” — More details emerged here more than the first one, and the details added in this context are “His Word” and “Thus said the Lord.” Unlike the previous one that plainly states, “The Lord spoke to me,” this one reveals “What the Lord spoke (His Word)” and “Who said (He said).” I can speak to you, but still not speak my word to you: — for I can speak another person's word while I speak to you. I can also speak to you but I am saying different things from what I speak to you (in terms of meaning, interpretation or differences between my speech and my heart/intentions, e.g. when deceiving or lying to someone). Someone else can be saying different things while another person is speaking to you. Thus, “what He spoke” and “what He said,” matter.

■3■ If Ezekiel the prophet tells us the story using the terms of NKJV, he will tell the story this way, — “The Word of the Lord came again to me, saying:” — This will be the most detailed, most elaborate and most spiritual way of narrating this glorious Communication Story. Here, there is both a “Communication” and a “Coming.” – Spiritually, “Coming” is sometimes as important as “Communication:” — The essence and climax of communication is coming, and the essence and climax of coming is communication: hence both need to be established

Here also, it's not just the Lord spoke His word to me, but that the Word of the Lord Himself came as a Person or Messenger to me. Here, the Word of the LORD is not just the Message or communication but also a Messenger or Angel that came saying/bearing His Message

Moreover, here the Word of the LORD came “Again” — Meaning the Word of God had come multiple or numerous times repeatedly, but yet saying different things. The coming again or repeatedly reveals the reoccurring of the same Messenger but not of the same Messages.

↝GOD CONFIRMING OR FULFILLING HIS WORDS IN US↜

[Daniel 9:12 NKJV] — And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
⇵
[Daniel 9:12 GNT] — You did what You said You you would do to us and our rulers. You punished Jerusalem more severely than any other city on earth,
⇵
[Daniel 9:12 NIV] — You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Here in this Bible verse in red, God confirmed, performed or fulfilled, His spoken words, and that resulted in bringing terrible punishment and disaster upon us and our judges or rulers (the entire Jerusalem Church), so that nowhere under heaven was any grounp or city been as much severely punished or judged as the way the Lord God has severely punished or judged “Jerusalem Church” in the confirmation.

So, it was indeed a confirmation of God's spoken Words, performing or fulfilling what He had spoken, — but also, the impact on Jerusalem was very terrible and more severe than ever witnessed anywhere or Time before. Lamentations lamented about it this way:

[Lamentations 2:17,15] — "The LORD has done that which He had devised; He has fulfilled His word that He had commanded in the days of old: He has thrown down, and has not pitied: and He has caused your enemy to rejoice over you, He has set up the horn of your adversaries.” — "All that pass by clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?’"

So, it's established that God confirming, performing or fulfilling, His own Words was a very terrible thing to happen to Jerusalem according to Daniel's confession in the Bible verse in red. But away from and beyond that station, the same God confirming, performing or fulfilling, His own Words will be a very good and glorious thing to happen to Jerusalem in restoration or rebuilding of Jerusalem as in the gospel:—

[‭Isaiah 44:26-28] — God confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; He says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built, and I will raise up her waste places;’ The Lord says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’; the Lord says of Cyrus, ‘He is My Pastor, and he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’

The sufferings, the crucifixion, the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God all happened to Him because God was confirming, performing or fulfilling, His own Words by the prophets and by the Law of Moses. Whether they were terrible things happening to God's own Son and Zion, or they were glorious things and gospel happening to God's own Son and Zion, the most important is that the scriptures of God were getting confirmed, performed or fulfilled in them

[‭Luke 24:44-47 NKJV‬] — Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

It was not for punishment but for fulfilling God's Words and confirming God's own. The Lord chastens those He confirms or fulfills as His own and disciplines them with the fulfilling or confirming of His spoken words. Therefore, those of us who walk, not after the flesh but after the Spirit, have the righteousness of the Law fulfilled or confirmed in us:

[Romans 8:3-4 BSB] — "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

↝THE EXECRATION AND THE OATH OF THE LAW ↜

[Daniel 9:11 NKJV] — Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.
⇵
[Daniel 9:11 TLV] — Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your Torah and has turned away—not obeying Your voice. “‘Therefore the curse and sworn judgment written in the Torah of Moses the servant of God has been poured out upon us, for we have sinned against Him.
⇵
[Daniel 9:11 NIV] — All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against You.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

In this Bible verse in red, “All Israel both Transgressed God's Law and Backslided (withdrew, departed or turned away) from path of obeying the Voice of the LORD. There was a “Turning Away” in all Israel, even though no man of sin (Antichrist) was revealed during the turning away period. So, that turning away differ from the turning away (falling away) in the last days that will bring the emergence of the man of sin, who is a son of Perdition, the Antichrist, according to “2 Thessalonians 2:3.”

Nevertheless, that turning away resulted in the emergence of some thing else apart from the man of sin or Antichrist, and that which came because of the turning away is called the Execration: meaning curse. In this Bible verse in red, the execration (the curse) and the oath that were written in the Law of Moses the servant of God came upon us. However, today many of us mark the day Christ redeemed us from the execration or curse of the Law, being made an execration or curse for us: as it is written, “Cursed is everyone that hangs on a Tree” (on a cross where He was crucified or dead) — [Galatians 3:13]

According to the teachings of Paul the servant of God "By the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified — for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). And as you can see from Daniel's confession in the Bible verse in red, “All Israel” began doing the Law but at some point transgressed or backslided (turned away) from or couldn't continue, the deeds of the Law — Yet the curse (execration) and the oath written in the Law of Moses were poured out upon them. So, no matter how much they might have done for the Law previously, as soon as they turned away or offended the law, the curse and oath began to attack and destroy them. This meant the Law cursed those who will not continue doing the Law, as in, the law puts curse on even anyone who presently is doing the Law but will stop doing it tomorrow. Therefore, we needed a Redeemer (Savior) who can help us breakout:

[‭Galatians 3:10-14 NKJV‬] — For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

↝CONFESSIONS — WE ARE NOT FULLY DISCIPLED ↜

[Daniel 9:10 NKJV] — We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
⇵
[Daniel 9:10 GWN] — "We never listened to You or lived by the teachings You gave us through Your servants the prophets."
⇵
[Daniel 9:10 GNT] — We did not listen to You, O Lord our God, when You told us to live according to the laws which You gave us through Your servants the prophets.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

God's Laws are God's Teachings through His Servants the prophets. Many Christians today are taught to view the Laws of God as old Testament rules outdated by the new Testament grace. But you should see the Laws of God by the prophets as set of Teachings of God.

Teachings are instructions of Teacher or Master: Some understanding give “Teacher” and “Master” the same meaning or reference. The Law was our school-master before Christ meant the Law was our school-teacher before Christ. As it is written,

[Galatians 3:24-25 BSV] — "Therefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

Well, that is the law of Moses, described as school master or teacher. But the Bible verse in red spoke of the Laws of God by His Servants the prophets, which were in direct sync with the very Voice of God. Those Laws, Instructions or Teachings, were by the servants of God, the prophets, ordered by the Spirit and Voice of God in the utterances.

In the Bible verse in red, “We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.” This was a confession of Daniel and as well a confession of many saints, who fell short of His Discipleship and High Calling. Our living out the Laws or Teachings of God have always been short of our hearing or teaching them. We have not fully obeyed, neither have we fully walked in all that is available for us to walk in, under His Laws.

This means, many of us are not fully discipled because we neither fully obeyed the Voice of the Lord nor fully walked in His Laws He set before us by His servants the prophets. Even if this was not expressed as a confession, the Law of God goes or comes with testimony of God.

[Isaiah 8:16 MKJV] — "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.”

[Isaiah 8:20 AKJV] — "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Psalms 19:7: "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."

[Isaiah 8:20 AKJV] — "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

↝ MEASURES TO HELP CHRISTIANS STOP SINS ↜

[Ezekiel 14:11 AKJV] — "That the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be My people, and I may be their God, said the Lord GOD."

[Ezekiel 14:11 NIV] — Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from Me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be My people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.

[Ezekiel 14:11 GNT] — I will do this to keep the Israelites from deserting Me and defiling themselves by their sins. They are to be My people, and I will be their God.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Substantially, this Bible verse in red provides a justification or reason for the divine actions or judgments pronounced in the preceding verses: — According to this Bible verse in red, those measures will solve the problems of sinning among the people of God forever.

The enemy boasted that the Lord died to deal with sin of His people, but sin has not been removed from His people because sin is still found even in those who are His people, for whom He died for. For example, soon the people will celebrate His death and resurrection, but in them are found lies, envy, idols, greed, lust, hatred, worldly pursuit and lack of zeal for spiritual and eternal things of God except the blessings and prosperity in corruptible things that fill their minds.

But this Bible verse in red and its preceding ones provide justification and liberation from sin by those pronounced divine judgments on the prophets (pastors, priests and ministers) as well as on those listening to them.

In nutshell, the reason Christians or people of God are still committing sins is largely because of the prophets, pastors, priests, or teachers, that claim to speak for God to these people and their deceptions called messages. If all the ministers of the gospel or word of God are faithful, naturally all the Christians will be reformed and transformed. Blame it largely on the pastors, prophets and religious leaders.

[Jeremiah 12:10] — "Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.”

So the solution includes holding the prophets equally responsible for the sins of those who listen to the prophets, and holding the people equally responsible for the sins of their prophets to whom they listen. Then according to this Bible verse in red, the people of God will become disciplined to never sin or defile themselves again — and then the Lord God will receive them as His people and He will be their God.

↝WHEN PROPHET OR PASTOR IS AS GUILTY AS MEMBER/SEEKER OF THE PROPHET OR PASTOR↜

[Ezekiel 14:10 AKJV] — "And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeks to him;"

[Ezekiel 14:10 NIV] — They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him.

[Ezekiel 14:10 GNT] — Both prophets and anyone who consults them will get the same punishment.”

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

If a man visits and seeks a witch doctor, wizard, priest of demonic shrine, medium, spiritist, occultic master, necromancer, queen of any underworld, etc: That man who seeks any of these priests, prophets or mediums for help or inquiry shall be as guilty as the one he sought.

In the same way, if a man visits and seeks a false prophet, fake priest or fake pastor, that uses the name of Christ Jesus: That man who seeks any of these priests, prophets or oracles for help or inquiry shall be as guilty as the one he sought. Thus is according to the Bible verse in red — the punishment or guilt of such prophet is equivalent to the punishment or guilt of the man or woman who seek or inquire from him

Basically, by consulting a minister or medium, a man may partake in the sins or guilts of the minister or medium he seeks or consults; and on a flip side, by a minister or medium laying hands or blessing a man that minister or medium may partake in the sins or guilt of the man.

[1 Timothy 5:22 LBP] — "Do not lay hands hastily on any man, neither be a partaker of other men's sins; keep yourself pure."

Be careful the ministers or mediums you seek, and be careful the sinners you lay your hands or forgive their sins just because they come to you for confession. You do not want to partake in the sins or punishments of the sins of others just by contact or consultation, unless you want to. Keep yourself pure, especially by not joining yourself to the impure, the defiled or the guilty in partaking of them.

Jesus Christ ate and drank with sinners, and He practically died for sinners and died in the midst of sinners: but even with all these association with sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ remained separate from sinners even as the High Priest or greatest Minister of God. He intercedes for sinners, but yet He keeps Himself separate from sinners

[Hebrews 7:25-26 MKJV] — "Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens,”

WHY SHOULD THE PEOPLE WHO CONSULT OR SEEK THE PROPHET OR MINISTER FACE THE SAME GUILT OR PUNISHMENT AS THE DECEIVED DECEIVER THEY CONSULT OR SOUGHT AFTER?

1. [Jeremiah 5:31] – “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so…” — Highlights how people enable false prophets by loving lies.

2. [Matthew 15:14] – “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” — the Lord Jesus warns that both misleaders and the misled face the same fall or doom.

3. [2 Timothy 4:3-4] – “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… and they shall turn away their ears from the truth.” — Paul describes people seeking teachers who will satisfy itching ears — similar to Israel seeking flattering prophets.

Imagine a churchgoer knowingly follows a preacher who twists Scriptures for personal gain (e.g., prosperity gospel, false miracles): — According to this Bible verse in red, both the preacher and the person seeking him out are accountable — especially if they ignore the truth available in Scripture.

Therefore,
■ Discernment is vital — Believers must test every message by the Word of God (1 John 4:1).

■ Personal accountability — Don’t blame leaders or preachers alone; we must seek God sincerely.

■ Guard your heart — Don't let idols (money, pride, status, relationships) replace God's voice in your life.

[Matthew 24:4-5 GWN] — "Jesus answered them, "Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. Many will come using my name. They will say, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many people.”

↝ A PROPHET GOD DECEIVED AND DESTROYED ↜

[Ezekiel 14:9 AKJV] — "And if the prophet be deceived when he has spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out My Hand on him, and will destroy him from the middle of My people Israel."

[Ezekiel 14:9 FBV] — "But if the prophet is deceived into giving a message, it was I the Lord who deceived him to do this. I will still reach out and destroy that prophet from My people Israel."

[Ezekiel 14:9 NET] — "“‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word — I, the LORD, have made a fool of that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

There are atleast two terms in this Bible verse, which some persons wouldn't associate with God but with the devil: these include “Deceive” and “Destroy.”

□ Some people see it as inappropriate or abominable for the holy God of righteousness and truth to deceive a man. This they will rather attribute to the devil or Satan.

□ Some people see it as inappropriate or abominable for the good God of love and mercy to destroy a man. This they will rather attribute to the devil or Satan.

Such people would try rationalizing verses like this one in red, trying to find the etymological or Hebrew words used all in bid to absolve God from being seen as the LORD who either deceived even prophets, killed or destroyed people. The Bible will clearly state that the Lord does evil in the city, but such men would try to rationalize it into meaning those people who said so were ignorant and they assumed every evil came from the LORD whereas the evil came from Satan. So, new Bible translations were brought out to shift the responsibility of doing evil, deceiving, killing or destroying, people away from the Lord God to Satan the devil. Have you not met or heard such people?

What is wrong in the Lord doing evil, killing people or destroying people, even with everlasting destruction and death, in justice or judgment? Does that negate his being good, righteous, holy and true? It's just as there are people who would have problem with a man or woman flogging his or her own child in corporal punishment for correction, because they are sensual based on anything that hurts the feelings of humans is evil, but anything that pleases the feelings of humans is good or acceptable. Fools, sensual and carnal people, judging morality based on feelings and opinions of carnal people of this world.

The Justice and Judgment of God is based on righteousness and truth and in rewarding or recompensing everything and everyone. So, do not be deceived and God will not deceive you. As it is written,

[Galatians 6:7-8] — "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

Now, according to the Bible verse in red - if a prophet, priest or pastor, is deceived (misled) into preaching, blessing or prophesying, to people or person in whom there's hidden sin, heart for idols or to hypocrites, who come to church or to inquire of the Lord by that prophet, priest or pastor, the Lord God Himself deceived (misled) that prophet, priest or pastor, and will surely destroy that prophet, pastor or priest, from among the people of God. The messages from a prophet or preacher to sinners will tell whether that prophet or preacher is deceived himself or not. And being the Lord will only deceive those He will destroy: He will never deceive any man He will receive among His people, but corrects (disciplines) those He will receive.

[b][Ezekiel 13:3] — "Thus said the Lord GOD; Woe to the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!"

[Hosea 9:7] — "The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of your iniquity, and the great hatred.”

[‭1 Kings 22:19-23 NIV‬] — Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His Throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around Him on His right and on His left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “ ‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “ ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “ ‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”




[/b]

↝A MAN GOD FOUGHT AND DISGRACED OPENLY↜

[Ezekiel 14:8 NKJV] — I will set My Face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

[Ezekiel 14:8 NIV] — I will set My Face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from My people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

[Ezekiel 14:8 FBV] — "I will oppose anyone who does this and make any example of them that others will talk about. I will remove them from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

A saying, “the Father who sees in secret will reward you in the open,” applies in this Bible verse in red as “the Lord who searches the secrets and hearts of all things will make you an open sign (example) to others and a proverb (byword or trending keyword) people will talk about.

However the use in this red verse applies literally against those who have hidden sins, hidden idols (idolatry), hidden iniquity and hypocrisy, but still come in approach to or invocation of the Lord. These are those who are harlots or prostitutes, mixing or combining couples that should never be combined or have anything in common. The way harlots or prostitutes would have multiple joysticks in their vaginas and seeds of different strange men in their bodies, so are these having different idols, sins combining with the true and holy God in their heart or mind.

But in the Bible verse in red, the Lord God will disgrace them openly like harlots should be disgraced, and then cut them of from the People of God or erase them from the Book of Life, and then we shall renew our knowledge of Him as the LORD, (especially all churches knowing Him as the Lord who searches the heart…). As it is written,

[Revelation 2:21-23] — "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the reins and hearts: and I will give to every one of you according to your works.”

↝INVOKE, NOT PROVOKE, GOD TO ANSWER YOU↜

[Ezekiel 14:7 NKJV] — For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself.

[Ezekiel 14:7 NIV] — “ ‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from Me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of Me, I the Lord will answer them Myself.

[Ezekiel 14:7 NLV] — "If a man of Israel or a stranger living in Israel who turns away from Me and gives his heart to false gods, and worships them, and if he then comes to the man of God to get answers from Me, I the Lord will answer him Myself."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

There's a Bible verse that states: — "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” [Psalms 66:18]. But the Bible verse in red states that if a man regards iniquity or idol in his heart the Lord God Himself will answer that man when he comes to inquire of Him.

The difference is in between “God hearing a man” and “God answering a man.” God hearing your prayers is not the same as God answering your prayers. The “hearing” here always means your prayers are granted or approved, but the “answering” here means there's either an “Invocation” or “Provocation” in the prayers or quest, for which the Lord God will react, reply, respond or retaliate at once. You should always “Invoke or Inquire” of the Lord God to answer you, but you must not provoke the Lord God to answer you. Some have died in the process of inquiring or tempting God with provoking items. Two eldest sons of a high priest, Aaron, died before the Lord when they offered strange fire that provoked Him. Ananias and his wife too died before the Lord when they approached Him with lies in their offering to Him. Saul died partly because he consulted a native doctor while inquiring of God from Samuel, who was sleeping in death.

In the Bible verse in red, the Lord God Himself warns against anyone, who is mixing idolatry, witchcraft, iniquity or hidden sin, with coming to Him, invoking or enquiring from Him. He will answer, but that also means He might kill or destroy whoever does that. Hidden sin or idols must not be found in you, neither should strange spirit, strange fire nor strange objects be found with you. Do not setup or include image (object) of jealousy that provokes to jealousy either in or outside the temple of God. Don't be unequally yoked with these in your separation.

↝CONFESSIONS — CONFESS HE HAS MERCIES OR FORGIVENESSES BEFORE YOU ASK FOR THEM↜

[Daniel 9:9 NKJV] — To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.
⇵
[Daniel 9:9 NLV] — "O Lord our God, You are kind and forgiving, even when we would not obey You."
⇵
[Daniel 9:9 NIV] — The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him;

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

I heard a preacher teach that Spirits do not forgive, and that the best they do in mercy is to substitute or replace persons on whom they will carry out the vengeance, recompense or punishment, for the offense done against them.

Well, God is a Spirit, and according to this Bible verse in red, Mercy and Forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we rebel against Him. We are rebellious to Him, yet He is still our God to Whom belong Mercies and Forgivenesses. Now you know these:

●1● Every mercy or forgiveness you received or will receive, belongs to the Lord God, even when such mercy or forgiveness came by men. The Lord considers each mercy and forgiveness from men as a debt He owes and will repay the man or woman who has shown mercy or forgiveness to others. This is to establish Mercy and Forgiveness as the Properties of the Lord God of Righteousness.

●2● Mercy and Forgiveness belong to Righteousness, which belongs to the Lord God. The harder it is for you to forgive sins, the more distant you are from Righteousness. Righteousness and Sin are opposed to each other, and Forgiveness or Mercy gives advantage to Righteousness and disadvantage to sins.

●3● The Wicked has neither Mercy nor forgiveness, but the Righteous lacks neither Mercy nor forgiveness. If the wicked has mercy, he is not wicked. Devils or demons cannot have mercy, for mercy belongs to the Lord God of Righteousness. Only those who belong to the Lord of Righteousness can be merciful as God is merciful. As it is written,

[Luke 6:36 BSB] — "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

●4● God commends His Mercies and Forgivenesses towards us when we were yet rebellious; and God commends His Love towards us when we were yet sinners, then Christ died for us.

●5● Do not adopt what that preacher taught on spirits being unforgiving: — for in reality and holiness, holy and good spirits indeed forgive, forgets offenses, and are merciful. Mercies and Forgivenesses belong to the Lord God of all spirits and all flesh. The more forgiving He is, the more He is Loved and Feared.

[Psalms 130:3-4] — "If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."

Therefore, let your confession confess the Lord God had Mercies and Forgivenesses with Him, before you ask Him for mercy or forgiveness. As the saying goes, you cannot give what you don't have: but you can give what you both have and have in abundance.

↝CONFESSIONS — CONFESS THE CONFUSION AND SHAME OF YOUR KINGS, PRINCES, FATHERS TO GOD ↜

[Daniel 9:8 AKJV] — "O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You."
⇵
[Daniel 9:8 NLV] — "We, our kings, our leaders and our fathers are all covered with shame, O Lord, because we have sinned against You."
⇵
[Daniel 9:8 LG] — "In You, O Lord, is our righteousness, and to us belongs confusion of face, and to our kings, and to our princes, and to our fathers, forasmuch as we have sinned."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Many who are kings, princes, fathers or leaders, in this world are paraded as dwelling in glory, royalty and pride — even in the glory, riches, powers, and pride of life, these kings, princes, fathers or leaders seem to have, they are altogether covered in confusion and shame of faces because of sin against the righteousness of God. This is a Message in this Bible verse in red.

While the world celebrates such elites and fathers for power and glory, they are spiritually seen as figures of shame and confusion because sin is found in them all. There's no sinner this has true grace or glory in presence of God and His Righteousness. No prosperity of sinners can erase the spiritual shame, disgrace or confusion. Unrighteousness or sin corruption to any glory or riches. You cannot have sin in you and be without shame or confusion. This is established — even our so kings, princes, fathers, leaders, bosses, champions, richmen and ourselves, are covered with shame or confusion because of sin.

[Jeremiah 3:25] — "We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covers us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."

[1 Corinthians 15:34 BBE] — "Be awake to righteousness and keep yourselves from sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I say this to put you to shame.”

[Daniel 9:7 NKJV] — “O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.”
⇵
[Daniel 9:7 LG] — "To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, and to us confusion of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the earth, wherever You have scattered them, for the sin which they have committed."
⇵
[Daniel 9:7 NIV] — “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where You have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to You.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Do you prefer to confess your shame or confusion to another person who is also covered with shame or confusion like you? Is it consolation for you dwell, expose or confess your shame and confusion among those who are like you in image or likeness of shame and confusion? I am as disgraceful, shameful, confused, blind and miserable, as you are, so no need for us to be ashame of our shameful and horrible state — Is this not how the carnal, the blind or the fools, run their societies?

In the Bible verse in red, Daniel rather came to the Lord, confessed or witnessed the Lord's Righteousness to whom belongs Righteousness — And before the God of Righteousness, Daniel exposed, confessed and abhorred the confusion or shame of faces that covered us all by reason of our trespass against the Lord, irrespective of our locations.

■1■ Irrespective of the locations where we were scattered, confusion (shame) of faces covered us. Much like how the confusion of tongues went with mankind wherever they were scattered during Babel's event. Confusion stuck with everyone everywhere on the face of the earth — both those in Jerusalem, Judea, Israel and in all nations abroad.

It therefore means, there's no place to go to rid off confusion or shame that comes from transgressing or trespassing against the Lord of Righteousness. This because there's no true righteousness outside the Lord God (to Whom belongs righteousness): and there's no true deliverance or avoidance of confusion (which is shame) outside Righteousness. True peace comes by righteousness. The Lord God of Righteousness is the same as the God of Peace. Confusion is not of Him because Righteousness and Peace is of Him. As it is written,

[1 Corinthians 14:33] — "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

If you are experiencing conflicts or confusion within you or covering you, you are not experiencing the Lord God. Confusion comes by these two things that are basically like one leading to the other:

■2■ - 1 - Confusion comes by strife, conflicts and envy, which the wisdom of this world brings along.

[James 3:15-16 LBP] — "This wisdom does not come from above, but it is earthly, sensual, devilish. For wherever envy and strife are, there is confusion and every sort of evil."

■2■ - 2 - Confusion of faces comes by provoking the Lord God to anger. Each supposed provocation of the Lord to anger does not mar the Face or Righteousness of God, but rather mars or disfigures faces of those who trespassed, transgressed or went against righteousness.

[Jeremiah 7:19] — "Do they provoke me to anger? said the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?”

■3■ This confusion is the same as shame.

[Psalms 44:15] — "My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face has covered me,"

To have such Confusion is to bear shame or disgrace on you. Have grace, not disgrace; have glory, not shame. Do not be like Adam and Eve, when they were ashamed (confused) at the presence of God and hid themselves. Rather, Confess your shame or confusion before the Lord God of Righteousness, and receive these promises of Him:

[Isaiah 61:7] — "For your shame you shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be to them.”

[Ezekiel 14:6 NKJV] — “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

[Ezekiel 14:6 NIV] — “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!”

[Ezekiel 14:6 FBV] — "So tell the people of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: Repent! Give up worshiping your idols Stop all your disgusting practices."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

This Bible verse in red shows the call to repentance from idolatry and from practices that are abominations to the LORD. Such “Repentance” involves destroying or severing an existing relationship with someone or something else (in this case, relationship with idols or abominations) and then rebuilding or restoring relationship with the Lord God Himself.

●● To sever or destroy ties with existing idols and sins connected with you, the repentance requires you “Turn Away From” them. However, you should make it stronger than turning away from the evils into turning against the evils. Do not just turn away, but also turn against.

●● To build or rebuild ties with the Holy and True God, the repentance requires you “Turn or Return to” Him with all your heart in diligence. When you do turn to the Lord that well, some veil shall be taken away from your face in beholding Him in glory, and that in turn changes you more into becoming like Him to the degree of His glory you are able to see or absorb according to the capacity of your unveiled eyes to Him.

This call to repentance (in the Bible verse in red) came directly from the Lord God Himself, putting the words into the mouth of Ezekiel His prophet to tell the people of Israel those words. However, there were prophets and apostles of God who did not have to use “Thus says the Lord” when they preached or taught the people to repentance from idols to reconciliation with the Lord God. They spoke by the Spirit of God, but spoke the word of repentance as preachers or teachers. E.g:

[1 Samuel 7:3-4 NLV] — "Then Samuel said to all the family of Israel, "Return to the Lord with all your heart. Put away the strange gods and the false goddess Ashtaroth from among you. Turn your hearts to the Lord and worship Him alone. Then He will save you from the Philistines." So the people of Israel put away from among them the false gods of Baal and Ashtaroth and worshiped the Lord alone.”

[1 John 5:21] - Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

It is.

Humility and Love from the heart to the Lord is the wholeness towards the Lord God.

↝WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TAKEN IN YOUR HEART↜

[Ezekiel 14:5 ASV] — “that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols.

[Ezekiel 14:5 BBE] — "So as to take the children of Israel in the thoughts of their hearts, because they have become strange to Me through their false gods."

[Ezekiel 14:5 LSV] — "in order to catch the house of Israel by their heart, in that they have become estranged from off Me by their idols—all of them."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

This Bible verse in red shows the goal aimed at, for which the Lord God would answer or address any idolatruous man according to the multitude of his idols in his heart: — The goal according to this Bible verse in red, is to take each and every man in his own heart.

Taking someone in his or her heart, mind, sin, craftiness, folly, word or in anything of the man that comes from his heart and mind — means to answer, address, arrest or engage the person with his or her own tricks and fruits as recompense to humble him or her. It's as answering a fool according to his folly, lest his mind thinks he's wise in his eyes.

■ To confront or expose someone using their own intentions, desires, or inner motivations — as if you’re turning their own heart (or motives) against them.

■ To overcome someone by appealing to or challenging what they deeply care about — maybe to catch them in a contradiction between what they say and what they truly feel.

Thus, “take the house of Israel in their own heart” means: — confront or judge them according to what is in their hearts — especially their idolatry, which God sees as the root of their separation from Him: To capture or expose them by showing that the real problem lies within — in their thoughts, desires, and secret devotions to idols, not just outward actions. In short, God is saying: “I will deal with them by exposing what truly rules their hearts — their idols — and judge them accordingly.” It’s a form of divine justice that brings people's own inner motives to light as the basis for judgment.

Other references and examples include:

▪︎1° God will take the wise in their own craftiness:

[Job 5:13] — "He takes the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the fraudulent is carried headlong.”

Paul recited and applied it this way:

[1 Corinthians 3:19] — "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness.”

▪︎2° God will take all nations in their own devices and secrets of hearts:

[Psalms 9:15-17] — "The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. The LORD is known by the judgment which He executes: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

[Proverbs 11:6] — "The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness."

[Proverbs 5:22] — "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held with the cords of his sins.”

[Jeremiah 17:9-10] — "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

[Galatians 6:7] — “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

[Proverbs 6:2] — "You are snared with the words of your mouth, you are taken with the words of your mouth.”

[b]↝YOU SHALL BE ANSWERED OR ADDRESSED ACCORDING TO WHAT'S IN YOUR HEART & MIND↜

[Ezekiel 14:4 NKJV] — “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols,”

[Ezekiel 14:4 GNT] — “Now speak to them and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them: Each of you Israelites who have given your heart to idols and let them lead you into sin and who then come to consult a prophet, will get an answer from me—the answer that your many idols deserve!”

[Ezekiel 14:4 FBV] — “So tell them that this is what the Lord God says: When the people of Israel worship idols in their minds that will lead them to sin, and then come to consult the prophet, I the Lord will give them an answer appropriate to their many idols.”

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️[/b]

● We've come to know the Lord God answers them that diligently seek Him according to their faith, but let's also know the Lord God answers them that seek Him according to their idols in their hearts.

● Just as faith in a man who comes to God determines the way God will answer the man, even so idols in a man's heart or iniquity in a man's secret also determines the way God will answer the man.

● Both Cain and Abel sought God with their offerings, but the way God answered Cain (who had sin or iniquity at his door) was different from the way God answered Abel (who had faith or righteousness in heart).

[Proverbs 26:4-5 BSB] — "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.”

● Answer a fool according to his folly — answer an idolatruous man according to his idols — answer a faithful man according to his faith.

● Here, it is not how you dress you will be addressed — Rather it is according to what is inside your heart and mind that you will be addressed.

● Therefore, he that comes to the Lord must believe that He is, and He is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him and He who searches the reins and hearts to reward or address everyone accordingly.

[‭Psalms 18:23-26 NIV‬] — I have been blameless before Him and have kept myself from sin. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless, to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the devious You show Yourself shrewd.

[Leviticus 10:3 NLV] — "Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord meant when He said, 'I will show Myself holy among those who are near Me. I will be honored in front of all the people.' '' And Aaron said nothing."

zeuss:
Most true servants of God are not ministers.......by their fruits u will know them.....self serving business men full town.

If they are true servants of God then they are ministers. Servants means Ministers.

+

↝ CONFESSIONS — YOUR SINS OF NOT LISTENING OR HEEDING TO MINISTERS OF GOD ↜

[Daniel 9:6 TLV] — We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
⇵
[Daniel 9:6 NLV] — "We have not listened to Your servants who spoke for You, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land."
⇵
[Daniel 9:6 NIV] — We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

In this Bible verse in red, Daniel continued his confession of the sins of “We” — Only that this time it's a confession or regretting for not listening to the Ministers or Messengers of God and of not keeping their messages. Just as there must be testimonies for having listened, believed and heeded to the messages and instructions of the ministers and Messengers of God — on the flipside, there must also be regrets, gnashing of teeth and confessions for not believing, not listening, not heeding to the warnings or instructions of the Messengers or ministers of God. So, as it is in the Bible verse in red, so shall it be in the sore Lamentations, confessions or regrets, of sinners who did not heed to the prophets and to the teachers who spoke or taught on God's behalf.

[‭Proverbs 5:11-13 NLV] — "You would cry inside yourself when your end comes, when your flesh and body are wasted away. You would say, "How I have hated teaching! My heart hated strong words! I have not listened to the voice of my teachers. I have not turned my ear to those who would teach me."

Those were like the regret, lamentation or confession, in the Bible verse in red — We have not listened to Your servants the prophets and the teachers, who spoke to our kings, to our fathers, to our elites and to our leaders — (perhaps because we regarded the words of those kings, fathers, leaders, bosses, etc, above the words of God's servants the prophets and the teachers who come in the name the Lord). Therefore, Sodom and Gomorrah has more chances than us in the day of Judgment, because we did not listen to the servants of God.

[Matthew 10:14-15 NET] — "And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or that town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!”

Previously or in the preceding verse to this one in red, I spoke about revealing knowledge of your sins through confession of your sins: — But in this Bible verse in red I speak of revealing your negligence but not your ignorance of your sins. This is because, you must reveal you were told or warned, but you did not listen or regard the ministers.

This is because the conviction of your confession must validate the Messengers of God who you previously invalidate or despised by not listening to them. Thus, Holy Spirit will convict men of sin because they did not listen or believe in he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[John 16:8-9 LG] — "And when He comes, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me;”

Again, previously or in the preceding verse to this one in red, I separated in between Adam’ isolative confession of the sins of “we” and Daniel's cumulative confession of the sins of “we.” But here I must mention why Adam’s confession took that path, and Daniel's took this path. Adam’s confession of the sin included confession or revelation of whom Adam listened to and sinned, while Daniel's confession of the “sin” included the confession or revelation of whom Daniel and his fellow sinners had not listened to and sinned.

■1■ Whom did Adam listened to, and sinned, according to his confession? — Adam listened to a Woman of God, the Woman God gave to be with him. And the woman in turn listened to the Serpent as listening to a counselor, whom God gave wisdom more than all the beast of the field inside the Garden of God in Eden.

■2■ Whom did Daniel and his fellow sinners listened to, and sinned, according to his confession in this Bible verse in red? — Daniel did not confess whom they listened to, but rather confessed whom they did not listen to or whom they failed to believe. These were the prophets of God, servants and messengers of God sent by God or speaking in the Name (authority of the Lord) to them.

So, Adam was trying to justify himself with excuse that he had listened to a woman of God who God Himself gifted and ordained as helper to be with him — But the Lord God wisely punished Adam for listening to the woman as Adam’s wife, not for listening to the woman as minister or woman of God. Know the difference, and know how that defeated Adam’s excuse to justify or absolve himself.

It's like me saying to God, “The pastor/prophet You called or anointed told me to do it, and I listened and did that which You earlier told me not to do” — But yet, God will punish me — not for listening to His servant the prophet or pastor, but for listening to a deceiver, a liar or a false prophet or pastor, and for disobeying God’s commanded Word.

Now, that does not necessarily mean God denies or refuses to recognize that man as His pastor or prophet, neither does it mean I should not have listened to God’s prophet or pastor — Rather it means because I listened to the prophet or pastor and by listening to him I disobeyed God’s commandment or law, the Judgment or Punishment of God will not count or recognize that pastor or prophet I listened to as my substitute. The pastor or prophet does not take away my sin just because I listened or followed him into the sin. Recall the story of the young man of God from Judah and the old prophet that lied to him.

So, a confession of listening to servants of God, prophets or pastors, and that led you into sin or evil against the Law or Commandment of God, does not remove or shift the responsibility away from you to the servants of God you have listened or obeyed. There's only one Person you can listen to, even if listening to Him leads you into evil, and yet by listening to Him the sins or responsibility of the evil is taken away from you — That Person is the Lord God or the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Lord, I listened to You and did this evil — That is obedience and that is righteousness. Therefore, the Father's Commandment to all New Testament People and all men past and future is this — Listen to My Son, My Beloved Begotten Son, in Whom I Am well pleased (Matthew 17:5). And Mary, the mother of Jesus, instruction to all men is this - Whatever He (Jesus Christ) tells you to do, do it (John 2:5).

But, Lord I listened to Your Servants, Your Prophets, Your Pastors, etc, but I did not listen or obey Your Word or Commandment to me — That is not acceptable or forgivable in Judgment.

↝ CONFESSIONS — THE SINS OF “WE” ↜

[Daniel 9:5 AKJV] — We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and from Your judgments:
⇵
[Daniel 9:5 GNT] — ‭We have sinned, we have been evil, we have done wrong. We have rejected what You commanded us to do and have turned away from what You showed us was right.
⇵
[Daniel 9:5 NIV] — we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from Your commands and laws.

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

In this Bible verse in red are confessions of the sins of “We” based on knowledge. Notice my used of the term “Knowledge” in these confessions of sins. In as much as the Law or Commandments that was violated was known or mentioned, the knowledge of the sins was established. This is because, by the Laws or Commandments came knowledge of the sins, iniquities or transgressions, that are confessed.

Immediately Adam confessed he had hid himself as soon as he heard the Voice of God, and gave the reason or excuse for hiding himself as “because he was naked” — That was the man's first confession of his wrong to God — But that confession of Adam was incomplete because the “Knowledge” source or link to that confession wasn't established yet until Adam confessed who told him he was naked or how he got that knowledge of good and evil (knowledge of sin), which made Adam felt or sensed being naked in the presence of God as evil or terrible.

In the Bible verse in red, Daniel confessed to God saying, “We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, we have rebelled against Your Word, and turned away from Your commands.” — A slight difference between Daniel's confession of the sins of “We” (him + his people) and that of Adam’s confession of the sins of “We” (him + his wife) is that, — Daniel was not separating sinners in his confession of the sins of “We” and thus, he was not indirectly accusing some sinners of sinning greater or sinning differently from the other sinners. But you see how Adam put difference or isolation in confessing the sins of “We” in that Adam presented the sin of his wife Eve to be the cause or the worse to his own sin, thereby indirectly accusing her while confessing the sins of “We.”

Example: Supposing five persons gang went on robbery operation, one of them was relatively different and less evil, some are more evil, and one is the spearhead of the whole wickedness or evil. And perhaps during their operation the most wicked among them killed someone, for which the rest do not support or agree with him:

¤1¤ If that one that's is less evil or somehow still a nice person among them was to confess or report the evil of the gang like Daniel did, he would not start naming the particular one that killed or the ones that did whatever evil among them: rather like Daniel, he would conclude that whatever one of them did, all of them together are guilty or have done. It's like if my hand did something, my whole body has done it. My body will not isolate one part of it as being the evil one, to prove the rest of my body is more righteous than that part. It's about bearing or sharing the responsibility together, and leaving none isolated.

[1 Corinthians 12:20-26] — "As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

¤2¤ But If that one that's is less evil or somehow still a nice person among them was to confess or report the evil of the gang like Adam did, he would start naming the particular one that killed or the ones that did whatever evil among them, showing himself as either a victim or unfortunate one in their midst that was in support of what some of them were did (but still remain in their group or enjoy their benefits). This form or kind of confession of the sins of “We” is judgmental or accusational while seeking for escape from collective responsibility.

[Matthew 5:29-30] — "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.”

Now, if you understand my illustrations between Daniel's confession and Adam’s confession, of the sins of "We” — You will be able to understand these two things further:

◇A◇ — Understand The Paradox between uncovering sins and covering multitude of sins: — This paradox is in the fact that you are not supposed to cover sins, but also you are supposed to cover multitude of sins. These 2 Bible references below will explain the two:

[Proverbs 28:13] — "He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”

[1 Peter 4:8] — "Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Daniel's confession of the sins of “We” satisfied the both sides of the paradox, in that by confession he was not covering their sins but also by love he was covering multitude of their sins. It's confession in love.

◇B◇ — Understand The Two Key Elements that Bring up the Knowledge of Sin in the Bible verse in Red: — These two are:

●1● Confession of the sins — Confession of sin uncovers or reveals the knowledge of sin. But like Daniel, let your confession also cover multitude of sins (by love) and not just uncover the sins (in exposition).

●2● By the Law or Commandment — By the Law or Commandment also came knowledge of the sins, iniquities or transgressions. As in:

[Romans 3:20-23] — "Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”

↝ CONFESSIONS — FOUR TYPES ↜

[Daniel 9:4 AKJV] — "And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments;"
⇵
[Daniel 9:4 NLV] — "I prayed to the Lord my God and told Him the sins of my people, saying, "O Lord, You are great and we fear You. You keep Your agreement and show loving-kindness to those who love You and keep Your Laws."
⇵
[Daniel 9:4 NIV] — “I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments,”
♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Learning from this Bible verse in red, and from Daniel here:

□ — ■ Whether you pray or make confessions to God, say it to God in a way that you will not be ashamed to share with people what and how you said it to God in your prayer or confession.

□ — ■ When you pray to God, pray to Him as to your Father in secret, but also pray it as a secret prayer that will become open broadcast that will be heard or known in the open to everyone.

□ — ■ Therefore, your secret prayers or secret confessions to God are themselves secret confessions you may have to make open in your testimony. It is not just confessions inside prayer, but also confessing the confessions inside prayer after prayer.

□ — ■ There are four distinct aspects of confessions in the Bible verse in red:

■1■ Confessing (that is narrating or sharing) the prayer content as in stating the exact words and expressions you used before God in your secret or private prayer, supplications and fasting, as part of your testimony and teaching to the audience.

■2■ Confessing to Him whom you say that He (the Lord God) is to you and to the people. It's like answering these questions from the Lord to you, “Whom do people say that I Am? And whom do you say that I Am?” This is your Testimony of Him.

Confessing your opinions or views of Him is more important than Confessing your sins against Him or someone else.

[Romans 10:9-10 BSB] — "that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved."

In the Bible verse in red, these were Daniel's confessions of Him — Daniel confessed Him, Lord my God, the Great and Awesome (Dreadful or Fearful) God.

■3■ Confessing to Him His Righteousness and Goodness as in acknowledging His Ways. This usually sets the standard for confessing of one's sins. Don't just confess your sins without comparing the sins to His Righteousness or Goodness. Hence, the need to confess His righteousness, faithfulness, goodness, or mercies, either before, during or after confessing your sins. In this way, you are not just confessing darkness in you, but also confessing the Light inside Him, allowing His Light prevail.

In the Bible verse in red, Daniel confessed or proclaimed His goodness, mercy, faithfulness and righteousness thus: “keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments;"

Moses asked Him to show His glory to Moses, but He showed His Goodness and His Name as His Glory or Light to Moses.

[‭Exodus 33:18-19 NKJV‬] — And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

While bringing down His glory is very important, proclaiming His goodness and His Name in it is much more important. The whole earth is full of His glory, but most of the earth is ignorant of His Goodness and His Name due to the sins and darkness thereon. The Lord Himself confessed or proclaimed His own goodness (for no man is good except Him) and proclaimed Name on earth, saying to Moses that confessed sin to Him:

[‭Exodus 34:5-9 NKJV‬] — Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

So, I teach that sinners confessing His Name is more important than sinners confessing their sins in prayer, provided they repent from their sins after confessing His Name according to Solomon here:

[1 Kings 8:35-36 BSB] — "When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance."

■4■ Confessing your sins or the sins of your people (as in sins of anyone your prayer is covering). If your prayer is covering only you, confess your sins; if it's prayer covering your family, church, nation, friends, group, etc, confess the sins of those your prayer is meant to cover or include.

[James 5:15-16 BSB] — "And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."

[1 John 1:9-10 BSB] — "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.”

[Ezekiel 14:3 NKJV] — “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

[Ezekiel 14:3 NIV] — “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of Me at all?

[Ezekiel 14:3 NET] — "“Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek me?"

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

In this Bible verse in red, those elders who came to inquire of the Lord from the prophet were exposed to the prophet by the Word of the Lord: In the exposure were these 3 unveiled:

■1■ They came to a temple, alter or oracle of the Lord with their idols: — the idols with them were not in their hands, bag, ornament or in the house; instead the idols with them were inside their hearts. Therefore, their hearts were shrines to foreign gods, idols or demons, and yet they came to the oracle of the Holy and Jealous God.

[2 Corinthians 6:16 MKJV] — "And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

■2■ They also came with their stumbling blocks or addictions that will lead them back to their sins or iniquities, indicating they still loved their sins or intended to return back to their evils after coming to the Lord.

[Psalms 66:18 AKJV] — "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
[Psalms 66:18 NLV] — "The Lord will not hear me if I hold on to sin in my heart."

[Proverbs 26:25-26] — When he speaks fair, do not believe him: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his iniquity shall be exposed to all the Church.

■3■ Though they have idols set up in their hearts and affinity for their iniquity on their faces or minds, yet they came to inquire of the Lord instead of coming to be delivered by the Lord. They were not come for deliverance but came to spy or came as spies, seeing their hearts and loyalty were to something else, but they came seeking information from the Lord God whom they had no place for in their hearts or mind.

Should the Lord God be enquired of them? Should one foolishly give information to those spies pretending to be true seekers?

[Jonah 2:8 AKJV] — "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”

Understand that coming to the Lord is basically coming through the most powerful and efficient scanners and cameras, far beyond those known in the world of men. These do not just scan for weapons, hidden drugs or foreign objects, hidden within or around you: but much more these scan your unclothedness, for all things including spirits, thoughts, intents, motives, and innermost affiliations.

If you are searching a man or woman, and he or she goes totally naked and bare before you, would you still continue searching? Do men search someone or something that is completely unclothedness or fully exposed or open for hidden things? Men may not continue to search naked person but the Word of God does surely continues searching even the naked persons or things, searching every joints, every marrow of bones far beyond X-rays, every cord or bond between soul and spirit, every thought and intent of the heart. As it is written,

[Hebrews 4:12-13 LHB] — "For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not clearly visible in His sight: but all things are naked and opened to the Eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

Therefore, all the churches shall know this about the Lord Jesus:

[Revelation 2:23 MKJV] — "And I will kill her children with death. And all the churches will know that I am He who searches the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works."

The Lord does not need to remove your veils to see you or expose you, but the Lord needs to remove your veils for you to see Him. Therefore, beware of hiding things within you when you seek hidden things within the Lord.

[Ezekiel 14:2 AMP] — "And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,”

[Ezekiel 14:2 NIV] — "Then the word of the Lord came to me:"

[Ezekiel 14:2 NCV] — "Then the Lord spoke His word to me,"

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Before Ezekiel would even inquire or invoke the Lord on their behalf, the Word of the LORD already came to him to answer them. This preemptivity is not always favorable but could mean the anger of God.

In this Bible verse in red, the Lord spoke His word to Ezekiel the prophet or the word came to Ezekiel the prophet, with the Lord saying things by His Word. Unlike the coming of the elders of Israel to Ezekiel in the preceding verse, the coming of the word of the Lord here is not a coming to sit but a coming to speak. The Word of the Lord is not a seat warmer that comes to sit before the prophet or minister, rather the when the Word of God comes He speaks or comes with saying things and keeping all that the Lord said or spoke in His Word. No one keeps the spoken or expressed Word of God better than the Word or the Lord Himself. He obeys His own Word, and He speaks His own Word.

The elders that sat came and sat down with Job said or spoke nothing to him or before him during the first seven days and seven nights of their visit to Job in the captivity. And when they finally began to speak, one who thought their seven days and nights silence would have accumulated wisdom and power in their words was disappointed that their silence and meditation for seven days and seven nights did not improve the wisdom or power in the next words from them after the silence fasting, but instead manipulated their words into speaking wickedness and condemnation against Job thinking they were speaking God's truth to Job. They should have remained silent all through, because their being mute did not result in glorious and wiser speech proceeding from them when their mouths opened, unlike it happened when Zachariah the father of John the Baptist regained his speech after being mute for long time and spoke glorious things by the Spirit of God for the time in a long time.

But behold the Word of the LORD does not need to be silence or mute for there to be Wisdom, Righteousness, Grace and Power, in His speeches. Whether He keeps silence or whether He continually speaks or incessantly utters things, grace, truth, wisdom, power and righteousness, are always expressed in the volumes of His speeches. There's no single word, sentence or title of the Word of the LORD that is not a great treasure of Wisdom, Grace and Truth.

Now, in the Bible verse in red, the word of Christ came to Ezekiel, while he and the elders of Israel that came to him were sitted. This is not the same as the Lord spoke to them or they heard Him speaking to the prophet. You may recall that in the case of the elders with Job, they heard Him speaking to Job and later He spoke to the three elders in rebuking them for not speaking the right things as Job the man of God did. So, those elders with Job were prophets or seers themselves because they also could hear directly from God, but these elders with Ezekiel were no where close to hearing from God directly, and even their seeking or inquiring from God was provoking God's anger against them the more because they have set up idols in their heart.

Thus, the Word of the LORD for them came to where they were, but did not come to them but the messenger or interpreter that was a medium or oracle to convey the message to them.

[Ezekiel 14:1 ESV] — "Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me."

[Ezekiel 14:1 NIV] — "Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me."

[Ezekiel 14:1 LEB] — “And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat before me.”

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

In this Bible verse in red, certain elders of Israel made “Courtesy” or “Consultation” (whichever one) visit to Ezekiel the prophet, and they sat before him or with him. This will learn to look into more critically. Since it also happened during the captivity of Israel, I will relate it to a similar elders’ visit and sitting during another captivity, captivity of Job.

These were elders of Israel, by age and by title, no doubt. They were “Elder State Men” of the State of Israel. So, they were not just religious elders (representing the church or temple), but State elders, hence they were “Elders of Israel” even though Israel was still in captivity or exile under Babylonian kingdom then.

These elders of Israel came to the prophet or man of God, both in courtesy and in consultation. However, what the acts and the hearts of those elders of Israel do not align. While nothing about the heart of these elders was mentioned particularly in this verse, the word of the Lord coming hereafter would expose their hearts.

[Matthew 15:7-8 BSB] — "You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”

So, because these elders came to the prophet or man of God, and sat before him, but their heart do not align with their coming here, we may call them “Seat Warmers” or “Bench Warmers.” This term refers to those who come and sit in place where the messages of God are administered, but not with their heart and neither do they keep them.

But like these elders of Israel, there were elders and friends of Job who came to Job the man of God, and sat with him or before him in his captivity, but later the word of God exposed their unaligned hearts. These were elders who sat seven days with or before Job, tarrying with him in the captivity. They went beyond bench or seat Warmers, sitting on the ground with him for seven days without uttering a word.

[Job 2:11-13 BSB] — "Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him. When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.”

May the elders who come to me, sit before me, surround me, be as faithful, holy and true, as the twenty-four elders before the throne of God in heaven.

[Job 32:7-9 NLV] — "I thought the older men should speak, and that the many years should teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in a man and the breath of the All-powerful that gives him understanding. The old may not be wise. They may not understand what is right and fair.”

↝ DANIEL'S PROCESS IN TURNING YOUR FACE TO THE LORD ↜

[Daniel 9:3 BBE] — "And turning my face to the Lord God, I gave myself up to prayer, requesting his grace, going without food, in haircloth and dust."
⇵
[Daniel 9:3 AKJV] — "And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:"
⇵
[Daniel 9:3 LG] — "And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek Him diligently by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

The first year of Darius as king of kings brought opening of the understanding of books unveiling the 70 years period sentence to desolation made against Jerusalem, or its current completed term. That understanding in turn Daniel from seeking further research or books, to rather seeking the Lord God on this matter. There are places and times to seek books, Libraries or Google searches: but know when to suspend such researches and focus on seeking the Lord God Himself the source of all.

So, Daniel after understood by books on the state of Jerusalem began to seek much more higher and better understanding by seeking or facing the Lord God Himself. And no matter how much reading you do, whether in books or in Bible scriptures, whenever you turn to face the Lord God like Daniel here, a veil which those readings or books didn't remove will surely be removed from you because you are now facing or turned to focus on the Lord Himself. As it is written,

[2 Corinthians 3:14-16 BSB] — "But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

No matter the understanding by books or by reading you acquired, remember there is still veil blinding the true realities of what you think you already understood. So, turning to the Lord for the unveiling is always needed. And when you do so, the Lord will send either His Spirit, His Heavenly Saint or His Angel, to come and help remove whatever veil you still have by their interaction with you or encounters with you, even as angel Gabriel later did to Daniel in giving him understanding of the 70 weeks instead of the understanding of the 70 years reading those books gave him.

Now, looking into the Bible verse in red,

In the process of turning to and facing the Lord in seeking His Face, (and not just seeking His Hand), Daniel was doing some things to his own body in keeping his spirit, soul and focus, on the LORD. These are the four or five things Daniel was doing to his own body:

●1● Daniel made his own body be seeking or talking (praying) to He that is Invisible and Spirit — The Lord. The flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other, and so it's not pleasant for the flesh to seek or keep communication with the Holy Spirit and seeking the Invisible One that is not in the same material domain with carnal physical things. (Galatians 5:16-17). Especially when it involves diligence, hardwork or fervency.

●2● Daniel made his own body go in fasting, depriving his body of available food and fun, in his process and focus of seeking the Lord. His own body living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

●3● Daniel made his own body go in sackcloth, depriving his body of available clothing and fashion, in his process and focus of seeking the Lord. His body was in sack like commodities in sack, humbling his own body.

So far, this is what I describe as “Inside Outside Body Deprivation” — The Inside of his body deprived of necessary food for fasting, and the Outside of his body deprived of necessary clothing for sackclothing. If Daniel had done these things outside like on a mountain or outdoor, I would have said Daniel deprived himself of all the basic or primary needs of a man — Food, Clothing and Shelter — in his quest for the Lord.

●4● Daniel made his own head go without anointing (oil) or crown, by pouring ashes or dust upon his head instead of anointing his head with oil, in his seeking the Lord.

Thus, not just from inside out, but also from top to bottom.

↝PART 2 — IN THE FIRST YEAR OF DARIUS TIME ↜

[Daniel 9:2 CSB] — "In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah that the number of years for the desolation of Jerusalem would be seventy.”
⇵
[Daniel 9:2 NKJV] — "In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
⇵
[Daniel 9:2 NIV] — "In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️
■1■
It’s also in this first year of Darius certain understanding came to Daniel: Both understanding by books and understanding by tutoring of angel Gabriel regarding calendar of events planned or programmed by God.

So, it's also a year of understanding and visions through Daniel to all generations of Bible students thereafter.

That year, called “The First Year of Darius’ Reign over kingdom of Babylonians” happened to also be the climax or end year of the seventy years of Jerusalem’s desolation as prophesied. Thus, it was a significant year, not just for Darius’ emergence into the kingdom, but also for the significance of its completing the 70 years before the returning and restoration of Jerusalem.

■2■
In the Bible verse in red, Daniel understood by books (plural), what was prophesied or revealed by or in the book (singular) of Jeremiah or scriptures. Meaning, though Daniel was in exile, and may not have had direct access of the sacred cannon of the book of Jeremiah, there were “Christian Books” written by those who had or knew the scriptures and prophecies regarding the desolation and restoration of Jerusalem. [The Levites were the custodians of the scriptures and many of such books then, than the descendants of David: and Daniel was a descendant of David].

Thus this is right and wise — Daniel was a prophet himself and had both Knowledge and Understanding in visions, dreams, prophecies, linguistics or foreign languages, cultures, arts and sciences. Yet, Daniel had understanding by books. Books or texts written are sources of understanding or perception to him.

And – Just as Daniel sought wisdom from books that teach Scriptures, believers are encouraged to study other Bible teaching and revealing Books or texts for understanding God's plans, purpose and will for His People in the Lord or Jerusalem. Therefore, as New Testament saints, we must give attendance to reading or to books. As it is written or instructed,

[1 Timothy 4:13-15 AKJV] — "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate on these things; give yourself wholly to them; that your profiting may appear to all."

Again, it is instructed:

[2 Timothy 2:15 AKJV] — "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

■3■
Now back to the next key thing in the Bible verse in red: The seventy years of Jerusalem’s desolation was a prophecy given by Jeremiah before the Babylonian exile. The prophecy is found in:

[Jeremiah 25:11-12] — This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their iniquity.

[Jeremiah 29:10-14 AKJV] — "For thus said the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall you call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, said the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, said the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive."

■4■
The Understanding of the times, and being spiritually current:
As the time drew nearer, the related understanding began to come upon Daniel the seeker, reader or student. Certain understanding and knowledge may not come until the times for whatever they expose is at hand. We are in the age of knowing or understanding faster and better the things written, expressed or revealed, because their times and seasons are at hand.

That first year of Darius as king was also a time when such prayers for Jerusalem, made by Daniel, was most likely to be answered or heard by God. If you read the Bible reference I cited from “Jeremiah 29” here above, you may notice where He said that at the end of the 70-years God will listen when they call or pray to Him etc. Later down this chapter, you may see that as soon as Daniel began to pray for Jerusalem God heard him and sent Gabriel the Angel to swiftly attend to Daniel before Daniel even finished the prayer. Meanwhile, a whole book of Lamentation written by Jeremiah the weeping prophet was there, and God did not seem to attend to Jeremiah's prayers and Lamentations for Jerusalem, because the time was not yet at hand for that chapter, expressed by chapter 9 of the book of Daniel, to be ushered, in which God grants swift regard or response to seekers or prayers of men for Jerusalem as it is.

[Psalms 102:13 AKJV] - You shall arise, and have mercy on Zion: for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, is come.

↝ IN THE FIRST YEAR OF DARIUS TIME ↜

[Daniel 9:1 CEB] — "In the first year of Darius’ rule — Darius, who was Ahasuerus’ son, a Median by birth, and who ruled the Babylonian kingdom—"
⇵
[Daniel 9:1 AKJV] — "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;”
⇵
[Daniel 9:1 NIV] — "In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—”

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Putting aside the controversy of the historical correctness of this Bible verse in red, let me look at the structure of the era and kingdom expressed in the Bible verse. The primary role this verse serves in this opening is of Chapter 9 of Daniel's scriptures is the role of providing a Date in relation with the Calendars in the entire chapter. Yes, the entire chapter, Daniel 9, is basically about Calenders for the program of God in regards with the redemption and restoration of the Holy Mountain (Jerusalem) and Her people.

It was “In the first year of Darius” these events and revelations began to unfold and were unveiled.

●1● The first event that marked that year was Darius being made ruler or king over the kingdom of Babylonians, whereas he was a son of Ahasuerus and was a Median. This was a kingdom testimony, since the Hand of God was in it. You will know this because Darius was made king over the kingdom that belongs to other people called Chaldeans or Babylonians, and not just made king over a kingdom that belongs to his own father's people, the Medians. The way Joseph the Hebrew, son of Isreal, was made Lord over the kingdom of the Egyptians, who's kingdom then ruled the entire world; much more was Darius the Medes and son of Ahasuerus made king over the kingdom of Babylonians, who's kingdom then ruled the entire world.

●2● While it was still the Kingdom of the Babylonians, it was the time or reign of Darius the Median. It was the first year of Darius the Medes as king ruling over the Kingdom that was still the Chaldeans or Babylonians kingdom. The “Mene” meant the days of that kingdom is numbered and ended, but “Peres” meant the Kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians — Yet, it was the kingdom of Babylonians, the head.

●3● "Made king over the realm of the Chaldeans": Indicates that Darius was appointed rather than inheriting the throne by direct descent or conquest. He was son of Ahasuerus, but when Ahasuerus was not king of kings over kingdom of Babylonians, Darius became so over the kingdom of BabylonIan's.

●4● It’s also in this first year of Darius that certain understanding came to Daniel: The understanding by books and the understanding by tutoring of angel Gabriel regarding calendar of events planned or programmed by God. So, it's also a year of vision and understanding through Daniel to all generations of Bible students thereafter.

↝ JESUS IS GOD, THE SAVIOR AND THE LORD ↜

[Ezekiel 13:23 NCV] — "So you will not see false visions or prophesy anymore, and I will save My people from your power so you will know that I am the LORD."

[Ezekiel 13:23 NLV] — "So you women will no longer see false dreams or use your secret ways to learn the future. I will save My people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.""

[Ezekiel 13:23 CEV] — "I will no longer let you give false messages and use magic, and I will free my people from your power. Then they will know that I, the LORD, have done these things."

♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Jesus is the LORD. This is true and real to us now, and yet this will be proven over and over again that — Jesus is the Lord. It also means “Jesus is God Most High.” The Godhead — The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit — are not three Gods, but one God. One of the Ten Commandments states, you shall have no other God beside Me (the Lord your God). Even so, we don't have other God beside Him, but have Gods inside Him.

*♡— Beside Him, no other God:

*♡— Inside Him, there are 3 distinct Persons that are Gods in God.

Like some of you already know, the word, “Elohim” means “Gods” (plural Gods) or “Gods inside God.” Jesus Christ is from God and inside God, even as the Spirit of God is from God and inside God.

Jesus is the LORD. Jesus is Yahweh. Jesus is Jehovah.

In the Bible verse in red, three things were stated or declared by Him:

•1• You will no longer see false vision or speak lying sermon: There's an end to lying, an elimination to all falsehood, deception and their manipulations or influence on the People of God. The Lord will prove “Jesus is the LORD” by ending the lies and eliminating the falsehood, deception and their manipulations or influence on His People.

•2• I will save, deliver or free My people from your hands and from your powers: This is where He proves He is “Jesus” or God as Savior. The name Jesus means God or He will save or deliver His People. As it is written,

[Isaiah 43:11 AKJV] — "I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no savior."

•3• Then you will know I Am the LORD: The moment you know Him as the only true Savior who can deliver or save out of such hands or powers, then your eyes will be opened to know He is the LORD. For only the LORD or God can work such a deliverance or salvation. No other God or man is able to save or deliver anyone like the LORD God does.

(NLV) Daniel 3:29:
"So I now make a law that if any people of any nation or language say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, they will be torn apart and their houses will be laid waste. For there is no other god who is able to save in this way."”

Now receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord — to be saved

↝ WHOM THE GOSPEL SADDENS OR BLESSES ↜

[Ezekiel 13:22 NCV] — "By your lies you have caused those who did right to be sad and discouraged, when I did not want them sad. You have encouraged the wicked not to stop being wicked, which would have saved their lives."

[Ezekiel 13:22 BBE] — "Because with your false words you have given pain to the heart of the upright man when I had not made him sad; in order to make strong the hands of the evil-doer so that he may not be turned from his evil way and get life:"

[Ezekiel 13:22 NIRV] — "You have made the hearts of those who do right sad and discouraged. I did not want that. You have encouraged those who do evil not to turn from their sinful ways and save their lives."
♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

While "You shall not bear false witness (tell lies) against your neighbor" is one of the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets, there are other evils that the LORD hates and forbids, even though they are not explicitly mentioned among the Ten. One such evil, which makes a person an abomination before the Righteous Judge, is condemning the innocent and justifying the guilty. We must be careful.

[Proverbs 17:15 NET] — "The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent — both of them are an abomination to the LORD."

Also Lying tongue is abomination to the LORD.

[Proverbs 12:22 LG] — "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but he that deals faithfully is accepted by Him.”

In this Bible verse in red, the indicted pastors, prophets, ministers or religious leaders, were held guilty or convicted of the terrible sin of discouraging the righteous and encouraging the sinners by their lies and whitewash. By their perverted gospel in lies and deception, they make the righteous, upright or faithful people to feel sad and terrible about themselves, but motivate the sinners and unholy people to feel good and proud of themselves.

How?

The Lord Jesus Christ was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, declaring them blessed. However, many pastors and religious leaders today do the opposite—taking the gospel away from the poor and directing it toward the rich, whom the Lord condemned. This distortion is the foundation of their so-called "Prosperity Gospel."

The words of the Lord Jesus Christ make this clear:

**[Luke 6:20-21 LG]** — *"Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples and said: 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.'”*

The word *"Blessed"* here also means *"Happy."* In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ brought joy to the righteous, even in their poverty—He preached the gospel (good news or happiness) to them.

Conversely, He made the rich sorrowful, not because of their wealth itself, but because they had riches without righteousness.

**[Luke 6:24-26 LG]** — *"But woe to you who are rich, because you have received your consolation. Woe to you who have been filled, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when men speak well of you, for in like manner their fathers would do to the false prophets."*

Yet, deceitful pastors, prophets, and religious leaders turn this truth upside down. They favor the wealthy—especially those who give large donations, extravagant offerings, and gifts—while disregarding the poor, even when they are faithful and righteous. Under their false gospel and lying influence, the poor in spirit are mocked and discouraged, while the rich are praised and celebrated, regardless of their righteousness.

This is in stark contrast to the judgment of the Lord, the Righteous Judge, who valued the widow’s two coins as far more significant than the large, showy gifts of the wealthy.

**[Proverbs 28:5-6 NET]** — *"Evil people do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it all. A poor person who walks in his integrity is better than one who is perverse in his ways even though he is rich."*

If a gospel makes the righteous sorrowful while making sinners comfortable in their sin, it is not the true gospel—it is a lie. The true gospel brings good news of repentance and grace to sinners, calling them to transformation. It does not affirm them as they are in their sin. True love does not take pleasure in iniquity but delights in the truth.

The true gospel is a *comfort* to the righteous but a *call* to sinners. It does not burden the righteous with grief unless there is a need for correction, nor does it provide false consolation to the wicked. Instead, it extends grace for repentance, conversion, and restoration.