EZEKIEL, CHAPTERS 36 TO 48.
THERE are various explanations given of the last part of the book of Ezekiel. There are those who contend that it has been fulfilled; others that it is yet to be fulfilled, and by various expositors its fulfilment is placed before Christ's coming, during the millennium, and after the millennium. In its fulfilment, whether in the past or future, is the hand of God. He directly and explicitly promises great blessings which he himself will bestow in the salvation of Israel, his people, and in the glory with which he will invest the land, the city and the sanctuary. Chapter 36 is a prophecy concerning the mountains, the land, and the people of Israel. Chapter 37 promises a resurrection and a uniting of the scattered hosts and kingdoms. Chapters 38 and 39 are prophecies of judgments against the wicked nations which, controlled by Satan, seek to destroy God's people. Chapters 40 to 48 relate to the new sanctuary, its offerings, its glory, the division of the land, etc. That this has not been fulfilled is evident. No such city or sanctuary is standing to-day. That it will not be fulfilled is also evident; for the sacrifices of the thousands of sheep and oxen can never be renewed without making the offering of Christ "once for all" of none effect. It would be building again the things destroyed. It would be returning from the sunlight to the shadow. The offerings of the past were for the time then present, shadowing forth the only offering effectual, that of Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews, chapters 8 to 10.) What, then, is the true explanation of these prophecies? The key to it, we believe, is furnished in the book of Jeremiah, who was contemporary with Ezekiel. The same Spirit spoke through both, and the one rule of the one Spirit applies to both books equally. This key is found in the following (Jer. 18:7-10):— "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." "And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherein I said I would benefit them." In the same chapter the Lord illustrates the principle by the work of the potter, and declares that because of the wickedness of his people he will scatter them. See the same principle set forth through Ezekiel in chapters 18 and 33. It is a general principle of God's working among the children of men; and if not always stated, it is always implied. Bearing the above principle in mind, it is not difficult to understand the prophecies in question. God desired to take Israel from her low estate, from her captivity in Babylon, where she had been carried on account of her sins, and restore her, not only to the glory she once possessed, but to a greater than she ever knew. All he desired was that Israel should let him do this for them. He prophesied for Israel even as he had prophesied against other nations. (Compare Eze. 27:2; 29:2; 35:2, with 36:1.) God would cause his people to triumph. He would cleanse them from sin. He would give them new hearts. More than this, he would bless the land; and the true Israelites who slept in the dust he would release from the prison-house of Satan, and David and his Seed would rule over them. He would bring back the scattered ones from the various nations. The strong foes from the north, howsoever numerous, he would utterly defeat, and he relates even many of the details of the overthrow of the vast host which would come against a people trusting in God. The temple burned by Babylon would rise from its ashes in greater glory and splendor than had ever been witnessed. The glorious shechinah of God would be ever visible. From the Glorious Presence would flow out the life-giving waters, carrying healing and blessing to the land poisoned and made barren by sin. And last of all, that glorious land would be divided between the tribes, and the Lord would dwell among them. Sacrifices and offerings would still be made, for not yet had the Redeemer given himself. All this God promised with wonderful detail if Israel would "put away their whoredoms, and the carcasses of their kings." (Eze. 43:9.) All this goodness of God in all its minutiae was to be shown them "that they may be ashamed of their iniquities;" "and if they be ashamed," then the work was to go on. (Verses 10, 11.) This was to be God's restoration from the Babylonian captivity. Was it fulfilled?—Only in a small degree. Israel was not ashamed, only in part. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah reveal the sad half-heartedness which characterized that reformation. A temple was built, but it did not fill up God's promises through Ezekiel. Many Jews returned, but many did not care to return. The altar to the twelve tribes was erected, but few of all were present. The worthy dead were not raised, God having some better thing for them. Israel would not let God do for them what he desired to do. But "shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid." (Rom. 3:3.) God will gather his people one by one from all nations through the One Shepherd. He will cleanse them, not through the offerings of the blood of bulls and goats, but by the virtue of that One Offering typified by all others. He will cleanse the land, yea, all the earth, and he will fulfil all that he promised by Ezekiel, and even more, so that there will be no heathen to mock in that glad day, no country to conquer, no foes to molest; no dead to remind of sin. All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, Christ will be King forevermore, and his "people shall be all righteous." To this holy, happy state, as given by the later prophet (Revelation, chapters 21, 22), the Lord invites all. "Come," "whosoever will."