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Post by Admin on Jun 26, 2012 21:50:41 GMT -5
<< BACK: JeremiahJuly 2
1. What did Ezekiel’s vision regarding apostate Judah foreshadow, teaching us what important lesson? (Ezek. 8:15-17)
[w07 7/1 p. 13 par. 6; w93 1/15 pp. 27-28 pars. 7, 12][/u] in vision. For instance, he said: “Look! to the north of the gate of the altar there was this symbol of jealousy in the entranceway. And [Jehovah God] went on to say to me: ‘Son of man, are you seeing what great detestable things they are doing, the things that the house of Israel are doing here for me to become far off from my sanctuary?’”—Ezekiel 8:1-6. 12 In the temple’s inner courtyard, Ezekiel next saw 25 apostate Israelite men worshiping the sun—a violation of Jehovah’s command against such idolatry. (Deuteronomy 4:15-19) Those idolaters also held out to God’s nose an obscene twig, perhaps representing the human male organ. No wonder God would not answer their prayers, even as Christendom will seek his help during the “great tribulation,” but in vain. (Matthew 24:21) As those apostate Israelites worshiped the light-giving sun with their backs to Jehovah’s temple, so Christendom turns her back on light from God, teaches false doctrines, idolizes worldly wisdom, and winks at immorality.—Ezekiel 8:15-18 8:5-18. Apostasy is spiritually deadly. “By his mouth the one who is an apostate brings his fellowman to ruin.” (Proverbs 11:9) We are wise to turn away from even the thought of giving a listening ear to apostates.[/ul] July 9
2. In what way do most religious leaders imitate the false prophets of Ezekiel’s day? (Ezek.13:3, 7) [w99 10/1 p. 13 pars. 14-15][/u]”—Ezekiel 13:1-16; Jeremiah 6:14, 15; 8:8-12. 15 Like the “ stupid prophets” of that time, most religious leaders today also fail to warn people of God’s coming day of judgment. Instead, they paint an optimistic picture that political groups will ultimately achieve peace and security. More anxious to please humans than God, they tell their parishioners what they want to hear instead of explaining that God’s Kingdom is established and that the Messianic King is soon to complete his conquest. (Daniel 2:44; 2 Timothy 4:3, 4; Revelation 6:2) As false prophets, they too speak of “peace, when there is no peace.” But their conviction will soon turn into sudden horror when they must face the fury of the One they have misrepresented and upon whose name they have brought untold reproach. The leaders of the world empire of false religion, described in the Bible as an immoral woman, will choke on their own misleading cries of peace.—Revelation 18:7, 8.[/ul] July 16
3. In the prophecy recorded at Ezekiel 17:22-24, who is the “tender one,” what is the “high and lofty mountain” to which he is transplanted, and in what way will he become “a majestic cedar”?
[w07 7/1 pp. 12-13 par. 6][/u]This One is transplanted upon “a high and lofty mountain,” upon heavenly Mount Zion, where he will become “ a majestic cedar,” a source of real blessings for the earth.—Revelation 14:1. [/ul]
July 23
4. According to the proverbial saying referred to at Ezekiel 18:2, whom were Ezekiel’s fellow exiles blaming for their suffering, and what valuable lesson can we learn from this account?
[w88 9/15 p. 18 par. 10][/u]. But the prophet pointed out that each person is responsible for the consequences of his own conduct. (Ezekiel 18:1-29; compare Jeremiah 31:28-30.) Next came an appeal. (Read Ezekiel 18:30-32.) Yes, Jehovah is merciful to the repentant and takes no delight in anyone’s death. Therefore, God says: ‘Turn back and keep living, O you people.’—Compare 2 Peter 3:9"[/ul] July 30
5. How does the incident recorded at Ezekiel 21:18-22 show that neither humans nor demons can alter Jehovah’s purpose?
[w07 7/1 p. 14 par. 4][/u]. This shows that even demons cannot turn aside Jehovah’s executional agents from accomplishing his purpose. [/ul]
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Post by Admin on Jul 29, 2012 16:07:39 GMT -5
Aug. 6
6. As recorded at Ezekiel 24:6, 11, 12, what does the rust of the cooking pot represent, and what principle is set forth in verse 14?
[w07 7/1 p. 14 par. 2][/u]—the uncleanness, loose conduct, and bloodshed for which she is responsible. So great is her uncleanness that even standing the pot empty upon its coals and making it very hot fails to remove the rust. [/ul] Aug. 6
7. How was the prophecy against the city of Tyre fulfilled? [it-1 p. 70, box; si p. 133 par. 4][/b] Further proof of authenticity is to be found in the dramatic fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecies against neighboring nations, such as Tyre, Egypt, and Edom. For example, Ezekiel prophesied that Tyre would be devastated, and this was partly fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar took the city after a siege of 13 years. (Ezek. 26:2-21) This conflict did not mean the complete end for Tyre. [/ul] [/quote] si p. 133 par. 4(cont.) :However, Jehovah’s judgment was that it should be totally destroyed. He had foretold through Ezekiel:“ I will scrape her dust away from her and make her a shining, bare surface of a crag Your stones and your woodwork and your dust they will place in the very midst of the water.” (26:12) This was all fulfilled more than 250 years later when Alexander the Great moved against the island city of Tyre. Alexander’s soldiers scraped up all the debris of the ruined mainland city and threw it into the sea, making a half-mile [800 m] causeway out to the island city. Then, with an intricate siegework, they scaled the 150-foot-high [46 m] walls to take the city in 332 B.C.E. Thousands were killed, and many more were sold into slavery. As Ezekiel had also predicted, Tyre became the ‘bare surface of a crag and a drying yard for dragnets.’ (26:14)
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Post by Admin on Aug 8, 2012 10:33:40 GMT -5
Aug. 13
8. What expressions recorded at Ezekiel 28:2, 12-17 fit both the king of Tyre and the original traitor, Satan?
[w05 10/15 pp. 23-24 pars. 10-14; it-2 p. 604 pars. 4-5][/b]: Satan, who did not stand fast in the truth(Ezekiel 28:12; John 8:44) Satan was once a loyal spirit creature in Jehovah's organization of heavenly sons. Jehovah God gave indication through Ezekiel of the basic cause of the defection of both the Tyrian dynasty and Satan: [/i] until unrighteousness was found in you. Because of the abundance of your sales goods they filled the midst of you with violence, and you began to sin. And I shall destroy you, O cherub that is covering Your heart became haughty because of your beauty. You brought your wisdom to ruin on account of your beaming splendor. (Ezekiel 28:13-17) [/i] [/ul] Yes, haughtiness moved Tyre's kings to violence against Jehovah's people. Tyre became exceedingly wealthy as a commercial center and famous for its beautiful products. (Isaiah 23:8, 9) Tyre's kings came to think too much of themselves, and they began to oppress God's people. 12 Similarly, the spirit creature who became Satan once had the wisdom needed to fulfill any assignment God gave him. Instead of being thankful, he became puffed up with pride and began to despise God's way of ruling. (1 Timothy 3:6) He thought so much of himself that he began to crave the worship of Adam and Eve. This wicked desire became fertile and gave birth to sin. (James 1:14, 15) Satan seduced Eve into eating the fruit of the only tree that God had ruled out. Then, Satan used her to get Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 3:1-6) Thus the first human pair rejected God's right to rule over them and, in effect, became worshippers of Satan. His haughtiness knows no bounds. He has tried to seduce all intelligent creatures in heaven and on earth, including Jesus Christ, into worshipping him in rejection of Jehovah’s sovereignty.”Matthew 4:8-10; Revelation 12:3, 4, 9. 13 You can thus see that haughtiness originates with Satan; it is the basic cause of sin, suffering, and corruption in the world today. As “god of this system of things,†Satan continues to promote improper feelings of pride and haughtiness. (2 Corinthians 4:4) He knows that his time is short, so he wages war against true Christians. His goal is to turn them away from God, to become lovers of themselves, self-assuming, and haughty. The Bible foretold that such selfish traits would be common in these “last days. Timothy 3:1, 2, footnote; Revelation 12:12,17. 14 For his part, Jesus Christ boldly exposed the rotten fruitage caused by Satan's haughtiness. On at least three occasions and in the presence of self-righteous enemies, Jesus laid down the rule by which Jehovah deals with mankind: Everyone that exalts himself will be humiliated, but he that humbles himself will be exalted.â€â€”Luke 14:11; 18:14; Matthew 23:12. *** it-2 p. 604 pars. 4-5: The first sinner and the king of Tyre. Human sin and imperfection were, of course, preceded by sin and imperfection in the spirit realm, as Jesus words at John 8:44 and the account in chapter 3 of Genesis reveal. The dirge recorded at Ezekiel 28:12-19, though directed to the human “king of Tyre,†evidently parallels the course taken by the spirit son of God who first sinned. The pride of “the king of Tyre, his making himself a god, his being called a cherub, and the reference to Eden, the garden of God, certainly correspond to Biblical information concerning Satan the Devil, who became puffed up with pride, is linked to the serpent in Eden, and is called the god of this system of things. 1Ti 3:6; Ge 3:1-5, 14, 15; Re 12:9; 2Co 4:4.
The anonymous king of Tyre, residing in the city claiming to be “perfect in prettiness,†was himself “full of wisdom and perfect [adjective related to Heb. ka·lal′] in beauty,†and “faultless [Heb., ta·mim′]†in his ways from his creation onward until unrighteousness was found in him. (Eze 27:3; 28:12, 15) The first or direct application of the dirge in Ezekiel may be to the line of Tyrian rulers rather than to any one specific king. (Compare the prophecy directed against the anonymous “king of Babylon†at Isa 14:4-20.) In that case, the reference may be to the early course of friendship and cooperation followed by the Tyrian rulership during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon, when Tyre even contributed toward the building of Jehovah's temple on Mount Moriah. At first, therefore, there was no fault to be found in the official Tyrian attitude toward Jehovah's people Israel. (1Ki 5:1-18; 9:10, 11, 14; 2Ch 2:3-16) Later kings, however, departed from this faultless course, and Tyre came in for condemnation by God's prophets Joel and Amos, as well as Ezekiel. (Joe 3:4-8; Am 1:9,10) Aside from the evident similarity of the course of the king of Tyre with that of God's principal Adversary, the prophecy illustrates again how perfection and faultlessness†can be used in limited senses.[/ul] Aug. 13
9. When was Egypt desolated for 40 years, and what basis do we have for believing that such a desolation took place? (Ezek. 29:8-12)
[w07 8/1 p. 8 par. 5]- 29:8-12”When was Egypt desolated for 40 years? After the destruction of Jerusalem in 607Â B.C.E., the remnant of Judah fled to Egypt despite the prophet Jeremiah's warning. (Jeremiah 24:1, 8-10; 42:7-22) That did not prove to be an escape for them because Nebuchadnezzar came up against Egypt and conquered it. The 40-year desolation of Egypt may have followed that conquest. While secular history provides no evidence of this desolation, we can be confident that it took place because Jehovah is the Fulfiller of prophecy. Isaiah 55:11.
Aug. 20
10. How did Ezekiel deal with indifference, ridicule, and lack of response, and what assurance did Jehovah give him?
(Ezek. 33:31-33)
[w91 3/15 p. 17 pars. 16-17]
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Post by Admin on Aug 31, 2012 7:10:19 GMT -5
Sept. 102. What is represented by the alter that Ezekiel saw in vision? (Ezekiel 28:12; John 8:44) [w07 8/1 p. 10 par. 4][/u]. Because of this provision, the anointed are declared righteous and the “great crowd” is clean and pure in God’s eyes. (Revelation 7:9-14; Romans 5:1, 2) [/ul] Sept. 171. What is pictured by the water of Ezekiels visionary river ? (Ezekiel 47:1 - 5) [w07 8/1 p. 11 par. 1][/u] (Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:7-26; Ephesians 5:25-27) The river progressively deepens to accommodate the influx of new ones who take up true worship. (Isaiah 60:22) The river will be flowing with the most potent water of life during the Millennium, and its waters will include further understanding obtained from the “scrolls” that will then be opened.—Revelation 20:12; 22:1, 2.[/ul] Sept. 243. What is represented by the alter that Ezekiel saw in vision? (Ezekiel 44) [w07 8/1 p. 10 par. 4][/u]. Because of this provision, the anointed are declared righteous and the “great crowd” is clean and pure in God’s eyes. (Revelation 7:9-14; Romans 5:1, 2) Perhaps that is why “the molten sea” of Solomon’s temple—a huge water basin used for the priests to wash in—is lacking in the visionary temple.—1 Kings 7:23-26.[/ul]
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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2012 1:31:52 GMT -5
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