On March 29, 1974, three farmers were drilling holes in the hopes of finding water when they came upon some ancient terracotta pottery shards. It didn't take long for news of this discovery to spread and by July a Chinese archaeological team began excavating the site.
What these farmers had discovered one of the greatest archaeological finds of the twentieth century, the 2200-year-old remains of a life-sized, terracotta army which had been buried with Qin Shihuangdi, the man who had united the varied provinces of China and thus became the very first emperor of China (221-210 BCE).
Even before Qin Shihuangdi unified China, he began building his own mausoleum, nearly as soon as he came to power in 247 BCE at age 13. It is believed that it took 700,000 workers to build what became Qin Shihuangdi's necropolis and that when it was finished, he had all 700,000 workers buried alive within it to keep its intricacies a secret. The terracotta army was found just outside of this tomb complex, near modern-day Xi'an in the Shaanxi province.
The terracotta army consists of over 8,000 soldiers of varying ranks. Each one is life-sized and unique. The details in the faces and hairstyles as well as clothing and arm positioning make no two terracotta soldiers alike. When placed, each soldier carried a weapon; however either time or tomb robbers have removed these. Each soldier had also been painted but as each one is unearthed by archaeologists, the remaining paint unfortunately crumbles off the figures. All the soldiers have been placed facing east, standing in battle formations. (http://history1900s.about.com/od/1970s/qt/terracottaarmy.htm)
In the Bible we find the story of another great army that is discovered, like the terracotta army of Qin Shihuangdi this army is found in disarray and is reformed and revived and set on its feet in battle formation, but unlike Qin Shihuangdi’s army of clay, this army is living and vital. And, while both armies face the east this army is not waiting to fight it is waiting to welcome their Lord who is coming from the east.
We find the story in Ezekiel chapter 37:1-14
In this passagae Ezekiel is commanded three times to prophecy
And we will see there are three main points that we can take from the story;
- Prophecy – reformation and revival come as a result of hearing and acting on God’s Word
- Prophesy Again – we are commanded to prophesy/preach the word of the Lord to the people who are ‘dead’
- Prophecy Reformation and Revival – then Jesus will bring the reformed and revived church into the promised land/Heaven
The term prophecy comes from the Hebrew word nâbâ' (naw-baw') which means ... to prophesy, that is, speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse)
And this is what Ezekiel did – he spoke the words of the Lord.
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
Eze 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Main Point 1:
Prophecy – reformation and revival come as a result of hearing and acting on God’s Word
In Ezekiel chapter 37 verses 4 - 8 we see the pattern for reformation and revival revealed
Eze 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Eze 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
Eze 37:8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above ...
The pattern that is revealed has three parts
- Thus saith the Lord - prophecy to the bones, tell the bones what God is going to do
- The command is obeyed
- God does what He has said - flesh and sinew and skin grow
These verses demonstrate reformation; dry bones reconnecting, growing flesh, sinew and skin.
But there is a problem, because verse 8 finishes by telling us that ...
Eze 37:8 ... but there was no breath in them.
Like the terracotta army these bones are merely the forms of men, there is no life or power in them. Unlike the archaeologists who can only restore each clay soldier to a resemblance of their former glory, God can take these dead bodies and fill them with life, His life, and power and bring them to a resemblance of Him, their king.
The Archaeologists do the best they can with mortar, paint and lots of little brushes, God works quite differently.
God’s solution to this problem is to tell Ezekiel to prophecy again.
Eze 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Here we see the same pattern revealed
- Thus saith the Lord - prophecy to the wind, tell the wind what God is going to do
- The command is obeyed
- God does what He has said - the bones became alive
These verses demonstrate revival; and the bones formerly known as very dry became a great army.
But there is a problem, the first prophecy that God gave Ezekiel in chapter 37 verse 6 ends with ‘... and ye shall know that I am the LORD’ this portion of the prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled
God solves this problem by telling Ezekiel to prophesy again
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Eze 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
Notice there is now a new portion to the prophecy, God promises that as well as ‘knowing that He is the Lord’ He will “place you in your own land”
But there is a problem, this time the command is not obeyed, Ezekiel does not prophesy, he does not give God’s message to the whole house of Israel. The pattern is not completed.
Main Point 2:
Prophesy Again - We are commanded to prophesy/preach the word of the Lord to the people who are ‘dead’
God’s solution comes in Revelation 10 verse 11, where the angel gives John a message that is directed to the Advent people who have just recovered from the great disappointment, from eating the book that was sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly.
The message God sends them is “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
How do we know that this message to John is linked to Ezekiel’s vision?
Consider
In Ezekiel’s vision he saw a great army that has been reformed, and revived, given the breath of life, God has told him that this great army – these bones – is the whole house of Israel.
The Advent people (spiritual Israel) who John’s message is directed to, have just recovered from the great disappointment, the ‘bitter in the belly’ experience – like the people in Ezekiel’s vision they cry out, “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” Eze 37:11
Then they rediscover and begin to obey the great truths of God’s Word; the State of the dead, the Sanctuary and the Sabbath. Flesh, sinew and skin grow on the body of the church.
And God breathes life into them in the form of the Spirit of Prophecy and they become a great army.
So the question must be asked; What is the church supposed to prophecy if they are to obey the command in Revelation 10:11?
They are to prophecy the last message, the third message, which was given to Ezekiel...
The church is to complete the pattern that God established in the first two prophecies in Ezekiel’s vision;
- Thus saith the Lord – prophesy to the Whole House of Israel
- The command is obeyed – obey God’s command, and then wait while
- God does what He has said
And the message they are to give is the flip side of the third angel’s message. The third Angels message is a warning to the wicked against receiving the mark of the beast, Ezekiel’s third message is a promise to the saints who patiently keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Eze 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD
They are to prophecy reformation and revival to those who have come out of Babylon.
The Chinese Emperor had designated a task to his terracotta soldiers, they were to fight the Emperor’s battles in the neither world, and allow him to conquer it in the same way that he conquered the warring states of China.
God has given his army a task too; we are commanded to prophesy/preach the word of the Lord to the people who are ‘dead’
Main Point 3:
Prophecy Reformation and Revival - Jesus will bring the reformed and revived church into the promised land/Heaven
The army of Qin Shihuangdi never had a hope of performing the task assigned to it, God’s army does, because He is in charge of revitalising it and causing it to do His bidding, something the Chinese Emperor never had the power to do with his army.
Ezekiel gives us clues as to how God achieves this reformation and revival in the first prophecy
Eze 37:5 ...I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live
And in the second prophecy
Eze 37:9 ... Prophesy unto the wind ... say to the wind ... breathe upon these slain, that they may live
And in the third prophecy
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live ...
Job’s young friend Elihu agreed that the Spirit and breath of God brought life when he said
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
So ‘How does the Spirit of God bring about reformation and revival in our lives?’
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that life comes from the Spirit because the Spirit brings Christ to our view
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
We are changed by beholding, by seeing Christ. John agrees with this when he says in
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And then he continues with an instruction
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Now the question must be asked ‘How does one Purify Self?’
John answers this question in John 6:63 when he says
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
So we know that purifying self is nothing that we ourselves can do, rather it is something that God does in us through His Spirit using His Word.
And God shows us the same thing in Ezekiel’s vision, chapter 37 verse 4
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
This leads us to ask ‘What Are the Words Of Life?’
Paul answers this question in 2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
And Peter gives more explicit instruction in 2Pe 1:3-4 when he says
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
From Peter we see that through knowledge of Jesus, through claiming the great and precious promises in the Holy Word of God, we become ‘partakers of the divine nature’, we are remade in Christ’s image, we are reformed and revived and we grow together to become that mighty army that God is waiting for so that He can end the great controversy and take us all back to heaven
When claiming promises we are making mini prophecies and we follow the same pattern we have already found in Ezekiel;
- We find our appropriate ‘Thus saith the Lord’ e.g. Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel
- We obey the command/condition implicit in the promise, ‘Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.' We go and tell others of the same reforming and reviving grace that we have found in God’s exceeding great and precious promises, and
- We wait trustingly for to God do what He has said, He will take us to Heaven and in the meantime, while we carry out His instructions and prophecy to the world we are changed into the image of Christ.
Conclusion:
God tells us that the through claiming the ‘exceeding great and precious promises’ in the word we can escape ‘the corruption that is in the world through lust.’
We can overcome sin and purify ourselves just as Jesus is pure, then He makes us another promise, one that mirrors and expands the third prophecy to the bones in Ezekiel
He promises in Revelation 21:7 that
‘... He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.’
One day I expect to look up into the sky and see from the east, a cloud of angels coming with my Jesus; my Saviour and my King, coming to collect me, to take me to be forever with Him. I imagine I won’t be able to take my eyes off Him, but I know that if I did glance around I would see that mighty army, that Ezekiel prophesied about, rising with me to greet our Lord in the air.
One day I plan to hear Jesus tell me that He is my God and I am His daughter.
To make sure that I am a part of this group I am committing my life to ‘prophesying again’ to spreading the word about Gods great and mighty promises and claiming them for myself also, so that He can change me into His image.
If you will commit to doing the same and joining me in the clouds where we will say together ‘Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him...’ then raise your hand...
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