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first vision. This was still six years
before the final Babylonian assault
against J erusalem, which resultcd
in the destruction of the city and
the Temple ( II Kings 25) .
Ezekiel' s Commission
Next notice to whom Ezekiel was
sent with his messages. His com–
mission is very clearly spelled
out.
In Ezekiel 3:1, God commands
Ezekiel: " ... go speak unto the
house of Israel." Ezekiel is called
"a watchman unto the house of
Israel" (3: 17; 33:7).
Anciently, the 12-tribed nation
of Israel had split into two separate
nations after the death of King Sol–
omon. The account of that break is
found in 1Kings 12.
The southern nation, with capi–
tal at Jerusalem, subsequently
became known as the house of
Judah. The people of the house of
Judah became known as Jews.
The northern nation, with capi–
tal at Samaria, was called the
house of Is rael.
lt
consisted of 1O
tribes, headed by Ephraim and
Ma nasseh . Those two leading
tribes were descended from
Joseph, son of the patriarch J acob
(see Genesis 46:20).
Now notice the following fact:
the nor thern, 10-tribed house of
Israel had been conquered and
carried away into national captivi–
ty by the armies of Assyria ( II
Kings 18:9-12)
130 years bej"ore
Ezekiel began to prophesy! Yet it
was to the house of Israel that
Ezekiel was sent!
Consider further: Ezekiel him–
self was now also in captivity! He
was among the Jewish captives by
the r iver Chebar in the land of
the Chaldeans (1: 1, 3). Chebar
was a great canal southeast of
Babylon. The 1O tribes of Israel ,
on the other hand, had been car–
ried over a century before, not to
the land of Chaldaea, but to the
lands of the Medes to the north–
east.
Now the crucial point: Ezekiel
was never released to seek out the
house of Israel and deliver his
message to it. He never reached
the 1O tribes! Read the entire
book and see for yourself. T radi–
tion has it that Ezekiel was ulti-
14
mately murdered by fellow exiles
after rebuking them for idolatry.
The conclusion is therefore
inescapable!
Ezekiel's prophecies were
meant for a
j"uture time,
and a
different nation than Judah! He
never went to the house of Israel
or to the smaller neighboring
nations to whom his prophecies
were directed. lnstead, he wrote
the prophecies among Jewisb cap–
tives-to be preserved by them
until the time for which they
were intended.
That time is now!
Who l s Mod er n Israel?
Ezekiel 's prophecies never
reached the ears of the nations for
which they were intended. They
are primarily meant for the house
of Israel today.
But where is the house of Israel
in this latter half of the 20th cen–
tury?
It
is not in Palestine. The
modern-day state of Israel is a
Jewish nation-composed of de–
scendants of the ancient house of
Judah.
The captives of the 10-tribed
house of Israel, on the other hand,
never returned to the Holy Land,
except for one pries tly family
( II Kings 17:27). The 10 tribes
became known as the "Lost Ten
Tribes. " Few understand what
became of them.
Longtime readers of
The Plain
Truth
know tbat these 1O Israel–
itish tribes ultimately migrated
northwestward into Western Eu–
rope. Sorne remained there. A
large group later arrived in the
British Isles in the mid-fifth cen–
tury A.D. We know them as
Anglo-Saxons. From there many
later journeyed to North America
and to Bri tain' s colonies around
the world.
The amazing truth is that
Ephraim an d Manasseh- the
leading tribes of the house of
Israel-are, respectively, Britain
and the United Statcs today! It
was upon Ephraim and Manasseh
that the patriarch Israel (Jacob)
placed his name and to whom the
birthright of national greatness
and wealth was bestowed (Gene–
sis 48). The Messiah, by contrast,
was to descend from Judah.
The a ncient prophecies of
Ezekiel a re thus essentiall y
prophecies for the British and
American peoples of today! (For
proof of this vital truth, requcst
your free copy of
The (/nited
States and Britain in Prophecy
by Herbert W. Armstrong.)
Now, after more than 2,500
years, these prophecies of Ezekiel
are being proclaimed to the ears
of those for whom they were
intended- the modern descen–
dants of the ancient house of
Israel!
Watchman to t he Ho use of Israel
Notice, now, God's warning to
Ezekiel:
"Son of man, I have made thee
a
watchman
[guard or sentry]
unto the house of Israel: therefore
hear the word at my mouth, and
give them warning j"rom me.
When I say to the wicked, Thou
shalt surely die; and thou givest
him not warning, nor speakest to
warn the wicked from his wicked
way, to save his life; the same
wicked man shall die in his iniqui–
ty; but his blood will I require at
thine hand" (Ezekiel 3:17-18).
Ezekiel was given an awesome
responsibility. Had he failed to
properly execute his commission
of warning the people of the
house of Is rael, God would have
held him ultimately responsible
for their deaths!
God always gives ample warn–
ings before meting out corrective
punishment. God has promised
that he will never dramaticall y
intervene in world affairs without
first revealing his intentions to his
servants- who are then held
r espons ible for warning the
nation s o r peoples i nvo lved.
"Surely the [Eterna!] God will do
nothing but he revealeth his
sec ret unto his serva nts the
prophets" (Amos 3:7).
After the warning is del ivered ,
the watchman's j ob is finished.
lt
is then up to the individual to
decide whether he will personally
act on that warning to avoid
impending punishment.
Ezekiel took his commission
seriously. Unable by ci rcum–
stances to personally deliver the
(Continued on page 37)
The
PLAIN TRUTH