I keep reading about the land “below”…the pit of the earth where people who have died apart from God live. It reminds me of a doctrinal belief that I would like to share, “just for the record”.Read Ezekiel 32-34
One of the things that separated the catholic church from the protestant church was the belief in Purgatory, or maybe the belief about what could happen there.. Anyway, I grew up not believing in purgatory…when you died you either went to heaven or hell… the end.
That left me with some confusion about the “white throne judgment” found in Revelation 20 verse 11. (Read Rev 20 here)
It didn’t seem to make sense that I would die and go to heaven, and then leave heaven to be judged at the throne of God and be told “enter into heaven”. And, it seemed that everyone was at the throne at once…hmm. It wasn’t until years later I noticed that verse 20:14 said that “death and the grave” are thrown into “the lake of fire”. What? I thought hell WAS the lake of fire. Apparently not. Hell can’t be thrown into hell. (The NLT translates the word “hades” to “the grave”). Clearly this passage is meant to convey that we are somewhere prior to the white throne judgment. When I read Luke 16:19-31 I discover that the NLT uses “the place of the dead” for the same word…and the people who are there are aware! In fact, in this place they can see another place…where the righteous people are. So I am forced to concede that there is in fact a place where the dead go prior to judgement. I don’t believe your fate can be changed once you enter this place…that’s probably where I part ways with my friends in the Roman Catholic church. So, Ezekiel is saying that the prior king of Assyria, who was fearsome in life, now resides in hades along with his “hordes”, and that’s where the Pharaoh of Egypt will go, and that’s where every great king and ruler who doesn’t serve God will end up. No matter how fearsome in life, they will all reside together in hades…and await judgment for their crimes.
Knowing this allows me to feel compassion for them, even though they are wicked and oppressive, and it motivates me to remain holy. God is watching, and there will be a judgment.
I also notice that Ezekiel is called “son of man” which was a title that Jesus favored for himself. And the “son of man” is the watchman in both places. The one who comes and shares the message that the righteous will be saved, and those who are unrighteous will be punished. I suppose that when Jesus calls himself the “son of man” He is also calling to mind a whole image of the watchman. I find that kind of cool.
I wonder how long was Ezekiel silent?
I noticed that the prophecies aren’t in chronological order. Some scholars believe that this proves he compiled the book himself…because a third party would have been more interested in making sure everything was in chronological order. Ezekiel arranged it by the topic of the prophecy rather than the date.
I read over 33:30-33 several times, musing about how people sometimes go to church just because the pastor is animated or funny, or perhaps to be entertained in some way….perhaps because the music is good. But, wouldn’t it be better to find a place where the Word of God is spoken accurately and clearly, even if the messenger stutters or stumbles in the delivery? Sure, it’s great to have both…but if you have to choose, make your decision based on content and the presence of the Holy Spirit….right?
Chapter 34.
The minister should be careful to “care for the flock”. I wonder about the “seeking out injured sheep” image here. How does that look in modern times? In every age, the people had a choice to either come to the temple or go their own way. I don’t know if the priests ever went “searching” for them. Jesus himself traveled extensively proclaiming the Good News, but he didn’t remain in any one place and “pastor”. For instance, He would heal a person and then send them on their way with instructions to live a holy life “stop sinning or something worse will happen to you”. He didn’t chase down the 9 lepers who didn’t return to give thanks and instruct them on how they had done wrong. I need to grapple with this, and come to some position that gives me peace about my job description and my performance.
Faithfully,
PR