My Thoughts on Ezekiel 34 on Sheep Without a Shepherd
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the LORD God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 8 As I live, saith the LORD God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10 Thus saith the LORD God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
The wicked shepherds of Israel were already condemned in Jeremiah. In the KJV, the word "pastor" is used while newer translations use shepherd. Today, we've got pastors who really deserve their condemnation for how they treat the flock. The condemnation of the shepherds is because they have been serving themselves rather than the flock. The time of Ezekiel is a very bad time. Ezekiel was called to be a prophet and a priest at the same time presumably because of all the prophets and priests who were men of Satan. How can these priests and prophets do their jobs when they are men of Satan and not men of God. These men were neglecting the flock. The result was that they all wandered to their deaths.
The truth of sheep without a shepherd was already spoken in 1 Kings 22:17 when Micaiah the only prophet of the LORD spoke against Ahab's wickedness. The Northern Kingdom was so plagued with idolatry. Ahab's house was so known for idolatry that it's probably the reason why Matthew purposely omitted the names of Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah because a curse was to last for up to the fourth generation. Ahab was so associated with wickedness it's so easy to criticize the saved Jehoshaphat's lack of discernment. Jehoshaphat was a saved man, no doubt, but made a serious mistake of having an unequal yoke with Ahab. Later, Zechariah 10:2 also spoke of the same idea. Matthew 9:36 and Mark 6:34 record it that Jesus was moved with compassion seeing the people of Israel as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is spoken as the Good Shepherd in Zechariah 34's remaining verses. In John 10, Jesus is spoken as the Good Shepherd to the sheep. Sadly, some cults claim that their so-called last messenger is that good shepherd. What utter blasphemy it would be to claim a sinful man like Felix Manalo or Joseph Smith to be that good shepherd.
How does the truth of idle shepherds of that also affect today? Paul was writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-5 the following instructions before he was going to be beheaded:
4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Just think about a lot of fake pastors today. It's very easy to think of how the Vatican profiteered through the "priest saves souls" scam. However, we tend to fail to ignore the likes of Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Mike Murdock, Peter Popoff, Kenneth Copeland, Jim Baker (who got arrested for several financial scams), Jimmy Swaggart, or anybody into the Pentecostalism orthe Prosperity Gospel movement. How often are these degenerate pastors devouring the flock than feeding it? You can see how these scam preachers lie that God will make you rich if you give them your money. It's pretty much like the double your money scam. How many people gave money to financial institutions (such as what Bernard Madoff did and now he's serving a life sentence) that promised them to double their money in a few years? These pastors have even beat out the sleazy financial institutions because they have double dishonesty. These pastors are invoking the name of God and misrepresenting Scripture (especially Malachi 3:10-11) to make a quick buck. Malach 3:10-11 has always been about giving to the work of the LORD. The tithes and offerings were meant to support the temple. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says that God loves a cheerful giver. A lot of giving done to these greedy pastors isn't cheerful but greedy giving. Luke 6:30-33 says to give without expecting anything in return. If you're giving your tithes and offerings then don't expect to become a billionaire. Rather, put all the tithes and offerings into cheerful giving instead. Under grace, giving a tenth is all about giving it not out of necessity or begrudgingly. Some churches no longer teach tithing and replace it with cheerful giving. However, some will still tithe out of a loving heart even when the New Testament no longer emphasizes it.
The biggest false shepherds will be the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Zechariah 11 also talks about the rise of the Antichrist as that worthless shepherd. In the end times, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will wreak havoc in Israel. Both of them will desecrate the rebuilt Jewish Temple. Both of them will betray Israel after setting a covenant of peace. Yet, both of them are destined to be defeated like every other false shepherd in the Battle of Armageddon. Revelation 19 already outlines the end of the Man of Sin and his partner-in-crime. The people of Israel will realize how much damage they've done and that Jesus has been the Messiah they were waiting for all those years. Jesus would eventually come during Armageddon to destroy the forces of the New World Order. What happens next is that a 75-day interval before the Millennial Kingdom happens. Matthew 25 speaks of the Judgment of the Nations which shouldn't be confused for the Great White Throne Judgment. Jesus separates the saved from the unsaved. I believe those unsaved people during the Tribulation who survived will be cast into Hell alive. Those Tribulation survivors will enter into the Millennial Kingdom for a thousand years.
I decided to read through the late Vernon McGee's commentary yet again for more insights on the matter. My problem with some older commentators is they have that amillennialist position. I have a post-millennial position believing that a literal thousand-year rule will truly take place. Though, I was also having an on-off position if children were born into the kingdom even after reading several sources such as the late Hal Lindsey's "There's a New World Coming". The idea of it happening now is ridiculous. I really wanted to go to Israel but the safety situation is much worse. Booking to trip to China or Vietnam (and both are Communist countries) is much safer than going to the Middle East. The best time to go to Israel for any Christian today will be during Jesus' rule. However, a time will come when temporal Israel will be in a state of peace because Jesus will directly rule it for a thousand years. Verse 23 also states that David will be a prince among them. That's why some people believe that David will be a vice-regent during the temporal Millennial Kingdom when survivors of the Tribulation Period will enter as naturals and reproduce. Sadly, a lot of these descendants will be like Noah's descendants. God made a covenant with Noah yet many of his descendants (and we are all Noah's children) are children of the Devil instead of children of God. Many have remained children of Satan and never became children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus will be that good shepherd throughout eternity as well. The New Heaven and the New Earth will be a place of perfect peace and joy. Satan, the final worthless shepherd, will be cast into the Lake of Fire after his failed rebellion at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. All the Millennial offsprings that failed to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are going to the Lake of Fire as well. All tears will be wiped away. I would say that Heaven is far too perfect to even think about loved ones in Hell. It made me think of what the late Robert C. Sproul Sr. said that you'd be too glorified and you will be in perfect agreement with God throughout eternity. I believe Jesus will wipe away all tears after the Great White Throne Judgment (which may involve failure to witness or those who didn't listen when they were witnessed to) when eternity finally kicks in.
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