The Book of Ezekiel, chapters 36-48
The Book of Ezekiel, chapters 36-48
Ezek. 36 begins the prophecy about the mountains of Israel. From the context of this and subsequent chapters, we can understand that the mountains of Israel are the Kingdom of Heaven.
And the house of Israel is all the chosen by God who will inherit the earth.
We can find the first confirmation in Ezek.36:24-27:
“I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”
These lines, as well as those in Ezek.36:33promise to cleanse the house of Israel from all iniquities: “Thus says the Lord God : On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.” Can we attribute this absolute cleansing to the Jews who came out of the Babylonian captivity? Whereas Jesus Christ also said: “For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Mat.9:13). And if these words refer to a short period of the Jewish people’s heyday after the Babylonian captivity, then how should we understand the words in Ezek.36:15: “and no longer will I let you hear the insults of the nations, no longer shall you bear the disgrace of the peoples; and no longer shall you cause your nation to stumble, says the Lord God.” Wasn’t the Jewish people profaned when Rome destroyed Jerusalem?
Ezek.37 promises the overall resurrection: “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” (Ezek.37:5), “Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’” (Ezek.37:11).
To interpret the following chapters, it is important to note that this prophecy refers not to all the bones, but only to those on the field surface: “He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.” (Ezek.37:2).
In Ezek.37:12 we can find another confirmation that the mountains of Israel are the Kingdom of Heaven: “Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God : I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
Highly likely, Иез.37:15-28 contains prophesy on the unification of the Jewish people and Christians in the house of Israel.
This is confirmed by the lines in Ezek.37:16: “Mortal, take a stick and write on it, “For Judah, and the Israelites associated with it”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it.” and Ezek.37:18: “And when your people say to you, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?” Here, “the Israelites” refer to the Jews, and Ephraim and the house of Israel to all the pagan nations who gained salvation with the coming of Jesus Christ.
Ezek.37:22 promises that Jesus Christ will be their king: “I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.” The same we can read in the Gospel of John: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (Jn.10:16).
In Ezek.38–39, there is a prophecy about Gog and his coming to the land of Israel: “On that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath shall be aroused.” (Ezek.38:18).
Gog is also mentioned in Rev.20:7: “When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea.”
Who is Gog? As one of the versions, A. P. Lopukhin mentions the Persian word “Gog” – a mountain. If so, then the mountain is the state, or the third woe from the Revelation of John the Divine.
In Ezek.38:2 Gog is called the prince of three nations: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
In the interpretation by A.P. Lopukhin, there is a version about the Rosh nation: “The Bible knows nothing about this nation. It is often compared with οι Ρως in Byzantine and Oriental writers of the X century (com. Ras Koran XXV, 50), who used this name to call the Scythian mountain nation that lived at the Arctic Taurus or the Black Sea and the Volga, so, obviously, it goes about the Russians.”
In Gen 10.2 “Meshech and Tubal” are the sons of Japheth who appear next to Jaban and are almost everywhere mentioned together. In the interpretation by A.P. Lopukhin, п they are understood as some Scythian tribes. Probably, these are nomadic tribes that laid the basis for the Mongol Empire.
Ezek.38:5-6 promises that they won’t be alone: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Put are with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples are with you.”
Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans made up the Babylonian kingdom. Descendants of Homer and his son Fogarm (Gen.10:3) are probably Germans, British, and French.
So, almost all the nations that have ever formed the world empires are listed here. So why then are Rosh, Meshech and Tubal mentioned separately? This is probably since the idea of predominance of the state over the individual was particularly popular in the East, in the Mongol Empire, and one of the parts of the European Empire – the Russian Empire.
If Gog really refers to the third woe, the state, then the words from Ezek.38:18 “when Gog comes against the land of Israel” should be understood as the state’s attempt to completely subjugate the Church and people’s spiritual life, which will result in the wrath of God.
Ezek.39:9-10 promises that the citizens of “the towns of Israel” will “despoil those who despoiled them”:
“Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years. They will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any trees in the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons; they will despoil those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, says the Lord God.”
It is clear that here it goes about the Christians who will receive heavenly retribution for their patience and oppressions from Gog.
Considering that in the prophetic books one day is equal to an earthly year, seven years should mean 365.25 х 7 = 2556.75 years. If we assume that this prophecy was received in the same year as the next prophecy from Ezek.40, т i.e. on March 10, 573 BC, then “despoiling those who despoiled them” must continue until the middle of 1985 (365.25 х 7 – 572 – 69 / 365.25 = 1984.56). That is, until this time, Christians will endure oppressions from Gog, exchanging perishable riches for imperishable ones.
Ezek.39:11-12 gives a terrifying promise to bury “Gog and all his horde”:
“On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers east of the sea; it shall block the path of the travelers, for there Gog and all his horde will be buried; it shall be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. Seven months the house of Israel shall spend burying them, in order to cleanse the land.”
Since the resurrection prophecy applies to the bones on the field surface only (Ezek.37:2), it means that buried Gog and his hordes will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
The seven months during which they were “burying them, in order to cleanse the land,” are 210 years that end in 1985 and begin in 1776. Probably, this is the time of the state’s extreme pressure on the Church, when many people will have to be “buried”, i.e. deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven. In 1776, the United States were formed and laid the basis for a new religion of worshiping the state, and the USSR officially lost the race for a place of the sole hegemon in 1985 after beginning perestroika.
From Ezek.39:14-15, we can assume that after this time, almost all bones will need to be “buried”, for which they will even “make search” for bones and put a “sign” by them:
“They will set apart men to pass through the land regularly and bury any invaders who remain on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it; for seven months they shall make their search.
As the searchers pass through the land, anyone who sees a human bone shall set up a sign by it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.”
After this time, the prophesy promises the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: “and I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.»(Ezek.39:29).
From the lines in Ezek.40:1 that start with a description of the land of Israel, i.e. the Kingdom of Heaven, we can understand how long will pass since 1985:
“In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me there.”
This vision was received on March 10, 573 BC. 24.02 years passed since March 16, 597 BC, when Jeconiah surrendered Jerusalem to the Babylonians (16.03.597 – 10.03.573 = 24 years and 6 day). And from the date when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian commander Nebuzaradan on August 28, 586 BC it passed 13.47 years (28.08.586 – 10.03.573 = 13 years 171 day).
From the words “on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me” we can conclude that the time of receiving the prophecy is important for interpretating it. Presumably, here it goes about the fact that from mid-1985 to mid-2009, the House of Israel (Christians) will be in captivity (1984.56 + 24.02 = 2008.58).
And after that, the earthly part of the Church will be destroyed for another 13.47 years until the beginning of 2023 (2008.58 + 13.47 = 2022.05). And only after that, the house of Israel (Christians) will gain the land of Israel (the Kingdom of Heaven) described in the following chapters.
We can assume that since 1985 – after the USSR collapsed – the has state finally took control over the Church, since it no longer had to take its interests into account at all. From that time, it has become useless to use the Church to struggle for hegemony, since the winner has been determined and this is the USA.
The words “the city was struck down” refers to the election of Kirill as Patriarch of All Russia in 2009, when the Church began to offer its services to the state, using absolutely non-Christian methods. We can assum that the Catholic Church started behaving like this even earlier.
So, by summing 1984.56 + 24.02 + 13.47, we get 2022.05, or early 2023. As we have already mentioned a few times, the Contemporary Empire must fall around this time. Why does Ezekiel’s prophecy end with this year, although we already know from 3Ezr.13 that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur not earlier than in seven years (“seven days”)?
To answer this question, we need to remember that the mountains of Israel are the Kingdom of Heaven, and the house of Israel are all those chosen by God who inherit the earth. That is, almost the entire book of Ezekiel is dedicated to the Church, namely its visible (earthly) and invisible (heavenly) parts. Considering that the prophecy starting from Ezek.40 refers only to the 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven and not to the Kingdom of Heaven after the Last Judgment, as we will show below, the Church will probably begin to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ from 2023. And this preparation will affect both its earthly and heavenly parts.
The fate of the earthly part of the Church after 2023 is vividly described in 3Ezr.12:32-34: “this is the wind whom the Most High has kept until the end of days against them and their wickedness, that will reprove them and will display before them their contemptuous dealings, he will bring them alive before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will punish them; but in mercy he will save the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning.” As we have mentioned before, the wind is a living testimony to the fulfillment of the word of God given through his prophets, and the joy of those faithful to the commandments from the expectation of the imminent coming of Jesus Christ. That is, after a long period when the last four churches have been focused on the evangelical events, which have already happened, to the detriment of those coming in the last seven years of the Church of Laodicea, Christians’ attention will again shift to the expectation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the Church will regain its lost eschatology.
The words in Rev.21:5 speak about the fate of the heavenly part of the Church: “And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” It is not said when the Lord will begin to create “a new heaven and a new earth”, perhaps, it will happen seven years (“days”) before the Second Coming: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Rev.21:1).
Thus, the words starting from Ezek.40 and up to Ezek.48, describe the land of Israel, i.e. the 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This version is confirmed by a few points.
First, Holy Jerusalem from Rev.21:16-17, which describes the Kingdom of Heaven after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is much larger.
“The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.”
A furlong (stadium) is a space equal to 125 Roman steps, or 600 Greek feet, or 625 Roman feet (184.84 m).
Whereas in Ezek.42:15-16 the temple covers a plot of 500 x 500 rods, where one rod is equal to six cubits: “Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area. The length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length.” (Ezek.40:5).
Second, the gates of Holy Jerusalem from Rev. will not be closed: “Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.” (Rev.21:25).
Whereas the gate of the sanctuary from Ezek.44:1-2 will be shut: “Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. The Lord said to me: This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.”
Third, Ezekiel describes not only the temple, but the fate of the priests, princes, and the twelve tribes of Israel as well.
However, only the temple is a holy place: “He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common.” (Ezek.42:20).
And only few of the priests can enter it: “But the levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall attend me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. It is they who shall enter my sanctuary, it is they who shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.” (Ezek.44:15-16).
But in Revelation, those participating in the first resurrection also become priests of God: “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.” (Rev.20:6).
That is, the temple described by Ezekiel is a 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven, and the fate of priests, princes, and the twelve tribes of Israel is “Abraham’s bosom” close to the “holy place.”
However, there is something that allows us to claim that in both abstracts it goes about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Rev.22:1 speaks about the river: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
In Ezek.47:1, we can read: “Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.”
What this water is?
In Ezek.47:3-5, we can read: “Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep.
Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist.
Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.”
But these rivers are different since the one in the prophet Ezekiel flows into the sea, but in Rev.21:1, we can read: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
In Ezek.47:8-11 we can read about this sea: “He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.
Wherever the two streams go, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there, and the water in the sea will become clear; and everything will live where the stream goes.
People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.”
So, here it probably goes about the same sea as in the Revelation of John the Divine, when a part of the sea became blood after each woe.
And the words “Wherever the two streams go, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there, and the water in the sea will become clear; and everything will live where the stream goes” must be understood in the same way as in Mat.18:19-20:
“Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Thus, the water here is the grace of God, or the Holy Spirit, pouring on people before the Second Coming (“enters the sea” (Ezek.47:8)) and feeding them after (“On either side of the river is the tree of life” (Rev.22:2)). Thus, four thousand “cubits” here are four thousand years of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants – the Christians.
According to the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedic dictionary, Abraham was born in 2040 BC and “departed from Haran” when he was 75, as “the Lord had told him”, having concluded the Old Covenant with him: “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Gen.12:1-4).
That is, about 1995 years (2040 – 75 + 30 = 1995) passed from the moment the Old Covenant was concluded with Abraham until the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the year 30 (see the interpretation of the book of Daniel by A.P. Lopukhin, chapter.9, Dan.9:27) and the New Covenant was concluded. The five years we lack to get 2,000 can be explained by the fact that the Covenant was concluded in Ur of the Chaldeans when Farrah, Abraham’s father, was still alive and, accordingly, before leaving Haran. We can clearly understand it from the speech of Archdeacon Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles: “And Stephen replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.’ Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.” (Act.7:2-4).
Another 2,000 years are allotted to the New Covenant.
Thus, one cubit is equal to one year, and the Kingdom of God has a time, not a geometric dimension. It also may be that a year here means a light year, which gives us an idea of the true size of the Kingdom of God.
Thus, the 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is as large as 3,000 x 3,000 light years (500 x 500 rods, where one rod is equal to 6 cubits): “He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common.” (Ezek.42:20).
And Holy Jerusalem from Rev.21:16-17, which describes the Kingdom of Heaven after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is 5,835,789 x 5,835,789 x 5,835,789 light years in size (12,000 furlong (furlong, or stadium is 184.8 m) х 184.8 / 2.28 (2.28 m is the length of the rod) х 6 (6 cubits in the rod)): “The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.”
P. S. P. S. One way or another, the theme of the Last Judgment is mentioned in almost all the prophetic books of the Old Testament. We should particularly mention the books of the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Zachariah, and Malachi. They are not interpreted here only because it does not meet the main task of this work: to show that the prophecies have come true, and the Last Judgment is close.
Accordingly, the omitted prophetic books primarily have a teaching nature, although they contain certain temporary references or confirmations used in this interpretation.
Those who want to have a look at them, should keep in mind that an appeal to Jacob, Judah, and Israel in most cases can be safely considered an appeal to Christians, because only in this case the prophecies make sense. To support this view, we can cite a few lines from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
“Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.” (Is.51:1-2).
Here we see that Abraham and Sarah gave birth not to all Jews, but only to those who strive for truth, i.e. this kinship is primarily spiritual. In this regard, the promise of the Lord to multiply Abraham like dust came true with Christians: “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.” (Gen.13:16).
And we find an irresistible proof of this view in the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans: “For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.” (Rom.2:28-29).
In conclusion, so that Christians don’t think that they will all be saved without making any effort, we need to cite another fulfilled prophecy from the book of Zachariah: “In the whole land, says the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people”; and they will say, “The Lord is our God.” (Zah.13:8-9). The third “remaining” part is Christians, except for Protestants, who make up 33% of the world’s population.
From this part, the Lord will “refine” His people: “He answered me and said, The Most High made this world for the sake of many, but the world to come for the sake of only a few. But I tell you a parable, Ezra. Just as, when you ask the earth, it will tell you that it provides a large amount of clay from which earthenware is made, but only a little dust from which gold comes, so is the course of the present world. Many have been created, but only a few shall be saved.” (3Ezr.8:1-3).
The meaning of this means for us we can find in the words of the Revelation of John the Divine about our last wish-washy Church in Laodicea: “Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev.3:18-20).
The “salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see,” is the faith that can save a person: “Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mk.5:30-34). This is the faith in Jesus Christ being the Messiah promised by God through the prophets. The Jews knew about the exact year of His coming, but they could not accept him without earthly power. But the “daughter” could. If it (the faith) saved the one who believed in the first coming, maybe it will save the one who believes in the second one.
But the “faith apart from works is barren”: “Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren?” (Jac.2:20).
Therefore, the Lord advises to buy the “gold refined by fire” from Him. But how can actually one buy gold (money), i.e. the most valuable thing in the eyes of God, who doesn’t need anything: “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” (Mat.16:26-27).
And the answer is simple – these are people who have accepted or are just thinking of accepting Christianity: “And I will put this third into the fire, refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people”; and they will say, “The Lord is our God”.” (Zah.13:9).
But how can the Lord advise to buy from him those who already belong to Him? We can find the answer in the parable about the unfaithful manager, whom God praises for making friends with his master’s money: “Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” (Lk.16:1-9).
In common business practice, it’s unbelievable that the owner can praise the manager for making friends with his money. But it’s natural, when everything belongs to God: both the debtor and the manager, and the goal is not to make money, but to fulfill the commandment to love your neighbor. They both owe God, but when one helps the other to write off some of his sins, the one who helped enriches himself and the debtor.
Hence the advice to buy “white robes” from God, whose price we know from Rev.6:5-6, which announces the payment for the “first resurrection” after removing the third seal. And this payment is the spread of Christianity among those who will also “bear fruit” (“a quart of wheat”), or three times more among those who will not bear this fruit (“three quarts of barley”): “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.’”
Given the upcoming events and the overall breaking of the commandments of love for the Lord God and your neighbor, there will be a lot of “good soil” in the world to earn this “denarius”: “Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Mat.13:8).
Ezek. 36 begins the prophecy about the mountains of Israel. From the context of this and subsequent chapters, we can understand that the mountains of Israel are the Kingdom of Heaven.
And the house of Israel is all the chosen by God who will inherit the earth.
We can find the first confirmation in Ezek.36:24-27:
“I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”
These lines, as well as those in Ezek.36:33promise to cleanse the house of Israel from all iniquities: “Thus says the Lord God : On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.” Can we attribute this absolute cleansing to the Jews who came out of the Babylonian captivity? Whereas Jesus Christ also said: “For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Mat.9:13). And if these words refer to a short period of the Jewish people’s heyday after the Babylonian captivity, then how should we understand the words in Ezek.36:15: “and no longer will I let you hear the insults of the nations, no longer shall you bear the disgrace of the peoples; and no longer shall you cause your nation to stumble, says the Lord God.” Wasn’t the Jewish people profaned when Rome destroyed Jerusalem?
Ezek.37 promises the overall resurrection: “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” (Ezek.37:5), “Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’” (Ezek.37:11).
To interpret the following chapters, it is important to note that this prophecy refers not to all the bones, but only to those on the field surface: “He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.” (Ezek.37:2).
In Ezek.37:12 we can find another confirmation that the mountains of Israel are the Kingdom of Heaven: “Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God : I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
Highly likely, Иез.37:15-28 contains prophesy on the unification of the Jewish people and Christians in the house of Israel.
This is confirmed by the lines in Ezek.37:16: “Mortal, take a stick and write on it, “For Judah, and the Israelites associated with it”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it.” and Ezek.37:18: “And when your people say to you, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?” Here, “the Israelites” refer to the Jews, and Ephraim and the house of Israel to all the pagan nations who gained salvation with the coming of Jesus Christ.
Ezek.37:22 promises that Jesus Christ will be their king: “I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.” The same we can read in the Gospel of John: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (Jn.10:16).
In Ezek.38–39, there is a prophecy about Gog and his coming to the land of Israel: “On that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath shall be aroused.” (Ezek.38:18).
Gog is also mentioned in Rev.20:7: “When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea.”
Who is Gog? As one of the versions, A. P. Lopukhin mentions the Persian word “Gog” – a mountain. If so, then the mountain is the state, or the third woe from the Revelation of John the Divine.
In Ezek.38:2 Gog is called the prince of three nations: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
In the interpretation by A.P. Lopukhin, there is a version about the Rosh nation: “The Bible knows nothing about this nation. It is often compared with οι Ρως in Byzantine and Oriental writers of the X century (com. Ras Koran XXV, 50), who used this name to call the Scythian mountain nation that lived at the Arctic Taurus or the Black Sea and the Volga, so, obviously, it goes about the Russians.”
In Gen 10.2 “Meshech and Tubal” are the sons of Japheth who appear next to Jaban and are almost everywhere mentioned together. In the interpretation by A.P. Lopukhin, п they are understood as some Scythian tribes. Probably, these are nomadic tribes that laid the basis for the Mongol Empire.
Ezek.38:5-6 promises that they won’t be alone: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Put are with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples are with you.”
Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans made up the Babylonian kingdom. Descendants of Homer and his son Fogarm (Gen.10:3) are probably Germans, British, and French.
So, almost all the nations that have ever formed the world empires are listed here. So why then are Rosh, Meshech and Tubal mentioned separately? This is probably since the idea of predominance of the state over the individual was particularly popular in the East, in the Mongol Empire, and one of the parts of the European Empire – the Russian Empire.
If Gog really refers to the third woe, the state, then the words from Ezek.38:18 “when Gog comes against the land of Israel” should be understood as the state’s attempt to completely subjugate the Church and people’s spiritual life, which will result in the wrath of God.
Ezek.39:9-10 promises that the citizens of “the towns of Israel” will “despoil those who despoiled them”:
“Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years. They will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any trees in the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons; they will despoil those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, says the Lord God.”
It is clear that here it goes about the Christians who will receive heavenly retribution for their patience and oppressions from Gog.
Considering that in the prophetic books one day is equal to an earthly year, seven years should mean 365.25 х 7 = 2556.75 years. If we assume that this prophecy was received in the same year as the next prophecy from Ezek.40, т i.e. on March 10, 573 BC, then “despoiling those who despoiled them” must continue until the middle of 1985 (365.25 х 7 – 572 – 69 / 365.25 = 1984.56). That is, until this time, Christians will endure oppressions from Gog, exchanging perishable riches for imperishable ones.
Ezek.39:11-12 gives a terrifying promise to bury “Gog and all his horde”:
“On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers east of the sea; it shall block the path of the travelers, for there Gog and all his horde will be buried; it shall be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. Seven months the house of Israel shall spend burying them, in order to cleanse the land.”
Since the resurrection prophecy applies to the bones on the field surface only (Ezek.37:2), it means that buried Gog and his hordes will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
The seven months during which they were “burying them, in order to cleanse the land,” are 210 years that end in 1985 and begin in 1776. Probably, this is the time of the state’s extreme pressure on the Church, when many people will have to be “buried”, i.e. deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven. In 1776, the United States were formed and laid the basis for a new religion of worshiping the state, and the USSR officially lost the race for a place of the sole hegemon in 1985 after beginning perestroika.
From Ezek.39:14-15, we can assume that after this time, almost all bones will need to be “buried”, for which they will even “make search” for bones and put a “sign” by them:
“They will set apart men to pass through the land regularly and bury any invaders who remain on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it; for seven months they shall make their search.
As the searchers pass through the land, anyone who sees a human bone shall set up a sign by it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.”
After this time, the prophesy promises the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: “and I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.»(Ezek.39:29).
From the lines in Ezek.40:1 that start with a description of the land of Israel, i.e. the Kingdom of Heaven, we can understand how long will pass since 1985:
“In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me there.”
This vision was received on March 10, 573 BC. 24.02 years passed since March 16, 597 BC, when Jeconiah surrendered Jerusalem to the Babylonians (16.03.597 – 10.03.573 = 24 years and 6 day). And from the date when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian commander Nebuzaradan on August 28, 586 BC it passed 13.47 years (28.08.586 – 10.03.573 = 13 years 171 day).
From the words “on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me” we can conclude that the time of receiving the prophecy is important for interpretating it. Presumably, here it goes about the fact that from mid-1985 to mid-2009, the House of Israel (Christians) will be in captivity (1984.56 + 24.02 = 2008.58).
And after that, the earthly part of the Church will be destroyed for another 13.47 years until the beginning of 2023 (2008.58 + 13.47 = 2022.05). And only after that, the house of Israel (Christians) will gain the land of Israel (the Kingdom of Heaven) described in the following chapters.
We can assume that since 1985 – after the USSR collapsed – the has state finally took control over the Church, since it no longer had to take its interests into account at all. From that time, it has become useless to use the Church to struggle for hegemony, since the winner has been determined and this is the USA.
The words “the city was struck down” refers to the election of Kirill as Patriarch of All Russia in 2009, when the Church began to offer its services to the state, using absolutely non-Christian methods. We can assum that the Catholic Church started behaving like this even earlier.
So, by summing 1984.56 + 24.02 + 13.47, we get 2022.05, or early 2023. As we have already mentioned a few times, the Contemporary Empire must fall around this time. Why does Ezekiel’s prophecy end with this year, although we already know from 3Ezr.13 that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur not earlier than in seven years (“seven days”)?
To answer this question, we need to remember that the mountains of Israel are the Kingdom of Heaven, and the house of Israel are all those chosen by God who inherit the earth. That is, almost the entire book of Ezekiel is dedicated to the Church, namely its visible (earthly) and invisible (heavenly) parts. Considering that the prophecy starting from Ezek.40 refers only to the 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven and not to the Kingdom of Heaven after the Last Judgment, as we will show below, the Church will probably begin to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ from 2023. And this preparation will affect both its earthly and heavenly parts.
The fate of the earthly part of the Church after 2023 is vividly described in 3Ezr.12:32-34: “this is the wind whom the Most High has kept until the end of days against them and their wickedness, that will reprove them and will display before them their contemptuous dealings, he will bring them alive before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will punish them; but in mercy he will save the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning.” As we have mentioned before, the wind is a living testimony to the fulfillment of the word of God given through his prophets, and the joy of those faithful to the commandments from the expectation of the imminent coming of Jesus Christ. That is, after a long period when the last four churches have been focused on the evangelical events, which have already happened, to the detriment of those coming in the last seven years of the Church of Laodicea, Christians’ attention will again shift to the expectation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the Church will regain its lost eschatology.
The words in Rev.21:5 speak about the fate of the heavenly part of the Church: “And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” It is not said when the Lord will begin to create “a new heaven and a new earth”, perhaps, it will happen seven years (“days”) before the Second Coming: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Rev.21:1).
Thus, the words starting from Ezek.40 and up to Ezek.48, describe the land of Israel, i.e. the 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This version is confirmed by a few points.
First, Holy Jerusalem from Rev.21:16-17, which describes the Kingdom of Heaven after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is much larger.
“The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.”
A furlong (stadium) is a space equal to 125 Roman steps, or 600 Greek feet, or 625 Roman feet (184.84 m).
Whereas in Ezek.42:15-16 the temple covers a plot of 500 x 500 rods, where one rod is equal to six cubits: “Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area. The length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length.” (Ezek.40:5).
Second, the gates of Holy Jerusalem from Rev. will not be closed: “Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.” (Rev.21:25).
Whereas the gate of the sanctuary from Ezek.44:1-2 will be shut: “Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. The Lord said to me: This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.”
Third, Ezekiel describes not only the temple, but the fate of the priests, princes, and the twelve tribes of Israel as well.
However, only the temple is a holy place: “He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common.” (Ezek.42:20).
And only few of the priests can enter it: “But the levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall attend me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. It is they who shall enter my sanctuary, it is they who shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.” (Ezek.44:15-16).
But in Revelation, those participating in the first resurrection also become priests of God: “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.” (Rev.20:6).
That is, the temple described by Ezekiel is a 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven, and the fate of priests, princes, and the twelve tribes of Israel is “Abraham’s bosom” close to the “holy place.”
However, there is something that allows us to claim that in both abstracts it goes about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Rev.22:1 speaks about the river: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
In Ezek.47:1, we can read: “Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.”
What this water is?
In Ezek.47:3-5, we can read: “Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep.
Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist.
Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.”
But these rivers are different since the one in the prophet Ezekiel flows into the sea, but in Rev.21:1, we can read: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
In Ezek.47:8-11 we can read about this sea: “He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.
Wherever the two streams go, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there, and the water in the sea will become clear; and everything will live where the stream goes.
People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.”
So, here it probably goes about the same sea as in the Revelation of John the Divine, when a part of the sea became blood after each woe.
And the words “Wherever the two streams go, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there, and the water in the sea will become clear; and everything will live where the stream goes” must be understood in the same way as in Mat.18:19-20:
“Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Thus, the water here is the grace of God, or the Holy Spirit, pouring on people before the Second Coming (“enters the sea” (Ezek.47:8)) and feeding them after (“On either side of the river is the tree of life” (Rev.22:2)). Thus, four thousand “cubits” here are four thousand years of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants – the Christians.
According to the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedic dictionary, Abraham was born in 2040 BC and “departed from Haran” when he was 75, as “the Lord had told him”, having concluded the Old Covenant with him: “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Gen.12:1-4).
That is, about 1995 years (2040 – 75 + 30 = 1995) passed from the moment the Old Covenant was concluded with Abraham until the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the year 30 (see the interpretation of the book of Daniel by A.P. Lopukhin, chapter.9, Dan.9:27) and the New Covenant was concluded. The five years we lack to get 2,000 can be explained by the fact that the Covenant was concluded in Ur of the Chaldeans when Farrah, Abraham’s father, was still alive and, accordingly, before leaving Haran. We can clearly understand it from the speech of Archdeacon Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles: “And Stephen replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.’ Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.” (Act.7:2-4).
Another 2,000 years are allotted to the New Covenant.
Thus, one cubit is equal to one year, and the Kingdom of God has a time, not a geometric dimension. It also may be that a year here means a light year, which gives us an idea of the true size of the Kingdom of God.
Thus, the 1000-year-long Kingdom of Heaven before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is as large as 3,000 x 3,000 light years (500 x 500 rods, where one rod is equal to 6 cubits): “He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common.” (Ezek.42:20).
And Holy Jerusalem from Rev.21:16-17, which describes the Kingdom of Heaven after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is 5,835,789 x 5,835,789 x 5,835,789 light years in size (12,000 furlong (furlong, or stadium is 184.8 m) х 184.8 / 2.28 (2.28 m is the length of the rod) х 6 (6 cubits in the rod)): “The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.”
P. S. P. S. One way or another, the theme of the Last Judgment is mentioned in almost all the prophetic books of the Old Testament. We should particularly mention the books of the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Zachariah, and Malachi. They are not interpreted here only because it does not meet the main task of this work: to show that the prophecies have come true, and the Last Judgment is close.
Accordingly, the omitted prophetic books primarily have a teaching nature, although they contain certain temporary references or confirmations used in this interpretation.
Those who want to have a look at them, should keep in mind that an appeal to Jacob, Judah, and Israel in most cases can be safely considered an appeal to Christians, because only in this case the prophecies make sense. To support this view, we can cite a few lines from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
“Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.” (Is.51:1-2).
Here we see that Abraham and Sarah gave birth not to all Jews, but only to those who strive for truth, i.e. this kinship is primarily spiritual. In this regard, the promise of the Lord to multiply Abraham like dust came true with Christians: “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.” (Gen.13:16).
And we find an irresistible proof of this view in the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans: “For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.” (Rom.2:28-29).
In conclusion, so that Christians don’t think that they will all be saved without making any effort, we need to cite another fulfilled prophecy from the book of Zachariah: “In the whole land, says the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people”; and they will say, “The Lord is our God.” (Zah.13:8-9). The third “remaining” part is Christians, except for Protestants, who make up 33% of the world’s population.
From this part, the Lord will “refine” His people: “He answered me and said, The Most High made this world for the sake of many, but the world to come for the sake of only a few. But I tell you a parable, Ezra. Just as, when you ask the earth, it will tell you that it provides a large amount of clay from which earthenware is made, but only a little dust from which gold comes, so is the course of the present world. Many have been created, but only a few shall be saved.” (3Ezr.8:1-3).
The meaning of this means for us we can find in the words of the Revelation of John the Divine about our last wish-washy Church in Laodicea: “Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev.3:18-20).
The “salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see,” is the faith that can save a person: “Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mk.5:30-34). This is the faith in Jesus Christ being the Messiah promised by God through the prophets. The Jews knew about the exact year of His coming, but they could not accept him without earthly power. But the “daughter” could. If it (the faith) saved the one who believed in the first coming, maybe it will save the one who believes in the second one.
But the “faith apart from works is barren”: “Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren?” (Jac.2:20).
Therefore, the Lord advises to buy the “gold refined by fire” from Him. But how can actually one buy gold (money), i.e. the most valuable thing in the eyes of God, who doesn’t need anything: “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” (Mat.16:26-27).
And the answer is simple – these are people who have accepted or are just thinking of accepting Christianity: “And I will put this third into the fire, refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people”; and they will say, “The Lord is our God”.” (Zah.13:9).
But how can the Lord advise to buy from him those who already belong to Him? We can find the answer in the parable about the unfaithful manager, whom God praises for making friends with his master’s money: “Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” (Lk.16:1-9).
In common business practice, it’s unbelievable that the owner can praise the manager for making friends with his money. But it’s natural, when everything belongs to God: both the debtor and the manager, and the goal is not to make money, but to fulfill the commandment to love your neighbor. They both owe God, but when one helps the other to write off some of his sins, the one who helped enriches himself and the debtor.
Hence the advice to buy “white robes” from God, whose price we know from Rev.6:5-6, which announces the payment for the “first resurrection” after removing the third seal. And this payment is the spread of Christianity among those who will also “bear fruit” (“a quart of wheat”), or three times more among those who will not bear this fruit (“three quarts of barley”): “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.’”
Given the upcoming events and the overall breaking of the commandments of love for the Lord God and your neighbor, there will be a lot of “good soil” in the world to earn this “denarius”: “Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Mat.13:8).