How often do we do the same things, over and over? How often do we think that we know what’s best? God challenges us to change. God challenges us to think and act as He thinks and acts. The choice is our and the question is what will we do?
Kalon Mitchell
What does it mean in Ezekiel 22:30 where it says that no man was found to stand in the gap?
Some have used this Scripture to say that there is no strong leadership in the church(es) of God as a whole at this time. This is an interesting approach to take as it leaves no room for the leadership of Jesus Christ. Many Scriptures point out that Christ is the Head of the Church and that He places people in positions of leadership as He sees fit. 1 Corinthians 12:28-29 clearly states that God ordains the leadership where He wants and as He sees fit. While there are many splinters of the church(es) of God, very few prove to be holding fast, or boldly proclaiming the Gospel into all the world (Please read our free booklet on how to find the true Church ( How to Find the True Church of God ).
As with many parts of the Bible, we must look before and ahead of a particular passage to get the full picture of what a Scripture is saying, as well as looking at the meaning and tying in other Scriptures. This chapter in Ezekiel is highlighting the sins of “Jerusalem.” The sins listed here are varied and wide-ranging, and God says He is very displeased. In verse 17, we see that He is really talking about the house of Israel, meaning that the previous verses are also applicable to the nations that encompass the house of Israel, which can be found today in English-speaking nations (Read more here: The Fall and Rise of Britain and America). Continuing on, we see that God is angry with the so-called leaders, the “princes” (verse 6) of these nations, but even more so with the spiritual leaders, the “prophets” (verse 25) in these countries. They continually lead with false motives and in turn show the “people of the land” that it is ok to live like this. And so, in verse 30-31, God asks: “‘So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,’ says the LORD God.”
There are some interesting pieces that we should review here. The word “wall” has different connotations, and another word that is similarly used is “hedge.” The other interesting word is the word “gap” and similarly, the word “breach” can be used.
In the Old Testament, walls were built around cities to protect them and give them safety. It is interesting how many times walls are mentioned in the Bible. Of course, we can think of the city of Jericho whose inhabitants felt safe because of the strength of their walls. But we know that the walls didn’t save the inhabitants but rather fell, leading to the destruction of the city and the downfall of the people. Many battles through the centuries have been around fortified cities. And sometimes the walls withstood, and sometimes they crumbled, and the enemy marched through the breaches.
In many places God is using this analogy of walls to show the lack of strength walls can have; especially, when there is sin. In Deuteronomy 28:52 (this chapter in verses 15-68 is dealing with the consequences of disobedience to God’s laws), we read: “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.” Very early on, God warns us that the things in which we place trust and confidence are nothing more than physical and even if they seem strong, like walls, they will be destroyed if they are in opposition to God’s laws and commands.
In Ezra 9:9, it speaks of God giving the Israelites the strength and the opportunity to rebuild the house of God and the walls of Jerusalem. This was God’s gift to the people at that time. And yet Ezra was praying in this chapter because even though the people were brought back from captivity and they were allowed to rebuild, they started once again to turn back to old habits and old sins, and Ezra was deeply disturbed by what he saw.
Lamentations 2:13-14 (King James Version) says: “What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.” The “breach” or the “gap” is massive. It is so big that it gets to a point where it is impossible to fix.
When turning to Ezekiel 13:1-22, verses 3-5 specifically point out that none of the people who claim to be spiritual leaders have gone up and stood in the gap or the breach in the wall—the wall of Truth that should stand around God’s peoples and His nations. There is a facade of standing in the gap as God points out. There is a type of “truth”, but He points out that it is like untempered mortar (verse 10). It will just fall apart. In Matthew 7:24-27, we see Christ’s example point this out. The ones whose walls are built on sand, with untempered mortar, without being fully engrained in the Truth, will fall and fail. In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, it tells us that these times that are being talked about in Ezekiel 22:30 are indeed prophecies for our time. When people in top positions and in so-called positions of “spiritual leadership” are saying peace and safety, we should be very aware of what is TRULY happening. We are called to stand watch—to cry aloud and spare not.
There is a history of people who have stood in the gap, in the breach. These individuals are the spiritual “giants” in the Bible, who, while human and who did sin from time to time, were willing to live God’s Way of Life. They were willing to suffer. They were willing to allow God to lead them. God had a desire for a people who would stand for His Way of Life. There were only a few in comparison with the rest of the people of this world. A minority, if you will. Hebrews 11:1-39 gives us a brief overview of some of these people, but it also shows what they accomplished in their lives.
God has not changed in that desire, and desires such a people, today! You and I have been called at this time, brethren, to stand in the gap for God’s Way. Will we be faithful? Let us pray for one another for the strength and the power, not to let down at this critical time in history; but to be a light in this world of darkness as Satan and his demons are taking every opportunity to see that we fail in this wonderful calling we have received from Almighty God.
There is a cost in this regard. In Matthew 19:27 Peter tells Christ, “See, we have left ALL and followed you.” What are we willing to give up so that we may stand as the people of God at the close of this age? Each of us is responsible for standing up. And those opportunities will come for each one of us. As individuals, we each have different opportunities and qualities. But it is when we stand together that we make the whole even stronger.
The warnings to the houses of Israel and Judah have been going on for centuries. We will continue to proclaim these warnings as God sees fit and as He opens the doors and gives us the opportunities to do so. In Isaiah 58:1-5, we are told to lift up our voice and spare not. This means STRONGLY and BOLDLY proclaiming the Truth as God leads us to do so. Continuing through the chapter, we see that as we turn to God more and more fully, God will use us MORE powerfully. In fact, in verse 12 we read: “Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.” Repairers of the breaches! Is that what we wish to be? Do we consider ourselves at this time to be in such a position? God tells us we can be.
In Ephesians 4:7-16 we read: “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.’ (Now this, ‘He ascended’—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Our job now is to very strongly proclaim the Truth and to stand up for this Way of Life, all the while looking for and following the lead of Jesus Christ so He can use us as He sees fit in this end time and the terrible events which we are facing.
Lead Writer: Kalon Mitchell
In the Service of Jesus Christ
Do you have what it takes to be in the service of Jesus Christ? How personally do you take this commission? Is it something that leads and draws your entire focus and mindset day in and out? How can we each make sure that we are consistently being the type of Christians that Christ wants and needs? The answers and actions taken will have serious consequences!
Are You Awake?
With incredible speed and with one catastrophe after another, the United States is reeling on its heels!
From Covid-19 issues to lost jobs, massive looming evictions for millions of people, riots and destruction to food crises, it is staggering to see the leadership of this country standing around and pointing the finger at the left and right. No one is willing to take the responsibility and make hard choices. People are NOT waking up to the fact that this is just the beginning of sorrows as God has prophesied. Many people expect to come out of this time and return to normalcy.
For 6000 years man has had the opportunity and the ability to make choices. And what is there to show for those years? Do we have peace? Do we have security? Do we have an abundance of happiness and love? Do we care for each other as people?
So many times I read ideas and concepts on Social Media that are diametrically opposed to the laws of God. And they are propagated with such vehement blasphemy. People no longer can come to correct conclusions because their eyes have been blinded. In Noah’s time, the imagination and intention of ALL human thinking was only evil continually. There are nice, good people in this world, but there is still sin. And only very few are telling people that they must change. And those who speak up and blow that trumpet are criticized and railed against as haters.
This is nothing new. If you read through the Bible and notice how every time God’s people stopped doing as He commanded, He told them there would be consequences! Deuteronomy 28:15-68 spells out exactly what to expect. Read through this chapter and look at what is happening to our nation and the other Israelite nations, and it is CLEAR what is going to occur. But for most people, they cannot and will not see because they do not want to (Romans 1:28). This state of not wanting to hear the Truth is now prevalent and rampant. This happened over and over again in Israel and Judah over the years, and the Bible shows this repeatedly. They would suffer mightily for national and individual sins until they had suffered so much they had nothing left but to turn their hearts and their minds back to the Truth. So some did sometimes and temporarily.
Unfortunately, we are at a point where many are unwilling to change. Quoting three Scriptures which are prophetic for our time:
Isaiah 6:9-11: “And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.’ Then I said, ‘LORD, how long?’ And He answered: ‘Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate.’”
Isaiah 30:8-11: “Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; Who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ And to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.’”
Zechariah 7:11-14: “‘But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
Just as the prophets of old gave warning as God commanded them to do, and no one wanted to listen (and actually tried to harm and did harm at times to some of those prophets), so we today in the Church of the Eternal God and our affiliates are crying out and sparing not (compare Isaiah 58:1). To “spare not” means to not hold back. The warning by the Church has been continually blown, especially louder and with more zeal as we close in on the end of the rule of Satan and his minions.
This is not a new hat to us in the Church—if we are awake! If we have been paying attention to the preaching and have been reading our Bibles diligently; if we have been continually working to overcome; if we have been sighing and crying over all the abominations that have been occurring (Ezekiel 9:4). It’s not easy to stand in the gap and in the breach (Ezekiel 22:30; Psalm 106:23). It takes courage and strength. It takes wisdom and understanding. And all these things come from God and God alone. Isaiah 11:2-3 says: “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD…” These attributes are Christ’s, and they are given to those who seek and follow after Him. But the warnings in Matthew 24 are clear and concise that many will be offended and deception will be rampant. So I ask, are you really awake? Are you really seeking after God? Are you willing to stand up for the Truth and to support those who preach the whole Truth boldly to the world? Are you ready for the trials and the hard times that are still coming, all the while remembering that God knows all things and that it is Jesus Christ Himself who is the Head of the Church and who is leading it? It is time to wake up and get to work.
Is It Worth It?
As we walk the Christian Way of Life, we are going to be faced with the choice of deciding whether the path we are on is worth it. What will be our answer? Will we allow Christ and the Father to lead us down the straight and narrow or will we end up choosing for ourselves our own paths? Is the life of a Christian really worthwhile for us?
Divided Are We
As I look at this nation, it is divided, on so many levels. The nations around us are mocking us because of the division and the lack of unity. And this is as God has prescribed would happen if we wandered away from seeking after Him and obeying His laws.
One of the easiest ways to defeat a group of people is to separate them, to cut them off and then pick them off one at a time. Satan knows this. And he is not afraid to use this method to take us out of the Church. Christ gave a strong warning in Luke 11:14-23, quoting the last verse: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
The New Testament is filled with instruction and correction that warn us to not be divided but rather to be seeking ways to build each other up.
We find in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, that there was a schism in the Church because some people “followed” one minister, while others preferred another one, and then boasted about it. But Paul’s caution was that it was all one building that was being built. They were all doing different parts of the Work which GOD had ordained. Of course, Paul was referring to true ministers who acted in a way that was pleasing to God; he was not addressing false ministers or those who did not have or manifest the Philadelphia spirit. Continuing this theme in chapter 12, he goes on to say that when we complain about other members of the Body, because we disagree or don’t like something that someone else is doing, even though what they are doing is not against God’s Will, we are pursuing discord. Instead, we should not allow, or participate in, division and talking behind people’s backs. Paul states in verse 25: “… that there may be NO SCHISM [or DIVISION] in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”
God has placed members in the Body as He sees fit. This includes the ministry. And an even greater responsibility and a higher standard and stricter judgement are placed upon ordained ministers (James 3:1).
A minister has to be careful in using the gifts that God has granted him (Romans 12:3-8). We also teach that when men are ordained to a higher rank within the ministry, they receive more of a portion of the Holy Spirit to enable them to accomplish the task before them.
Of course, one always has to look at the fruits. We know that there have been many in the ministry who have not held on to the Truth and have led people astray, because these ministers and members were following a person and not God. This then also leads to the responsibility of ministers and members to be diligently studying, praying and remaining close to God.
One of the Scriptures that makes the hair on my arms rise is Matthew 24:10-12: “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” This is talking about those who are in the Body of Christ.
Let’s think about what offends us. Deception at this time is prophesied to become stronger and stronger. The only way we will be able to see clearly is to continually anoint our eyes with eye salve (Revelation 3:17-19). It is easy to get offended. It is easy to get sidetracked. It is easy to get off on pet peeves or things that we think the ministry should or should not say. But when we start passing such judgement, we think we know better and act against the Will of God.
If we find issues with the ministry (or with anyone for that matter), we are to try to get clarification if it bothers us that much. And we must do so with a humble non-judgmental attitude and a willingness to learn. Yet so many times it is easier to point fingers, play the blame game, or talk to others instead of going straight to the source. And what is to gain? Often times it has been the experience of the ministry that when being approached, one’s mind has already been made up and there is no talking, but rather accusation and fault finding (2 Timothy 3:1-8). Notice when this Scripture really comes into play: It refers to “…the last days”. We should pay particular note and attention to what has been written. We should take some time and meditate and we should make sure our hearts and our minds are NOT embracing any of these ways. We should perhaps also read a couple of different translations and notice the words that are used. Do any of those attitudes or ways apply to us? So much is said about not allowing our hearts to become hardened. Hebrews 3 shows us that the possibility to do so is VERY real. Rather than allowing this to happen, we are told to “exhort one another DAILY” (verse 13). Exhort means to “strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.”
We find that the words of a friend can be useful (Proverbs 27:5-6) and needed. We are told that through honest communication, we can become stronger (Proverbs 27:17). We have to be of a different mindset than that of this world. Colossians 3:12-15 says: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Hebrews 10:23 encourages us to “hold fast.” We are to consider each other, NOT to stir up deception, arguments, anger, hate, resentment, fear, loathing. But rather, “to stir up LOVE and GOOD WORKS, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” This includes assembling in person, whenever possible, on the weekly Sabbaths and the annual Holy Days.
The ministry of the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates are asking you for your continued prayers that we may effectively continue to do the Work of preaching the Gospel and to continue watching and warning the world as we are commissioned to do (Romans 15:30-33; 2 Corinthians 1:10-11; Ephesians 6:19-20; Philippians 1:19-20; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 22). And we in turn definitely keep you all in mind in our prayers, especially when we hear of problems and issues that arise.
We are all in this together until the return of Christ, and we must stick together, where God placed us, and uphold the Truth as given to us by our Savior Jesus Christ.
The Tools of God
It is important to have the proper tools when you are working in order to be able to create or to build anything worthwhile. In all areas of life, we find that those who wield tools properly help to build up and support others in what they do. Having tools is one thing, but knowing how to use them skillfully is another. As Christians, what tools are at our disposal? And how do we use them effectively and powerfully to accomplish the Work of God, for which we have been called?
The Greatest Gift
God gives us amazing gifts constantly. How do we respond in turn? Our offerings are important to God as He has command them. But what is our attitude? Is God pleased with our offerings based on our actions in how we live our lives?
Walk a Mile
When we start to talk about people behind their back, we cause division and strife. The Bible tells us instead to have mercy and empathy for others. We should work to help instead of accuse. God is the Judge and He alone reserves the right to pass judgement on people. How can we make sure that we are not doing those things that hurt others, but rather build them up?
Dangerous Prayers
Are we willing to pray dangerous prayers? What constitutes dangerous prayers? What we pray about has serious consequences for our spiritual life and our eventual outcomes. How well do we know God?
