Phase 2 -Page 2: A study of Ezekiel 36 where God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the land of Israel to get ready for the mass return of all Jews scattered and the victories they will have over their enemies



  In our previous study (phase 2 - page 1), we studied from Ezekiel 35, Psalm 83 and Obadiah 1 what God is going to do to the enemies of Israel for what they did to the Jews, their cities and making their land so desolate. Current study will be Ezekiel 36. God tells the Jews what He is going to do for them. God also reviews and adds some more new detail to His reasons for judging the nations that surround Israel that we studied in (phase 2 - page 1).

Click scriptures for review of
previous study(phase 2 - page 1)

Obadiah 1:1-2

Psalm 83:1-4

Obadiah 1:6-9

Psalm 83:5-8

Ezekiel 35:5-9

Obadiah 1:10-15

Ezekiel 35:10-15

Obadiah 1:15,16

Ezekiel 36:1-7
1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:
2 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.

1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:
2 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

  God tells Ezekiel to prophesy unto the mountains of Israel to hear the word of the Lord. God is honoring His covenant with Abraham when He speaks to the mountains. God gave this land to the Jews with no conditions attached because of Abraham's faithfulness.

Gen 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 15:18
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gen 17:4-8
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 ¶ And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

  In our previous study (phase 2 - page 1 - see table of scriptures above), God has watched the enemies of Israel in the 'Day of Calamity' - see phase chart above) rejoicing over the ancient high places that they are now theirs in possession. God also has seen the land of Israel made desolate and swallowed up on every side that it become a possession of the heathen and that the enemy wants the land to be just a memory when it was in the hands of the Jews.

4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

  Again, God speaks in the fire of His jealousy because this is His land that was given to the seed of Abraham. God speaks to the mountains, hills, rivers, valleys, the desolate waters and forsaken cities which became a prey and derision by the heathen nations all around Israel. These nations have appointed God's land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds. To cast it out for a prey - that is- the land is up for grabs and is not a settled issue exactly who will rule it. God is saying strongly that this is His land.

6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.

  God again speaks in His jealousy and His fury to the whole land of Israel , its mountains, hills, rivers, valleys that the land has borne the shame of the heathen long enough. For over 2500 years since the 70 year exile (see chart above), this land has been under Gentile dominion during the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, Roman, and on up to the 20th century when Israel became a nation in 1948 A.D and Jerusalem recaptured in 1967 A.D. ending Ezek 4 prophesized 2,520 year 'time of iniquity'. Since 1967 A.D. and on into the 21st century there has been the Arab/Israel struggle over land which reaches its zenith in the 'Day of calamity' around 2008 A.D.. I believe 1967-2007 is a 40 year time of preparation for events concerning mass return. The nations surrounding Israel will take over the land of Israel but God says this land has been under Gentile dominion and experienced their shame long enough. The 'time of iniquity' prophesized upon the Jews  (Ezekiel 4, Ezekiel 35:5-9) has run it's course and now God is there working with the land. God is saying enough is enough besides the other reasons listed above and that God is now going to do something about it.

Ezekiel 36:8-23
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.
9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:
10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.
13 Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God.
15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.
16 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the
uncleanness of a removed woman.
18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.
21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.
9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

  God now speaks to the mountains of Israel that in spite of how much desolation the surrounding nations have done to the mountains that they will shoot forth their branches and yield fruit for the people of Israel are at hand to come - that is - mass return is about to take place from all nations. Remember, we started our study of the 'Day of calamity' and the mass return with Jews coming from many Gentile nations by ship and being dumped in Egypt. (phase 1 - page 1 see chart above). At some point the 'Day of calamity' gets around to Israel when it is invaded by surrounding nations (phase 2 - page 1 see chart), and many of the Jews that are able to escape the sword also flee to Egypt.  Phase 3 - page 1 (see chart) which is our next study tells the story of how the Jews will have to repent in the wilderness of Egypt first to bring into what scripture calls the 'bond of the covenant' (Ezek 20:33-38). It is then that God cleanses them from their past sins and they now are in a covenant relationship as their fathers were when they knew God as Jehovah. They do not receive Christ as Messiah at this time. That happens in another series of prophecies that happen after the rapture in a time period called Daniel's 70th week.
 

                             
                             


  Phase 3 of the mass return covers all the scriptures dealing with them in Egypt where they will repent and how at that time the Ark of the covenant reappears to their joy (phase 3 - page 2). Phase 4 (see phase chart - top of page) is where they come out of Egypt under the power of Jehovah God with the Ark of the covenant and take back more land than they had before.
   In Ezekiel 36:8, God is speaking to the mountains of Israel at a time when their enemies are rejoicing in the land of Israel (Phase 2 that we are now studying). God is telling the mountains to get ready to bear fruit for the mass return of all the Jews (all 12 tribes - those in Egypt and those still scattered among all nations) to return back to their land. God tells the Jews that He is for them not against them and that He is going to turn to them (when they repent in Egypt - phase 3).  They are going to return and till the land and sow in it and it will bear fruit abundantly (phase 4).

10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

'I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it'.  In phase 4 when God brings them out of Egypt with the power of God and the Ark of the covenant and defeats their enemies, the Jews will take more land than before. The remaining Jews worldwide that have not returned but witness the miraculous exodus out of Egypt  will then return. When these remaining Jews  see both the mighty deliverance of Jehovah and the Ark of the Covenant in Zion this then will be a clear signal from Jehovah God they are to return to their land (see phase 3 , phase 4). Notice God says ALL the house and repeats ALL of it. The whole house of Israel would be the 12 tribes that have been scattered among all nations for over 2500 years (see chart above). God is saying that ALL of them will return to Israel and men shall be multiplied, the cities inhabited again and the waste places rebuilt. Men and beast shall increase and multiply carrying much fruit. They shall settle in their old estates again and they will prosper more than when Israel first came into the promised land.

12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.
13 Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations anymore, saith the Lord God.
15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.

  God says that He will cause men to walk upon the land of Israel. This is the Gentiles coming to visit Israel. Israel will be a great tourist attraction because of it's great history and religious significance to many around the world. The Jews will also build their temple to house the Ark of the Covenant (timeframe 3) that reappeared in phase 3 page 2 of the mass return. God says that Israel will be a possession for the Gentiles to enjoy as their inheritance and no longer to be blamed for devouring men because of its wars and bereaved the nations - that is - a weight upon the nations. God also says that the shame of the heathen will not be heard in Israel and as a reproach and not to cause the nations to fall any more. that He

16 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.
18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

  God reminds Ezekiel why the Jews were scattered in the first place. God starts of at a time in their history when all 12 tribes (the whole house of Israel) were living in their promised land, but they defiled it by their evil doings and fell to a moral condition of an removed woman full of uncleanness. God poured out His fury for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols they worshipped and polluted (see timeframe 2 - intro - for complete review of Israel's past).

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart
of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
33 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that, that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.
37 Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.