Literature

Ezra and Nehemiah—Building God’s Temple

One of the most interesting aspects of Judah’s ancient history is the events and people who were involved with the building of the second temple. Ezra and Nehemiah discuss these events in great detail. But few people realize that these ancient events are actually prophecies for our time. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah make that clear in their prophecies concerning the temple. This booklet reveals the heavy prophetic flavor contained within the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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Excerpt

Anciently, in Israel, God’s chief concern was with the events happening inside the nation and temple. At that time, the temple was the only place on Earth where God’s work could be found. History shows, as things went in the temple, so went things with the nation. Study Judah’s annals. Its kings either led the people to God and His temple or astray into paganism. God holds the same concern for His temple, or Church, today. God’s primary concern is always His temple. Why? God’s work is always done from His temple.

There are many lessons we must learn from this ancient history. Hezekiah was considered one of Judah’s greatest kings. At one point in Hezekiah’s reign, Assyria was about to destroy the nation. Hezekiah appealed to God through Isaiah and God miraculously saved the nation. He turned another nation against Assyria and then dispatched an angel to slaughter 185,000 Assyrian soldiers that tried to besiege Jerusalem. God solved this major problem for Hezekiah and the nation of Judah. You can study more about this incident in Isaiah 37.

Hezekiah then had to face another big problem. “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live” (Isaiah 38:1). Isaiah came to Hezekiah and told him that he would die as a result of his sickness. This came as quite a shock to Hezekiah. At this point in his life, he handled the situation correctly.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Proper Temple Building Read
Chapter 2: Rally Around God Read
Chapter 3: Beware of Enemies Read
Chapter 4: Purified Together Read
Chapter 5: Protecting God’s Treasure Read
Chapter 6: Nehemiah—A Man of Zeal Read
Chapter 7: Good Soldiers Read

About The Author

Gerald Flurry is the presenter of the Key of David television program and the editor in chief of the Philadelphia Trumpet newsmagazine. He is the founder and pastor general of the Philadelphia Church of God, chancellor of Herbert W. Armstrong College and chairman of the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation.
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