Should Not The Shepherds Feed The Flocks?
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
‘Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.’ ” ~ Ezekiel 34:2-4
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Kingdom Theology from Mike Bickle at IHOP-KC
(Dominionism, Latter Rain, Kingdom Now)
III. #2 ASPECT OF THE KINGDOM: GOD’S RULE IN HIS COMMUNITY
A. Webster defines a kingdom as, “An organized community, having a form of government headed by a king.” God’s kingdom is expressed as His people function as a community who are unified under leadership. Jesus gave elders His authority to care for and mobilize His people to work with unity.
B. Paul described the leadership in the church in terms of kingdom authority—elders are to rule. Elders rule by taking initiative to lead by caring for and mobilizing God’s people to relate as a family and to reach out to their city and the nations with unified efforts. Believers are to respond to their elders with a spirit of cooperation—to obey and be submissive—so as to work well together.
17Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor… (1 Tim. 5:17)
17Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief… (Heb. 13:17)
Lance Wallau, Kingdom Theology:
“a form of government… remnant elites or gatekeeper elites…”
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Here’s the link to the Mike Bickle article:
http://www.ihopkc.org.edgesuite.net/notes/2016_05/The%20Gospel%20of%20the%20Kingdom%20%28Mt.%2024.14%29.KD1.docx?__utma=111504792.622852196.1521142279.1521142279.1521142279.1&__utmb=111504792.3.9.1521142283493&__utmc=111504792&__utmx=-&__utmz=111504792.1521142279.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=(not%20provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=86758360
VI. #5 ASPECT OF THE KINGDOM: THE KING RULING ALL NATIONS FROM JERUSALEM
A. A Man is coming from heaven to Jerusalem to rule all the nations and to transition the earth to the age to come. He is coming as a Bridegroom, King, and Judge in answer to the prayers of believers in every nation who understand who they are as His Bride called to loving partnership with Him.
17The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” (Rev. 22:17)
B. Before Jesus returns, the Spirit will raise up the greatest prayer movement in history. May God establish 24/7 prayer with worship in every tribe and tongue on earth beckoning Him to rule over them. Together they will cry out for the salvation of Israel—the first nation in which every person will be saved and the leading nation that God will use to fill the earth with His glory (Hab. 2:14).
This version of Kingdom Theology takes control of the earth through every sphere of influence and establishes rule. They are “beckoning Him to rule over them”. It sounds like antichrist. It sounds like Islam, and Jihad Calvin.
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Once again, Matt, you are a wealth of information. Thanks for all the great resources!
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We have addressed the Heb 13:17 post many times, but not 1Tim 5:17. The word for “rule” is proistemi. It is made of two words, “pro” and “histemi.” Pro means to “go before” and histemi means to stand in a certain place. It has various meanings depending on context. It can mean to “stand with” and is sometimes translated as “covenant” or standing with someone in agreement. I believe the best rendering is “lead into agreement” or “lead to a place where we stand.” At any rate, unlike many other versions, a couple of good ones are YLT “The well-leading elders of double honour let them be counted worthy, especially those labouring in word and teaching,” and the CJB “The leaders who lead well should be considered worthy of double honor, especially those working hard at communicating the Word and at teaching.”
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Andy, thank you for posting the passage from Ezekiel. Paul, thank you for sharing the meanings of the word “rule”.
I’m not sure what translation Bickle used in that article. In the article he underlines words or phrases from scripture. He redefines the words and then amplifies them to support his eschatology and systematic. Those ideas are reinfored with a vast and weird theological system. It’s gnosticism and based on dreams and visions received by direct revelation from God.
There is a lot of repetition. You get it drilled into you kinda like Calvinism (some of those guys just repeat the word sovereign over and over and over).
I saw this post earlier and just read the entire chapter of Ezekiel 34. The Lord instructed the prophet to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel:
1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Notice the contrast of Israel’s shepherds and the Lord GOD:
11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
The shepherds of Israel ruled with force and cruelty (v4).
The Lord made a “covenant” of peace (v25).
“Stand with” or “stand in a certain place”
Jesus is the good shepherd. Emmanuel means God with us (Matt 1:23).
Ezekiel 34:
30Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. 31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
God is with us and has given and example of how to love and serve each other. We are not to rule over each other with force and cruelty. Elders are to feed the flock and take oversight, not by constraint but willingly, being examples to the flock:
1 Peter 5:
1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
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The 1 Peter 5 passage is a great parallel!
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