Who is Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16?

Does Ezekiel 16 talk about the corporate church? I’m not so sure it does. It’s a long chapter, so I’m just including portions.

“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land of Canaan; thy father [was] an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: [thy] breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou [wast] naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” (Ezekiel 16:1-8 AV)

God is likening Jerusalem to a young woman whom he makes His by covenant. He did so many wonderful things to beautify her, and then he punished her because she trusted in her own beauty. The full chapter outlines the punishment and says very frank and ugly things about her adulterous behavior, but for now I’ll point out another important word, youth.

Ezekiel 16:22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, [and] wast polluted in thy blood.

In the days of her youth was when she was, in summary, found by God and cleaned up and made beautiful. This was when He made His covenant with Jerusalem. At the end of the chapter, after He has talked about the awful things He will do to pacify His anger, He again alludes to the covenant, this time connecting it with her youth.

“For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 16:59-63 AV)

Notice the contradiction. After the punishment for breaking the covenant, God says “nevertheless” and goes on to establish an everlasting covenant. In spite of all that has happened, He will establish His own covenant with Jerusalem. I’m not aware of any references to an everlasting covenant that doesn’t refer to salvation and eternal life. If I find such a reference, I’ll retract the following tentative conclusion. God is referring to true believers. We’ve already established on this site that true believers are capable of very serious sins. Even King David in his saved state was not beyond adultery and murder.

Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly [is] ready, but the flesh [is] weak.

The above verse certainly takes on new power for me in light of David’s example. The flesh is weak enough to overpower the willing spirit of a true believer. Yet, a true believer is still going to be fine in the end, though I’m firmly convinced that the Bible teaches that the eternal church as a whole has displeased and still displeases God so much that he is angry and must pacify that anger, though death is not the manner in which he does so.

Isaiah 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Jeremiah 46:28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I [am] with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

I believe this time is not past; it’s happening now. True believers have been scattered and confused by the newest teaching and attitude of Family Radio, the organization that has been used of God in the past but has now become prideful and teaches falsely, lifting up the work and beliefs of Mr. Camping to equal height with the Bible and preaching the uncertainty of the 2011 teaching as if it were written in the pages of God’s word in black and white, rather than touting it as a possibility based on currently available evidence. The change in the teachings regarding the nature of judgment and the second death has caused division and confusion. It has caused unhappiness and fear, and the fellowship, however sparse and sporadic, that true believers used to enjoy through the common tie of Family Radio, is now a thing of the past unless one blindly toes the line behind Mr. Camping. More on this later, God willing.