Ezekiel (Ch 21-22)
Earlier, we have established that although Ezekiel has his face set toward Jerusalem, this prophecy is meant for the house of Israel at the endtime “for many years to come” (Ezekiel 12:27). Here, he is re-emphasizing the “Sword.”
In fact, the word “Sword” being repeated over and over again, occurs fourteen times in this chapter alone, doubled and thriced for its significance. And remember, this prophecy is meant for the house of Israel which is primarily the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France and secondarily their European allies. . .
For a more detailed Study of Ezekiel 20:45 to 21:5 about this serious subject, see A Sword from the South! click here
Ezekiel 21
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — here is an explanation of the riddle of the last chapter. It is declared that the word of the Lord was a “prophesy against the land of Israel” and the whole land, that all might know it was his decree against a wicked and rebellious people.
2 “Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; — “against the land of Israel” ~ the sword glitters to the terror of those against whom it is drawn; that is, this message for the house of Israel is meant for the United States and its European allies.
— many believe Russia and China are the main threat of the United States; but no, American threat comes from the South! And for Western Europe, the threat comes from the south of Europe; that is, North and Central Africa, and perhaps even the Indian sub-continent.
3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of his sheath and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. — and will draw forth my Sword out of his sheath; a similar situation occurred to ancient Judah when the Chaldean army rushed out of Babylon into Judea and made the inhabitants captives;
— but the Chaldean was from the North toward the South (Ezekiel 1:4), but this is different and something new; this is from the South toward the North (Ezekiel 20:47, 21:4!) Poor thing, among the wicked the righteous will also be “cut off” ~ there is no place of safety that many among the endtime pretentious are hoping for.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north, — his sheath against all flesh from the South to the North; oh, okay, this might give us a clue what “set your face toward the South” and “kindle a fire in thee. . . from the South” are meant at the end of the preceding chapter.
— this Sword will come from the South! This is serious! It’s not just unwanted immigrants, these are warriors, conquering warriors set to slaughter!! For those in Europe, they might come from the whole of Africa; and for the United States, they might come from the whole South, all the Latinos of South America! And “against all flesh;”
— (and flaming flame in chapter 20:47) but in this chapter a subtle change: “My Sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the South to the North.” ~ that is, all flesh will die! Okay I might be taken away and over the top, but then again, why so much emphasis of the Sword in this chapter?
— Jonathan renders: Spain (Rashi quoting the Targum: Sepharad shall inherit the cities of the Southland as Spain); the Targums identified Sepharad (Obadiah 1:20) with Spain, hence, Spanish Jews are called Sephardim; Zarephath and the exile of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad shall inherit the cities of the southland.
— Wikipedia: Sepharad (/sɛfəræd/or səˈfɛərəd/ Hebrew: סְפָרַד Sp̄āraḏ; also Sefarad, Sephared, Sfard) is the Hebrew name for Spain. A place called Sepharad, probably referring to Sardis in Lydia (‘Sfard’ in Lydian), in the Book of Obadiah (Obadiah 1:20, 6th century BC) of the Hebrew Bible. The name was later applied to Spain. From the Chabad Bible: “Zarephath . . . which is in Sepharad shall inherit the cities of the southland.”
5 that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn forth My sword out of his sheath. It shall not return any more.’ — more about the Sword! it shall not return any more; that is, into its sheath, until it has done all its work; meaning that the invading army should not return to their own land until they had executed the whole will of God upon the endtime house of Israel; this is the fire that should not be quenched.
— one Report by McKinsey says of the 60 millions Latinos in US that had migrated from the South; they often live in ‘deserts’ where adequate housing, groceries are hard to find. “Nearly 9 in 10 of the Latino residents in such communities lived in five states: California, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Texas.”
— McKinsey: Latinos are projected to make up 22.4 percent of the US labor force by 2030 and more than 30 percent by 2060 (Latinos population to 111.2 million by ’60); is this analysis wrong? Am I mistaken? Feel free to present your opinion; thanks.
6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins [‘hearts’ in other versions], and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. — sigh, therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; as if thy loins were broke, and go as if they were, and sigh as thou goest;
— or as a woman in travail, having her hands upon her loins as ready to break, and in the utmost distress; or heave, and groan, and sigh, till the girdle of the loins is broke, and by these motions and gesture show the miserable state of this people, and how much thou art affected with it.
7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, ‘Why sighest thou?’ that thou shalt answer, ‘For the tidings, because it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water.’ Behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.”
— ‘why sighest thou?’ . . . because it cometh” ~ the report of an invading army from the South, with a Sword approaching and besieging their land, the land of Israel, which Ezekiel had heard from the Lord;
— and the thing itself was just at hand, and would certainly be so bad; that was the issues that affected Ezekiel, and caused so much sorrow and sighing.
8 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus saith the Lord. Say: “‘A sword, a sword is sharpened and also furbished! — a Sword, a Sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished; it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter;
— it is furbished that it may be as lightning: the rod for the house of Israel; primarily the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France; and secondarily their European allies. And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the Sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer from the South.
10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter. Should we then make mirth? It contemneth the rod of My son, as every tree.
11 “‘And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled; this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished to give it into the hand of the slayer. — the Targum says, “he gave their vengeance to be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon,” ~ and three times elsewhere God describes Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant.”
12 Cry and howl, son of man! For it shall be upon My people; it shall be upon all the princes of Israel. Terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon My people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.
— cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people; primarily the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France and secondarily their European allies, it is upon all the princes of Israel; that is, the royal families and nobles of Britain, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden: they are delivered over to the Sword with my people;
— smite therefore upon thy thigh; as one grieved in spirit, in great distress and anguish, or the sense of a terrible and irreparable evil happening, as experienced by Jeremiah:
Surely after I was turned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ Jeremiah 31:19.
13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? It shall be no more, saith the Lord God.’ — and what if the sword contemn even the rod? ~ here God foretels, that if the house of Israel should despise, or not accept the correction or punishment brought upon them by the trial, the house of Israel would be entirely broken, and be no more. This is serious stuff!
14 “Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain. It is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their secret chambers. — and smite thine hands together; the meaning of the clapping of the hands, smiting the hands together is an indication of violent grief; normally accompanied by the loud crying and wailing.
— “Let the sword be doubled the third time…” this shows the tremendous size and power of the Sword coming against the house of Israel; all hope of escape would certainly be gone.
— which entereth into their privy chambers; that is, their most protected palaces, underground bunkers and forts; where they should endeavour to hide themselves from it, but in vain, like Saddam Hussein, none shall escape; their privy hideouts and palaces could not secrete nor secure them.
15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint and their ruins be multiplied. Ah! It is made bright; it is sharpened for the slaughter. — Gill: I have set the point of the sword against all their gates…. the word rendered “point” is nowhere else used, and is differently translated: by some the “fear” of the Sword; by others the “cry” of the Sword, or of those that are slain with it, as the Targum paraphrases it, “those that slay with the sword.”
— their ruins be multiplied; literally, their stumbling blocks be multiplied. The thought is that in the coming desolation trouble shall be on every side and in their perplexity occasions for ill-advised action shall arise all around.
16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. — Gather thyself up, O sword, to the right or to the left. Another rendering is: “Turn thee backwards! get thee to the right! Set thee forwards! Get thee to the left!”
17 I will also smite Mine hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest. I, the Lord, have said it.” — God will also smite his hands together in token of encouragement. He will animate and encourage the slayers to go on. God even said he needs to express His fury so he could find rest; the Targum says, “and even I will bring vengeance upon vengeance.”
18 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
19 “Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; both shall come forth out of one land. And choose thou a place; choose it at the head of the way to the city. — by the spirit of prophecy Ezekiel foresaw Nebuchadnezzar’s march from Babylon, and Ezekiel was asked to choose the two ways, by one or other of which the invading army must march from Babylon to Judea and Jerusalem;
— from MSG
God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, lay out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take. Start them from the same place. Place a signpost at the beginning of each road. Post one sign to mark the road of the sword to Rabbah of the Ammonites. Post the other to mark the road to Judah and Fort Jerusalem. The Message Bible
20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah in Jerusalem, the fortified. — normally the Babylonians came from the North, but through Rabbah of the Ammonites would be from the East.
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked at the liver. — he looked in the liver; it was the practice of the ancients to make an inspection of the entrails (especially the liver) of animals offered in sacrifice, to judge the success or failure of an undertaking.
22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem: to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a siege mound, and to build a fort.
— from MSG
The king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road and he decides by divination which of the two roads to take. He draws straws, he throws god-dice, he examines a goat liver. He opens his right hand: The omen says, ‘Head for Jerusalem!’ So he’s on his way with battering rams, roused to kill, sounding the battle cry, pounding down city gates, building siege works. The Message Bible
23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths; but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken. — and it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight; that is, the Jews shall laugh at this divination as a vain thing;
— the Voice “Everyone in Jerusalem will believe the omen to be false because they had pledged loyalty to Babylon. But his actions will remind the doubters of their guilt, and they will be taken prisoners.”
24 “Therefore thus saith the Lord God: ‘Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye have come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. — ye shall be taken with the hand; as easily as a bird is, when in the snare. The Targum says, “ye shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”
25 And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have an end, — the details given in the above few verses were about ancient Judah and its invasion, but Ezekiel’s message is for the endtime;
— “wicked prince of Israel” ~ singular, that is, this wicked prince of Israel stands out above the general wickedness of all the other princes; so who will he be, we need to wait and see;
— such details are written in coded language and only God knows what all these messages are to play out; so we may have to observe how world events eventuates in the next couple of years; which means these comments will need to be updated every now and then. Be patient, we’ll get there.
26 thus saith the Lord God: “‘Remove the diadem and take off the crown; this shall not be the same. Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high; — thus saith the Lord God, remove the diadem, and take off the crown; that is, from Zedekiah; and as these are the regalia and ensigns of royal dignity, taking them off signifies the deposition of someone as a king;
— “exalt him that is low” is to exalt the Zarah line from the Pharez line. For more details, see “Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright” by J.H. Allen
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. And it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it to Him.’
— Jerusalem to Ireland, to Scotland and then finally to England; thus three overturns, until he come whose right it is; the right of the crown and final king of Israel as scepter holder; also the Messiah, being descended from a royalty of kings of the house of Judah, and of the seed of David.
28 “And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; even say thou: “‘The sword, the sword is drawn; for the slaughter it is furbished to consume because of the glittering”
29 while they [the Ammonites] see vanity unto thee, while they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked whose day is come when their iniquity shall have an end. — the Ammonites also had false prophets among them;
— according to the Book of Nehemiah, Tobiah was an Ammonite official who attempted to hinder Nehemiah ‘s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, influenced and corrupted the Jewish high priest, Eliashib, and took over the storerooms of the Temple for his own use.
30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. — they should not be carried out of their own land, but would be destroyed in their own land.
31 And I will pour out Mine indignation upon thee; I will blow against thee in the fire of My wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy. — the false prophets of the Ammonites made false prophecies of victory; they would never recover their power, but in time would be wholly forgotten.
32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land. Thou shalt be no more remembered; for I the Lord have spoken it.’” — thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; such large numbers shall be slain everywhere, that the land shall flow with the blood of them; who shall lie unburied, and rot, and putrefy upon the ground:
— and thou shalt be remembered no more. This prophecy against Ammon and the Ammonites has no promise of restoration; and although they were not to be carried away captive as Judah, they were to perish in his own land; for the Lord have spoken it (more below).
~~~~
This prophecy against Ammon has no promise of restoration. Why? We might speculate why the Ammonites were singled out here for this special oracle; but it might have pertained to the share they had in the murder of Gedaliah, by the hand of Ishmael and the Ammonites gave these killers refuge;
Second, in historic time, when Nebuchadnezzar took his route to Jerusalem, and destroyed the city, returned to Babylon, he went about without making any attempt upon the Ammonites; which so flushed the Ammonites that they insulted the Jews and laughed at their destruction, as if their God whom they served could not save them;
And thirdly, Tobiah was an Ammonite, perhaps a governor, who along with Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arabian, attempted to hinder Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, and he influenced the Jewish high priest Eliashib, and took over the storerooms of the Temple for his own use.
And finally, the Ammonites are modern Jordan (or are they; or that a new group of people, the Jordanians, had replaced the ancient Ammonites) sitting on land allocated to three of the tribes of Israel, and they maybe taking their ancestral Promised land back, land that could even stretch to the Euphrates River.
Ezekiel 22
In Chapter 10, God’s four judgements — SWORD, war. FAMINE, occasioned by drought. PESTILENCE, epidemic diseases which sweep off a great part of the inhabitants of a land. And in this chapter it is BLOOD! Which is used 8 times.
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — as the Targum says, the word of prophecy from the Lord; that is, another prophecy:
2 “Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? Yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations. — the bloody city?… or, “city of blood” or “cities of blood” so called on account of murders perpetrated in her as in the United States with so much gun violence today.
3 Then say thou, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. — and maketh idols against herself, to defile herself; being guilty, not only of murder, but of idolatry; she was an idol maker and an idol worshipper; and which was against herself, as well as against God;
4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years. Therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations and a mocking to all countries.
— “I have made thee a reproach among the nations …” ~ this is a prophecy of what will soon happen, as indicated in the future tense used in the next verse, “Those that are near, and those that are far from thee, shall mock thee.”
5 Those that are near and those that are far from thee shall mock thee, who art infamous and much vexed. — the “much vexed” refers to the internal confusion, commotions and social disorders which characterised the decaying state of the nation.
6 “‘Behold, the princes of Israel, every one was in thee to their power to shed blood. — behold, the princes of Israel; those that belonged to the royal family, the rich and nobles of the land, governors, city chiefs, members of Parliament of Congress of a nation.
7 In thee have they made light of father and mother. In the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger. In thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. — father and mother; filial respect was one of the most frequently enjoined precepts of the law (see Leviticus 19:32; Leviticus 20:9);
— in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow; that were weak and helpless, and had none to protect them, father and husband being dead; when, according to their first rank and station as princes, they ought to have been the defenders of them; but, instead of that, distressed, afflicted, and grieved them.
8 Thou hast despised Mine holy things and hast profaned My Sabbaths. — thou hast despised mine holy thing; the holy place, the temple, and the worship of it;
— holy persons, the priests that officiated there; holy sacrifices offered up by them; the holy word of God read and explained; and all holy ordinances there administered. These words are directed to Jerusalem, the holy city, and to the inhabitants of it, who ought to have been holy men;
— and hast profaned my sabbaths; by doing their own work, and neglecting the service of God; and which was an inlet, as it usually is, to all manner of sin.
9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood, and in thee they eat upon the mountains. In the midst of thee they commit lewdness [indecency or obscenity]. — men that carry tales; informers and trepanners, or persons that, corrupted with money, give in false witness against the innocent; and the princes of Israel (v6 above) had hands in it; spreading lies about WMD that Saddam Hussein had and going to war with Iraq;
— in the midst of thee they commit lewdness; a general word for all manner of uncleanness, as adultery, fornication, incest, etc.
10 In thee have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness. In thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. — the worst of heathens, there have been and are some that incestuously defile their fathers’ bed.
11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law, and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. — horrible, shameless doings! the father-in-law committing incest with the wife’s daughter, and brothers defile their own sisters; all this against the light of nature, the law of civilized nations, and the law of God.
12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood. Thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained from thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten Me, saith the Lord God.
— innocent blood, as the Targum says; judges upon the bench, whose office it is to take the part of the innocent, and clear him from unjust charges; and protect him from the violence of wicked and unreasonable men; that lay things to his charge, which, if true, would require blood;
— and yet men in such offices took bribes to bring in the innocent guilty, and pass sentence of death on him; which is a most shocking iniquity indeed: to take bribes in pecuniary matters is very wicked; but to do it in cases which affect life is most dreadfully cruel:
— or if it is to be understood of such persons who take bribes to bear false witness against a man, to the taking away of his life, it is a very heinous and detestable sin; for, as for a set of jurymen bribed to bring in a wrong verdict, which would be equally a most enormous crime.
13 “‘Behold, therefore I have smitten Mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. — behold, therefore, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made; as one amazed at it; or as filled with indignation against it; or as grieved and distressed at it; or else as rejoicing at the punishment going to be inflicted on them for it;
— so the Septuagint renders it, “I will bring my hand upon them;” and the Targum, “behold, I will bring my vengeance upon thee for the sins of mammon.”
14 Can thine heart endure or can thine hands be strong in the days that I shall deal with thee? I, the Lord, have spoken it, and will do it. — can thine hands be strong, to hold the sword, and manage against the warlike Nebuchadnezzar and his army?
— the Targum says, “I have decreed by my word, and I will establish it.”
15 And I will scatter thee among the nations and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. — to be scattered and dispersed the house of Israel throughout various provinces of other nations, as chaff is by the winds.
16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the nations, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.’” — take thine inheritance in thyself; formerly thou wast my inheritance; but now, full of guilt, thou art no longer my, but thine own inheritance to thyself; “in the sight of the heathen,”
— from MSG
“‘Now look! I’ve clapped my hands, calling everyone’s attention to your rapacious greed and your bloody brutalities. Can you stick with it? Will you be able to keep at this once I start dealing with you? “‘I, God, have spoken. I’ll put an end to this. I’ll throw you to the four winds. I’ll scatter you all over the world. I’ll put a full stop to your filthy living. You will be defiled, spattered with your own mud in the eyes of the nations. And you’ll recognize that I am God.’” The Message Bible
17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — as the Targum says, the word of prophecy from the Lord;
18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has to Me become dross [something regarded as worthless; rubbish]. All they are brass and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
— from MSG
God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, the people of Israel are slag to me, the useless byproduct of refined copper, tin, iron, and lead left at the smelter—a worthless slag heap. So tell them, ‘God, the Master, has spoken: Because you’ve all become worthless slag, you’re on notice: I’ll assemble you in Jerusalem. As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace and blow fire on it to melt it down, so in my wrath I’ll gather you and melt you down. I’ll blow on you with the fire of my wrath to melt you down in the furnace. As silver is melted down, you’ll be melted down. That should get through to you. Then you’ll recognize that I, God, have let my wrath loose on you.’” The Message Bible
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: ‘Because ye have all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. — indeed judgement appeared in 70 AD; “all become dross” in the hands of the Romans, but it was actually God gathering them for judgement.
20 As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it to melt it, so will I gather you in Mine anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. — several metals of the baser sort are here mentioned, by a gradation from the better to the worse; tin being not so good as brass, and iron of less value than either, and “I will leave you there and melt you”
— (a) the Essenses, who formulated their own calendar, but God is a jealous Being; and they melted away;
— (b) the Sadducees (who observed a Passover and Pentecost similar to the Samaritan’s) where both defiled the tenets from the Sanhedrin and were wiped out by the Sword and by Fire!
21 Yea, I will gather you and blow upon you in the fire of My wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. — and I will leave you there, and melt you; that is, I will leave you to the sword, famine, and pestilence, to be destroyed by them;
— or with fire at the burning of the city: or, “I will rest” as the refiner does; having put his metal into the furnace, and blown the fire, sits still till all is melted.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury upon you.’”
— today more than 98.5 percent of Christians are honoring the SUN by observing SUNday. They have “their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the SUN toward the east,” Ezekiel 8:16 (more at the end).
23 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, —
24 “Son of man, say unto her: ‘Thou art the land that is not cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation.’
25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
26 Her priests have violated My law and have profaned Mine holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. — and Judah’s 70 years in captivity was because of a neglect of the land Sabbath!
19 And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all the palaces thereof with fire and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20 And those who had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,
21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years. II Chronicles 36:19-21
27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. — the princes in the midst of Israel; those that belonged to the royal family, the rich and nobles of the land, governors, city chiefs, members of Parliament of Congress of a nation.
28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord God,’ when the Lord hath not spoken. — saying, thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken; herein mimicking the true prophets, who came in the name of the Lord,
— and usually prefaced their prophecies with a thus saith the Lord; and so did these false prophets, when the Lord said nothing to them, and gave them no commission to speak in his name, or say the things they did.
29 The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
— from MSG
Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want. Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, “This is what God says . . .” when God hasn’t said so much as one word. Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice.’ The Message Bible
30 And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none. — but I found none; no reformer of them, no repairer of the breach, nor restorer of paths, to dwell in; no intercessor for them, as Abraham for Sodom, Moses for Israel; or any, like Aaron, that stood between the living and the dead to stay the plague.
31 Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.” — I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; by the sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity.
For a more detailed Study (chapter 20:45 to chapter 21:5) about this subject A Sword from the South! click here
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Today more than 98.5 percent of Christians are honoring the SUN by observing SUNday. They have “their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the SUN toward the east,” Ezekiel 8:16.
Others, following the SUN-worshipping Samaritans, the Church of God Communities are showing their contempt for God by having their “wavesheaf offering” and Pentecost on a SUNday. Always on SUNdays. And these are supposedly in God’s sanctuary, but God says He is a jealous God, so these pretentious Christians could be spewed out of His mouth! No? Regardless, there are those being described in Revelation 3:17 — wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: or else I will spew thee out of My mouth (v16,19).”
Despite the above, there’ll be a remnant that are spared: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and who cry because of all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof,” Ezekiel 9:4. These remnants “who sigh and who cry” will be marked with a letter ת in ink on the forehead.
The Mystery of Ephraim 
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