A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Who are the enemies that will desolate the house of Israel, headed by Ephraim, identified here as the United States? Many believe Russia was and some still believe it is the main threat of the United States.

For detailed studies, see (1) The Birthrights (2) Ephraim and Manasseh (3) Ephraim as the Thirteenth Tribe (4) Who is this lying Ephraim? (5) The Ox with horns of a Unicorn

Others, like warmonger John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, give incredible speeches around the world saying China is the main threat. And according to his pipe dream, America’s next forever war is unfortunately locked in the Russia-Ukraine zone instead of laser-focused against China in North-East Asia or in the South-China Sea.

This China, to warmongers, is the main threat, and thus an opportunity lost! At least Colonel Douglas Macgregor has got his foresight on focus! The threat is nearer home!

In Context, when God gave this Prophecy to Ezekiel, he was among other Captives by the River of Chebar in Babylon. Ezekiel 1:1

Ezekiel 20:

¹ And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. — after suffering some pains of seven years into captivity, in the fifth month, the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord;

— these elders were either some of them that were carried off as captives, or others who came from Jerusalem to inquire from Ezekiel how long they should continue in exile; or what methods they should use to free themselves from it;

— and sat before me; it was after some great calamities that these elders humble themselves and come to seek the Lord, by which time (verse 3 below) Ezekiel was forbidden to tell them that he would not be inquired of by them. During peace time these same people are usually contented to ignore God.

² Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,

³ “Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Have ye come to inquire of Me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.’

— as I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you; knowing their wickedness and hypocrisy, which were detestable to him, and therefore would not hear what they had to say, nor give them any answer, or direct them what they should do.

⁴ Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers; — wilt thou judge them? of course God was already judging them; right there and then;

— cause them to know the abominations of their fathers: God reminded them of the sins which were abominable in themselves and unto God, by which they would be led to see the abominable evils which they also had been guilty of, in which they had imitated their fathers;

⁵ and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up Mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up Mine hand unto them, saying, “I am the Lord your God.”

— here begins the account of their fathers; of God’s unmerited goodness to them since their deliverance from Egypt, and of their sins and how it fared with them.

⁶ on the day that I lifted up Mine hand unto them to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands,

— which is the glory of all lands; that is, either which fertility, signified by the abundance of milk and honey, is the glory of all lands, being so fruitful, is more glorious or desirable than any other country; it greatly surpassing all others in its situation, soil, and climate;

— the Targum says, “which is the praise of all provinces:” that is, was praised and commended by the inhabitants of all other provinces for the plenty in it; which must needs be very great, to support so large a number of inhabitants in it, and yet its compass but small;

⁷ then said I unto them: “Cast away every man of ye the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

— evidence from this verse shows the Israelites were still deeply indulged in things Egypt’s; the form of idolatry implied in the second commandment, and the history of the golden calf being the principle idol;

⁸ But they rebelled against Me and would not hearken unto Me. They did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. “‘Then I said, “I will pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.”

— idols of Egypt; these incidental mentions show the children of Israel in modern Egypt to have been addicted to idolatry; of gold and silver;

— and would not hearken unto me; to his word by his prophets; so the Targum says, “they rebelled against my word, and would not receive my prophets:”

— I will pour out, as a storm or mighty shower; my fury; just and severe wrath; this is a preamble to the Flaming Sword and Fire from the South raining over the North later in this chapter, and flowing into chapter 21!

⁹ But I wrought for My name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the nations among whom they were, in whose sight I made Myself known unto them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

— “I wrought for my name’s sake” this is a reference to the fact that God on several occasions did not judge Israel according to what they deserved; but, that in order to prevent the nations from questioning God’s ability to protect his people, simply went on and blessed them in spite of their sins. Two examples of this are found in Exodus 32:12 and in Numbers 14:16.

¹⁰ Therefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹ And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgements, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

— God’s statutes and Judgements are dedicated to his servants to implement, starting with the Great Assembly, later the Sanhedrin. Today this Sanhedrin has been re-established here, inheriting and empowered with the following mandates:

Deuteronomy 16:18 “Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with just judgement.

¹⁹ Thou shalt not distort judgement; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 17:11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee and according to the judgement which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do. Thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee to the right hand nor to the left.

¹² And the man who will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest who standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

“I create darkness; I create evil; I, the LORD, do all these things” Isaiah 45:7. And what happened in 70 AD in Jerusalem and Judea when God exercised His judgement?

“He shall even live” ~ history recorded only two sects that escaped this inferno:

(1) The Nazarenes as the early Christians were known in Acts 24:5. Many died as martyrs but according to Eusebius, some received divine warning and escaped to a northern town called Pella, west of the Jordan River;

(2) Pharisees of the House of Hillel escaped to Yavne. These were headed by a rabbi, Johanan ben Zakkai, the head of the Sanhedrin; he was smuggled out of besieged Jerusalem in a coffin. Later, his followers re-emerged as Rabbinic Jews who established the Hillel Calendar, which was revealed by Hillel II in about AD 359 concerning the rules of the Calendar.

¹² Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctify them.

— lots of purgings to undergo before the house of Israel “that they might know that I am the Lord.” At this moment they don’t know the Lord, those who claim they do could best be described as being pretentious!

¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They walked not in My statutes and they despised My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted. “‘Then I said I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness to consume them.

In contrast, those who rebelled, “even that man shall die” Deuteronomy 17:12 ~ history recorded two sects that died during this AD 70 inferno:

(a) The Sadducees and Boethusians, both followed the heretic Samaritan way of observing Passover, kept it on the night of the fourteenth; they died, both perished in the AD 70 inferno!

(b) The Essenes, after they had repudiated the calendar that was sanctioned by the Sanhedrin, then went about presumptuously making one of their own; they all perished the AD 70 inferno!

¹⁴ But I wrought for My name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the nations, in whose sight I brought them out. — “I wrought for my name’s sake” ~ this is not for Israel’s sake, and is repeated from verse 9 for emphasis.

¹⁵ Yet also I lifted up My hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands,

¹⁶ because they despised My judgements and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. — not only by actual non-observance of the Sabbaths rest, but in failing to make the day holy in deed as well as in name by earnest worship and true service;

— today more than 98.5 percent of pretending Christians are worshipping God by 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;

¹⁷ Nevertheless Mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “‘But I said unto their children in the wilderness: “Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgements, nor defile yourselves with their idols. — God’s judgement was spelt out through the AD 70 inferno!

¹⁹ I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, and keep My judgements, and do them; — again, God’s judgement, ignored by the Pretentious, was spelt out through the AD 70 inferno!

²⁰ and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”

— others, following the SUN-worshipping Samaritans, the Church of God Communities are showing their contempt by having their “wavesheaf offering” and Pentecost on a SUNday; always on SUNdays;

— and the Sabbaths are God’s sign, “that ye may know that I am the Lord your God,” ~ unfortunately these pretenders 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).”

— lots of purgings to undergo before the house of Israel that “ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” At this moment they don’t know the Lord, those who claim they do could best be described as being pretentious!

²¹ Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me. They walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgements to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted My Sabbaths. “‘Then I said I would pour out My fury upon them to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.

— again, God’s FURY would be poured out for polluting his Sabbaths, a serious Charge! Failure of obeying to his statutes or his judgement means facing another AD 70 inferno!

²² Nevertheless I withdrew Mine hand and wrought for My name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth.

— “I withdrew Mine hand and wrought for my name’s sake” ~ again, this is repeated from verse 9 and 14 with some variations for emphasis.

²³ I lifted up Mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries,

²⁴ because they had not executed My judgements, but had despised My statutes and had polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. — beware! repeats of offending His Sabbaths for emphasis.

²⁵ Therefore I gave them also statutes that were not good and judgements whereby they should not live;

²⁶ and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all who openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.’

— again, lots of purgings to undergo before the house of Israel that they “might know that I am the Lord.” Those who claim they do know the Lord could best be described as being pretentious, but more likely false Christians!

²⁷ “Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me, in that they have committed a trespass against Me.

²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land for which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their sweet savor, and poured out there their drink offerings.

²⁹ Then I said unto them: What is the high place whereunto ye go?’” (And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.)

³⁰ “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? And commit ye whoredom after their abominations?

³¹ For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

³² “‘And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all: in that ye say, “We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.”

³³ “‘As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out, will I rule over you.

³⁴ And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out;

— the modern Israelites, headed by Ephraim, will be scattered over numerous countries; which were unlike the Days of Old: the Northern Israel, by Assyria; and the Southern, by Babylon;

³⁵ and I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. — “I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples” ~ this new wilderness was not a geographical wilderness like the wilderness of Egypt, but a wilderness, “of strange peoples, unusual social customs, etc,”

— it was the wilderness of their captivity in an unknown civilization; and the vast majority of Israel would not pass that test of being an Israelite, any more than their fathers had passed it in the former wilderness of Sin;

— most of them, enamored with the wealth and splendor of modern “civilization” would never leave for a return to Palestine, even when free to do so. Such persons were described as, “Separated by the refining process, and not allowed to participate in the restoration.”

³⁶ As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.

— “so will I plead with you” contrasts with one “in the wilderness of the land of Egypt” and indicates this is in the future when Ezekiel was speaking to the elders of Israel; but it will soon be our time;

³⁷ And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; — to pass under the rod is going under a flaming sword and fire as from Ezekiel 20:45-21:17;

³⁸ and I will purge out from among you the rebels and them that transgress against Me. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

— again, lots of purgings to undergo before the house of Israel “shall know that I am the Lord.” At this moment they don’t know the Lord, those who claim they do could best be described as being pretentious!

— modern Israel, today as in the past, has only DUMB shepherd, for it was prophesied:

“His watchmen are BLIND; they are all ignorant; they are all DUMB dogs, they cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber” Isaiah 56:10

³⁹ “‘As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God: Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto Me; but pollute ye My holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

— “go ye, serve every one his idols” ~ this is the same kind of command that Christ gave to Judas Iscariot, when he said, “What thou doest, do quickly.” God never restrains anyone from evil who has already made up his mind to do more evil; and that would appear to be the condition of those elders who sat in front of Ezekiel.

⁴⁰ For in Mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me. There will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.

— “all hostilities and separation between Israel and Judah shall cease;” this is in great contrast we have today:

“Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still” Isaiah 9:21

— the vast majority of today’s professing Christianity (99.99 percent) in the house of Ephraim and Manasseh make one fundamental error against his brother Judah in studying The Oracles of God

— “all the house of Israel” shall serve God; all of them in the land, serve Me; Ezekiel 36:4:

“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 nations that are round about”

The full house of Israel composes of the northern house of Israel and the southern house of Judah, and could be further broken into:

— “the mountains of Israel;” that is, concerning the United States, France and the United Kingdom (including Canada, Australia and New Zealand);

— the hills: Ireland, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries: Denmark (including Greenland), Norway, and Sweden, Finland, and Iceland;

— the valleys, the low countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg;

— the rivers of the mountains of Israel are their maritime trade routes that flow into foreign land: British West Indies, Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands; Gibraltar, Malta, Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, Sri Lanka, Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Hong Kong; although now, most of these mentioned are independent;

— house of Judah, which today, is the modern state of Israel.

⁴¹ I will accept you with your sweet savor when I bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the nations.

— and I will be sanctified in you before the nations; the outside world will take notice of the power and eminence of God, in the conversion and restoration of house of Israel, and praise and glorify him on account of His doing; and when He will be visibly feared, served, and worshipped, in the midst of Israel.

⁴² And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to your fathers.

⁴³ And there shall ye remember your ways and all your doings wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

⁴⁴ And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.’”

— repeatedly, lots of purgings to undergo before the house of Israel that ye “shall know that I am the Lord.” At this moment they don’t know the Lord, those who claim they do could best be described as being pretentious!

After the Context, we are now continuing with the Core of this Study: Ezekiel 20;

but there is a composite sweetness and bitterness message incorporated; “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” Amos 3:2

⁴⁵ Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁴⁶ “Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the southland. — prophesy against the forest of the southland; this prophecy “against” indicates something with a bad outcome, and if it be from the Lord, it could be very bad;

— and this is prophecy meant for the house of Israel, and is prophesied “of the times that are far off (Ezekiel 12:27); far into the future, this time, our time.

⁴⁷ And say to the forest of the south: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee and every dry tree. The flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

— this “kindle a fire” could be literal: the southern United States and southern Europe could be “kindled with fire” and much of the farmland could be in drought and be burnt up and eventually led to famine;

— but it could more likely be symbolic, where the south of United States (Mexico and much of the Latin Americas) and the south of Europe (North and Central Africa, and perhaps the Indian sub-continent) could be burnt into famine and civil unrest that led to huge unwanted migration to the north.

— and like a swarm of locusts, it shall devour every green and dry tree; all sorts of persons should be consumed, high and low, rich and poor, good and bad; and if good men should suffer, comparable to green trees, which fire will not so easily burn, not being fit fuel for it; then much more bad men, who were by far the most numerous, comparable to dry trees, and so fit fuel for the flames, and easily consumed thereby;

— and this flaming flame, this swarm of locusts. will spread from the south to the north: “and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned.”

⁴⁸ And all flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.’” — by this “all flesh shall see that I” the God of heaven will be manifested to all the rest of the nations.

⁴⁹ Then said I, “Ah, Lord God! They say of me, ‘Doth he not speak parables?’” — parables, riddles and enigmas; sobering thoughts, isn’t it? If there are alternative ideas, please feel free to share, thanks.

Continue in Ezekiel 21

¹ And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — here is an explanation of the riddle of the last chapter; 

² “Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; — this is a prophecy “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;

More on (1) Ephraim and Manasseh (2) Ephraim as the Thirteenth Tribe

— 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, from Africa, and perhaps even the Indian sub-continent;

— some interpret “set thy face toward Jerusalem” to mean a prophecy against Judah by the then Nebuchadnezzar; but this is working backward, since the kingdom of Judah had already fallen, and Ezekiel himself were among its captives by the river Chebar (Ezekiel 1:1), and, second, this Ezekiel warning were never delivered to the house of Judah during that fall by Babylon; and, thirdly, this Ezekiel message was mainly to the northern house of Israel at the endtime;

For more about the South, see Obadiah

Into another Captivity: Ezekiel 4 – 390/40 Years Timeline

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 earlier 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; 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 Esau as Spain (Rashi quoting the Targum: Sepharad shall inherit the cities of the Southland as Spain); the Targums identified Sepharad (Obadiah 1:20) with Ispamiah, that is Spain, who will inherit the southland; hence, Spanish Jews are called Sephardim; they would be the exiles of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad and shall inherit the cities of the Southland; and this in the context that they of Mount Seir in the Southland have been given as a possession to the children of Esau, Deuteronomy 2:5,8;

— Wikipedia: Sepharad (/sɛfəræd/or səˈfɛərəd/ Hebrew: סְפָרַד Sp̄āraḏ; also Sefarad, Sephared, Sfard) is the Hebrew name for the Iberian Peninsula, consisting of both modern-time Western Europe’s Spain and Portugal, especially in reference to the local Jews before their forced expulsion from 1492 onwards. In Biblical Hebrew, the term referred to the ancient city of Sardis, whose Lydian name was Šfard; in modern Hebrew, the name has mostly come to refer to Spain.

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.’ — the Sword drawn, 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? Is this Study a mistake? 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, repeated for emphasis; 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 slayers are the Lord’s servants; the Targum says, “he gave their vengeance to be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon,” ~ yea, three times God describes Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant” (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6; 43:10).

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; for emphasis, 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 foretells, 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!

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, or Gaddafi; 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.” (Ezekiel 20:1-21:17)

See some parallel Scriptures: Hosea 5:14, “For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah; I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.”

Or in Jeremiah 5:6, “Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased;”

Or Zechariah 13:8-9

And it shall come to pass that in all the land,” saith the Lord, “two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein.

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is My people’; and they shall say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” Zechariah 13:8-9

More specifics of an enemy to punish the house of Israel, “Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the vulture that hasteneth to eat,” Habakkuk 1:8.

The Scriptures above are shrouded in cryptic languages and so the Qs are: how would such scenarios be played out? The current Russia/Ukraine and China/Taiwan arises are just two major distractions, but more importantly, who are these enemies the Prophet Ezekiel identifies coming from the SOUTH, and how would God says He will kindle a fire and “because thou hast despoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall despoil thee?” Habakkuk 2:8

Furthermore, could Isaiah 34:6 indicate where the Sword comes from? It says

“The Sword of the Lord is filled with blood; it is made fat with fatness and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.”

Note: the Scripture in Isaiah 34:6 doesn’t say it is the ‘Sword of Edom or Bozrah’ but ‘the Sword of the Lord.’ This tie in with ‘My Sword’ mentioned three time in Ezekiel 20:45-21:5 highlighted above. Isn’t this really significant?

Continuing in Isaiah 34:7, ”And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.” The unicorns symbolise the British while the bulls/bullocks symbolise the United States, and “their land shall be soaked with blood” (for more see Ephraim and Manasseh).

And in Isaiah 63:1 a question was asked, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this that is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?”

In Obadiah 1:20 “And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad (בִּסְפָרַ֑ד Hebrew 5614) shall possess the cities of the south.” — for the word ‘Sepharad’ Jonathan renders: Spain (Rashi quoting the Targum: Sepharad shall inherit the cities of the Southland as Spain); the Targums identified Sepharad with Spain, hence, Spanish Jews are called Sephardim!

One Report by McKinsey says of the 60 millions Latinos in the 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 prophecy becoming more evidenced as the years roll on year on year toward 2043?

And finally, consider this prophecy; a prophecy by Isaac on Esau after finding out that he had lost his birthright to his brother, Jacob:

“And upon thy sword shalt thou depend, entering at every place: yet thou shalt be supple and credulous, and be in subjection to thy brother [Jacob]; — that is, under the hegemony and yoke of the Monroe Doctrine since December 2, 1823;

but it will be that when his sons [the endtime children of Israel, led especially by Ephraim, the United States] become evil [such as leading in a global woke rot], and fall from keeping the commandments of the law [a culture of telling lies, swearing false oaths, domestic killings and breaking od God’s Sabbaths], thou shalt break his yoke of servitude from off thy neck….and then will I kill Jakob my brother,” Genesis 27:41-42 Jonathan

For more, see Obadiah

Ezekiel 4 – 390/40 Years Timeline

~ by Joel on February 8, 2025.

Posted in Ephraim, Esau, Ezekiel, Ezekiel Timeline, Latin Americas