These are the days wherein prophecy shall be fulfilled, which makes the counsel of the twenty fifth chapter of the book of Jeremiah, relevant for our times. The chapter starts out by declaring the unexpected consequences of God’s people not reading his word. Jeremiah stood before the people of God and announced, in the name of the Lord, that God would be bringing Nebuchadnezzar and his army against their land, and against all these nations round about. Give special attention to the words, “all these nations,” for with them God delivered a stunning rebuke: The nations which surrounded Jerusalem would be punished for God’s people’s failure to study his word. God said that he would utterly destroy all these nations, and he would take from them the voice of mirth, and that he would make them perpetual desolations, and that they would serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. But Judah and Jerusalem did not escape God’s judgments, for God said that their whole land would become a desolation. As you read the evidence of this prophecy, keep in mind that everything that has happened, will happen again.
“The Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened... They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way... and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and to provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me... Therefore thus saith the Lord... because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north... and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness... And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years (Jeremiah 25:4-11).”
Let’s consider the two charges which were levied against God’s people. The first one to consider is the charge that God’s people are failing to hear the words of the Lord’s prophets. This offense was fashioned in the words, “Because ye have not heard my words.” The implication is that God’s people are failing to read the Old Testament scriptures of the Bible, which are the voice of the Lord. Studying the Old Testament will help believer’s to hear God’s voice leading them through these times. Therefore reading the Old Testament is not optional: God prophesied that he would bring every judgment and every curse which is written in the book of his law, upon those who fail to meet this requirement. He labeled those that ignore his voice, people who are at ease, and he testified of his anger which is burning against them (Deuteronomy chapters twenty eight and twenty nine).
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion... which are named chief of the nations... Ye that put far away the evil day... and anoint themselves with chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed (from Amos 6:1-7).”
“And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil. Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation (Zephaniah 1:12-13).”
“It shall come to pass, when a man heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace... The Lord will not spare him, but the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot his name from under heaven (Deuteronomy 29:19-20).”
“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination (Proverbs 28:9).”
“A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words... Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them (Jeremiah 11:9-11).”
“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:18).”
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left (Isaiah 30:21).”
The second charge which was levied against God’s people, is that they are serving other gods: “The Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets... They said, Turn ye again every one from his evil way... and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and to provoke me to anger with the works of your hands... Yet ye have not hearkened unto me (Jeremiah 25:4-7).” God consistently accused his people of serving other gods, but the people are not knowingly offending him in this way. The true interpretation of this offense was kept hidden. It is the result of not reading the scriptures. If people do not read God’s word, then they are trusting in a man’s interpretation of it. God calls it, trusting in the flesh, and people who are guilty of partaking in this offense are under the assumption that their leaders have perfect understanding of his word; but each and every sabbath day, false and inaccurate representations of God’s word are preached in the pulpits of his sanctuaries. Another problem is that if leaders are not spending time in the scriptures they tend to get prideful and feel omnipotent in their understandings. For these very reasons God craftily referred to our leaders as, gods. Furthermore God called “religion,” the work of our hands, and proclaimed it to be a man-made doctrine of vanities, even testifying that there is no everlasting life in its laws.
“Their stock is a doctrine of vanities (Jeremiah 10:8).”
“All nations before him are nothing; they are counted to him as less than nothing, and vanity (Isaiah 40:17).”
“Their land is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made (Isaiah 2:8).”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their strange vanities (Jeremiah 8:19)?”
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods (Psalm 82:1).”
“Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish (Jeremiah 10:14-15).”
“Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god... Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up to their own hearts’ lusts: and they walked in their own counsels (Psalm 81:8-12).”
When Jeremiah finished delivering God’s message to the people, he was given a task to do: “Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause the all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it (Jeremiah 25:15).” Jeremiah’s actions were an enactment of prophecy. The nations are being handed a cup of end time understanding: they are hearing God’s message, and now they have to decide whether or not to believe, and do it. But regardless of their decisions, everyone everywhere will come to know that God created the divisions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and that he saved his people in accordance with their covenants; but now, because of earth’s corruption, God is destroying every religious division, and uniting his people together as one, through a new covenant which is declared to be the new standard of our salvation. Everyone will come to know these things because there is a Judgment Day: and on that notorious day, everyone who is not in agreement with God’s word will either be destroyed, or corrected and punished. Before reviewing the evidence of these matters, note the parable meaning of the word “sword:” it is the word of God as it proceeds forth from the mouths of believers. When believers envision a sword it allows them to perceive that God’s word has the ability to pierce through people’s hearts, as well as their minds: furthermore it has the power to cut his people off from their corruption.
“O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done (Matthew 26:42).”
“The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).”
“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished... to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people... 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 wrapped up for the slaughter. Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set (Ezekiel 21:9-16).”
“The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).”
“And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul (Jeremiah 32:39-41).”
Being cut off by the sword is either a matter of force, or it can be an election of choice. It is a matter of force when God fulfills his word, and cuts off his enemies and his adversaries with the prophesied judgments; but it is an election of choice if believers open their eyes and willingly decide to cut themselves off from their former beliefs, in order to humbly apply themselves to do the will of the Lord. A remnant of God’s people will elect to cut themselves off: however this means that the majority will be cut off by force. “And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them (Jeremiah 25:16).” Indignation comes from being out of covenant, and from being unprepared. It would be wise to consider that no matter how unprepared believers are, it will go well for them if they prayerfully study the covenant message.
“I am the Lord... That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish (Isaiah 44:24-25).”
“He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty... He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man (from Job 12:21-25).”
“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad (Jeremiah 51:7).”
“His meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him (Job 20:14).”
“The earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant (Isaiah 24:5).”
“He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee (Isaiah 30:19).”
“The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away (Isaiah 51:11).”
Jeremiah’s journey through the nations was in a chosen order: for by it God revealed when judgment would come upon each one of these identifiable groups of transgressors. The wine cup came to all believers first: “To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day (Jeremiah 25:18).” This verse establishes God’s intention to clean up his own house first. God’s people are being called out of religion, so there is no need for them to fear what God refers to as, the desolation: the mystery of the word desolation is that it refers to what is left of religion after God’s Spirit, and his people, have removed themselves and come out of her. The curse, the astonishment, and the hissing are words which identify the reactions of the onlookers as they witness the afflictions of God’s judgments which shall be poured out upon all desolate places. Before examining the evidence of these matters, understand that whenever a person perceives the truth of God’s word, if they humbly cry out unto him with their whole heart, and they make confessions unto everyone whom they might have been mislead or harmed by their transgressions, then they will be delivered into God’s awaiting arms of protection: for God is a merciful God, and a God of deliverance.
“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, and they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward (Isaiah 1:4).”
“Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth it, both his ears shall tingle... and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies... because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger (2Kings 21:12-15).”
“I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without inhabitant... because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart (Jeremiah 9:11-14).”
“The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear (1Peter 4:17-18)?”
“It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call (Joel 2:32).”
“Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed... and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 3:13).”
“But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee (Psalm 50:16-17).”
It is God’s objective to swallow up religion in victory. In order to accomplish this, God is sending four sore judgments upon all flesh, starting with his people. These judgments will work to guide the people in the way that God wants them to go. God’s testimony concerning these judgments was prophesied from the foundation of scripture, but the understanding of it was kept hidden until the people had corrupted themselves. At this time the hidden truths of scripture are being released through the craftiness of God’s parables. God is showing believers what he will do, before it happens, so that when it happens those who trusted in the truth of it, will rejoice and give their testimonies: and many more people will be added to the Lord. The first judgment, which is the sword, is that of delivering the truth of his message, and warning the people about God’s judgments. One third of all believers will agree with the Lord once they are shown the evidence of it, and especially when it comes from the sanctuary.
But for everyone who misses out on being cut off by knowledge, there is a second judgment, which is the sound of the trumpet. This judgment includes the punishments of pestilence, and famine. It works somewhat like this: on the day of the trumpet, three things will occur: the wicked will be destroyed; and all the people who heard God’s end time message but ignored it, will be cast into outer darkness, (which is a parable way of testifying that they will be cut off from the Holy Spirit); and the Lord will pour a loathsome disease of pestilence upon everyone that is protesting and trying to cut off the way and truth of his message. This loathsome affliction will continue to spread, for this is how God will defend the innocent: their attackers will suffer the affliction. The mystery of the word “famine” is that it refers to a hunger for God’s word. When believers witness God’s judgments, many of them will want to know what is happening: some will leave the places of worship which are not promoting his end time message, to attend the places which are. Their exodus will help to create the desolation: for God is consuming the righteous from off the land, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Last of all, for everyone left in the desolate sanctuaries which are continuing to hope in traditional doctrines and beliefs, God has prepared a third judgment: the army will come for the purpose of enforcing his message. The people of the army are referred to as a noisome pestilence, and as wild beasts; and God has testified against them saying that they will rob assemblies of their sons and daughters, and that they will destroy their sanctuaries, and they will scatter their congregations. Nevertheless, when the army delivers God’s message, the people of the sanctuary will be mortified to witness the afflictions which will come upon their own leaders. These ramifications will convince some of the people to join together with the army of believers that are taking God’s message to the nations: find evidence of this in the word, scattered. But wherever they go, the Lord will send the sword after them: and their troubles will only continue to increase until the day that they discover the unbridled truth of his message, or else they are destroyed.
“I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 14:21).”
“This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations... They have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them... Therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with the famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:5-12).”
“He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine (Ezekiel 6:12).”
“Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness (Jeremiah 13:16).”
“The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness (Matthew 8:12).”
“Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: which we have not heard and known, and our fathers have not told us (Psalm 78:1-3).”
“I will incline mine ear to a parable (Psalm 49:4).”
“He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel (Psalm 147:19).”
“The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth (Psalm 9:16).” “I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people (Isaiah 51:4).” “Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth (Psalm 76:8-9).”
“Judgments are prepared for scorners (Proverbs 19:29).” “I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me (Psalm 119:75).”
“When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).”
“He will swallow up death in victory (Isaiah 25:8).”
The days of the sword have already begun: knowledge has already gone out. But certain men have sworn oaths to hide their involvement with the Lord’s message. In effect, they are turning their backs upon God. Therefore God has turned his back upon his own people: he has poured out affliction, and has permitted hypocrisy and evil injustices to prevail, and now wickedness is reigning over righteousness. These signs are prophesied in the eighty ninth Psalm. They are meant to cause these leaders to open their mouths before God’s vengeance is poured out. If they will acknowledge the new covenant, and confess their deeds and what God has done for his people, then salvation will come unto them, for God will pour his Spirit upon them. Everyone who ventures to believe God’s message is called, the remnant of Jacob: and they will come forth and dwell safely in a parable place which is called mount Zion, where their feet shall never be removed, and their sanctuaries shall continue to stand strong. This is the one and only way in which these leaders will be able to avoid God’s judgments.
“Thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed... Thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground... Thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin... Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Thou has also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle... How long, Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself forever (Psalm 89:38-46)?”
“I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies (Jeremiah 12:7).”
“Thus saith the Lord... which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jes-u-run, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring (Isaiah 44:2-3).”
“The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness (Isaiah 10:21-22).”
“It shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord... This city shall remain for ever (Jeremiah 17:24-25).”
“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: and there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things (Ezekiel 20:40).”
“For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it (Psalm 132:13-14).”
“If thou will return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove (Jeremiah 4:1).”
“As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it (Isaiah 31:5).”
When Jeremiah continued to journey with the wine cup, he took it to “Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people (Jeremiah 25:19).” Pharaoh’s name represents Christian worship leaders who reign over God’s congregations with the iron laws of Christian salvation, and they refuse to release the people from those laws. These particular Christian leaders were those who were not listening: they utterly ignored the work which God was doing in order to prepare his people for end times. Their allotted time for making preparations, is past: now God has hardened their hearts that he might preform signs and wonders upon their great city, which is spiritually called Egypt, and Sodom (Revelation 11:8). When these leaders are shown the truth of God’s message, they will not believe it, and they will be committed to snuffing out the message by coming against it. This is the day of the trumpet, a day wherein the Lord will smite Pharaoh and his helpers with an abhorring affliction for the abomination of their mistakes. Upon this dark day, Nebuchadnezzar’s army will muster a great victory, because Pharaoh and his helpers will have no power to withstand them.
“Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed (Jeremiah 46:17).”
“Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself (Ezekiel 29:3).”
“The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go; their redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause (Jeremiah 50:33-34).”
“Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots... for this is the day of the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries (Jeremiah 46:7-10).”
“I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt (Ezekiel 30:25).”
“I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt: and he shall burn them, and carry away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garments; and he shall go forth from thence in peace (Jeremiah 43:12).”
“He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: none shall be weary nor stumble among them... Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent... Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions, yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof (Isaiah 5:26-30).”
“He shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves of the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away (Zechariah 10:11).”
“I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt... and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it (Ezekiel 30:10-12).”
“Wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that do down into the pit (Ezekiel 32:18).”
“The Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them (Isaiah 19:22).”
“I... called my son out of Egypt... I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them... He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return (from Hosea 11:1-5).”
Next Jeremiah took the wine cup to rulers of nations whose names were that of ancient peoples which dwelt in the land of Israel before God gave it to the Hebrew people: “All the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod (Jeremiah 25:20).” (Azzah, is the same Hebrew word which was translated, Gaza). The words, “all the mingled people,” confess that unbelieving heathen are thriving in the midst of these congregations. They had the desire of greedy gain, therefore the leaders of these nations diminished the power of God’s word in order to increase the size of their congregations: but what resulted is people who are prideful, and arrogant in their faith.
City names made a way for God to advertise the different judgments which shall come upon each one of these identifiable groups of transgressors, because judgment is according to transgression. The judgments themselves furnish evidence of the mistakes which are being made. These particular names were of cities that were once inhabited by the Philistines. God caused the name “Philistine” to represent prejudiced believers who hate others simply because of their religion. There is evidence that the Philistines are working to help forward the covenant message, however their motivation is wrong: they are motived by their desire to see God’s vengeance upon their enemies. Not only are they guilty of despising God’s people, but they are also guilty of serving idols, and of ignoring God’s instructions. Before reviewing the evidence of these matters, it is beneficial to know the parable meaning of the word “Cherethims” (which is same Hebrew word that is translated “Cherethites”) The Cherethims were a people which served in king David’s army, therefore their name is evidence that even some Holy Spirit anointed Christians are counted among the Philistines. The Lord will not fail to send all four of his sore judgments upon the Philistines, in order to correct and rebuke them.
“The Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them (Ezekiel 25:15-17).”
“They shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together... And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea (Isaiah 11:14-15).”
“Gather yourselves together... O nation not desired... before the Lord’s anger come upon you. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant (Zephaniah 2:1-5).”
“I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: and I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him the holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God (Amos 1:7-8).”
“They were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works (Psalm 106:35).”
“Like as you have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours (Jeremiah 5:19).”
“Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; Lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited (Jeremiah 6:8).”
“I have driven him out for his wickedness (Ezekiel 31:11).”
“Thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee (Deuteronomy 28:29).”
Jeremiah then took the wine cup to nations whose parable names represent Islamic and Christian believers who were privy to the covenant message before the day of his vengeance, but they failed to confess it before the congregation. “Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon. And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners (Jeremiah 25:21-23).”
Edom, Moab, and Ammon are names which pertain to the Islamic nation; and the names of, Tyrus, and Zidon, pertain to the Christian nation. The deciding factor as to who is called by what name is based upon transgressions which were committed after these leaders drank from the cup of understanding. The backslidden feared not to continue to uphold their traditions; while others promoted little intentional lies that worked against the truth; and the rest remained silent because they swore an oath to do so. The three city names are evidence of Islam’s inclusion in the prophecy; and, as previously mentioned, they also work to provide evidence of judgments, and to reveal mistakes which are being made. The word’s “utmost corners” represent believers whose religious beliefs have kept them from ever fully knowing the Lord; and the words, “isles beyond the sea,” represent believers who know the Lord, but their ways are not his ways, so increasingly they are far off from him. The “isles” are surrounded by the sea: whose parable name represents confused, and godless people.
“He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands (Job 22:30).”
“I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 49:32).”
“Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus... Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee... Thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub (Ezekiel 28:2; 28:15-16).”
“Behold, I am against thee O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus... and it shall become a spoil to the nations... For I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses... and companies, and much people (from Ezekiel chapter 26).”
“We have heard of the pride of Moab, (He is exceedingly proud)... I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it (Jeremiah 48:29-30).”
“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime (Amos 2:1).”
“I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay (Jeremiah 20:9).” “Shall he break covenant, and be delivered (Ezekiel 17:15)?”
“An angel of the Lord came up... and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land... but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this (Judges 2:1-2)?”
“Your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it (Isaiah 28:18).”
“Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I also will stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. And I will lay vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord (Ezekiel 25:12-14).”
Here are two more beneficial instructions: The Lord is requiring his people to wash themselves, and to change their garments: for he testified that everyone who is clothed in strange apparel on the day of his sacrifice, will be punished. The way that we wash ourselves, and make sure that our garments are white, is by studying the words of Jesus’ teachings: this is the new covenant. The Lord has also revealed that the sabbath day is an unacceptable day for believers to be entering into his sanctuaries with his end time message. There is no entering in on the sabbath.
“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes (Isaiah 1:16).” “Let thy garments be always white (Ecclesiastes 9:8).”
“We are as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rages (Isaiah 64:6).”
“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away his filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment (Zechariah 3:3-4).”
“Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word (Ephesians 5:25-26).”
“Jesus said unto them... Verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5:19; 5:24).”
“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? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth the winevat
(Isaiah 63:1-2)?”
“It shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ house with violence and deceit (Zephaniah 1:8-9).”
“Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day... If ye diligently hearken unto me... this city shall remain for ever... But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched (from Jeremiah 17:21-27).”
“I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah (Amos 1:12).” “For the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah (Isaiah 34:6).”
“I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 11:10).”
The names of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyrus, and the Philistines, are all posted on a piece of evidence which discloses the nations that were involved with the king of Assyria. His name in prophecy represents prophets which were given the covenant message: they chose to change it according to their liking, and then they sold it to the nations. The Assyrian promoted his own agenda over what God’s word actually says. In other words, he told lies, even to his own helpers: therefore they are without the Holy Spirit. Wisdom will recognize that the Assyrian was a necessary part of God’s end time plan: his works began to unite the Christian nation by bringing down some of the divisive denominational walls of religion, and thereby he helped to ready God’s people for the Lord’s return. However the Assyrian’s teachings are riddled with lies and inaccuracies, therefore they are no longer of any value to the Lord, his time is past: he needs to acknowledge God’s might, and confess his own deeds. Note that the name, Assur, which is included as part of the evidence, is same word that is translated, Assyrian.
“Lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones... They have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: the tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur is also joined with them: and they have holpen the children of Lot (Psalm 83:2-8).”
“Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon... The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high... I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches... His heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness... In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning... I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit... They also went down into hell with him... they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen (From Ezekiel 31:3-17).”
“Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust (Nahum 3:18).”
Because of their transgressions, the Assyrian and his helpers are unknowingly dwelling in the parable city of Babylon: for everyone who hears God’s message and doesn’t cooperate with it, dwells there. Babylon is the city of destruction, because it shall be completely destroyed in the day of God’s wrath. Until that day, Babylon is but a grave, for it is the dwelling place of the spiritually dead. Seekers can prove which parable nations dwell in Babylon by observing the prophesied judgments which shall come upon the nations. God called his people by such names as, “the mighty men of Moab,” “the house of Judah,”and “the inhabitants of Tyre,” but regardless of their names, everyone who ignores God’s instructions, or rejects the advancement to his message, is cast into the parable city of Babylon: and there in the dark pit of destruction they will remain until the day that they either fulfill the works of righteousness, or else are punished and destroyed.
“Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows... for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her (Jeremiah 50:13-15).”
“Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited... but the wild beasts of the desert shall lie there... and the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and the dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged (Isaiah 13:19-22).”
“Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it (Jeremiah 49:17-18).”
“I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have magnified themselves against their border. Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gommorah, even the breeding of nettles, and salt pits, and perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts (Zephaniah 2:8-10).”
“Thus saith the Lord to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? Then all the princes of the sea shall come down... and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee... For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited... when I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit... that thou be not inhabited... I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more (from Ezekiel 26:15-21).”
All the while that God was delivering the covenant message and preparing his people for end times, the Christian leaders of Zidon were carelessly dismissing it, and carrying on with their daily lives, and with their traditional teachings. But when the honorable city of Tyrus is afflicted, these leaders will know what was done: then they will cross over quickly and become part of the army of believers which are promoting the covenant message. But serving in the army is a snare, and they are proceeding without the Holy Spirit. These leaders are not following God’s instructions: they are ignoring their need to repent and confess their deeds. The judgment against them, is that God will cause them to serve, along with their enemies, in a land which they know not. When these believers cry unto the Lord, they will be shown the unbridled truth of his word, and they will understand it. They will teach their fellow combatants that which they have learned, so that some of the people serving in the army will be delivered from the deceit and violence, and from the day of destruction.
“Woe unto thee... for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Zidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21).”
“They dwelt carelessly, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in anything (Judges 18:7).”
“Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her (Ezekiel 28:22).”
“O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest (Isaiah 23:12).” “Pass over the isles of Chittim, and see... Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit (Jeremiah 2:10-11).” “There is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them (Isaiah 23:1).”
“There be the... Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit (Ezekiel 32:30).”
“Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me (Psalm 69:14-15).”
“Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue (Psalm 120:2).” “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper... He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence (Psalm 72:12-14).”
“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation... Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness (Psalm 51:12-14).”
Jeremiah continued to journey, and took the wine cup to the kings of the desert. “And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert (Jeremiah 25:24).” The words “mingled people” once again indicate that these leaders have allowed the heathen to remain in their congregations. The word “Arabia” testifies of Islam’s inclusion in the prophecy, however the word “desert” applies to every nation. These are the leaders who continued to reject all knowledge of end times, and who have refused to drink from the cup. They are causing their congregations to dwell without the Holy Spirit, in the famine stricken land of Babylon. God used the words stubble, thorns, and briers to magnify the effects of the mistakes of these leaders. God’s judgment against them is that their glory will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy. The consuming “fire” has to do with the passions of believers within the congregation, as they begin to discover and learn the truth: out of fear of the Lord they will fight against their own priests; and against anyone else whom they consider to be lying. The heat of their exchanges will continue to burn until either conversion happens, or else our merciful God executes judgment, and afflicts and consumes their unrighteousnesses, in accordance with their deeds.
“The hindermost of the nations shall be as a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert (Jeremiah 50:12).”
“The sea is come up upon Babylon... her cities are a desolation, and a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth the son of man pass thereby (Jeremiah 51:42-43).”
“Cursed be the man... whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land not inhabited (Jeremiah 17:5-6).”
“In the forest of Arabia shall ye lodge (Isaiah 21:13).”
“The light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; and consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field (Isaiah 10:17-18).”
“Wickedness burneth as a fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest... And the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother (Isaiah 9:18-19).”
“What is the vine tree more than any tree, or a branch which is among the trees of the forest? ...Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel... Thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them; and they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set my face against them (from Ezekiel chapter fifteen).”
“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right: If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him (Ezekiel 33:14-16).”
Jeremiah then carried the cup unto the kings whose names are associated with Nebuchadnezzar’s army. “And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth (Jeremiah 25:25-26).” The parable name, “north” has already been proven to represent backslidden believers of every religion who are taking part in the army. The names Zimri, Elam, and the Medes, have one distinct commonality: acts of violence, and war (1Kings 16:10; Genesis 14:1-2; Daniel 9:1). God stands firmly against all violence: but because of wickedness and man-made doctrines and oaths, the people of the army have not obeyed God’s commandments. Remember that the army is largely made up of believers who were not listening to the Lord, and who were scattered during his judgments of affliction; but serving in the army is a snare! It is the net that God prepared as a punishment for hypocrites, as well as their helpers. God’s word associates the army with captivity, even depicting its combatants in bands, with bonds and chains. Members of the army are spiritually dead: the worst of them are called “Chaldeans,” and it is written that they dwell in Babylon.
“Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because you have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor (Hosea 5:1).”
“My net also will I will spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them (Ezekiel 12:13-14).”
“My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it (Isaiah 5:13-14).”
“There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit... There be the princes of the north, all of them... which are gone down with the slain... and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit (Ezekiel 32:24; 32:30).”
“Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans... For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations... And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord. Because you were glad, O ye destroyers of mine heritage (Jeremiah 50:8-11).”
“Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished (Isaiah 13:15).”
“Come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of heaven... Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon (Zechariah 2:6-7).”
“The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple (Jeremiah 50:28).”
Then Jeremiah came to the final stop of his journey. “The king of She-shach shall drink after them (Jeremiah 25:25-26).” The name “Sheshach” appears twice in the scriptures: once here in this verse, and once again in the fifty first chapter of the book of Jeremiah. The prophecies of the fifty first chapter work to reveal the true identity of Sheshach. To start with, God likened the situation of Sheshach unto a false god by the name of Bel, saying “I will punish Bel in Babylon.” From the prophet Isaiah we learn that Bel was an idol who was created by the people: and they worshipped him, but his burden was heavy, and regardless of everyone’s valiant efforts, Bel was unable to save them from their troubles, and they went into captivity. The lesson gleaned here is that of our need to fully cooperate with God’s commandments as well as his instructions, because otherwise your gods will be unable to save you from your troubles, regardless of how hard you work, or how weary that you might become: for God is working against you.
“How is Sheshach taken! And how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof... I will punish Bel in Babylon... and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall (Jeremiah 51:41-44).”
“Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts... Your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity... They bear him upon the shoulders, they carry him and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall call unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble (from Isaiah 46:1-7).”
A second clue regarding Sheshach’s identity is heard in a prophesied accusation: “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say (Jeremiah 51:34-35).” The people of the congregations are accusing their leaders of such things as devouring men, and of casting them into hell.
The leaders of Sheshach are guilty of despising God’s instructions: they have set themselves up to reign over a people with an unfamiliar religious background. God calls it: neighing after their neighbor’s wives. These leaders were hired by the congregation in an effort to overcome the humiliation of seeing affliction upon their own leaders. There is friction between the assemblies of Sheshach and their new leaders, because of irreconcilable differences. There is a second clue found in the fifty first chapter, which further establishes Sheshach’s identity: “We are confounded because we have heard our reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house (Jeremiah 51:51).” In other words the people of Sheshach have discovered that their new leaders are without the Holy Spirt because they have not followed the Lord’s instructions. Without controversy these leaders are transgressors, yet they are exactly what God prescribed as a remedy for congregations that have not been reformed. The shaming and abrasive teaching styles of these leaders will purge the congregation, and make it clean.
“I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them (Zechariah 11:6).”
“I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. The people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor (Isaiah 3:4-5).”
“They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife (Jeremiah 5:8).”
“The man that committed adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10).”
“How weak is thine heart... seeing thou dost all these things... thou hast not been as an harlot... but as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them... Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God... I will even gather them round about thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged... and I will give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt give no hire any more (Ezekiel 16:30-41).”
When everything known about Sheshach is combined with everything that is known about the day of God’s wrath, it is easily surmised that on Judgment Day, when everyone who despises the Lord’s counsel is either destroyed or punished, Sheshach shall be among the casualties.
“Do ye not know... that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. Who shall declare his way to his face? Who shall repay him for what he hath done? He shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb (Job 21:29-32).”
“I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, and her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts (Jeremiah 51:57).”
“Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law... They have set up kings, but not by me... Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols... the workman made it; therefore it is not God... The bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up... For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers... I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing... Now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt (from Hosea chapter eight).”
An important part of God’s magnificent plan is the regathering of his people back into their own sanctuaries, along with their own priests, where they can learn the amazing works of the Lord, and rejoice together in his goodness. This regathering is part of God’s unbreakable promise: therefore this is where God will pour out his spirit, and it is where his people will be glorified. His plans for the regathering are heavily prophesied throughout prophecy, with a portion of the evidence hidden in verses which testify that the wicked will vomit up the treasures they have devoured. Devouring has everything to do with leaders trying to swallow up the truth by using method’s of intimidation or bullying to get rid of any people that disagree with them; they have muddied up the pure doctrine of God’s word with their own erroneous beliefs, and they are refusing to set the record straight. They have severely underestimated God, for there is no victory against him. If these leaders do ever truly grasp the truth, they will need to go out and seek for those whom they have wronged, and make their confessions.
“Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me... every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil (Psalm 56:1-5).”
“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us. Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: then the proud waters had gone over our soul (Psalm 124:2-5).”
“Woe to the shepherds that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ...With force and cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field... Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord... Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock (Ezekiel 34:2-10).”
“I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall (Jeremiah 51:44).”
“He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God will cast them out of his belly (Job 20:15).”
“Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friends; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler (Proverbs 6:2-5).”
“If thou bring thy gift before the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and them come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23-24).”
“They shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land (Isaiah 13:14).”
“Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there (Ezekiel 39:28).”
“If any of thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from hence will he fetch thee (Deuteronomy 30:4).”
“There is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border (Jeremiah 31:17).”
“For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it... I will clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish (Psalm 132:13-18).”
“For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel (Jeremiah 51:5).”
