Ezekiel

Ezekiel Chapter 30

• Ezekiel 30:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 
• 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
• 3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. 

The day of the Lord always refers to judgment, not the coming of the Lord for His saints. The time of the heathen is when they are judged but also when they are in power. They seem to judge one another by the hand of God. For Babylon conquers many countries but God also judges Babylon. 

• Ezekiel 30:4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. 
• 5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

Those that are in league with Egypt also are judged. This really sounds like a prophecy that has a double fulfillment, in the days of Babylon and in the latter days as Egypt at different times is also an enemy of Israel. It depends a lot upon who is in leadership.

• Ezekiel 30:6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. 
• 7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. 
• 8 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. 
• 9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. 
• 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 

This fulfillment will be by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Latter day fulfillment will be around the time of the rule  of the antichrist. Some of these prophecies are patterns of things that are to come. 

• Ezekiel 30:11 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 fill the land with the slain. 
• 12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it. 
• 13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. 

We see here that the sin of Idolatry is the main cause for this destruction. That fact that Israel copied after the idolatry of other nations is also a factor in this judgment. 

Like I said in previous chapters. idol worship leads to other sins that destroy lives and harm the innocent. It is not just a case of God being mad because they chose to worship something else. It is the case of the enemy of our souls who has his evil presence around when there is idol worship. That evil presence will draw us into sins that defile the flesh and harm innocent children. 

Today' s love of pleasure, convenience and entertainment is leading up to this. According to the book of Revelation, we see full blown idolatry revived in latter days. 

We have abortion even when the baby is full term, we have groups that desire to lower the age of consent for adult/child sex and seeing how we allow abortion, it wouldn't surprise me to see the other legalized before too long. 

• Ezekiel 30:14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. 
• 15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. 
• 16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. 
• 17 The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. 
• 18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. 
• 19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 
• 20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
• 21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. 
• 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. 
• 23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 
• 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. 
• 25 But 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. 
• 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

God used the power of Babylon to bring judgment against Egypt and nations in league with it. They were scattered among nations just like Israel had been. 

All any nation has to do to escape the judgment of God is repent and turn to God. It is so simple to be saved as a nation and as an individual. 

God gave us the best way literally possible to make sure we can obtain eternal salvation and live holy lives so that we do not go back into sin. 

God sent Jesus Christ, His own Son to come in the flesh (be born as flesh like we are). He came into sinful flesh yet He was able to live on the earth without committing one sin. The bible says the the soul that sins, shall die. The body dies physically but the soul dies spiritually. There is no annihilation though so the soul lives somewhere in eternity but in torment not peace unless that soul is cleansed from sin and made anew by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

When one repents, God sends His mercy and saves that soul from eternal damnation. He is then blessed to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is there to help. He comforts, He convicts of sin and draws us into a right relationship with the Lord. We then can be completely baptized in the Holy Spirit to be able to be in God's service. 

Idolatry presents us with a religious substitute instead of the real salvation that saves the soul. It counterfeits the real and makes us feel religious and good but actually gives us a false sense of security. We are just as lost as an atheist if we do not repent of sin and believe in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 

Religions that tell us we can trust in Jesus but also obey rules and regulations to be saved above and beyond what Jesus told us are counterfeiting the gospel. Religions that tell us that God wants us to be rich and being rich is a sign of God's blessing is teaching false doctrine. 

Religions that tell us all we have to do to be saved is believe in Jesus and we are saved for eternity is teaching a false gospel. We must repent of sin and be cleansed of sin to be saved along with our faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus in the time of the apostles was enough to save because they already knew the law of what is good and evil and so faith in Jesus was still necessary in order for them to have eternal life. When they turned to Jesus, their sins were forgiven and they knew not to return to sin, that would have been understood. This fact has to be taught to the Gentile Christians because they did not have the law and did not know what sin was and they had to be told to repent and believe at the same time. 

The gospel is that Jesus came to save us from sin. He can't save us from sin if we are not willing to turn away from sin. He doesn't save us in order for us to continue in sin and expect to be saved. How can we be saved from sin if we are still committing it? 

If God judged these nations for sin, will He not judge America also if we go the same way and do the same things?

Ezekiel Chapter 31

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