Pursued Relentlessly
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Ezekiel 5:12 continues: “A third part of you shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of you: and a third part shall fall by the sword [war] round about you [these countries become surrounded by enemies]; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword [war] after them.”
Notice the similarity here to Matthew 24:1-51 and Revelation 6:1-17. We again read regarding war, famine and pestilence. As we have seen, to truly understand prophecy, one must allow the Bible to interpret itself. When this is done, a clear picture emerges every time.
Allow God’s Word to paint again a sobering image in your mind as we next read the portion of Scripture just after God describes breaking the staff of bread in Israel: “And pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword upon you” (Ezek. 5:17).
Blood and death will blanket the earth! God has appointed punishment to be everywhere, and He means it! Ministers of this world are not talking about these things. They will not talk about them! They know that if they do, they will lose their following—and almost certainly their jobs. This information is not pretty or popular. But God’s ministers never worry about what men will say in response to God’s Word.
We learn more in Ezekiel, chapter 6: “Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remains and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish My fury upon them” (Eze 6:11-12).
Here are more shocking passages from Ezekiel: “The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him” (Eze 7:15), and repeated and expanded by God for emphasis is also, “Thus says the Lord God; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence” (Eze 33:27). The picture just within these three passages is almost too horrifying to contemplate.
There is seen in these descriptions to be no way out! God permits no escape for those who will not turn to Him! Many will try to flee, but will be unable. Death will literally pursue them like a posse or trained tracker would an outlaw.
Great numbers will wish they had heeded the very message explained in these many chapters before it was too late!
Wild Animals Unleashed
But there is more. Now note another element within the prophetic framework of what lies ahead. God also speaks in Jeremiah of sending wild animals through the land as punishment. He is again graphic: “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 goes out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased” (Jer 5:6).
Ezekiel sheds light on the immense scope of this punishment: “If I cause noisome [bad, evil] beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts...” (Eze 14:15).
Think about this scene! Predatory animals will literally have free reign on Earth—controlling the land. Understand that, while man was created to “have dominion over…every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26)—the roles will soon reverse. Wild animals will dominate the landscape—“that no man may pass through”!
Now read this from Leviticus 26:1-46 “I [God] will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate” (Lev 26:22). Children disappear. Livestock are killed. The human population dwindles.
And this from Deuteronomy: “…I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust” (Deut 32:24).
Finally, notice what God also states through Jeremiah: “And I [God] will appoint over them four kinds, says the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy” (Deut 15:3).
Statistics show that the populations of rats, rabbits, chipmunks, mice, deer, coyotes, squirrels, possums and skunks are multiplying. So are bears, wolves and mountain lions. And so also are now wild bands of roving domestic dogs in certain communities, which when released or escaped find each other and naturally revert to their hunter’s pack instinct—and become extremely dangerous.
The Bible reveals God will unleash all these on a sinful mankind!
Adding this element to the devastation trailing natural disasters seen in the last chapter is all the more sobering to contemplate. Even though I have been aware of and studied these prophecies for almost 45 years, they are always just as nightmarish to consider. Their weight and force upon the thinking mind never lessens with time.
One is left with whether he believes God.
Individual Responsibility
Understand that God is no respecter of persons. In the New Testament, Christians are commanded to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Ezekiel echoes this: “When the land sins against Me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out My hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof [there it is again], and will send famine upon it [here is this again], and will cut off man and beast from it: [Now notice this.] Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls [lives] by their righteousness, says the Lord God” (Job 14:13-14).
The sentence beginning “Though” is repeated in Job 14:20. There it is followed by “…how much more when 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?”
This is one of the most chilling single passages in the entire Bible. These are things God says HE will do—“when I [God] send...” These are not things that men are causing—the case with many of the terrible things occurring on Earth today, and regarding others to occur during the coming time. Recall from Chapter One that prophecy is something God brings to pass. It does not turn—none of it—on whether men agree with it. God has said that He will do certain things—and He will. These are God’s “judgments” on sinful nations.
Do not forget this!
An important distinction must be made. Notice that the four sore judgments do not exactly correspond to the four horsemen. False Christianity is left out, while attacks from wild animals are included (but these are found in Revelation 6:1-17). Prior to the Tribulation into which Israel will be sent, false Christianity—the white horse rider—does not yet play a very large role in the death of great numbers. We have seen, of course, that with the coming mark of the Beast, administered by the false Christian system centered in Europe, this will change.
Another Message
Also grasp what else God is explaining here! Even if three of the most righteous men who ever lived were present during this coming time of calamity, they would save only themselves as a result of their righteousness—no one else! Their godly conduct would not shield wives, children, parents or friends from the terror ahead.
These men were considered righteous because they obeyed God. Your future hinges on your actions alone! Most people just will not believe that obedience is important to God! They certainly want God’s blessings, but they do not want Him sticking His nose into their business in regard to any requirements He may have.
Realize that themes of obedience and consequences are not specific to the prophets, but are woven throughout the Bible. More detailed description can be found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy—books recorded by Moses in the Old Testament that most dismiss.
Notice now the theme of obedience/disobedience and consequences from Leviticus 26:1-46 “But if you will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; and if you shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that you will not do all My commandments, but that you break My covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set My face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you...” (Lev 26:14-17).
Take time to read the remaining verses in the long chapter of Leviticus 26:1-46, with its 46 verses. Then read the even longer parallel chapter of Deuteronomy 28:1-68, with its 68 verses. These chapters are very detailed about God’s intention, and are specific in regard to obedience and consequences. They add to the grim picture of what lies ahead for the nations of modern Israel if they do not repent of their sins. Allow them to jar you out of complacency—and into action!
Many other Old Testament prophecies describe the scope and severity of national punishment that God has in store for all nations. As we have only begun to see, many hundreds of millions will die from war, famine, disease, wild beasts, earthquakes and volcanoes—and vast millions of others will be taken into captivity—enslavement—in foreign lands.
It is crucial to stress one more time that the four horsemen wreak most or all of their devastation prior to the Great Tribulation. All nations taste their fury. When understood in light of the verses above, they are seen to continue into the lands of Israel at the Tribulation’s outset, as things temporarily get better for the rest of the world.
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