Final study — verses 20-26
ANTICHRIST JUDGED — ISRAEL DELIVERED!
“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it….
And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God,” verses 20-21, 24-26.
Tyrus, mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, and now Zidon, were ancient Phoenician cities, on the Mediterranean coast, north of Israel. They were shipping ports which gave access to the Mediterranean Sea for the commercial enterprises of ancient Babylon and will serve that purpose again for the final Antichrist.
Ezekiel was called upon to announce to Zidon the judgments that the Lord would heap upon her because of her sins. Those judgments were most terrible and the Lord will be ‘glorified’ and ‘sanctified’ by them.
Carnal man cannot understand how that could be so! But when the Lord displays His holy wrath against those who defy His laws and rule, He will be seen as faithful to His Word and will be seen, even by those being punished, as holy and just in His actions.
Scoff
Sinners may mock and scoff in the absence of judgment, but once it begins to fall, there will be an acknowledgment, amidst the horror, of the perfect righteousness of the justice of God.
As Paul states: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God,” Romans 3:19.
Not one sinner will challenge the justice of God but will relent, unable to offer one excuse for their sin or dispute one iota of the sentence the Lord passes upon them! Every mouth will be stopped, or put to silence as the phrase may be translated. All will become guilty and acknowledge it to be so!
Moving on . . .
The subject the prophet is next given to declare is that which is ever linked throughout the Bible to the judgments of God upon ancient and future Babylon’s wicked empire, that of the deliverance of the Jews, verses 24-26. (more…)
What a shameful state of affairs has overtaken our church!