The USA, Britain & Northern Europe in Crisis, Why?
By Peter Salemi
As we see riots in Sweden, and the murder of a British Soldier in London. Northern Europe is on the brink of an Islamic takeover. Is there a reason for all this? Could it be that the problem lies with our spiritual condition?
Britain was once a headquarters so to speak of the Christian faith, the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was a time of the “Bible only” movement. The old colonial powers of the 16 through the 19th centuries of Britain and the Scandinavian countries sent missionaries throughout the heathen world to spread the Gospel, and to set up churches in distant lands to benefit the heathens who were without God. The British actually believed they were chosen by God to do such a work. These nations not only participated in this endeavor but were PROUD doing it! "It was not merely the right of the British to rule a quarter of the world, so the imperialists thought, it was actually their duty ...They would so distribute across the earth their own methods, principles and liberal traditions that the future of mankind would be reshaped. Justice would be established, miseries relieved, ignorant savages enlightened, all by the agency of British power and money" ( James Morris, Pax Britannica, p. 26, emphasis added). The Bible influence in these nations was unprecedented. Its influence in the home, family, government, Royalty, was what made these nations stand out amongst all others. Their societies were moral and productive and became global in scale and influence.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6). The word translated as train in this verse comes from the Hebrew chanak which literally means "to narrow," and figuratively means "to initiate or discipline." Britain, through her years of greatest glory and blessings from God, did institutionalize codes of moral and ethical behavior, enshrined in law, which were founded upon the greatest source of law ever written-God's Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:1-17). As a result, by the 19th-century, the nation's educational, religious and military institutions taught its children the standards of behavior which by today's perverse, irreligious and immoral standards, were "straight and narrow." These were the standards of comparative decency, order, common courtesy and respect which produced Great Britain's truly great leaders! Leaders of the caliber of Churchill, Montgomery, Alexander, Mountbatten, Ironside, Dowding, Wavel, Auchnlek and General William Dobbie. Notice the quotes from our great leaders of the past about the Bible:
• "It has been my custom for many years to read the Bible in its entirety once a year" (John Quincy Adams).
• "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education" (Theodore Roosevelt).
• "If we abide by the principles taught by the Bible, our country will go on prospering" (Daniel Webster).
• "I believe the Bible is the best gift that God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book. I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go" (Abraham Lincoln).
• "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible" (George Washington).
• "The Bible is the rock on which our republic rests" (Andrew Jackson).
• "We reject with scorn all these learned and labored myths that Moses was but a legendary figure. We believe that the most scientific view, the most up-to-date and rationalistic conception, will find its fullest satisfaction in taking the Bible story literally" (Winston Churchill).
Our Ability to Work
Britain built an empire based on the Judeo-Christian work ethic. It was fundamental to the success of empire building. The phrase “Protestant Work Ethic,” was initially coined in 1904 by Max Weber in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The Protestant work ethic is often credited with helping to define the societies of Northern Europe and other countries where Protestantism was common (for example, the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America).
The Bible Commonplace
Society was founded upon a general acceptance within that society, at the human level, that truth, right, wrong; justice and sound economy were rooted in the instructions written in a book which the nation branded the Holy Bible. Every British household once possessed a copy. The law of the land was sourced in the Ten Commandments. Marriage and family as the fundamental institutions of a sound society were based upon the instructions contained in both Old and New Testaments. The national Church enjoined tithing as basic to a sound economy and to this day ancient tithe barns dot the rural areas of England. The school and higher education systems were founded upon instruction which reinforced honor to God, service to the king and patriotism to the country. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy notes that the Bible is "the most widely known book in the English-speaking world...No one in the English-speaking world can be considered literate without a basic knowledge of the Bible" (Hirsch, Kett and Trefil, 1988, p. 1). In Britain it was rated as one of the top 50 most-interesting books. In the United States it is perennially a best seller and the single book that Americans say has most influenced their lives. The system which underpinned a far-flung empire continued for centuries until the 1960’s. This can be said to all the Israelite countries in Europe, North America, and Australasia.
What Happened?
Now, looking into these societies, what do we find? People staying single, and not marrying. Many feel that marriage is no longer important. Legalizing “same sex” marriage. Abortion is rampant. The family is non-existent. Sexual immorality, adultery, pornography etc…plagues the landscape of all of these societies. The results are low birthrates that cannot sustain the current population, resulting in a shrinking workforce. An overburden health care system, with society getting older, AIDS and other STD’S because of people’s lifestyle choices. Child abandonment, divorce, crime, greed, and other economic woes.
The church is no longer part of people’s lives anymore to the point that churches have to bring in missionaries from their former colonies to come and do the missionary work in Britain and Scandinavia, the places that were the headquarters of the missionary movement, and the list goes on and on. What happened? How do these nations go from being a global economic influential empire, to third rate welfare states?
After the riots and the killings, has anyone said that we need to REPENT? To return to Almighty God! Do they not see how it was in the past when they were obeying the Ten Commandments and the Bible, and the way it is now? The condition is spiritual, not physical. Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33). We seek the things, the physical, and not the Kingdom and its righteousness, the law of God. God’s laws are set in motion, and if we keep them, they will bless us. If we do not, then the reverse affect will happen. What spiritual state are we in right now?
Blessings and Curses
Almighty God, when he called out his chosen people out of Egypt, presented to Israel his laws.
God’s laws were designed for our good, and to give us everything we really want. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
“That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (Deut 30:19-20). These laws were set so we can live, and remain in the land that Almighty God has given us to dwell, and dwell safely.
In Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 God told Israel that if we obeyed the Law of God, “that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee” (Deut 28:1-2). Then Almighty God lists the Blessings that were to come upon Israel. This list practically describes our nations in the time of their glory and peak.
“ Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
“Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
“Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
“Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
“The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
“The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
“The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
“And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
“And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
“The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
“And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them” (vv.3-13). Great cities, clean and without crime. Good health, good food, victory over our enemies, a healthy economy, rain in due season, a creditor nation, and not a debtor nation, and a nation that is the head of all the nations on the face of the earth. Were we not once at this point, when all these blessings came upon us as God promised it would come upon his people Israel?
In 1971, the United States produced a trillion-dollar Gross National Product (the annual worth of all goods and services produced). That's nearly $5,000 for each American man, woman, or child. The rest of the nations of the world will average less than two trillion in combined GNP's, or about $500 per person. During that time if either California or New York were separately chartered as a nation, either one would be the sixth richest nation in the world! The state of Illinois annually produced more than the entire continent of Africa! The eight industrial states stretching from New York to Illinois produce as much as either the Common Market, or the Soviet Union, or ALL of Latin America, Africa, Asia (except Japan), and the Middle East combined!
In 1950, Britain's Commonwealth still encompassed 61 nations on every inhabited continent, representing 13 million square miles and 625 million people - one fourth of the world's land and people. The Commonwealth and the United States combined produced over half the world's goods, and three fourths of many key products.
For instance, world petroleum output in 1950 was about 3.8 billion barrels. Of this total, the United States alone produced 52 percent - more than the rest of the world combined. With the
British Commonwealth added the two powers produced 60 percent of the world's crude petroleum, not counting their vast foreign investments.
Britain and America mined sixty percent of the world's coal, 80 percent of the aluminum, 75 percent of the zinc, and 95 percent of the nickel. The British Commonwealth (mainly South
Africa, later withdrawn from the Commonwealth) mined 70 percent of the world's gold.
Meanwhile the United States owned 73 percent of all government-owned gold - almost three times as much as all other nations combined.
We produced 65 percent of all electricity. Britain and Canada alone out produced the Soviet Union, Germany, and France combined. The United States flew more airline miles, had more railroad track miles, more telephones, radios and TV's, and drove more motor vehicles than the rest of the world combined!
The United States naval armada was larger than the rest of the world combined. Great Britain and the United States possessed well over half the merchant fleet tonnage. Britain led the world in shipbuilding.
The 1800's Belonged to Britain
"England had a better combination [of natural resources] than was to be found under anyone government on the continent of Europe," said historian Alfred Burt. "She had long produced the best wool that was known. Her rivers and streams provided power adequate to the needs of the day and, what was then of great importance, water of a quality best suited for the manufacture of textiles" (The Evolution of the British Empire and Commonwealth, p. 16).
That word quality describes Nineteenth Century Britain well. While America leads the world in quantity of items produced, Britain has always been the leader in the quality of its products: textiles, cars, and ships among many examples. Her pioneering of the agricultural, industrial, and transportation "revolutions" of the 1800's established Britain as "the first with the best."
"The 19th century had been preeminently Britain's century, and the British saw themselves still as the arbiters of the world's affairs. It was a world stamped to their pattern and set in motion by their will," wrote James Morris in Pax Britannica: The Climax of An Empire.
"At their word, dams rose in India, trains puffed to intricate timetables across the plains of Asia, cables were thrown across oceans, and troops of petty prince lings obsequiously salaamed" (James Morris, "When Britain's Grandeur Knew No Bounds," Reader's Digest, June, 1969, p. 83).
Britain led the world financially, with the British pound sterling the world's exchange standard from the fall of Napoleon in 1815 until 1931. (That was the year sterling was devalued, the gold standard was abandoned, and Britain's world leadership was ebbing.) Despite the present weakness of pound sterling, London banks still represent the financial center of the world to most European investors.
Britain also led the world militarily in the 1800's. "She had never bowed the knee to Napoleon, and she had saved Europe. Her naval supremacy was absolute - so absolute that another world war was impossible for a Century" (Burt, op. cit., p. 94).
The 1900’s Belong to the USA
The seeds of America's greatness were sown in the 1800's, but the rich harvest of greatness did not arrive until the 1900's.
As early as 1803, with the purchase of the Louisiana Territories, stretching from New Orleans to what is now Montana, American greatness was secured.
After selling these richest farmlands in the world for about 5˘ per acre, Napoleon said, "This accession of territory affirms forever the power of the United States." The United States negotiator, Robert Livingston, said, "From this day, the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank."
In 1835, French statesman Alexis deTocqueville visited America and wrote "The whole continent, in short, seemed prepared to be the abode of a great nation."
Famed Colombian exile, Jose Eusebio Caro, wrote in 1851 that the United States "will undoubtedly be the GREATEST [nation] on earth."
God “set Ephraim before Manasseh.” (Gen 48:20). Britain received its power first, then after World War Two, the power started to shift from Britain to America. America became know as the Superpower of the world.
Empire a Miracle from God, not Sought After
Great nations and empires abound in man's history, but nearly all have come about by the sword of conquest. Unlike previous superpowers, the United States and the British Commonwealth grew great seemingly by accident.
"In the course of history," wrote French politician and author Andre Malraux, "all empires have been created with premeditation, by an effort sustained over several generations. Every power has been Roman to a degree. The United States is the first nation to become the most powerful in the world without having sought to be so." The worldwide British Empire, likewise, seemed to fall into Britain's lap by "accident." Britain had only limited colonies or military power in the
1700's. in fact, after America's independence was won in the 1780's, Britain had just scraps of empire.
Many believed that Britain’s day was done because of her losses, but this was not to be so. "Yet the days of British greatness, far from being ended, were about to begin. New life was stirring in the land, new life that was to make Britain lead the world" (Alfred Leroy Burt, The Evolution of the British Empire and Commonwealth, p. 15). God said he would suspend the Blessings for 2520 years, but in 1800’s the suspension was lifted and Britain exploded into the Greatest Empire the world has ever seen, not by the will of man, but by the promise of God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s seed.
The spiritual condition as proven above, as a result of the Reformation, and the knowledge of the Bible available on a national scale throughout the Empire, and the Republic, the blessings were sustained, and multiplied, and we were blessed in the city, our crops, our economies and all the other blessings that were to come upon us, as long as we obeyed the commandments of God. Truly our nations were a miracle from Almighty God.
Western Decline
The shrinking of the Great powers of the Western world is nothing short of staggering!
British influence is pretty much gone, and so is its glory. God says, “Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim [Britain], whose glorious beauty is a fading flower…As for Ephraim [Britain], their glory shall fly away like a bird…” (Isaiah 28:1; Hosea 9:11). One of the curses for breaking the laws of God that were to come upon Israel was, “the pride of our power” was to be broken (Lev 26:19). “So called ‘political correctness’ is now the dominant mood in schools and especially in University campuses all over the free world…We have become passive sheep of which Alex Tocqueville warned…Global-ed tends to censor or downgrade the facts of history by rewriting school textbooks, and leaves out important cultural facts of nationalism (deemed a destructive force), especially the distinctive features, events and symbols of our national heritage (the Crown, British History, the RCMP Stetson, and so on). It tends to discourage patriotism, flag waving, and other such nationalist expressions…In Canada…the extinguishing, by omission, of much of the core British history on which the nation was constructed. Teacher James Cunningham writes that ‘of the one hundred and twenty books approved as history texts by the Scarborough (Ontario) Board of Education, names like Britain, British, and England are conspicuously absent.’ There is no pride taught in our historic British connections; rather we are taught shame for our alleged colonial deeds. Cunningham says that barely a dozen of his hundreds of college students have ever heard of Magna Carta or the Plains of Abraham, or were aware of the British origins of the common law or those of our political institutions. A number of students vehemently deny these things” (War against the Family by William D Gairdner, pp.233, 234, 235, 236, emphasis added). Many tend to believe the Orientalist and Communist versions of British history, which are all baseless, and tend to have a bias against the west, capitalism, and Christianity, all foundations in which the west was based.
Another pillar of our society is the disintegration of the family unit. Of the Father and the Mother in the God ordained roles. The stable house hold which is an environment every child needs. Instead single motherhood, same sex marriage, step fathers and step mothers are promoted and funded by the government. Brian Cleeve writes, “In many homes there is no more discipline whatever now. Some of them are not homes at all in the traditional sense; more a rotating gallery of step mothers, step fathers, one night stands and other temporary liaisons. The same goes for many schools, where fear of giving offence to parents too ignorant to know their children need discipline has created conditions of near anarchy…
“We must consider the erosion of family life and find ways of stopping it….” (London Evening Standard, Feb. 16, 1995, emphasis added). God says, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
“By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
“Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish,
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
“As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.” (Hosea 4:1-3, 6-7). God hits on the root of the problem. Israel is destroyed because we have forsaken God, and the knowledge of God, the Bible!
The spiritual condition of the west is diminishing fast! According to a major social attitudes survey undertaken in Britain, and you can apply this to all of Western Europe, Canada etc…entitled “Social and Community Planning Research,” Britain is one of the most irreligious nations in the world. The legacy of this latter day irreligious culture has been the spawning of what the Sunday times termed the “savage generation.” (Sunday Times Ian Burrell).
Curses to Follow
Many are wondering what is happening to America Britain, and the European peoples. Well, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 can tell you exactly what is going on. God says, “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
“And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:” (vv.14-15). Do we? Do we hate the ways of God, and the Bible? Total rejection of God and his ways we have seen steadily taking place. We have taken God out of the schools, Courts, governments, in every area of life, till it’s almost absent. So, because we have don this, God says curses will follow due to the result of sins, for breaking the law, which are automatic, you break them, they’ll break you. But compounded on top of that, God giving back to us what we dish out, “Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.
“And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.” (Ezekiel 7:8-9). When people commit crimes do they expect not to be punished? Do they think they can get away with it?
Notice Leviticus 26, “I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror” (v.16). Are we not warned of terror plots against us every single day? In another prophecy by Moses he says, “The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs” (Deut 32:25). Is this not our situation today? We are fighting wars in far off places, Iraq, Afghanistan, yet we have terrorist within our own countries in Europe, Australia and North America.
God also says, “And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
“Then will I also walk contrary unto you…” (Lev 26:23, 24). God will be our enemy. We continually ask for God to pour out his blessings upon us, but God will not, instead walk contrary to us.
We wonder why our economies do not get better. We see 1% or 2% growth, as opposed to the 1950’s and the 80s. We have forgotten that it is God that gives us that wealth. “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth,” (Deut 8:17-18). God is walking contrary to us, we will not see growth or wealth until we repent and return to him.
Another curse, “The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
“He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.” (Deut 28:43-44). It’s interesting that the Chinese are buying up Canadian and American companies in our own lands. The Chinese hold enormous amounts of US debt. That the minorities is our lands have all the privileges that we used to enjoy. Why? We have forsaken Almighty God. Notice what God says, “Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
“And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever” (vv.45-46). These curses are a sign only to ISRAEL. These things are only happening to the Israelitish nations of today, primarily of the USA, the British Commonwealth, and the peoples of North Western Europe!
Why the Riots in Britain & Sweden?
In the news recently, we have seen riots in the streets of the minority neighborhoods in Sweden, the murder, and afterwards of the riots in London. Are these things going to get worse? Is there a prophecy of these events and why they are happening? The answer is an absolute Yes!
The book of Ezekiel is a book primarily to the end time House of Israel! God told Ezekiel, “Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.” (3:4).
Ezekiel chapter 7 is a series of prophecies about the social conditions in Israel. Here God announces that the “end is come” the “day of Trouble is near” (vv. 6, 7). God says that, “Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
“Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.
“The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
“For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.” (vv.10-13). God says “pride” has “budded,” and “violence” is risen up, and shall bear the fruit of “wickedness.” After the brutal murder of the British soldier, and the riots in Sweden, an ungodly pride has risen in Europe. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your history, national symbols, culture and heritage. This kind of Patriotism should be celebrated and promoted instead of multiculturalism. But man always has to channel good things the wrong way, and so violence has and will become the end result. But it’s this promotion of multiculturalism that has sparked this kind of ungodly pride. I knew that multiculturalism would lean Europe towards hateful Nationalism once again! Now we see violence, and hate on the streets, by Europeans and the immigrants all due to these stupid policies of their leaders. Multiculturalism has never worked. It was one of the major policies that brought down both the Roman, and especially the Ottoman Empires.
God told Ezekiel to, “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.” (v.23). Blood touched blood. One crime is always linked to another crime, and there is no end to it. This is what we see in the streets of our big cities. Therefore because of our abandonment of the laws of almighty God, God says, “Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.
“Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.” (vv.24-25) this “…vision is touching the whole multitude thereof” (v.13). Why do we see massive immigration from the third world? From people who don’t know the true God? Because we have forsaken him, and when we commit crimes, like our legal system, criminals must pay, and we are paying for our sins, now!
They possess our houses, our lands. God lists many sexual sins in the book of Leviticus the 20th chapter. He lists incest, bestiality, homosexuality, adultery, and says, “Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.” (v.22). Why, tornados, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, mass immigration, and the shrinking of the Anglo American Scandinavian Populations? As one of the curses says, “And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.” (Deut 28:62). We are sinning against Almighty God!
God says because of our sins the Israelite populations will shrink. Since abortion has been legalized, millions of Innocent babies have been murdered, all with the blessing of the governments. Due to this shedding of innocent blood, our land is defiled. We have aborted an entire generation. Isn’t it interesting that the amount of babies we abort every single year, is the same amount of immigrants coming to our countries? Can we get away with it and not pay for our crimes?
God sees the end result and pleads with Israel, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:1). This is the end result of our ways, ways that seem right to us, but the end is death.
Our Cities Laid Waste
God told Ezekiel to prophesy. He said, “Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
“And say, 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; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.” (6:2-3). A mountain is a symbol of a nation in prophecy, see Daniel 2:35, 44-45. A hill is a smaller nation, see Isaiah 2:2. The Church of God Commentary writes, “In ancient times, the literal mountains of Israel would have been the hills of Samaria, to the north of Jerusalem.
“Yet the Israelites were no longer settled there. They had been carried captive by the Assyrians around 130 years before Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry began. And they weren’t at this time anywhere close to Ezekiel. Rather, the Israelites were hundreds of miles to the northwest and northeast of him. It is therefore evident that they wouldn’t have gotten his message—not then anyway. And there was no need for them to. There was no imminent threat to the existence of the kingdom of Israel at that time, as it had already been destroyed long before. And the scattered peoples of the northern tribes were not in mortal danger either. Ancient Judah’s destruction was certainly imminent, but why would that have been a danger to the northern tribes?
“Some try to solve this problem by arguing that ‘mountains of Israel’ and ‘house of Israel’ in this chapter refer exclusively to Judah. But the whole context of the mock siege is that it is to represent a punishment on the house of Israel and the house of Judah—clearly delineating between the two (4:4-6). Putting all of this together, it should be clear that Ezekiel 6 is a prophecy of the future destruction of the northern tribes of Israel in the end time. (In fact, all of chapters 3–7 can be similarly understood, realizing there is probably a measure of multiple fulfillments, involving the ancient destruction of Jerusalem and some historical periods of oppression endured by the Jews and Israelites.)
“Figuratively, mountains are many times used in prophecy to symbolize nations. And it is indeed likely that the prophecy is directed to the numerous nations that now make up modern Israel—chief among them being those descended from Joseph—principally Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Of course, other features of the land are also addressed by the prophecy. Verse 3 mentions mountains, hills, ravines and valleys. Some maintain that these are simply cited as locations for pagan worship, as idolatrous shrines were everywhere throughout ancient Israel. That could well be, as these are all told that their places of worship will be destroyed. Recall that God had instructed the Israelites to destroy all the places where the pagans worshiped their idols: “upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree” (Deuteronomy 12:2; compare Ezekiel 6:13). The lower valleys were where the streams ran and the green trees were located. However, these natural features are also told that their cities will be destroyed, which makes little sense for a ravine. Considering that mountains symbolize nations, the other features could be symbolic as well. Hills might mean smaller nations (compare Isaiah 2:2). Ravines and valleys in this usage could perhaps signify Israelite populations in countries where they are not the majority and not in power (such as the English colonial descendants in Zimbabwe and South Africa). They too will suffer God’s coming judgment.” (pp.487-488, emphasis added). Clearly God is telling Ezekiel to prophesy towards, the nations of Israel, small and large, and the places where Israel dwells, even though they are not in power, their old colonial possessions that declared independence, and now the subjects rule the Israelitish lands.
God says, “In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
“And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
“Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
“And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
“And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.” (vv.6-10). Incredible, God has to take to the point of warfare, slavery and captivity to get us to finally repent. This is how hard hearted we are, when we can do it right now!
This has already begun on a small scale. In the former colonies in Africa, white farmers are subject to cruelty and murder. The lands are taken away, and taken over by the native populations.
Central Africa, once known as the bread basket of Africa, as God promised, “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6), now suffers from violence and war. Many South Africans have left the former colony and have gone to England, the USA and Canada. Those who have stayed behind have been subject to brutal murder. This will escalate!
Idolatry is the chief sin in these passages. “The Hebrew word the book of Ezekiel uses most often for “idol,” as in 6:4, is gillul, a term derived from gel, meaning ‘dung pellets,’ showing how detestable and disgusting they are to God… In an end-time context, there is no question that idolatry remains Israel’s biggest sin—whether actual false worship, which is rampant throughout the nations of modern Israel, or the spirit of idolatry, exalting other pursuits or concerns above the true God. Even green trees are still significant as part of modern Christmas customs.” (ibid, 488). Things put before God, and so-called Christian traditions and customs that are rooted in paganism God detests, yet we don’t seem to care much what God thinks, we want to worship our way, not his way.
“Ezekiel 6:6 tells us, ‘In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste.’ Consider the destruction that befell Judah under Nebuchadnezzar: ‘Conditions in Judah must have been severe, for many Judean cities suffered during the Babylonian invasions. Arad, Lachish, Ramat Rahel, En-gedi, Timnah, Ekron, and Jerusalem are among the excavated sites showing evidence of destruction at this time. Only the region north of Jerusalem appears to have escaped relatively unscathed’ (Holman Bible Atlas, 1998, p. 159). This utterly pales in comparison to what Ezekiel 6:6, an end-time prophecy, is actually saying.
“What we are apparently being told here is that New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Glasgow, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland will be ‘laid waste’—obliterated. Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Oslo and Copenhagen may be wiped out as well. Perhaps we can now see how there could be such a huge death toll as that described in chapter 5. This appears to require the work of nuclear weapons or some other new super weapons—perhaps in conjunction with a bombardment of large meteors, earthquakes and other cataclysmic natural disasters from God (compare Leviticus 26:31-32; Deuteronomy 28:24). The prophesied destruction is utterly horrific and unimaginable. But, barring unexpected national repentance, it is going to happen—because of Israel’s sins. The rest of Ezekiel 6:6 tells us that this will serve to rid the land of its places of idolatrous worship (again, compare Leviticus 26:31).” (ibid, p.488, emphasis added). Ezekiel is describing the horrific scenes of the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s Trouble that is going to come upon our peoples.
National Repentance
God promises that if a nation repents, all these disasters will not come upon us. He says, “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“O house of Israel, [USA, British Commonwealth, Scandinavian Peoples] cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
“At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
“If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
“And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
“If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them” (Jer. 18:5-10). This is a promise from Almighty God! Will we heed?
God even promises that right in the midst of trouble, when the armies are approaching, if we repent with all our hearts, God will save his people, “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
“Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
“Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
“Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people
Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
“But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.” (Joel 2:12-13, 16-21). In what news clippings or broadcasts have we heard the leaders of our governments call for repentance, for fasting and prayer, a return to the ways that made our nations great? This is what we need. Not more violence and hatred, but a return to the laws of Almighty God. To love and obey the God of Israel!
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