Verse 18- 20 “The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.”
The Lord gives Ezekiel another prophecy. This time God chooses a different way to refer to the sword. Before it was just the sword, or the sword in the hand of the slayer. Now God gets specific that there will be a sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. This is the only time in the chapter that He refers to the sword as the sword of the king of Babylon. Why the difference? I believe it is because this prophecy has two fulfillments, and the difference in reference is so that we can distinguish between the two. When referred to as just the sword, I believe it is a reference for both the first fulfillment as being in the hand of Babylon, but for the second fulfillment, I believe it is referring to the beast. The specificity of saying the sword of the king of Babylon makes it agree with the first fulfillment, but it would cause a hitch in the interpretation of the sword being the beast in the second fulfillment. Therefore it forces upon us the interpretation in the second fulfillment that this particular sword comes from the future king of Babylon and that this verse finds its second fulfillment in America, not in the beast as do the other references to the sword. With that in mind we can look at both prophecies and see what occurred and what will occur.
It says that two choices will come forth out of Babylon. Two paths lie before the king as to whom he will go to destroy. He has to make this decision at the crossroads where there is no turning back. One path leads to Rabbath of the Ammonites, which in modern day is in Jordan, and the second path is to Jerusalem, which it says is not defenseless.(Israel does have a good military.) From history we know that both the Ammonites and Judah were enemies of Babylon, which is why a choice was made. In that case, the king chose to destroy Jerusalem. In the modern fulfillment, there will come a time when the president will have to choose between siding with Israel against her enemies, which in this case is Jordan specifically, or taking up arms against Israel. The next few verses will tell us the outcome of that decision.
Verses 21-23 “For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.”
As the king of Babylon stands faced with the decision of which way to go, he uses divination. The ancient king's answer was to turn to Jerusalem. The Jews that had sworn oaths to the king did not worry and thought it a false divination that would come to nothing, as their false prophets were telling them that everything was going to be all right. Ezekiel was the only one telling the truth. But the king justifies this by saying they had once breached the covenant, so they have this coming. The second way to interpret their iniquity is that Judah has also breached the covenant with God, and He will bring this into remembrance by the sword that He is sending.
Now to know that the ancient king made this decision based on divination is not a surprise, but for a modern president to do that would seem to be. Actually it is not a stretch at all. The White House has been known to use astrology and there have been practitioners of witchcraft in office. For the president to be a follower of Satanic rituals is not a stretch at all in this day and age. Many of the elected officials now come right out and say that they are pagan worshipers. Our highest government officials already participate in the pagan ritual at the Bohemian Grove which offers a sacrifice on a yearly basis to (I believe it is) Molech. I have my suspicions that it is actually a human sacrifice. So this prophecy is not a stretch of credulity at all for our modern age. The divination tells him to go against Israel and to slaughter the inhabitants. Those who have sworn oaths (possibly the military in this case) believe this is a false divination, or really bad decision. Also Israel may make a peace covenant that makes them think they are safe, just as the first time around. And they would not think that we would ever do that to them. But again God will call to remembrance their iniquity in making any pact with the countries surrounding them, and forsaking their covenant with Him.
Verses 24 “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.”
Now we see that indeed, it is their iniquity against God that He allows this destruction to come upon them. Yet still, the “king” chooses through his communication with Satanic channels to go against Jerusalem, and he will not be held guiltless for doing so, even though God is using him as His tool. Here is where we see why in earlier passages in Jeremiah it seemed that God was blaming America for the destruction of the Temple. It is because when faced with the choice, the leader will choose against Israel.
Verse 25-27 “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is: and I will give it him.”
Originally this was meant for Zedekiah, who was the last king of Judah. God has never allowed another king (although Rome appointed one, he was not a Jew) and will not until Yeshua returns. However in modern Israel we do have leaders who act in the capacity of king as the rulers. According to this passage, whoever is in leadership in Israel is not a believer in God. There is a distinct difference in Israel between those who are religious and those who are not. The leaders generally tend to not be religious in the sense of truly believing the Messiah is coming. We know from previous studies in Daniel and Revelation that God is going to bring an end to the iniquity in Israel, and then all Israel will be saved. God tells the leader to take off the crown, or come down from the position, as things are about to change. Those who have been abased will be exalted, and those who in their haughtiness were exalted will be abased. That is what God tells us in the New Testament. Matthew 19:30, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first..” God will overturn everything that has been going on in Israel to get ready to set up His kingdom. He says here that “it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.” This is clearly speaking of Yeshua, who is the only rightful King of Israel. So we see that indeed this is speaking of the end times, as when the Temple is destroyed during the tribulation, all of Israel will either flee or be killed, and there will be no Israel until Yeshua returns as King.
Verse 28-29 "And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.”
Again Ezekiel is told to start another prophecy. This one is concerning the Ammonites who were located in what is modern Jordan. When Jerusalem was destroyed, the Ammonites mocked and jeered. Their diviners had told them that they were safe. But God is informing them that the sword is now drawn for them. That while their seers and prophets are giving them false prophecies (vanities) and lies, it will bring them to the same state as the Jews which have been slain. It will come upon their wicked necks also, as their day has also come, and God will bring their iniquity to an end also. That is what happened historically five years after Jerusalem was destroyed. As for the future, we are told in Daniel that the land that escapes out of the hand of the beast when he initially sets off to conquer is the land of Jordan. Daniel 12:41 “He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” It has always been surmised that the reason for this is because Scripture indicates (Isaiah 16:4, 63:1) that the children of Israel flee to Edom and Moab, which is in Jordan, when the beast desecrates the Temple. So initially it seems that Jordan will escape this wrath, but Scripture also indicates that in the end, God is going to punish them for their mockery of Israel's destruction. Jeremiah 49:2, 17 “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord.......Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.” This is even though it has been harboring Israel's refugees. The Israelites will be a part of this destruction. Isaiah 11:14 “But they (Israel) shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them (Edom and Moab); and the children of Ammon shall obey them.” This passage is referring to the time after Yeshua returns and brings His people back into Israel at the end of the 70th week of Daniel.
Verse 30- 32 “Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the Lord have spoken it.”
Now we come to it. The really interesting part. God asks if he is going to put his “sword” back in the sheath for another day. We already know the answer to that from verse 5 where God tells us He will not return the sword to its sheath. He is going to judge the slayer who has been wielding this sword. And where is He going to judge and punish him? In Ammon (Jordan). Here is where the really interesting part comes, and I have never realized this until now. It says that Ammon is the birthplace of this slayer. Maybe that is why Edom, Moab, and Ammon are excluded from the beast's conquering. Is it possible he hails from Jordan? That Jordan is his home? Quite honestly I think that is the last country over there from which people are expecting the beast to come. But would not that be the perfect place then, in Satan's eyes? The place that we would least suspect? God is going to pour out his wrath on this nation, but also on this man. And it is going to be with fire. He is going to deliver the slayer to brutish men. Men who are very skilled at torturing and taking a life. This word “brutish” is very bizarre in that the Hebrew meaning is in the context of kindling and burning (which we see with the mention of fire and that he will be fuel for it), but also it contains a meaning of eating. I have some speculations as to what this may really indicate, but I do not want to go there right now. His blood will be in the midst of the land, but in any event, he will be remembered no more. God has spoken.
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