This is the way God exercises justice and judgment with complete fairness. Should one not be willing to receive the same thing he or she "dishes out" to others. We have a proverb that says, "He can dish it out, but he can't take it". Well, if you can't take it then you BETTER NOT "dish it out", because you're "gonna get it comin' right back at you"!
The restoration of Israel at the return of Jesus Christ is preceded by the desolation of her enemies who come against her from the north (Ezk. 38:14) just prior to His return. It is the "last straw", as we say, and even triggers the sounding of the 7th Trump and the short-lived events of the 2nd tribulation. We will find in chapters 38-39 that those who come against true Israel are headed by the leader of Esau, the "chief prince Meshech*", which means the "leader of Rosh" (Russia) and her allies (Tubal).
*Note: Do not confuse Meshech with Meshach, who was one of the three servants of God along with Shadrach and Abedneggo who were tossed into the fiery furnace by the king of Babylon. They emerged from the fire completely unharmed without even the smell of smoke on their clothing. In contrast, Meshech is going to "feel the heat" real good when the fire of God's wrath comes upon him!
The understanding of this 35th chapter is made easy with just a little background. Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca, and it is written that Esau has always had a "perpetual hatred", meaning a "continual underlying hostility", towards his brother Jacob, even from the "world that then was". You see, before they were ever born they even "struggled" in the womb of their mother Rebecca.
It is also written concerning Esau in Romans 9:13 "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." That was our Father speaking about the little babies who were yet in their mother's womb! Like we said, Esau had an perpetual hatred and despised his "birthright" even in the "world that then was", the first earth age. (2 Pet.3) which was before the foundation of this earth age (Eph. 1:4). God had very little respect for his attitude from the beginning.Genesis 25:22
And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
This is really important, because these two sons of Isaac would become two "great nations", even two great superpowers of the final generation. They are basically the United States (Jacob) and Russia (Esau). Although Russia, that "bear" nation, has recently lost some of her prestige in the minds of many as a great superpower, because of the breakup of the USSR and the collapse of the Berlin wall (symbolizing the end of the cold war), do not go into hibernation yourself, for the current leader is "putin" her back on her feet and she's beginning to raise up once again "on one side" (Dan. 7:5), which is the "left" side, the side of communism and socialism and oppression. That is Satan's side, by the way![23] And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Again, we are soon going to learn in chapters 38 & 39 that it will be this Edom, that "red nation", that "bear nation" of Esau (Russia) along with her allies who will come against "true" Israel, Jacob's nation, from the north. And it will be God Almighty Himself who will "smite the bow from their 'left' hand" (Ezek. 39:3), i.e. Jesus Christ shall defeat them at His coming.
The land of Edom, Russia, therefore plays a major part in the final events just before the 7th Trump sounds. The prophet Daniel saw a vision concerning the "bear nation" and her role at the time Satan is cast out of heaven to this earth as the king of Babylon, the little horn, the spurious messiah, the abomination of desolation, etc, etc.
Let's go SEE what Daniel SAW.
The sea represents the people and nations (Rev. 17:15). Daniel in this vision of chapter 7 sees the final surrender (actually a takeover) of the superpowers, including the "bear" nation, to the political structure of the New World Order, with its 10 kings headed by Satan, the little horn (vs. 7 & 8). You will notice in verse 2 that this takes place when the four winds are "striving" upon the earth. That means they have been released, so this takes place after Christ commands the angel of the 6th Trump to let go the four angels holding the four winds of Rev. 7:1.Daniel 7:2
Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
Only AFTER God's elect have "sealed" all of the 144,000 of Rev. 7:4, 12,000 each from the listed nations of Israel, so that they are sealed with the Word of God "IN" their foreheads and therefore cannot be "hurt" (Rev, 9:4), does the angel of the 6th Trump let go the four angels. There release is at the sound of the 6th Trump:
Rev. 9:13-15
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
So at the time of the 6th Trump and the appearance of the false-christ, the New World Order becomes "Powered By Satan" (PBS), because he completely takes over. He will be in charge of the superpowers, including the nation who dwells in the land of Edom, i.e. Russia the bear nation.[14] Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.[15] And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Just so there is no doubt about who these four beasts are, they are explained later in the 17th verse of this chapter. Daniel 7:17 "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth." So again, the sea is the earth, meaning the people of the earth.Daniel 7:3
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Now, one of these four beasts (kings/leaders) heads the "bear nation", the nation of Esau in the land of Edom. He is that "chief prince Meshech" of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 which we will get to soon in our studies.
Here is his description:
The three "ribs", those three* who control what the bear speaks (for they are in his mouth), are the "they" who tell him, "Arise, and sic 'em, i.e. devour much flesh!" And whose flesh do you think the blood thirsty bear is going to arise to devour? We know from his history and the 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel and that which we shall read in this 35th chapter, that it is the nation of his brother Jacob (true Israel) once again.Daniel 7:5
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
*Could these three "ribs" be the same as the three "frogs" in the mouth of the dragon? Well, who do think controls the world and the nations at this time? The dragon, of course, through his Kenite grand-children!
Everyone has the same "talking points" under the dragon's administration, don't they?Rev. 16:13
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Oh, the three frogs (evil spirits) go forth unto the kings of the earth! Why? To gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty! Yep, the three ribs (really, frogs wouldn't be a good analogy for bears, because bears don't eat frogs. They like ribs!) are stuffed in the mouth of the "bear". They say to the bear, "Arise, Esau, go get Jacob!" Gribbit![14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
The kings of the world all become subservient to the One World Political system under the authority of these ten horns (kings) headed by the little horn, Satan (next verse). Let this be no mystery, for you will find the exact same thing written in Rev. 13. The leader of the 10 kings (horns) is the beast, the dragon of Rev. 13, the little horn of Dan. 7:8.Daniel 7:7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
The little horn takes right over as the One Superpower Ruler (OSR) and "plucks up" the authority of the other superpower rulers like pulling dandelions from wet soil! This "little horn" is the false-christ, the king of Babylon, Satan himself, claiming to be the Messiah, and "Who", as written in 2 Thes. 2:4, "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."[8] I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
So the bear nation will come against this nation from the north. We will discuss where that is later on in chapters 38 & 39. It will be Esau's final act as he once again demonstrates his despise for his birthright and his perpetual hatred for his brother Jacob. It is too bad, because God would surely have given to Esau the blessings of the firstborn, which he was the firstborn, had he repented and turned to Him. Let's go back and read what is written after he "Sold Out His Own People", i.e. his birthright, for a lousy bowl of "red" pottage. Won't they be proud of him?
So Jacob received the blessing of the firstborn and has since inherited the wealth and the prosperity and the fertile land from sea to shining sea with luscious fields teeming with amber waves of grain, while Esau got Mt. Seir, and bunch of rocks and a bunch of ice and snow in Siberia. That is why we sell them so much of our wheat. Esau's land of Edom, which means "red", cannot be compared with our land, the land of Jacob.Genesis 25:34
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
So Esau hated Jacob because he was envious in that Jacob got more than he did! And he sought to kill him! Nice guy!
Finally, before we cover this chapter 35, we should be reminded that 10 chapters ago in chapter 25 we read of judgment against Edom. It was for the same jealousy and vengeance he has perpetually harbored against his brother!Genesis 27:41
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
The land of Edom is just not prime real estate, is it? It lies north, away from "the fat of the land", as it was prophesied. Some believe the prophecy in this chapter 35 concerning Mt. Seir's desolation has already come to pass. And in type it has. Here is what Dr. Smith writes in his Bible Dictionary concerning Mt. Seir:Ezekiel 25:12
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;[13] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.
"Esau drove out the Horites who dwelt in rock-hewn dwellings (Deut. 2:12), probably such as are seen now in Petra, and changed its name to Edom. Ezekiel prophesied the desolation of Mt. Seir, which seems to have been fulfilled in the present condition of the country." (Smith's Bible Dictionary)But that is not the final judgment of Mt. Seir and the land of Edom. The prophecy we are about to read is given for this final generation and for what will happen to Mt. Seir "in that day"!
Chapter 35 of the Book of Ezekiel:
Seir actually means shaggy like a goat or even hairy, just like Esau, and refers to his people in the land of Edom (which means red).Ezekiel 35:1
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[2] Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
God tells Ezekiel to get in Mt. Seir's face and give him a message directly from Him:
This is not good news if you are Mt. Seir. However, always remember that if the Lord GOD is going to make someone or something desolate, you can be assured there is a valid reason![3] And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
The "reason" is the same reason as all the other judgments our Father delivers. It is because He cares about all His children and He knows that judgment and chastisement and tough love are required to let them know that He is the LORD. Hopefully "in that day" they will begin to turn to Him.[4] I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
Did you know that the entire short Book of Obadiah (servant of Yah) in the minor prophets concerns the "vision" of the land of Edom, the home of Esau, Russia, and gives us further details into his offences and the reason for his desolation. Read it all, all 20 verses. (Should take you all of 3 or 4 minutes.)Ezekiel 35:5
Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
This is exactly the same offence we just read of in Ezk. 35:5, violence and blood shed against his brother Jacob.Obadiah 1:1
The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom;...Obadiah 1:10
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
Note: The Hebrew word for "violence" is "chamac" and means "cruelty, injustice, unrighteousness". It this same "violence" that filled the midst of the king of Tyre (Satan) in Ezk. 28:16. You know the judgment he got!
Imagine that! Esau jumped right in there and helped bring down and make desolate his very own brother. What a guy! Sure would make a father proud of a child like that, wouldn't it? Not![11] In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
He should not have reveled over his brother's downfall and destruction and scattering and said "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!" and then tried to take over his property, his land! What is he nuts... even like the false shepherds who think God doesn't see? Woe Esau! Will you ever learn?[12] But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
Hey, you like the sword, Esau? You like to see the bloodshed of others, even your own brother's? "Sith", i.e. since, you hate not blood, we'll soon see how you like your own shed!Ezekiel 35:6
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
[7] Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.
We will read about how God will bring about this "slaying" in the 39th chapter.[8] And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
Remember in verse 5 we read that Esau had a perpetual hatred for his brother Jacob and even his birthright, even from before his birth into this flesh age? Therefore he will not be among the blessed nations, which he could have been, but he will be among the desolate nations because of his long standing ways.[9] I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
This is in reference to the two nations of Judah and Israel, which means both houses of Esau's brother Jacob, which are called the mountains (nations) of Israel in vs. 12. The opportunist Edomites, seeing the territory of the nation of Judah desolated and depopulated, like that of her sister Israel nearly 200 years prior, planned to move right in and take vacant possession. It might have worked except that the LORD was watching and He was there to stop that greedy little maneuver.Ezekiel 35:10
Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:
This is the way God exercises justice and judgment with complete fairness. Should one not be willing to receive the same thing he or she "dishes out" to others. We have a proverb that says, "He can dish it out, but he can't take it". Well, if you can't take it then you BETTER NOT "dish it out", because you're "gonna get it comin' right back at you"![11] Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
Esau and all the other nations who have "dished it out" are going to get the same thing back in their faces, "in that day"!
When will Mt. Seir and all of Edom be made desolate? We just read it in Obadiah... in the Day of the LORD, the return of Jesus Christ.Obadiah 1:15
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
So the question is, "Why should you do unto others what you would like them to do unto you?" Because it works in reverse too! In other words "It shall be done unto you what you do unto others!"
Want to hear it right from the mouth of Him who is the Supreme Judge over all?
So Esau is simply going to GET IT "according to his anger, and according to his envy which he has used out of his hatred against his brother Jacob", just as God so stated in verse 11. You cannot say that is unfair!Matthew 7:1
Judge not, that ye be not judged.[2] For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
You were overjoyed and boastful at your brother's chastisement and wanted to take the land of your brother after his desolation and scattering, even though it did not belong to you. So for that reason I will make desolate your land and consume you accordingly. Thus shall you know that the I AM is the LORD, and He judges in righteousness, which is fairly and justly to all.Ezekiel 35:12
And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
Never make the mistake of thinking our Father doesn't know or hear your boasting and see your own judgments with which you judge.[13] Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
When will Mt. Seir be made totally desolate? When the whole earth rejoices and every knee bows because the King of Righteouness has come to execute justice.[14] Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
Yep, you thought it was a wonderful thing that your brother was made desolate, didn't you, oh Esau? You have shown once again even in this present earth age that you really do despise your birthright and your heritage and your own kin, oh selfish Esau.Ezekiel 35:15
As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
You'll soon find out what fairness
is all about and who it is that is LORD over all!
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