In previous Q&As, we have pointed out THAT God has given His end-time Church—the Body of Christ, consisting of all Christians in whom God’s Spirit dwells—the commission to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God as a witness unto all nations, which includes the proclamation of a warning message of impending disaster and the possibility of worldwide destruction in a prophesied nuclear war.

Before answering HOW the Church can fulfill that commission, let us quote some excerpts to show THAT it will be accomplished.

We say the following in our Q&A, “What is the Work of God? (Part 3)”:

“But after the death of Paul and the other early apostles, the preaching of the gospel to the world would gradually stop, and so, as we have said many times, for over 1900 years, the gospel was NOT preached to the world, until God began to motivate His church and giving it the strength and opportunities to begin so again. This way, that worldwide proclamation would become the sign of the end—of the return of Jesus Christ. This proclamation would continue during the Great Tribulation as well—including through the preaching of the Two Witnesses. As God’s prophets (Revelation 11:3, 6, 10), they will of course warn the nations and proclaim what will happen—including, what has been written down in the Bible…”

We also say in that Q&A that the proclamation will produce fruit, in God’s due time:

“When we do the Work of God by preaching the gospel message, we do not do it in vain. It will produce fruit, even though it may not be obvious right away. Notice Isaiah 55:10-11: ‘For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.’ What the gospel message contains will be accomplished, in God’s due time. This is also confirmed in Jeremiah 1:12, where God says: ‘You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.’…”

We also state in our Q&A, “What is the Work of God? (Part 5)”:

“… the Work of preaching the gospel to the world as a witness and the warning message to the end-time nations was decisively given to God’s end-time Church, because it was to be THE sign of Christ’s speedy return, once that aspect of the Work was fulfilled (Matthew 24:14). Today, this preaching has been made possible through the invention of the internet and many other means of electronic communication….”

The use of social media worldwide might be a major asset in proclaiming the message. The mobile phone is owned by huge numbers around the world, enveloping every country and continent, and could well be a significant part of how the gospel message will go out and be received by the world.

We continue to state the following in the above-mentioned Q&A:

“The Work of God will be short in these end times, and God says that He will finish the Work and cut it short in righteousness (compare Romans 9:28)…”

In addition, we state this in our Q&A, “Who is to warn the leaders of the world? (Part 2)”:

“A warning must be given, and God expects and requires of His Church to do so… Today, the task of the watchman has been given to God’s Church, and we had better fulfill God’s command to warn the leaders and the people of coming disaster, unless they repent. This warning is being proclaimed today for everyone who is willing to see, hear and read… This end-time commission to warn the leaders and the people has been given to God’s Church today. But of course, it is prophesied that most will not listen, as they refused to listen to the prophets of old in ancient times.”

That the Church WILL indeed fulfill God’s commission to preach the gospel, which includes an emphasis of keeping His Law, and to proclaim a warning message of disaster to the rulers and nations because of their sinful conduct can be seen by the fact that the Church will be hated by all the people in the entire world.

Christ told us in Matthew 10:22-23:

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

Christ repeats this end-time prophecy in Matthew 24:8-13:

“All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

When we are hated by all nations for Christ’s name sake, this implies that the Church has become known to all nations for it to be hated by all of them.

At the time of Paul, certain Jews claimed that the Church, through its teaching, had “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6), and that “concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere” (Acts 28:22). Paul says in Romans 10:18: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.” He says in Colossians 1:23 that the gospel “was preached to every creature under heaven.” It was even said by Christ’s enemies about Him that “the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:19).

At that time, this had not literally occurred, but these are also prophetic sayings, which would be fulfilled in the future, and especially in our time.

We also read that the Apostle John, while being imprisoned on the isle of Patmos, was given a little book in a vision with the command to prophesy again about or to many peoples, tongues, nations and kings. There was no practical way for John to actually go to all those nations to proclaim to them God’s Word. Similar commands had been given to the prophets of old. While Ezekiel dwelt with the other Jews as captives in Babylon, God told him in a vision to go to the House of Israel to proclaim to them God’s Word.

By that time, the House of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians many years before; Ezekiel would have been unable to travel to Assyria to bring God’s message to the House of Israel. Similar commands were given to ancient Jeremiah and ancient Isaiah. It would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to physically deliver God’s message to all those nations.

We understand, of course, that the commission was primarily intended for the end time, and that God’s servants in our time were commissioned to proclaim the messages given to the ancient prophets. Still, John, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah did receive orders from God, and they would not have dared not to carry them out. So what did they do, and how did they fulfill their responsibilities?

They WROTE DOWN what God told them, and God preserved their writings so that they could be read by everyone throughout the ages. The Old and New Testament prophets became worldwide “celebrities”—most everyone has heard of their name, but many did not and do not like what they proclaimed.  

As we will see, the same applies, to an extent, to the Church of God in our time.

We are told that Isaiah worked as a prophet and a minister for at least 40 years and perhaps as long as 64 years. Jeremiah is assumed to have worked for 40 years, but most do not take into account that he travelled with the daughters of the last Jewish King Zedekiah to Ireland where he ministered; he worked therefore longer than only 40 years. We are told that Ezekiel worked for 22 years. During all that time, they did what God had instructed them to do, and their commission did not last only for a few months or years. And as we said above, their writings are still available today.

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, the former human leader of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God, worked as a minister for over 50 years, from about 1933 or 1934 until his death in 1986. He wrote many booklets and books, produced many recorded sermons and radio and television programs, and he visited many leaders and dignitaries. Even though dead, what he did lives on in our memories, and most of it can be found, in one way or another, on the internet.

The Church of the Eternal God came into being in 2001, with the declared goal to uphold and teach that “The major doctrines of the Church are those, which were taught by Herbert W. Armstrong, derived from the Biblical teachings as followed by God’s faithful servants, and originally established by Jesus Christ through the founding of His Church in the time of His chosen early apostles. Since we are to increase in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are committed to review and alter any of our teachings, if and when proven to be wrong by the Bible.”

We are committed to this goal and have tried to faithfully carry it out. And so, all our literature is posted on the Web; and so are all our audio and video messages. We have been in operation a little bit longer than Ezekiel, but much shorter than Isaiah and Jeremiah, or Mr. Armstrong. The point being, God has given His Church an allotted time to do the Work. And that Work will produce fruit. It always will, if it is of God.

As we stated before, when talking about the Church in this Q&A, we speak about the Body of Christ, consisting of all Christians in whom God’s Spirit dwells. We recognize that in addition to the Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates, there are others who also claim that they have continued to uphold the true faith as revealed to Mr. Armstrong. As Jesus said, each will be known by their behavior and works:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).

This test applies to all who claim to be doing God’s Will.

People will remember what they might have heard, or they will be led to the Church’s literature and recorded messages at the appropriate time. Word will spread, and many won’t like what they will hear and read. Then it will become true that God’s Church will be hated by all nations in all the world. This does not mean that each and every individual member will be known by everybody, but they will be hated by association when it becomes known that they are part of this “crazy” and unpopular “unchristian” “Jewish” Church—and that especially, since anti-Semitism will reach unparalleled heights.  

We also read that in the end time, Two Witnesses will proclaim God’s Truth. They will obviously be part of the Body of Christ, and their teaching will be in line with the teachings of the Church which had been proclaimed before for many years. People will recognize this, and they will connect the dots. Most will hate the Two Witnesses, and as they see the connection between them and the Church, they will hate the Church even more than they had already before.

The Two Witnesses will begin their public proclamations at the beginning of the Great Tribulation which will last for 3 ½ years. There will be those who recognize their teaching as being in line with what the Church had been teaching before, and they will become converted. They will be protected by God from the great and terrible Day of the Lord—a one-year time period which will begin 2 ½ years after the beginning of the Great Tribulation. But realize the impact which the Two Witnesses and the Church will have: 144,000 Israelites will become converted along with a great multitude from all nations “which no one can number” (Revelation 7:9).

Inasmuch as no one can become converted unless God draws them, God is obviously blessing the Church’s labor of the proclamation of the gospel in all the world, and a mass calling will occur before Christ’s return. God has been involved with the Church’s efforts all along. Even just prior to Christ’s return, we see God’s continued involvement, as mentioned in Revelation 14:6-7:

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth–to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people–saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’”

Even then, God and His angels support the proclamation of the gospel message through His Church and the Two Witnesses. The Scriptures are clear that all of that will occur. God will reveal, in due time, how exactly He will bring it about.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Inasmuch as none of the political and religious leaders of our nations will repent of their sins and stand in the gap to tell the people to repent of their sins and turn to the true God, calamity will follow. What a contrast to the king of Nineveh who, responding to Jonah’s warning, repented of his evil deeds and told the people to do likewise.

Notice God’s pronouncement in Isaiah 63:4-5:

“For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me.”

God’s Church must be different. A warning must be given, and God expects and requires of His Church to do so. And so, God demands of His Church to plead the cause of the needy and to show the leaders of our nations and the people following our leaders their sins with the hope that they will repent and turn. Isaiah 58:1 says:

“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.” 

He continues to list some of those sins—brutal and violent conduct; disregard of the poor and needy; as well as Sabbath-breaking. This warning message of impending disaster, because of the sins of the leaders and the people, is to be proclaimed by God’s Church, like the blowing of a loud and mighty trumpet. 

We read in Ezekiel 33:2-7:

“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.”

Today, the task of the watchman has been given to God’s Church, and we had better fulfill God’s command to warn the leaders and the people of coming disaster, unless they repent. This warning is being proclaimed today for everyone who is willing to see, hear and read. Again, God’s commission to His Church is stated in Ezekiel 3:17-19:

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.”

Jeremiah repeats this commission to God’s Church, but also points out that most will not listen. We read in Jeremiah 6:17-19:

“Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people– The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words, Nor My law, but rejected it.”

Also notice Isaiah 48:6, charging His Church with declaring what  God reveals to it: “You have heard; See all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time, Even hidden things, and you did not know them.” Also note verse 20: “Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth…”

Yes, God’s people are commissioned to leave the evil systems of this world, and to admonish others to do likewise. God’s people are not supposed to be part of the world. But they are in this world, shining as lights among an evil and adulterous generation.

When God told Jeremiah that He had ordained him a prophet to the nations, He commanded: “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land– Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to deliver you’” (Jeremiah 1:17-19).

Jeremiah spoke first to the people, but they did not listen. So he concluded: “Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God. I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.’ But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds” (Jeremiah 5:4-5). 

A devastating example of the rebellion of the leaders and the people of our nations can be found in the end-time prophecy in Psalm 2:1-12. We read:

“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD [God the Father] and against His Anointed [Jesus Christ; in Hebrew: Messiah], saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens [the Father] shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set My King [Jesus Christ] On My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The LORD [the Father] has said to Me [Jesus Christ], ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son [Jesus Christ], lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

We see how the leaders and nations of this world are in total defiance of God—the Father and the Son—and none of that will change until Christ returns to this earth to establish the Kingdom and government of God, thereby replacing all human kings and rulers. They had received the warning and admonition from God, but as it is prophesied, they chose to ignore them.

Still, God told Jeremiah—and He tells us today—to continue warning the rulers and the people of terrible disaster which would strike them (Jeremiah 5:20-21: “Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying, ‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not…’”).

The rejection from the leaders and the people did not stop Jeremiah or the other prophets to continue proclaiming God’s warning. 

The prophets of old were charged to tell the leaders with whatever means available to them that they were doing wrong. John the Baptist did the same later when he told Herod that he was living in adultery. In Revelation 10:11, John is given a little book with the admonition, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” This verse can also be understood that he had to proclaim a warning message before, concerning and against many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. Inasmuch as this is an end-time prophecy, this commission is given to God’s end-time Church. 

This includes, preaching against fighting in war. We read in Isaiah 28:6 that God gives “strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.” Also note Isaiah 54:15: “… they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.” The Good News Translation says: “Whoever attacks you, does it without my consent; whoever fights against you will fall.” This is why Christ says that we will perish by the sword if we take the sword to fight (Matthew 26:52; also note Revelation 13:10).

It also includes not voting in elections for our leaders. This should be self-evident when considering how God views them, and we are admonished to abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Note also Hosea 8:4:  “They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them…”

This end-time commission to warn the leaders and the people has been given to God’s Church today. But of course, it is prophesied that most will not listen, as they refused to listen to the prophets of old in ancient times. In fact, we read in Micah 2:11: “If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people.” In other words, he would be the kind of prophet whom the people would like to have and listen to.

Also note God’s words in Ezekiel 33:30-33:

“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’ So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Still, this must not discourage or prevent us from proclaiming what we are called to do, thereby following God’s direct commission to the Church—realizing that this is part of the Work of God which God has given us to carry out. 

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Paul says that the rulers of this world did not understand the Truth about Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). That is still true today, as this world is still cut off from God and godly understanding. Satan, the god and ruler of this world, has deceived the whole world, so that good is believed to be evil and light is vilified as darkness (Isaiah 5:20). 

Christ says that the Gentile rulers of this world exercise lordship over the people, even being (falsely) called “benefactors,” but that this is wrong and should not be done (Luke 22:25-26). But as we will see, that does not only apply to Gentile kings and nations. Christ even calls our political and religious leaders “blind guides” (Matthew 23:16).

God calls the leaders of the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,and other English-speaking nations leaders of Sodom. Note Isaiah 1:10:  “Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah…” God is charging the leaders and the people with the same types of sins Sodom and Gomorrah were famous for, leading to their utter destruction. They are supposed to hear and to heed, but they don’t. 

Isaiah 3:12 says about our political leaders: “As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.”

Isaiah 9:13-16 adds to this, blaming both the political and religious leaders and the people following them:

“For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day. The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.”

Here is one reason why God is so angry with the political leaders of our nations. Compare Isaiah 10:1-2: “Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless.”

God condemns the leaders who design unrighteous laws to withhold and even take away justice, financial support and sustenance from the poor and the needy, so that they can fill their own bellies. These warnings and condemnations are not limited to the ancient and modern Houses of Israel and Judah, but they apply to all nations at all times, since God does not play favorites and He does not show partiality and He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Authorized Version), and since all are guilty of the same misconduct.

As we said before, God also condemns the religious leaders, together with the political leaders, and the people who follow their bad example. We read in Ezekiel 22:6-8, 26-27:

“Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths… Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.”

None of the political and religious leaders keep God’s Law. They do not cease from mistreating strangers; they do not stand up for peace and they do not forbid shedding blood by, for instance, fighting in war under any and all circumstances; they do not forbid abortion in any form since inception; and they do not keep the weekly and annual Sabbaths, nor do they tell their people that they must observe these days, while refraining from keeping pagan holy days, such as Christmas or Easter. Even the House of Judah does not keep God’s Holy Days in the way prescribed by God.

In what other way are the leaders of our nations described in the Bible, and what warnings are being given which our leaders should adhere to, but don’t?

Isaiah 28:14-18 states:

“Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.’ Therefore thus says the LORD God: ‘… Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.’”

As pointed out before, these comments are not limited to the city of Jerusalem or the House of Judah, as all leaders and nations are guilty of the same transgressions, including constantly lying to the people and breaking promises they made during election campaigns.  

Note Proverbs 29:12: “If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked.” What leader is not guilty of lying and of listening to lying advisers? Otherwise, a politician would not have become a leader in this world ruled by Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44).

Proverbs 28:2 says: “Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes.” The Good News Translation says: “When a nation sins, it will have one ruler after another.” There is really no stability in this world. In some countries, a leader may rule longer than in other countries, but then such a country may have other major problems, not to mention being ruled by an autocratic dictatorship.  And those in opposition, when they eventually come to power, usually find that what they said they would do, and might have even intended to do, is just not possible through many different constraints, and so the pattern continues as there are no real, permanent answers.

Proverbs 29:4 adds: “The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.” The New American Bible says: “By justice a king builds up the land; but one who raises taxes tears it down.” The Revised Lutherbible 2017 writes: “… who demands high taxes destroys the land.” Overtaxing the people is such a common problem in this evil world. But make no mistake. God will hold those responsible who engage in such ungodly conduct. 

God wants the rulers to stand up to plead the cause of the needy.

Proverbs 31:8 states: “Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Proverbs 24:10-12 adds: “If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small. Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?”

But none of the leaders will really look after and protect the needy, even though God’s commands in this regard and warnings are very clear. His words are to be and will be proclaimed. We will see later who is especially charged by God to fulfill that commission.

Notice the following admonitions to the religious leaders to warn the people, and God’s reaction to their failure to do so.

Ezekiel 13:4-6, 10 says:

“O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed… they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace…”

After charging the princes, the prophets and the priests with wrong (compare again Ezekiel 22:6-8, 26-27, quoted above), God continues in Ezekiel 22:28-30:

“Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the LORD had not spoken. The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Nobody among the political and religious leaders of the nations could and can be found to take a stand for the poor and to project, rather than oppress the stranger (whether they are in the country legally or illegally), nor was and is there a leader who stands up for the true God and tells the people to do likewise and do away their idols and false religious services, and to prevent the coming disaster to occur. 

The same sad Truth that the land is full of evil, and that no leader is willing to do something about it, is pronounced in Isaiah 59:2-18:

“… your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity… Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us… We look for justice, but there is none… Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.

“He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.”

(To be continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link