Do you ever look at the world and get discouraged? Does it seem at times like the adversary is winning? Just one serious study of the Book of Ezekiel can make you see that this can never be so. Ezekiel’s detailed prophecies of destruction which befell the nations of ancient Near East gives us a clear picture that Satan does not stand a chance against Christ’s power. It seemed for a long time that the adversary was winning there too as the Canaanite nations afflicted Israel and led her into idolatry but when Israel fell into captivity, Jehovah revealed His mighty arm in vengeance by destroying these nations and empires of Egypt, Assyria, Tyre, Sidon, Damascus, Persia and Idumea. The Lord calls them ‘the mighty that are fallen….which are gone down to hell’ (Ezekiel 32:27). Egypt, which was the power to be reckoned with was probably the greatest tragedy. Ezekiel devoted four chapters (29-32) to the description of Egypt’s beauty, prophetic destruction and lamentation. Much like Tyre, Egypt’s splendour was destroyed because it sought to exalt itself to the status of God (Ezekiel 29:9; 31:10).
After pronouncing judgment on these ancient nations and affirming that the destruction will be His doing (71 times no less), Jehovah testified: “I have caused my terror in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 32:32). Why such terror and such terrible destruction? Because these nations were built up on excessive pride and what is built on pride cannot stand. Pride is the foundation of a kingdom that cannot last, the origin of which we know well. It cannot last because there is only one true and living God and we all know who HE is.
And so it is with our world. The day is coming when the Saviour will come to reveal the arm of His power and crush the enemy of all righteousness. He who has said: “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God….I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:12-15), has never received a body, and though the king and ruler of world-wide empire of spiritual Babylon, he shall never have a tomb or monument to his name and the kings of the earth will exclaim in amazement when they see him cast down to hell: “Is this the man that made the earth tremble, that did shake the kingdoms?” (v 16). Stripped of his power and his pride, he will not stand…..
Where is the sting of death,
The enemy of righteousness,
And humanity’s foe?
The fire of its power lies in ashes
Quenched at Calvary long ago.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Second Coming by Dan Wilson)
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