“It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree” (Ezekiel 21:10).
TEXT — Ezekiel 21:1-17
Message
With the assault of pandemics, recession and terrorism on mankind, is this the right time for believers worldwide to be complacent and indifferent? Or is it a time for deep reflection about the fulfilment of the end-time prophecies? These questions require all believers across the world to solemnly reexamine themselves and warn unbelievers and backsliders to repent.
Our text reveals how God commanded Prophet Ezekiel to prophesy against the land and people of Israel. In this prophecy, God revealed His plan to cut off the righteous and wicked. He equally commanded Ezekiel to tell the Israelites that His sword “is already sharpened to make a sore slaughter…” As a consequence, the terror of the sword shall descend upon the people and princes of Israel without separating the self-righteous from the wicked for both would face the wrath of God together.
This prophecy does not in any way contradict God’s verdict in Ezekiel 18:20, which deals with the final judgment. However, today’s passage concentrates on what shall happen before the final judgment. It emphasizes temporal judgment, which shall not spare the self-righteous. By implication, both groups would face the sword of the Lord.
Already, the world has started to witness the anger of the Lord. This is evident in the cases of famine, pandemics, terrorism and war that have claimed both the righteous and the wicked worldwide. This places an urgent call on genuine believers to be committed to fervent prayers and evangelism to draw the unsaved to the way of the Lord before it is too late.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
