A Prophecy Against the Mountains of Israel

       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophecy against them and say: 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of The Sovereign Lord. This is what The Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I Am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols. I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out. Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I Am The Lord.
       " 'But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember Me--how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from Me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. And they will know that I Am The Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.
       " 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out "Alas!" because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague. He that is far away will die of the plague, and he that is near will fall by the sword, and he that survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I spend My wrath upon them. And they will know that I Am The Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak--places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols. And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah--wherever they live. Then they will know that I Am The Lord.' "


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 6

The End Has Come

       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, this is what The Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. The end is now upon you and I will unleash My anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will surely repay you for your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I Am The Lord.
       "This is what The Sovereign Lord says: Disaster! An unheard-of disaster is coming. The end has come! The end has come! It has roused itself against you. It has come! Doom has come upon you--you who dwell in the land. The time has come, the day is near; there is panic, not joy, upon the mountains. I Am about to pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will repay you in accordance with your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that it is I The Lord who strikes the blow.
       The day is here! It has come! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed! Violence has grown into a rod to punish wickedness; none of the people will be left, none of that crowd--no wealth, nothing of value. The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller grieve, for wrath is upon the whole crowd. The seller will not recover the land he has sold as long as both of them live, for the vision concerning the whole crowd will not be reversed. Because of their sins, not one of them will preserve his life. Though they blow the trumpet and get everything ready, no one will go into battle, for My wrath is upon the whole crowd.
       Outside is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague. All who survive and escape will be in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys, each because of his sins. Every hand will go limp, and every knee will become as weak as water. They will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Their faces will be covered with shame and their heads will be shaved. They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will not be able to save them in the day of The Lord's wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin. They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their detestable idols and vile images. Therefore I will turn these into an unclean thing for them. I will hand it all over as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked of the earth, and they will defile it. I will turn My face away from them, and they will desecrate My treasured place; robbers will enter it and desecrate it.
       "Prepare chains, because the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of violence. I will bring the most wicked of the nations to take possession of their houses; I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated. When terror comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none. Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor. They will try to get a vision from the prophet; the teaching of the law by the priest will be lost, as will the counsel of the elders. The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I Am The Lord."


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 7

Idolatry/Freemasonry in the Temple

       In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of The Sovereign Lord came upon me there. I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be His waist down He was like fire, and from there up His appearance was as bright as glowing metal. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of GOD He took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. And there before me was the glory of The GOD of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.
       Then He said to me, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.
       And He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing--the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive Me far from My sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable."
       Then He brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, "Son of man, now dig into the wall." So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.
       And He said to me, "Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here." So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals and all the idols of the house of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
       He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, 'The Lord does not see us; The Lord has forsaken the land.' " Again, He said, "You will see them doing things that are even more detestable."
       Then He brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of The Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz. He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this."
       He then brought me into the inner court of the house of The Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of The Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
       He said to me, "Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in My ears, I will not listen to them."


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 8

Idolaters/Freemasons Killed

       Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, "Bring the guards of the city here, each with a weapon in his hand." And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
       Now the glory of The GOD of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then The Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."
       As I listened, He said to the others, "Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
       Then He said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city. While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?"
       He answered me, "The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, 'The Lord has forsaken the land; The Lord does not see.' So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done."
       Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, "I have done as you commanded."


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 9

The Glory Departs From the Temple

       I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim. The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city." And as I watched, he went in.
       Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of The Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of The Lord. The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of GOD Almighty when He speaks.
       When The Lord commanded the man in linen, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel. Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like the hands of a man.)
       I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like chrysolite. As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. I heard the wheels being called "the whirling wheels." Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
       Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
       Then the glory of The Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of The Lord's house,  and the glory of The GOD of Israel was above them.
       These were the living creatures I had seen beneath The GOD of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like the hands of a man. Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 10

Judgment on Israel's Leaders

       Then The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of The Lord that faces east. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. The Lord said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city. They say, 'Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.' Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man."
       Then The Spirit of The Lord came upon me, and He told me to say: "This is what The Lord says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
       "Therefore this is what The Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it. You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares The Sovereign Lord. I will drive you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners and inflict punishment on you. You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I Am The Lord. This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. And you will know that I Am The Lord, for you have not followed My decrees or kept My laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you."
       Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?"
       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, your brothers--your brothers who are your blood relatives and the whole house of Israel--are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, 'They are far away from The Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.'


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 11, verses 1 - 15

Promised Return of Israel

       "Therefore say: 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.'
       "Therefore say: 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.'
       "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. They will be My people, and I will be their GOD. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares The Sovereign Lord."
       Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of The GOD of Israel was above them. The glory of The Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by The Spirit of GOD.
       Then the vision I had seen went up from me, and I told the exiles everything The Lord had shown me.


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 11, verses 16 - 25

The Exile Symbolized

       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.
       "Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."
       So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.
       In the morning the word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, did not that rebellious house of Israel ask you, 'What are you doing?'
       "Say to them, 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel who are there.' Say to them, 'I am a sign to you.'
       "As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives.
       "The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. I will spread My net for him, and he will be caught in My snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. I will scatter to the winds all those around him--his staff and all his troops--and I will pursue them with drawn sword.
       "They will know that I Am The Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I Am The Lord."
       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water. Say to the people of the land: 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there. The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I Am The Lord.' "
       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'? Say to them, 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: I Am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I The Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious house, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares The Sovereign Lord.' "
       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.'
       "Therefore say to them, 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: None of My words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares The Sovereign Lord.' "


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 12

False Prophets/Freemasons Condemned

       The word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: 'Hear the word of The Lord! This is what The Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of The Lord. Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, "The Lord declares," when The Lord has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled. Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, "The Lord declares," though I have not spoken?
       " 'Therefore this is what The Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I Am against you, declares The Sovereign Lord. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I Am The Sovereign Lord.
       " 'Because they lead My people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, "Where is the whitewash you covered it with?"
       " 'Therefore this is what The Sovereign Lord says: In My wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in My anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I Am The Lord. So I will spend My wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares The Sovereign Lord." '
       "Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them and say, "This is what The Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of My people but preserve your own? You have profaned Me among My people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.
       " 'Therefore this is what The Sovereign Lord says: I Am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. I will tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I Am The Lord. Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save My people from your hands. And then you will know that I Am The Lord.' "


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 13

Idolaters/Freemasons Condemned

       Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. Then the word of The Lord came to me: "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of Me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I The Lord will answer him Myself in keeping with his great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted Me for their idols.'
       "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what The Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
       " 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from Me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of Me, I The Lord will answer him Myself. I will set My face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from My people. Then you will know that I Am The Lord.
       " 'And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I The Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. They will bear their guilt--the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from Me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be My people, and I will be their GOD, declares The Sovereign Lord.' "


The Book of Ezekiel: chapter 14, verses 1 - 11