Israel does not mourn the passing of their stronghold as they pine away in their sin.

Ezekiel 24:22-24

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.’” Ezekiel 24:22-24

Ezekiel is now revealing to the Israelites why he did not follow the customs of mourning and did not shed a tear when his wife died. This was the message that God gave Ezekiel to the Israelites: That even though the sanctuary in Jerusalem would be destroyed, and their sons and daughters killed, and Jerusalem itself desolated, the captive Israelites would not cry over it. They would not mourn, have sorrow, feel shame, have any guilt, or show repentance of any type for the loss of the heritage they had with God. The heart of the Israelites was hardened against the Holy things of God, His people, and the entire Holy City. What they would mourn over was their own pining away in the consequences of turning away from God. They had worldly sorrow for themselves but no sorrow that led them to repentance, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

2000 years ago, the Jewish people rejected Jesus the Christ and to this day they feel no remorse, sorrow, or mourning for His crucifixion and absence in their culture. Even though they don’t mourn in a way that reconciles them to God through Christ Jesus, they are doing plenty of mourning for themselves as seen coming from the State of Israel. Every day the governing officials of Israel mourn for their own wasting away in dealing with the constant wars they are confronted with. Israel has been in 17 wars since 1948, and even a war in 1948, Click for a list of those wars and scroll close to the bottom of the page.

The Israeli citizens themselves are also doing a lot of mourning for themselves as they constantly engage in riots and protests against their own government. They demand that the government of Israel conform to the will of the members of the United Nations. While they do a lot of mourning for change, their sorrow does nothing to reconcile them to God through Jesus Christ so that they can live in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Israelis, and Jewish people everywhere, are pining away in the consequences of their sin because of turning from the will of God for them to accept Jeus as Lord and Christ. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36 

We can assess that Jesus the Christ has come to give us abundant life in the Spirit, “I have come that [you] may have life, and that [you] may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 The diagnosis is that today’s culture is pining away in their sin because they have no remorse or sorrow that leads them to repentance through Jesus Christ, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 We plan to live in the Holy Spirit who keeps our conscience alive and sensitive to be remorseful of wrongdoing so that we can come to God through Jesus Christ for reconciliation. We implement that plan by carrying our cross daily to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, who takes away the sin of the world. We know that plan is successful when we see our mourning in this sin-plagued world as a blessing, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:3-4

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1