God's Urgent Warning Message to You

Among the Jewish people led into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar's military forces in 597 B.C., the second of three major deportations, was Ezekiel, the son of a Jewish priest. While in Babylon, God called him into prophetic service, saying, "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" (Ezekiel 3:17, emphasis added throughout).

As a watchman, Ezekiel's was not to be stationed on top of a city wall to alert its residents of an advancing foreign army or another threat, as was the typical duty of a watchman in that day. Rather, he was to be a spiritual sentinel to warn people that disobeying God's commandments and refusing to repent would result in severe punishment.

Yet oddly enough, while Ezekiel gave God's announcement to the Jewish captives in Babylon (Ezekiel 3:11), his message was also intended for, as stated in various places, the house of Israel-a reference to the northern 10 tribes, which had already been taken into captivity by Assyrian military forces more than 120 years earlier!

As his prophetic warning message applies to the last days, we should recognize that it's destined to reach the nations of present-day Israel and not just the Jewish people of today's state of Israel. It will surprise many to learn that the modern Israelites are primarily the people of the major English-speaking countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (see the study guide offered at the end of this article for the biblical and historical evidence).

Moreover, Ezekiel's message is ultimately important for all people. God wants you and everyone to come to comprehend the consequences of sin as well as understand the true gospel (or good news) of salvation and the coming Kingdom of God (see Isaiah 52:7-10; Mark 1:14-15). Those who respond to God's message by yielding to Him in humility, love and obedience may rely on His guidance and protection through the prophesied frightful time of distress and destruction that will come on the entire world.

Forsaking God and hurtling toward destruction

Looking ahead, God foresaw a society that turned away from Him and His righteous biblical values and corrupted itself by ungodly, fleshly, materialistic behavior. As Ezekiel wrote, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity" (Ezekiel 9:9). This passage pertains to contempt for law and order and the fostering of moral depravity. Again, the conditions Ezekiel decries are evident in today's nations-not just the original audience of his day. His message is for now.

God lays much of the blame for the damaging behaviors we see at the feet of both secular and religious leaders failing to strongly combat these evil influences. Complicit in this disaster have been radical and weak-willed presidents, prime ministers, politicians, lawyers, judges, Supreme Court justices, university professors, corporate business leaders and leading figures in the media and entertainment industries. Rather than battling against profane influences, these endorsed and promoted them-including three U.S. presidents shamefully supporting and hosting sexually alternative "pride" events annually at the White House!

Through Ezekiel, God said the following about all secular leaders who permitted such egregious practices: "Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain" (Ezekiel 22:27). Even many religious leaders who should have steadfastly opposed such exceedingly damaging influences instead have capitulated to them by watering down eternal truths, delivering their flocks over to worldly impulses and actions, showing them to be false shepherds (John 10:12-13).

God through Ezekiel further declared about these impotent guardians: "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" (Ezekiel 22:26). He also stated, "The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost" (Ezekiel 34:4).

As a result, when church members realized that little or nothing was required of them, they decided they no longer needed the church to instruct and guide them and therefore left it behind. According to a Pew Research Center survey in March 2024, 80 percent of U.S. adults say religion has lost influence in public life.

As people forsook God and His commandments, they endeavored to find life's purpose and meaning in possessions, pursuits, projects, politics and popular people. But these idols, including anything placed before God, left them unfulfilled and empty.

Instead of a righteous, commandment-keeping society, in our age we see an expansion of what the apostle Paul wrote about the debased culture of his day: "Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful" (Romans 1:29-31).

In abandoning godly values, many people in America and the other formerly blessed nations of modern-day Israel surrendered themselves to moral decadence, selfishness, greed, dishonesty, bribery, injustice, thievery, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual deviance, and violence. Of course, these iniquities are not exclusive to the contemporary nations of Israel, since the entire world is awash in sinful conduct (Romans 3:23).

In a prophecy about this present age, Paul foretold that atrocious attitudes and behavior would escalate, as we see today (see 2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Considering how the moral foundation of the nations of contemporary Israel has eroded so profoundly, what does Bible prophecy reveal lies ahead if people refuse to repent of sinful behavior and to turn to God in humility and obedience? Jesus Christ spoke about a time to come when the entire world will be in great peril: "For at that time there will be great tribulation, the kind that hasn't taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again! Unless those days were limited, no one would survive. But those days will be limited because of the elect [God's chosen, repentant people]" (Matthew 24:21-22, Holman Christian Standard Bible).

Will you heed God's wake-up call?

Sadly, most people of today's Israelite nations will not heed Christ's warnings or those of His prophets. God told Ezekiel: "Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse-for they are a rebellious house-yet they will know that a prophet has been among them" (Ezekiel 2:3-5).

What more do Ezekiel's prophecies say will happen from disobeying God and His commandments? "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes nor kept My judgments, nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you'-therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations" (Ezekiel 5:7-8).

The warnings in the book should wake us up to how serious God is and how austere His punishments will be unless there is sincere repentance and obedience. He states through Ezekiel, "One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword [military attack] all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them" (Ezekiel 5:12).

Ezekiel further quoted God as saying: "Moreover I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by. So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken" (Ezekiel 5:14-15).

Furthermore, God directed Ezekiel to write: "In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste . . . The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries" (Ezekiel 6:6-8). God further relays that dreadful adversity will occur by the hands of national enemies: "I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, and they will possess their houses; I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction comes; they will seek peace, but there shall be none" (Ezekiel 7:24-25).

Moreover, though God has blessed America and its brother nations with extraordinary abundance of food, note what will transpire: "Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it" (Ezekiel 14:13).

And He further warns: "For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains [nations] of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed" (Ezekiel 33:28-29).

Understand that God's chastisement is ultimately meant for deliverance. He told Ezekiel: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?" (verse 11).

You don't have to learn the hard way

The fact is, you and others don't have to learn the hard way. God says, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). He also states to all who will listen and heed, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

And those who are baptized and converted must continue to draw close to God to remain zealous, since it is possible to let down and weaken through lack of spiritual diligence. This is why Jesus Christ said, "Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise like a trap" (Luke 21:34-35, International Standard Version).

To avoid this condition, you must study the Bible regularly, apply its instructions faithfully, build character continually, and maintain a close and enduring relationship with God through daily prayer. The apostle Paul reminded the brethren in Rome about the need to remain spiritually attentive by giving them this vital instruction: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

It takes effort to stay spiritually prepared, vigilant and faithful. Jesus said, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:44). Those who sincerely desire to follow God's way of life should make every effort to grow steadily in love, joy and faith through the power of His Holy Spirit within them (Philippians 1:11; Acts 13:52).

Sadly, as revealed through Ezekiel, the modern Israelite nations will suffer calamitous punishments, including being attacked, plundered and enslaved by malicious enemies. Their downfall will occur because the people have walked away from God in disobedience, effectively rejecting His blessings, guidance and divine protection. Of course, we pray that many will yet repent and turn to God in sincere humility and obedience.

The good news is that you can be one of those who can be protected from approaching difficult times-while preparing for Jesus Christ's second coming. When He returns, He will reign as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" to govern the world in truth and righteousness (Revelation 19:16). And those who follow Him in this age will reign with Him in the age to come (Revelation 3:21).

Will you heed God's urgent warning message to you today? He eagerly awaits your response!

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God's Urgent Warning Message to You

God sent an urgent warning message through Ezekiel to the nations of present-day Israel. Discover what this prophetic message includes and why it has vital significance for you.

Forsaking God and hurtling toward destruction

Will you heed God's wake-up call?

You don't have to learn the hard way