Moment in the Word

Ezekiel 21:27 - A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.

 

In Ezekiel 21, God spoke about a blasphemous, evil ruler. But as Judgment Day arrives, the time of the wicked prince will come to an end. The vile leader will have to remove the royal crown from his unworthy head. The entire world is about to change. The poor will be raised from the ground as the rich are cast down.

 

"Ruins! Ruins! Ruins!"

 

God will turn the perverted prince's nation to ruins. And the country will remain that way until the One arrives who is worthy to wear the crown with honor! Then, God will give all authority to Him! (Ezekiel 21:25-27) This mysterious passage is often interpreted as an allegory for Antichrist who Jesus will personally destroy as Daniel described (8:25), "He (Antichrist) will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior (arrogant pride). When his victims mistakenly feel safe, he will treacherously destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes (Christ/the Holy Land). Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power."

 

Likewise, we see the same wicked one again in Isaiah 14:3-17 as the unnamed "King of Babylon," a furious oppressor who struck the people in anger with unceasing blows, subdued nations in his rage and relentlessly persecuted others. A hopeless narcissist, he secretly boasts, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will exalt myself above God's Saints. I will become like the Most High." Claiming to be the "conveyor of light," this "luciferous" individual is instead the very "heart of darkness" due to his violent pride!

 

Akin to the wicked prince in Ezekiel 21 and the "destroyer of nations" in Isaiah 14, the Beast (Antichrist) of Revelation 13:5 also displays the mortal sin of pride, "The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies..."

 

Daniel mentioned the very same corrupt sin of pride, "Then I kept watching because of the arrogant (proud) words the 'horn' (shofar/trump) was speaking."

 

Don't be deceived! A man who is proud has nothing to do with God. According to Job (41:35), the Dragon/Satan (leviathan) oversees all that are haughty because it/he is the king of everyone who is proud.

 

But contrary to the extreme pride of the devil's Antichrist, God's Only Begotten Son "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross!" (Philippians 2:7-8)

 

There is a BIG difference between the arrogance of Antichrist and the humility of Jesus. So, look very carefully at current world leaders to see if you notice the handiwork of Satan which bears the unmistakable stamp of "pride" and then immediately remember, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." (James 4:6)

 

Since promotion only comes from the Lord (Psalms 75:6-7), God rewarded Jesus's humble service by "highly exalting him, and giving him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." (Philippians 2:9-10)

 

So, we've come full circle. Christ is the Worthy One who will seize the crown of the evil prince, whose arrogant wickedness is currently revealed, "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

 

The End is Near!