End Times Witnessing: One More Year! Churches too!

Luke 13 A Call to Repentance


1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’ 8 “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! 14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” 15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” 17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

Parable of the Mustard Seed

18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

Parable of the Yeast

20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

The Narrow Door

22 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. 25 When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’ 28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. 29 And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. 30 And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.[a]”

Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!” 32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. 33 Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem! 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]”

Footnotes: a.Luke 13:30 Greek Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. b.Luke 13:35 Ps 118:26.

O, Watchman, cry out day and night as the time is hear and now!

Revelation: Fire!

Revelation 8:5

Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

Revelation 8:7

The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.

Revelation 8:8

Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood,

Revelation 9:17

And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths.



Revelation 9:18

One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses.

Revelation 11:5

If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die.

Revelation 13:13

He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching.

Revelation 14:10

must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

Revelation 14:18

Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”

Revelation 15:2

I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.

Revelation 16:8

Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire.

Revelation 17:16

The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.

Revelation 18:8

Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire,for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”

Revelation 19:12

His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.

Revelation 20:9

And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

Revelation 20:14

Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

Revelation 20:15

And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LAND OF THE QUEEN?

Seeing the small should not limit our eyes to detecting the big picture in the spiritual realm, the watchman has learned. What is happening in Queensland Australia is only the tip of an iceberg. The name of the state is a type (just like the name ‘ChristChurch’ in NZ was invoked previously as a sign of things to come to the churches of Christ all over the world) to signify events that will come to all the ex-colonies of the Queen.


In the case of Queensland, the Lord has these following verses for watchmen and intercessors all over the Commonwealth to ponder upon. All the former daughters (of which USA is one) of Great Britain too!

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Job 27:20-23 (New Living Translation) 20 Terror overwhelms them like a flood, and they are blown away in the storms of the night. 21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone. It sweeps them away.

22 It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power. 23 But everyone jeers at them and mocks them.

FLOOD COMES FROM THE ALMIGHTY GOD

ORIGIN: Job 12:15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

JUDGMENT OF THE UNBELIEVERS

Isaiah 8:7 Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River —the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels Isaiah 28:2 For the Lord will send a mighty army against it. Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain, they will burst upon it like a surging flood and smash it to the ground. Isaiah 30:28 His hot breath pours out like a flood up to the neck of his enemies. He will sift out the proud nations for destruction. He will bridle them and lead them away to ruin. Nahum 1:8 But he will sweep away his enemies in an overwhelming flood. He will pursue his foes into the darkness of night.

WARNING THE BELIEVERS

Isaiah 28:17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away.

Ezekiel 13:13 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will sweep away your whitewashed wall with a storm of indignation, with a great flood of anger, and with hailstones of fury.

Amos 5:24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.

Isaiah 28:19 Again and again that flood will come, morning after morning, day and night, until you are carried away.” This message will bring terror to your people.

Isaiah 59:19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.

THE FLOOD CAN COME IN THE FORM OF THE ENEMIES (physical and spiritual)

Jeremiah 46:8 It is the Egyptian army, overflowing all the land, boasting that it will cover the earth like a flood, destroying cities and their people.

Jeremiah 47:2 This is what the Lord says: “A flood is coming from the north to overflow the land. It will destroy the land and everything in it—cities and people alike. People will scream in terror, and everyone in the land will wail.

Revelation 12:15

Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth.

WARNING OF END TIME

Daniel 9:26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.

Daniel 11:10 However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy’s fortress.

Daniel 11:40 “Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood.

AS SIGNS FOR ENT TIME: NOAH WILL ARISE

Matthew 24:38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

Matthew 24:39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

Luke 17:27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Hebrews 11:7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

1 Peter 3:20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.

2 Peter 2:5 And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.

2 Peter 3:6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.

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NOAH’S FLOOD: What happened in the past will happen again!

(substitute the word ‘flood’ with ‘end time disaster’ and see the sequence and type of events that will take place again)

Genesis 6:17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.

Genesis 6:19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.

Genesis 7:1 [ The Flood Covers the Earth ] When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous.

Genesis 7:3 Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood.

Genesis 7:6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth.

Genesis 7:7 He went on board the boat to escape the flood—he and his wife and his sons and their wives.

Genesis 7:10 After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth.

Genesis 8:1 [ The Flood Recedes ] But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede.

Genesis 8:4 exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

Genesis 8:13 Noah was now 601 years old. On the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying.

Genesis 9:11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Genesis 9:20 After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard.

Genesis 10:1 This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood.

Genesis 10:32 [ Conclusion ] These are the clans that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these clans after the great flood.

End Times Church Countdown: Ten Keys to hearing the Holy Spirit

The watchman has been pondering on this subject for his class. How indeed to listen and hear the Holy Spirit?

He asked the Lord and received a number of promptings as follows over the lst two weeks:
1. “CLEAR MIND“: 2 Tim4:5 “But you should keep a clear mind in every situation” Be watchful, calm, cool, steady, uncluttered, undisturbed, undistracted. Be focussed. 3:14-16 know, obey, trust the Scripture
Filled with God’s Word Mark 4:24-25 “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given –and you will receive even more. To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

2. “SHOULD YOU TALK THAT WAY?” Mic2:7 “Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the Lord’s Spirit have patience with such behaviour? If you would do what is right you will find My words comforting.” After we hear the Lord, we must respond correctly. “The words you speak come from the heart-that is what defiles you”. (Matt.14:18)
3. “OUR ACTIONS MATTER” Mic3:2,4 “You are supposed to know right from wrong, but you hate good and love evil. Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect Him to answer? After the evil you have done, He won’t even look at you!”
4. “BE OPENED!” Mark 7:31-37 (Jesus healed a deaf man).Let the finger of God (Holy Spirit) touch the inside of your ears, and your tongue, and let His command “Be Opened” be proclaimed and received by faith!
5. “BE CHILDLIKE“: Matt.11:25-26 Jesus prayed this prayer, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way!”
6. “RICH RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD“: Luke 12:21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
7. “MORE, TO THOSE WHO USE WELL“: Matt.25:29 “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will b taken away.”
8. “HE MUST KNOW YOU“: Matt.25:12 “Believe Me, I don’t know you.” Jesus knows you by the burning lamp in you. You need extra oil to keep this lamp burning at midnight because lamps go out at midnight. When He comes for His own, Jesus looks for the lamps that are still burning bright!
9. “OUR SPIRITS ARE RENEWED EVERYDAY“: 2 Cor.4:16 Fellowship with Jesus daily. The Lord who is the Spirit makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. 2 Cor.3:18
10. “ONLY THOSE WHO OBEY HIM“: John 14:15-18 Keep His commandments; Acts 5:32 Those who obey Him.

How a king handed over his spiritual stronghold to the enemy

2Chronicles 28 Ahaz Rules in Judah

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David had done. 2 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire.[a] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.

5 Because of all this, the Lord his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. 6 In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel’s king, killed 120,000 of Judah’s troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 7 Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son; Azrikam, the king’s palace commander; and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 8 The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.

Ahaz Closes the Temple 16 At that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help. 17 The armies of Edom had again invaded Judah and taken captives. 18 And the Philistines had raided towns located in the foothills of Judah[c] and in the Negev of Judah. They had already captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. 19 The Lord was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah,[d] for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord.

20 So when King Tiglath-pileser[e] of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him. 21 Ahaz took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and from the homes of his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But this did not help him.

22 Even during this time of trouble, King Ahaz continued to reject the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, “Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them.” But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah.

24 The king took the various articles from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s Temple so that no one could worship there, and he set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign and everything he did, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal cemetery of the kings of Judah. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.

Footnotes:
1.2 Chronicles 28:3 Or even making his sons pass through the fire.
2.2 Chronicles 28:12 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
3.2 Chronicles 28:18 Hebrew the Shephelah.
4.2 Chronicles 28:19 Hebrew of Israel; also in 28:23, 27. The author of Chronicles sees Judah as representative of the true Israel. See also some Hebrew manuscripts, Greek and Syriac versions, and Latin Vulgate.
5.2 Chronicles 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser, a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.

End Times Church Countdown: A message to the king

The watchman received a further message today for that nation. This is a message for the king (the royal family). Note: the king was standing “at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.” (Are these signs of repentance? O watchman, please do not give up interceding for your king, the strongman for your nation, to repent and renounce the foreign idols!)

Isaiah 7 A Message for Ahaz

1 When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria[a] and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan. 2 The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israel[b] against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashub[c] and go out to meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.[d] 4 Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah. 5 Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying, 6 ‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’

7 But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; 8 for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. 9 Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.

Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”

The Sign of Immanuel 10 Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.[e]” 12 But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin[f] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). 15 By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt[g] and honey. 16 For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.

17 “Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. 19 They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places.

20 In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River[h]—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.[i]

21 In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. 22 Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey.

23 In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver,[j] will become patches of briers and thorns. 24 The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. 25 No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.”

End Times Church Countdown: I will love them no more

A derelict church in a nation (once great empire). The watchman found many more such photos. He was led to read the following passage for that nation on this second day. But then there is still hope, despite the above abandoned church which used to call Hope Church!
The hope comes from praying and proclaiming Ezekiel 37:1-10 (Vision at the Valley of Dry Bones) to the churches of that nation.

Hosea 9 “Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment”

1 O people of Israel,


do not rejoice as other nations do.

For you have been unfaithful to your God,

hiring yourselves out like prostitutes,

worshiping other gods on every threshing floor.

2 So now your harvests will be too small to feed you.

There will be no grapes for making new wine.

3 You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.

Instead, you will return to Egypt,

and in Assyria you will eat food

that is ceremonially unclean.

4 There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord.

None of your sacrifices there will please him.

They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning.

All who present such sacrifices will be defiled.

They may eat this food themselves,

but they may not offer it to the Lord.

5 What then will you do on festival days?

How will you observe the Lord’s festivals?

6 Even if you escape destruction from Assyria,

Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis[a] will bury you.

Nettles will take over your treasures of silver;

thistles will invade your ruined homes.

7 The time of Israel’s punishment has come;

the day of payment is here.

Soon Israel will know this all too well.

Because of your great sin and hostility,

you say, “The prophets are crazy

and the inspired men are fools!”

8 The prophet is a watchman over Israel[b] for my God,

yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes.

He faces hostility even in the house of God.

9 The things my people do are as depraved

as what they did in Gibeah long ago.

God will not forget.

He will surely punish them for their sins.

10 The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you,

it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert.

When I saw your ancestors,

it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season.

But then they deserted me for Baal-peor,

giving themselves to that shameful idol.

Soon they became vile,

as vile as the god they worshiped.

11 The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird,

for your children will not be born

or grow in the womb

or even be conceived.

12 Even if you do have children who grow up,

I will take them from you.

It will be a terrible day when I turn away

and leave you alone.

13 I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre.

But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.”

14 O Lord, what should I request for your people?

I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth

and breasts that give no milk.

15 The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal;

there I began to hate them.

I will drive them from my land

because of their evil actions.

I will love them no more

because all their leaders are rebels.

16 The people of Israel are struck down.

Their roots are dried up,

and they will bear no more fruit.

And if they give birth,

I will slaughter their beloved children.”

17 My God will reject the people of Israel

because they will not listen or obey.

They will be wanderers,

homeless among the nations.

Footnotes:

a.Hosea 9:6 Memphis was the capital of northern Egypt.

b.Hosea 9:8 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 9:11, 13, 16.

Note: The “children” refers to spiritual children. Many churches do not have any more viable spiritual ‘children’ and they simply die off as a church.