To Moses and Ezekiel, Jesus, The Lord God revealed His use of what I refer to as 4 punitive henchmen -- His trusted, unscrupulous and ruthless subordinates (judgments), to punish persistent, un-repented sins of a people or nation, not just Israel.
(See: Deuteronomy 32:24-25 and Ezekiel 14:12-23)
These are:
--Famine (food shortages, e.g., triggered by droughts, wars, pestilences, and other disasters)
--Wild beasts (animals/insects and hegemon governments)
--The sword (wars)
--Pestilence (diseases/plagues)
I have long pondered
the roles of these henchmen in our world today as we transit The Age of Grace –- that period
of time between God’s atonement for human sins through Christ, and the rapture
of The Church, writ large. Thus far,
this period has covered the past ~2,000+years. More recently, I have wondered
just when and how were these henchmen, i.e., spiritual forces that spawn and
spread them, released in the Earth.
Though Father God has indeed forgiven all human sins through Christ’s sacrifice, this forgiveness has not been widely accepted or ‘walked out’ in the lives of many. I find no Biblical indication that God has recalled these henchmen as a result of Christ’s sacrifice. There are promises that ‘the faith-filled righteous in Christ’ are generally protected from the direct or worse impacts of these henchmen. (See: Collateral Damages or Blessings? (Poem) Thus, these henchmen are still active across our world today, and they retain their original spiritual purpose, i.e., punishments for persistent, un-repented sins of a people (any people) or nation (any nation).
There is no Bible
indication any of these henchmen were in effect before the global flood –- mankind’s
initial ~1,600 years on Earth. This might be one reason why people then, with
no identified natural predators, lived hundreds of years. In Genesis
6:3, God announced His plan to scale back human life span to 120 years in
response to persistent, un-repented sins. (Do not confuse this with the notion
of 70-80 years mentioned in Psalm 90:10. (See:
Life Span – How
Long? and Life Span:
Reconciling Two Voices) How would He accomplish this??
Though The Lord only revealed His plan first to Moses, then to Ezekiel several millennia after the flood, I believe the plan may have been sequentially put in place during and shortly after the flood. How? Following is my understanding of the sequence of what may have occurred. As you reflect, please consider sharing your Bible-based perspectives.
Though The Lord only revealed His plan first to Moses, then to Ezekiel several millennia after the flood, I believe the plan may have been sequentially put in place during and shortly after the flood. How? Following is my understanding of the sequence of what may have occurred. As you reflect, please consider sharing your Bible-based perspectives.
Earth’s landmass
divided: Some speculate,
during the flood, Earth (possibly a single landmass) began to divide into continents,
possibly to allow space for flood waters to recede, and in preparation for the
subsequent scattering of people over all the Earth, triggered at the Tower of Babel. If so, mountains and valleys would
add topographical character to what might have been a previously flat Earth, and would also help to
separate people groups, as The Lord intended at the Tower of Babel. Some scientists speculate Earth will someday return to being one super continent. Imagine if all mountains were cast into the oceans, and lands would once again be established ‘upon the waters’ as indicated in Genesis 1.
Disease vectors
introduced: Though
unimaginable to us today, Genesis 2:4-6 indicates there was no rain on the
Earth until the global flood, when ‘the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened’. (Genesis 7:11) Today we realize the impacts of deadly disease
vectors that can spread following a local flood. Imagine this happening, for the
first time, with a global flood …across the entire Earth. The once pristine,
pre-flood Earth, became ripe with all sorts of microscopic, disease-causing
bugs (e.g., seed-like spores, invisible to the naked eye, that float through the
air and contaminate surfaces). There were no microscopes back then. As humans re-populated Earth, the potential of pestilences
was thus ‘locked and loaded’, ready to run rampant when/as directed by God, to achieve His purposes.
Language and
people divided: At the Tower of Babel, the common (pure) language among humans was divided into multiple
languages, thus facilitating the above-noted scattering. (See: Genesis 11:1-9) In light of what we know of human
nature and the role of language in culture, the division of peoples might have
fed inter- and intra-cultural suspicions and jealous envy. Thus, among differing, neighboring
groups, the potential of conflicts and wars was ‘locked and loaded’, ready to breakout
when/as directed by God to achieve His purposes. (The Bible iteratively affirms God causes and ends wars. See:
Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6, Isaiah 45:7, Jeremiah 25:6, Amos 3:6, Ezekiel
14:17-18, Ezekiel 38, Ezekiel 39, Zechariah 14:12. It also promises peoples will once again enjoy a time of a common (pure) language, and no wars during The Millennial Reign, per Zephaniah 3:9.)
Human diets
changed: Before the flood,
both humans and animals were vegetarian/herbivores (Genesis 1:29-30), thus none ‘habitually knew’ the taste of blood as parts of their diets. A few animals survived the flood by being fed (fruits and veggies) by humans in the ark. Subsequent animal generations began to fear humans. Why? For the first time, God strategically put the fear of man into animals (Genesis
9:2), and strategically expanded the human diet to include meat. As animals re-populated
the Earth, people, now omnivores 1, began
to attack and eat animals for food. In defensive fear, hunted animals fought
back and thus, likely acquired the taste of blood.
Fear and animosity between people and animals grew. Having acquired the taste
of blood, some animals became carnivores (only meat-eaters), some became
omnivores, and others remained vegetarian/herbivores. The potential of wild beasts attacks on humans was thus ‘locked and loaded’, ready to occur
when/as directed by God to achieve His purposes. (This scenario will also flip during The Millennial Reign. See: Isaiah 11 and 65.)
Famine occurred: At first glance, we tend to associate
famines (a widespread scarcity of food) with a reduced supply of rains or
moisture in an area. While The Bible emphatically affirms God’s control of
Earth’s weather patterns (See:
Genesis 7:4, Job 5:10, Job 38:26-30), we now know famines are caused by
many factors. These include wars, pestilences, governmental policies,
inflation, crop diseases, population imbalances such as rapid urbanization, and
immigration shifts. In fact, each of the other 3 henchmen, can trigger famine
and its dreaded impacts (malnutrition, starvation, mortality, inflation, wars,
pestilences, wild animal attacks, etc.). Undoubtedly, all 4 henchmen can be mutually reinforcing, each triggering
the outbreak and spread of the others! Thus, the
potential of famines was ‘locked and loaded’,
ready to break-out when/as directed by God to achieve His purposes. 2
Voila! Tactics to achieve God’s pronounced strategic plan to scale down human life span to 120 years, and to punish unrepentant, persistent sinfulness were thus set in place. His 4 henchmen were set in the Earth, ready to punish persistent, un-repented sin, but only after God’s extended periods of Grace to a particular people or nation …had expired!
Today, we have:
A. Microscopes
and medicines to detect/mitigate pestilences
B. The UN,
regional organizations, the used-to-be-generally accepted liberal World Order, the Law of War, etc.
to facilitate international relations and help prevent/mitigate impacts of wars. But these have seriously deteriorated! See: In the Days of These Kings (Part 4, The UN-potent UN)
C. The
sciences of animal behavior and better means to control human interactions with
wild
beasts and insects
D. Global
food production/supply chains, the sciences of weather, and global humanitarian
aid initiatives to mitigate famines and their lingering impacts
Questions worth pondering:
1. While The Lord’s 4 judgment henchmen remain available and undoubtedly very active across our world, have human advances lessened their effectiveness and punitive impacts aimed at our persistent, un-repented sins on Earth? For example, take a moment to consider, not only the scientific, but the likely spiritual reasons for increasing, protracted droughts. (See: The Ought in Drought (Poem))
1. While The Lord’s 4 judgment henchmen remain available and undoubtedly very active across our world, have human advances lessened their effectiveness and punitive impacts aimed at our persistent, un-repented sins on Earth? For example, take a moment to consider, not only the scientific, but the likely spiritual reasons for increasing, protracted droughts. (See: The Ought in Drought (Poem))
2. While The Lord pre-determined average human life span to be 120 years, why have many societies
seemingly embraced the notions of (a) death around 70 or perhaps 80 years (‘three
score years and ten; and if by reason of strength, they be fourscore years’, per Psalm 90), and
(b) ‘living on borrowed time’ if one lives much longer than this? (See: Life Span – How Long?
and Life Span:
Reconciling Two Voices)
3. Though ‘the
faith-filled righteous’ are generally promised protection, The Lord’s punitive judgments against a person, family, people or nation, have varying forms and levels of collateral damage, and they always
result in ‘a righteous remnant’ (The Lord’s third strategic point in Jeremiah 9:23-24). See: Collateral Damages or Blessings? (Poem).
Ponder this: As
sins abound, His protracted Grace expires, and these 4 henchmen are released to do
their punitive works across our world, what will you do:
(a) to mitigate the
impacts of collateral damage on your family and life, and
(b) to be counted
among the surviving, righteous remnant??
4. Many may argue that, in modern times, wild beasts attack humans far less than ever. However, it is interesting how The Lord depicts world hegemon governments as being ...like wild beasts! (See: Daniel 8. The USA is the current global hegemon government, and China is the wanna be global hegemon! Plus, there are several regional and ‘wanna-be’ regional hegemon nations! Also search the web for increasing animal attacks in the 2020s following the global Covid 19 pandemic, protracted droughts and massive floods triggered by climate change! It is as if all four henchmen have been simultaneously released worldwide to do their ‘sin-punishing’ works across Earth! Also see: God Rail-less (Series).
*** 5. In Ezekiel 14:12-23, note the order of these judgments. Famine is listed first and pestilence is listed last, with wild beasts and warfare sandwiched between. Do you perceive this order signals a ranking or significant ramping up of His judgments when folks flat out refuse to be disciplined by His judgments?! If so, where on His ramping-up scale would ...a global pandemic be?! Moreover, if that doesn't do the job, what He reveals in verse 21 ... will kick in! That's the exact scenario painted for the great tribulation, the apocalypse! (See: Revelation 6 - to 16) 3
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1 Omnivores eat both plants and animals
2 The first Biblical reference to famine is Genesis
12:10. The oft doubted or ignored spiritual
significance of famines is noted in 2 Samuel 2:21, 2 Samuel 24:13, 1 Kings
8:37-40, Psalm 105:16 and Revelation 18:8.
3 Compare these 4 judgment henchmen to the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation 6:1-8.
3 Compare these 4 judgment henchmen to the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation 6:1-8.
