Know God or No God
Sixty-six times In Ezekiel, in one form or another, God says, “that they will know that I am the Lord.” In my opinion, the key verse for this prophetic book is Ezekiel 26:22,23: “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name…I will vindicate the holiness of My great name.”
Why is God so concerned about His name? Why is one of the “big 10,” “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” with a specific warning, “for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (Exo. 20:7)? I cringe when I hear people use God’s or Jesus’ name as a swear word. Two things come to mind. First, they don’t know the God whom they’re defiling, and second, they don’t have a very broad vocabulary.
When a nation rejects God
and so easily and often profanes His holy name—LOOK OUT. If America isn’t already there, we’re so close you could throw a rock and hit it. Review some of the signs foretold by Paul to Timothy, “…in the last days…men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers…unholy…without self-control…haters of good…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…avoid such men as these.” (2 Tim 3:1-5).
In our opening verse from Ezekiel, God announces, through His prophet, that He is about to act to destroy Israel and surrounding nations. What is He planning? You can read the litany of judgments from chapter 6 through chapter 39 of Ezekiel. Not a pretty picture for the nations. But I tell you that to tell you this. God’s protection of His name hasn’t lessened in the two and a half millennia since Ezekiel spoke. His vindication of His “great name” WILL be accomplished. That’s the beauty of studying fulfilled prophecy. It validates God’s warnings, which He always gives before He carries out judgment. And everything He says will happen, will happen. We have no excuse because of all the warnings in the Bible.
America, along with the whole world,
is rushing toward God’s judgment. Not just for profaning His name, but for rejecting His love, mercy, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ’s death to pay for OUR sins. Think about this. You have a legitimate debt that you could never repay and you’re in a 3rd-world prison for life because of it. A distant uncle hears of your problem and ponies up and covers your debt. Rather than thank him and do whatever you can for him to prove your thankfulness, you mock and think, “what a sucker.” And he only spent money on you. What if he had a son, your cousin, and somehow, he killed your cousin, and that act paid your debt. Would you feel the same way toward him? Do you think your ingratitude could offend your uncle? Replace uncle with God. Replace cousin with Jesus. Replace 3rd-world prison with hell. That’s the future for rejecters of Christ’s death on their behalf.
Why do I care?
I’ve already got my ticket punched and I’m ready when God calls. It’s simple, really. Once I was in that 3rd-world prison and now know the difference between a life without Jesus and a life with Him. I had a lot of pride and self-sufficiency. Still have more than I like, but sanctification is a life-long process, and I am on the right path. The ruler of this world has blinded the eyes of the rejecters to the point of refusing to see their need for someone to pay their debt. Brothers, the debt has been paid. All you have to do is say no to the world and yes to Jesus. It really is that easy. That’s why so many miss it. They think God couldn’t possibly love me after the things I’ve done. Trust me. God knows your darkest secrets…and loves you anyway. Don’t let the devil’s lies keep you from an eternity in heaven that is without pain, sorrow, death, and utter darkness. The Bible says in hell, “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30), a place filled with pain and darkness that never ends.
Your ultimate future is an either/or scenario. Either you will know God or there will be no God. Before you say “great, I don’t want Him anyway,” reread the previous paragraph and make a conscious decision. You’ll live with it for eternity. If you want to see your spiritual condition from God’s perspective, visit the Steps to Salvation page on this site.
Thanks for taking the time to read. If you have questions, fill out the contact form. We’ll get back to you.