Ezekiel Chapter 26

We continue once again with,

VERSE 19 “For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you.”

The Lord will indeed bring the deep (the “sea”) upon Great Babylon, and it will completely cover her, this is what is implied in Rev 18:21 at the final demise of the “great city”.

“Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.” NASB

Angel: a “messenger” or “agent”, whether spirit or human, animate or inanimate; any agency or event which the Lord may choose to use to convey a message.

The following excerpt was taken from the New Albany Notes on Revelation, Page 227.

AND A STRONG ANGEL: There are only three “strong angels” in Revelation. (See 5:2 and 10:1) Each one represents a time of revolution — a major upheaval in the affairs of men. (Whether or not a literal angel was in charge of each of these events seems not important.)

The first is the fall of Israel at the time of the establishment of Christianity.

The second is the French Revolution and the beginning of the “Time of the End.”

The third is the trouble which becomes Armageddon. It is the revolution (the “great earthquake” mentioned in Rev 16:18), which Chapter 17 pictures as the beast which comes out of the abyss and devours the harlot.

And a strong angel TOOK UP A STONE: How fraught with meaning is this little group of words! The prophecy of Isaiah 23 is such a strong parallel to Rev 18. How much more meaningful, then, to learn that Tyre (Strong’s # 6865) means a stone or a rock! The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the rock on which Christ built. It claims Peter (stone) as its first Pope. It is the counterfeit of the True Rock which is Christ.

The angel “takes up” a stone. Rev. 13, 16, and 17 all suggest a brief RISE for Papacy before its fall.

Isaiah 23 shows the same when, after the 70 years, she again goes to play the harlot. (We will explain this in more detail in a subsequent thread)

And a strong angel took up a stone LIKE A GREAT MILLSTONE: This stone (Tyre) is not just like any stone, but like a Great Millstone: the world’s largest and oldest grinder of “food” for Christendom. (See Matt. 24:41.)

And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone AND THREW IT INTO THE SEA: A millstone is a very large and heavy rock. It does not fall or sink slowly. The sea (the people, the strange beast of 17:16) swallows her up with one big gulp.

And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea SAYING, THUS: There is no mistaken picture here. The angel wants to be certain that we get the simile (analogy). He’s not talking now of a slow consuming like Dan 9:26 (KJV) suggests. He says “Thus” — just like the plunging stone.

And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying, thus BABYLON, THE GREAT CITY: — the one the kings (Verse 10), the merchants (Verse 16), and the lesser economic forces (Verse 19) all acknowledge as the epitome of their former respect.

And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying, thus Babylon, the great city WILL BE THROWN DOWN WITH VIOLENCE: The angel is still being graphically specific. “Thrown down” seems bad enough; but he adds “with violence.” The Greek means rushing impetuosity. It should be an awesome display!

AND WILL NOT BE FOUND ANY LONGER: This day is yet (hopefully soon) to come. It is the fulfillment of Rev 19:20. No one will need to ask if it has been fulfilled. Isaiah 23:18 shows the transition. All of her wealth and influence will be transferred to the rightful ROCK.

Thus will God “bring the deep”, the “sea class”, (the restless anarchist masses) down upon the “great city” Tyre (a.k.a. Babylon the Great), and the “great waters” will completely cover every visage of her destroying everything. “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” Isa 57:20

VERSE 20 “Then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living.”

The “pit” which is mentioned here is comparable to the “lake of fire” in Rev 19:20; 20:10 (in which the beast, the false prophet and the dragon were cast), both picturing complete, permanent destruction of all these baneful systems.

“I shall set glory in the land of the living”; that is, Jehovah will set glory in the New Jerusalem, the new heavens (Rev. 21:2; 2 Pet. 3:13). Papacy will be utterly destroyed, and in its stead will be the glory of the Kingdom.

The glory that was once given to the corrupt city, the “great city” Babylon the Great, now dead, will thenceforth be given to the rightful recipients, the holy city, the New Jerusalem (the Church, the body of Christ). Rev 21:2

VERSE 21 “I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”

Although the nominal religious systems will never come into existence again, their “terror” or horrible memory will never be completely expunged. Their destruction will forever be an object lesson.

Thus we conclude Chapter 26 of Ezekiel and will proceed on to Chapter 27 in our next post.