God is speaking here in a parable so that some that hear these words simply will not understand. Jesus was asked by His disciples in Matthew 13:10 why He spake in parables, "and He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Matthew 13:11. The reference to them are to the Kenites, and others that it is not meant for them to understand. If you can hear and understand, then it was intended for you to know the parable. To the others it is simple and just foolishness.

Ezekiel seventeen is the parable of the Babylonian was. Most churches teach today that you are going to escape the coming Babylonian war. In Revelation sixteen we are taught how the entire world will fall to Babylon, and all that had the "mark of the beast" in their forehead, which is believing that the first Christ to arrive is the Jesus, will gladly run to Satan, the Antichrist. This Babylonian will claim the souls of the people of the entire earth, all that is except God's elect.

This Babylon is what is called "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.' Revelation 17:5. Mystery Babylon is a Religious form, and the Antichrist will have complete control over that form. That Babylon will present itself in two forms, or as referred in Revelation thirteen, as two beasts that rise up out of the seas, or nations. The first is a political beast which is controlling us today in the form of the United Nations. While the second beast will come into being as a power when the first receives its "mortal head wound", which means it is no longer a political force.

What is taught today is that this final war is a physical action, fought with guns, tanks and missiles, like the wars of the past. They see that this war will claim lives and that much blood will flow. They also teach that the Christians will not go through this conflict, because somehow, God will snatch them away, at a particular moment in time. this teaching is called the "rapture doctrine", or the "any moment doctrine". This doctrine is a lie, and it is part of what is called the "Mark of the Beast".

There were also many living in Ezekiel and Jeremiah's time that were also saying. don't worry, it will be over in two years. Babylon will not attack us. However God spoke and said; "captivity for seventy years", and He also said, "The king of Babylon shall surely come." This did come to pass, as king Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army came and the house of Judah did go into captivity.

We see that within the book of Revelation, the "Nebuchadnezzar" of the end times is Satan, the Antichrist, and Babylon is the religious system that will control the entire earth. The Babylon of the end times that we will see is a spiritual battle, fought with ideas and concepts, and most of all, the twisting of Scripture to make the Antichrist appear to be the True Christ, and acceptable to all the people of all religions, including Christianity.

So you see there is nothing new under the sun, and what was played out before in one form, will occur again in the spiritual form, and this is why Christians should prepare themselves for the great spiritual battle that has already started. One worldism has come into being, and is a fact, however it is not a temptation to those that know and understand what it is about, and who is controlling it. God will build His wall around His elect, and they will not be deceived.

This is what this parable is all about.

Ezekiel 17:1 "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,"

Ezekiel 17:2 "Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;"

This "riddle and parable" is God's overall plan. It is God's warning as to what is actually going to happen. The "House of Israel" is the ten tribes that were scattered by the Assyrian army between 745 and 722 B.C. and that call themselves "Caucasians" today. They are the Christian nations scattered around the world. Hosea 1:10 identifies these people.

Hosea 1:10; "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, tat in the place where it was said unto them, 'Ye are not My People,' there it shall be said unto them, 'Ye are the sons of the living God." The living God is "Jesus Christ", the the believers in Jesus Christ are called "Christians"

This riddle that is spoken in this parable is to all the Christian nations.

Ezekiel 17:3 "And say, 'Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, long winged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:"

The "long wings" show that the creature in this parable will have much power. This is when King Nebuchadnezzar came down and took king Jehoiachin of Judah captive. This book of Ezekiel is dated from that kingship. King Jehoiachin is the "highest branch of the cedar", which represents all Israel in the parable.

It is important that you notice that it will only be the sons of king Jehoiachin that will be taken captive, and not the daughters. It is these daughters that Jeremiah the prophet would later take to Europe, and continue the Royal throne there, yes even to this day. Listen to the riddle, for it is important.

Ezekiel 17:4 "He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants."

This is to say the King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin and his sons, the top of his young twigs, and he carried them into Babylon, the capital of the world at that time, and the city of merchants.

Ezekiel 17:5 "He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree."

"The seed of the land", is king Zedekiah of the house of Judah, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin with the Levite priests scattered amongst them. However Nebuchadnezzar left the king in charge with many of the people of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar gave Zedekiah a flowing river of supplies, as long as he would obey the rule from Babylon. In the prophecies of II Kings, Judah was to obey Nebuchadnezzar, for God said that he was His servant.

In Daniel 4 we see that Nebuchadnezzar was brought to repentance and was the author of Daniel chapter four. In our generation, Satan, the Nebuchadnezzar of the end times, is also a servant of God, only Satan will not repent, and he has already been sentence to death. This is how Satan gets the name "son of Perdition".

Ezekiel 17:6 "And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs."

Nebuchadnezzar allowed the nation of Judah to grow slowly, however he would not allow it to become the great powerful nation that it once was. The branches, or the people turned to Babylon for support, and Zedekiah had ten sons as well as daughters, while he ruled in Judah.

Ezekiel 17:7 "There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: an, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation."

This other "great eagle" with "great wings" is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. This king, the Pharaoh of Egypt "bend her roots", or tried to get Zedekiah to come to Egypt for their support, and protection. Pharaoh promised that Israel could draw strength from Egypt, and in turn the pharaoh wanted to use Zedekiah, combined with his forces to defeat Nebuchadnezzar.

God had instructed Zedekiah through the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah, "follow the king of Babylon, you will be there exactly seventy years." Then I will deliver you out of his hand. Now we see that Zedekiah is trying to find a quick way out.

This leaning on Pharaoh is a lot like the "rapture doctrine". It offers a short-cut, another way to get out of what God said will come to pass. A short cut from putting on the Gospel armor of God, and standing the course of the battle that God promises us that will happen. These poor souls that desire to run for cover under this rapture doctrine, will be destroyed, spiritually, when the first fiery darts of Satan fly their way, for they will have no protection.

Ezekiel 17:8 "It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine."

The good soil meant that Nebuchadnezzar was fair.

Ezekiel 17:9 "Say thou, 'Thus saith the Lord God; 'Shall it prosper? shall He not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof."

Shall it prosper? Anything that goes against God's word and will not prosper. God will pull them up by the roots, especially in the parable of the fig tree, when Christ cursed the the fig tree, and in the parable that fig tree, that tree would be planted in the end times, with its baskets of both the good and bad figs. This was future in Ezekiel's day, yet it is past history now.

Zedekiah's moving to combine forces with the Pharaoh did not prosper, and neither will the forces of the Antichrist, and his bad figs of Jerusalem in these last days.

Ezekiel 17:10 "Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither the furrows where it grew'."

You can plant anything you want against God's will, and it shall not prosper. The leaves will come forth, but there will be no fruit on the efforts that you give. The "east wind" is the hot wind right of the desert, and in the Scriptures it is the Holy Spirit of God, and if your planting is against God's will that wind will scourge it and it will dry up.

Ezekiel 17:11 "Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,"

Ezekiel 17:12 "Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;"

God told Ezekiel to go to this rebellious house of Zedekiah, and tell them this riddle, and explain it to them. This king of Babylon of the end times, is Satan the Antichrist, and he will come to Jerusalem in our time, and replace the power that is in force, and replace it with ten kings, or agencies of power. That rule will be a one world peace system.

Zedekiah's power and authority, was just like the power and authority that exists today in Jerusalem, and else where. They set forth to obtain their world peace and compatibility with neighbors that God never intended. Then at the time they move to complete the false peace, God will bring it to an end. Just like king Nebuchadnezzar of old moved against Jerusalem to destroy it, so also Satan will also do likewise. Just like Zedekiah was taken, and his eyes put out, and his sons killed; so also will the spiritual death be to those that place their hope in the false hope of the rapture dogma. Zedekiah leaned on Pharaoh, or the ways of man, rather then listening to God, and escaping with his life.

Ezekiel 17:13 "And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:"

God is saying that King Zedekiah did not honor his oath.

Ezekiel 17:14 "That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand."

King Zedekiah knew that the reason that he was left on the throne by Babylon, was so that the Kingdom of Judah would always exist.

Ezekiel 17:15 "But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?"

King Zedekiah just couldn't stand being a base kingdom, as small kingdom, so he sent his ambassadors into Egypt, to speak to the Pharaoh. Zedekiah is fighting the will of God, and asking the Pharaoh to give him horses and fighting men to fight the king of Babylon. Do you think it will prosper, when it is against God's Word?

Nothing prospers against the plan of almighty God. Very shortly after this, Zedekiah dug a hole under the wall of Jerusalem, and fled like a gangster, and was caught by Nebuchadnezzar's troops, and they put his eyes out, and bound him in chains. This was an example to the blindness of the people today, to the fact that they will also enter the Babylon of the end times with their eyes totally blind what is taking place. They are spiritually blind.

We will escape the captivity that is coming, for the elect of God knows what to expect, and we find Satan not tempting. When you know that the reign of Satan will be for five months, and he will be gone and in the pit, just how can you compare that five months to an eternity with Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 17:16 "As I live, saith the Lord God, 'surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die."

God swore by himself, "as I live", and when this is given, it shall come to pass. The King and the place that made Zedekiah king was king Nebuchadnezzar, and the place was Babylon. Zedekiah despised the oath, and broke the covenant that made him king, and now Zedekiah will die in Babylon.

Ezekiel 17:17 "Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:"

The Pharaoh never came forth with the men, mounts, and armor to defend Zedekiah. When the time came Egypt's promises were not kept. If your planning on this bunch calling themselves "God's army", today, forget it; This pack of spiritual deviates are making plans to go whoring after the Antichrist, at the first sign of Satan's feet touching the earth. they are planning to set their flight plan to Satan's flight plan.

God gave us his instruction, just like He gave Zedekiah instruction through the prophets, and it will come to pass just as God says it will. God set seventy years of Zedekiah's people, just as He has seven years set for this end generation. At least it started out that way in Daniel, however Jesus tells us, as John wrote in Revelation 9:5, 10; that that time has been shortened for the elects sake.

Ezekiel 17:18 "Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape."

Zedekiah took the oath, shook hands on it and gave his word to abide by the covenant of God's Word, and he broke his oath, and his word, and now he is going to die.

Ezekiel 17:19 "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised, and My covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head."

The oath of God's Covenant, that God gave to Jeremiah and Ezekiel was that the captivity would be for seventy years. When Zedekiah took the oath as king, given by Nebuchadnezzar, he agreed to hold his nation as a base nation to Babylon while he sat in office. When Zedekiah broke that oath, he brought God's judgment down on him, for that was also part of the promise of God.

This was a time of correction, and during that seventy years, the nation and people of Judah turned their backs on God, and in the end of that period, as we read in Nehemiah, The Kenites were in total control of God's temple, and the entire religious order.

The tribulation coming on the earth now, as the political beast is getting stronger, and exercising its power over all the nations on the face of the earth. The offspring of the same Kenites that once ruled the Temple at Jesus time, will be setting the world in place to accept their father and master Satan the Antichrist. The tribulation is the greatest revival that this world has ever seen, only the people are coming to worship the wrong Christ, the Antichrist.

What is interesting is that when Jesus was asked how many times we should forgive others that wrong us, He said seven times seventy. These are the numbers of years of the captivity that God placed upon His people.

Ezekiel 17:20 "And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against Me."

When Zedekiah tried to escape, God said, I set my net, and it was My snare that caught him, and I took him to Babylon. God did this because He said He would, and it was done because Zedekiah broke his oath, and the covenant with God, and Nebuchadnezzar.

Ezekiel 17:21 "And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it'."

There will be nothing left of Zedekiah, his family and all those that supported and backed him. They became nothing but fugitives, that were slaughtered, and scattered to many nations. Notice that it only takes about the sons of Zedekiah that were destroyed, for his daughters escaped with Jeremiah, as part of the covenant with God for the triple overturning of the throne. These "twigs from the top of the cedar tree" were the daughters of Zedekiah, and they were planted in the thrones in Spain, and Ireland.

Ezekiel 17:22 "Thus saith the Lord God; 'I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:"

The highest branch of the cedars of Lebanon, was king David, and the from the seed of David, this young tender one would come. He came as a baby in a manger, and was planted on an high mountain, mount Zion. This was His first advent. His second advent and His eminence would be in the future for He would later come to be the mighty warrior, the King of Kings.

Many scholars translate this that the daughters of Zedekiah are the tender twigs. They substitute the daughter, for the Messiah, and thus show that the high mountain is the future mountain that will represent the Nation, and crown over the House of Israel. Though the use of the daughters do fit the wording, the original text refers to the coming Messiah. It is only in these latter days that the second use has been used.

Ezekiel 17:23 "In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell."

this is speaking of the Millennium age, when Jesus Christ will return, and set up his kingdom. Then will be a time of the return of all Israel to Jerusalem, and when the tribes will be reestablished in their own lands. And people of all nations shall come to worship and the daily oblations will be reestablished in the Temple of Jesus Christ. This is what is given in the last eight chapters of Ezekiel, so we can understand what it will be like in the Millennium age with Christ.

Ezekiel 17:24 "And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it."

What is spoke of here is that through this tender twig, Jesus Christ, every type of tree person], of every nation, but also those branches [the Gentiles that are saved] that are mentioned in Romans eleven, that were grafted on the trunk of God's tree, the great and high tree. God called Himself the great evergreen tree, and we are to be all part of that great tree of God. We also call it the body of Christ.