Quenched Like a Wick: The End of America and the Beginning of Tribulation
"For behold, I begin to bring calamity on
the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You
shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of
the earth," says the LORD of hosts.' Jeremiah 25:29
In
verse 29 we find this phrase: "I begin to bring calamity." I
can't overstate how important this clue is. This is exactly the type of
phrase we need to begin to put the pieces together. Jehovah is telling us
that what's being discussed in this passage is the beginning of that
calamity. And by reading a bit further we realize that this beginning is
coming to the city (or encampment, in the widest sense[1])
which is called by God's name. In other words, the beginning of this
calamity is coming to the place where God's people live, whose nation is known
to largely contain the people of the one true God. Or said even more
plainly, the national religion of that country is rooted in a Judeo-Christian heritage,
but yet also is deserving of punishment. He says that particular country
will be punished, and he will call for a sword on all the rest of the
inhabitants of the earth as well.
"And at that day the slain of the LORD
shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They
shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the
ground. Jeremiah 25:33
This
passage, verses 29 through 33, clearly speaks of the beginning of the
tribulation. And we see within this passage several clues to indicate
that what's being spoken here is the very beginning of that Day. Verse 29
says "I will call for a sword". The language used here is that
of something being initiated. Likewise, verse 30 says he will "roar
from on high, and utter His voice...; He will roar mightily against His fold.
He will give a shout..." Verse 31 says "a noise will come
to the ends of the earth." Verse 32 says "disaster shall go
forth...and a great whirlwind shall be raised up." Verse 33 confirms
that this will be a worldwide event. Verse 38 says God has left his lair
like a lion. It should be evident to the
reader that this kind of language speaks of the initiation, or beginning, of
worldwide calamity, known as the tribulation. The great whirlwind
mentioned verse 32 is a
common word picture in the Bible when speaking of the start of that Day.
So
while the beginning of the tribulation is clearly being discussed, I might
remind the reader that the backdrop, or context, of Jeremiah 25 is the complete
and utter destruction of end-time Babylon. This is not by happenstance or
coincidence, but by divine design. Our great Jehovah is trying to show
us, at least those willing to study, that the complete and utter destruction of
end-time Babylon begins the tribulation. It's the very first event.
Furthermore, we learn from this passage that that "city", or
encampment, is inhabited by many of God's people and is called by his name; or
as we saw, has a Judeo-Christian heritage. But in spite of being called
by his name, she is worthy of punishment. For we know that end-time
Babylon is called the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.
[1] Strong's
H5892
