Be Strong and Do Exploits

And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.   And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.  (Dan. 11:32-33)

These passages appear to have been fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, who took the kingdom of Syria in 175 BC by stealth and flatteries and proceeded to wage war against Egypt. After being routed by the Romans in his endeavors against Egypt, he took Judea and began to act out his hatred against the Jewish people and their covenant. Concerning this, Matthew Henry writes and directs us to the histories of the Maccabees–

He [Antiochus] had a rooted antipathy to the Jews’ religion: His heart was against the holy covenant, v. 28. And (v. 30) he had indignation against the holy covenant, that covenant of peculiarity by which the Jews were incorporated a people distinct from all other nations, and dignified above them. He hated the law of Moses and the worship of the true God, and was vexed at the privileges of the Jewish nation and the promises made to them…He carried on his malicious designs against the Jews by the assistance of some perfidious apostate Jews. He kept up intelligence with those that forsook the holy covenant (v. 30), some of the Jews that were false to their religion, and introduced the customs of the heathen, with whom they made a covenant. See the fulfilling of this, 1 Mac. 1:11-15 , where it is expressly said, concerning those renegado Jews, that they made themselves uncircumcised and forsook the holy covenant. We read (2 Mac. 4:9 ) of Jason, the brother of Onias the high priest, who by the appointment of Antiochus set up a school at Jerusalem, for the training up of youth in the fashions of the heathen; and (2 Mac. 4:23 , etc.) of Menelaus, who fell in with the interests of Antiochus, and was the man that helped him into Jerusalem, now in his last return from Egypt. We read much in the book of the Maccabees of the mischief done to the Jews by these treacherous men of their own nation, Jason and Menelaus, and their party. These upon all occasions he made use of. “Such as do wickedly against the covenant, such as throw up their religion, and comply with the heathen, he shall corrupt with flatteries, to harden them in their apostasy, and to make use of them as decoys to draw in others,’’ v. 32. Note, It is not strange if those who do not live up to their religion, but in their conversations do wickedly against the covenant, are easily corrupted by flatteries to quit their religion. Those that make shipwreck of a good conscience will soon make shipwreck of the faith.

This passage and this history still speaks today. It was written for our learning, that we too might have hope when we see evil prevailing against the people of God for a time (Rom. 15:4).  There are those who profess to know God, but in works deny Him (Titus 1:16), and these persecute the people of God as Cain persecuted Abel. They do wickedly against the covenant, forsaking the One whose blood was shed to save them, bringing reproach to His name though they sometimes pretend to honor Him.  These are easily corrupted by the flatteries of antichrist (John testifies that there are many antichrists already among us–I John 2:18), not enduring sound doctrine, but having itching ears for doctrines that suit their own particular lusts (2 Tim. 4:3-4).  How conveniently can satan and his children exploit these apostates, using them to hurt the faithful, with lies making the heart of the righteous sad by strengthening the hands of the wicked (Ezek. 13:22).  Even more, under strong delusion, they throw the faithful out of the churches, and even kill them, thinking they do God a service (John 16:2).  Brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death (Matt. 10:21).  Thus shall many people of God fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

But he that endures to the end shall be saved. They endure the temptation to fall away, and hold fast to what they have, letting no man take their crown. They endure the onslaught of false doctrines and the mockery of false Christians, persevering in the truth.  They endure affliction with the people of God rather than enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season (Heb. 11:25.) They endure in faith, trusting that whatever happens to their nation, God has them in His sights;  they know they are worth more to Him than many sparrows.  They set their hearts thus:  that though there be no blessing in fruit or flock, yet they will joy in God’s great salvation (Hab. 3:17-18); and though God slay them, yet they will trust Him and maintain righteousness before Him (Job13:15). They that endure all things with patience possess their own souls (Luke 21:19).

These are the people who understand, and God shall be their strength, and they will do exploits. They shall not be corrupted by flatteries, but in humility and dependence before their God, they will be safe. While the world wonders after beastly kingdoms and their savage subjugations, these who understand will rest in hope, knowing that they belong to the unassailable Kingdom of God. They will be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing their labor is not in vain (I Cor. 15:58).  They will stand before governors and kings and deliver the message that God gives them.  Despite the threats of sword, flame, captivity and spoil, they shall instruct many by their words and deeds, wisely winning souls while there is yet time. And should they be plundered of their earthly goods, they understand that many of their brethren were likewise destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Heb. 11:3-38)  And should they be called upon to do the greatest exploit of all–that is, to love not their own lives to the death–they do so willingly, knowing that to live is Christ, but to die is gain;  and whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s (Rom. 14:8).

God bless you.

The King’s Meat and Wine

Before Daniel faced the lions’ den, and his three Hebrew friends faced the fiery furnace, they all faced and resisted the temptation of the king’s meat and wine.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Dan. 1:8)

Have you ever wondered how you might handle intense persecution?  I suggest that we will be better equipped to handle such times if we live lives of consecrated devotion now, refusing to indulge ourselves in the king’s meat and wine right now.

What is the king’s meat and wine?

When these four young men found themselves captives in Babylon, a land of idol worshipers, King Nebuchadnezzar wanted them nourished with his own meat and wine for three years while they were being educated in the ways and culture of the Chaldeans.  Likewise, while we are strangers in a strange land, satan would like us to fill up with his “meat and wine” while he attempts to get us to forget our homeland, that is “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God“– the “better…heavenly country” to which we look (Heb. 11:10, 16)

During our sojourn here, we will be faced with many spiritual battles. Daily we dine on spiritual food; the question is whose spiritual food?

Jesus said we must eat His flesh and drink His blood (partake of the Word of God) to have life, and such as do this dwell in Him (John 6:53-56). To dwell in Him is to abide in Him, as a branch must abide in the Vine to have life and produce fruit (John 15.) Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4) And if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32) This is the same God who said, “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.“  (Psa. 81:10)

There is a table of God from which His sheep can expect a continual feast. He gives us green pastures, still waters, and a constant provision  even in the presence of our enemies (Psa. 23). But there is also a table of demons from which the devil, the god of this world, will tempt us to eat.

The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.   Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.  (I Cor. 10:20-21)

Gentiles here is indicative of those outside the covenant of God, or unbelievers, for a true Jew is one who has had his heart circumcised (Rom. 2:29). What are the sacrifices of unbelievers or Gentiles? Ungodly conversations, un-edifying music, ungodly movies and television shows, and all manner of wicked entertainments and vain pastimes designed to fill us with the wrong “food.”  The children of the devil produce the fruits of the devil; these they lay upon the table of demons, essentially sacrificing to devils. We are naive if we think we can indulge in these sacrifices–even in the more “innocent” of these–and not be changed. Many Christians indulge themselves in “harmless” entertainments as a way of life, and by them become spiritually lazy and weak, gradually falling from their first love and becoming lukewarm in their affections for God.  Such are in the gravest of spiritual dangers. Should intense persecution come upon them in this state of self-indulgence, they would likely fall away entirely!

What made Daniel desire to eat only vegetables and water while he was in training in the king of Babylon’s house?  Although his life was in no immediate danger, there was much to seek the Lord about. His people had experienced great tragedy and overthrow due to their apostasy from the Lord.  I believe Daniel was choosing to deny himself the king’s meat and wine so that he could be as spiritually fit as possible for whatever trials lay ahead, not only to help himself but to help his people–who were very much on his heart, judging by the powerful petition he offered on their behalf (Dan. 9). The prayers of this righteous man were so  effective that an angel was dispatched from heaven to speak with him!  When the temptation to desist from his life of prayer became a choice between prayer and the lions’ den, he was ready. He had already denied his own flesh and set his face to seek the Lord, and had received strength from his communion with God to overcome even the fear of death.

Are we not in a similar situation as Daniel? Are we not watching gross apostasy spread through the church even now, taking people captive? Is now the time to indulge ourselves in fleeting pleasures, while there is so much to pray for, so much to seek God about?

Jesus warned His disciples that following Him would mean being hated by the world, certain tribulation, and possible death. But unless a seed goes into the ground and dies, it cannot produce life. The way up is down. The way to grow in power with God is to deny ourselves. In fact, if we don’t deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily and follow Him (He went all the way to death), we cannot be His disciples. We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). We must be ready to lose every other important relationship if necessary in order to be faithful to Christ. We must be willing to lose even our very lives, trusting our souls to our faithful Creator.

Thousands upon thousands of disciples have followed the Lord to the end, overcoming the devil by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and by loving not their own lives to the death (Rev. 12:11).   Before these martyrs faced executioners, guillotines, and other terrors, they had no doubt first denied themselves the king’s meat and wine.  They had passed by the tables of demons that offered them pleasures galore, and ate instead at the table of God, even if it meant standing alone.  Like Moses, they refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;  choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;  esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt [the world]: for [they] had respect unto the recompence of the reward (Heb. 11:24-26).  

God bless you!

Judgment is Coming on America

Please take a moment to visit this precious fellow-saint’s blog. Truly, Wisdom is still crying out, but so few are listening.  Read, understand, and spread the message far and wide!  God bless you.

Today, as in the days of the early Church, Christians endure persecution on varying levels.  Whether we are hearing news of a precious Saint who was murdered for the cause of Christ, or seeing slurs and racism based upon our political views, we know that all who live godly in Christ WILL suffer persecution.  Yet we cry Wisdom and pray that sinners will repent of their wickedness and find salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Recently, the state of New York passed a law sanctioning their approval and legalization of homosexual marriage. (Read More)

Desolation

Nations are made “desolate” because of

• Evil doings (Jer 44:22),
• Not listening to God’s word (Jer 22:5),
• Refusing to be instructed by God (Jer 6:8),
• Shedding innocent blood (Joel 3:19),
• Despising God’s judgments and statutes (Lev 26:43),
• Dwelling carelessly (Zeph 2:15),
• Violence (Eze 12:19),
• Trespass (Eze 15:8),
• Killing their babies (Eze 20:26),
• Rebellion against God (Hos 13:16),
• Evil doings reap a harvest of evil (Mic 7:13).

The church is made desolate because of

• Evil pastors (Jer 12:10),
• No man layeth it to heart (Jer 12:11).
• The fierceness of the oppressor and God’s fierce anger.  (Jer 25:38) (Oppressors are promised to the disobedient)
• God due to their wickedness & idolatry (Jer 44:3),
• Refusing to listen to God’s prophets (Jer 44:4-5),
• Refusing to humble themselves and repent of their sins even to this day (Jer 44:10),
• Committing abominations and evil which the Lord can no longer stand (Jer 44:22),
• Refusing to obey the voice of the Lord (Jer 44:23),
• Killing or persecuting God’s prophets and refusing to be gathered to Jesus (Matt 23:34-38).

From Daniel 9, the church is made desolate because of:

• Sin, iniquity, doing wickedly, rebellion, departing from God’s precepts and judgments (vs 5),
• Not listening to God’s prophets (vs 6),
• Trespassing against God (vs 7),
• Not obeying the voice of God or walking in His laws (vs 10),
• Departing from God (vs 11),
• God is faithful to confirm His words by bringing evil on those who disobey (vs 12),
• Not praying a prayer of repentance, turning from iniquity to understand God’s truth (vs 13),
• God is righteous, therefore brings evil upon the unrepentant and disobedient (vs 14).

“Therefore is the sanctuary desolate.” (17)

Individual’s “houses” can be made “desolate” also, according to Acts 1:20, concerning the apostle Judas who by transgression fell away.  In Matt 7:22-29, Jesus taught that it was the man who not only hears the Word but puts it into practice, whose “house” shall not be destroyed.  The “house” is the individual’s life, which shall only be preserved by the one who is careful to do the Word of God.

Compilation of DESOLATION Scriptures for Further Study (KJV)

Lev 26:31 “I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation…”

Lev 26:32 “I will bring the land into desolation and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.”

Josh 8:28 “Joshua burnt Ai, and made it…even a desolation…”

2 Kin 22:19  “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardeest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and has rent thy clothes, and wept before me;  I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.”

2 Ch 30:7  “And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation…”

Psa 73:19  How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!  they are utterly consumed with terrors.

Pro 1:27 “When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirl wind; and when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Pro. 3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither o fthe desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

Isa 10:3  And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far?  to whom will ye flee for help?  and where will ye leave your glory?

Isa 17:9  In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel;  and there shall be desolation.

Isa 24:12  In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

Isa 47:11  Therefore shall evil com upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth:  and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off:  and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

Isa 51:19  These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee?  desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword:  by whom shall I comfort thee?

Isa 64:10  They holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

Jer 22:5  But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

Jer 25:11  And this whol land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment;  and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jer 25:18  To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; asit is this day;

Jer 34:22  “…and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.”

Jer 44:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;  Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah;  and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,

Jer 44:22  So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed;  therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant as at this day.

Jer 49:13 “…Bozrah shall become a desolation…”

Jer 49:17  “…Edom shall be a desolation…”

Jer 49:33 “…Hazor shall be…a desolation…”

Jer 50:23  “How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken!  how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!”

Jer 51:29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make thaland of Babylon a desoation without an inhabitant.

Jer 51:43  Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

Lam 3:47  Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

Eze 7:27  “…and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled:  I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Eze 23:33  Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation…

Dan 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

Hos 12:1  ” Ephraim….daily increaseth lies and desolation…”

Joel 3:19  Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

Micah 6:16  For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation…

Zeph 1:13  Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation…

Zeph 1:15  That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Zeph 2:4  For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashhelon a desolation…

Zeph 2:9  Therefore…surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah…a perpetual desolation…

Zeph 2:13  And he will…make Ninevah a desolation and dry like a wilderness

Zeph 2:14  …desolation shall be in the thresholds…

Zeph 2:15  This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how she is become a desolation…

Matt 12:25  And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation;  and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand [also Luke 11:17]

Matt 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Mark 13:14  But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel  the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Luke 21:20  And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Compilation of DESOLATE Scriptures (not exhaustive)

Lev 26:22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number;  and you high ways shall be desolate.

Lev 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land whall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Lev 26:43  The land…shall be left…desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity:  because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

Job 15:34  For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.

Psa 34:21  Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long?  And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land utterly desolate

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Isa 24:6  Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Isa 27:10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate….

Isa 59:10  We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night;  we are in desolate places as dead men.

Jer 2:12  Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

Jer 4:7 …he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate…

Jer 4:27  For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate;  yet will I not make a full end.

Jer 6:8  Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

Jer 9:11  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons;  and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, wihout an inhabitant.

Jer 10:25  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name:  for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

Jer 12:10  Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

Jer 12:11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate because no man layeth it to heart.

Jer 19:8  And I will make this city desolate…

Jer 25:38  He hath forsaken his covert (tabernacle), as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

Jer 44:6  Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.

Lam 1:4  The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to her solemn feasts:  all her gates are desolate:  her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

Lam 1:16  for these things  weep;    mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me:  my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.

Lam 4:5  They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets:  they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.

Lam 5:18  Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.

Eze 6:4  And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken:  and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. (as a sacrifice?)

Ez 6:6  In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste and the high places shall be desolate;  that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

Eze 6:14  So I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate…

Eze 12:19  …that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all of them that dwell therein.

Eze 14:16  Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters;  they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

Eze 15:8  And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.

Ez 20:26  And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.

Ez 33:28  For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease;  and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.

Ez 33:29  then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

Ez  35:14  Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.

Ez 36:3 (enemies made Israel desolate…rest of chapter gives hope for future of repentant)

Dan 9:17  Now therefore O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Dan 11:31  And arms shall stand (be employed, serve) on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Dan 12:11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Hos 13:16  Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God:….

Joel 1:18  …the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

Joel 2:3  A fire devoureth before them;  and behind them a flame burneth:  the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness;  yea, and nothing shall escape them.

Joel 3:19  …Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

Amos 7:9  And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste…

Micah 1:7 …and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate…

Micah 6:13  Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.

Micah 7:13  Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

Matt. 23:38  Behold your house is left unto you desolate. (also Luke 13:35)

Acts 1:20 (speaking of Judas, quoting Psalms) …Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein…

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. ( nations will hate the hypocritical religion, expose and destroy her.)

Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!  for in one hour is she made desolate.