Yes and yes! God’s words here are very descriptive and there’s no doubt what He’s talking about. He’s telling Jeremiah about the end of the world, the apocalypse. In order to have a new heaven and a new earth, the old ones have to go. That happens in the Great Tribulation. It’s going to happen. Here, God is promising it — and God keeps His promises! You really want to make sure you’re right with God. Let’s dig in…
Jeremiah 4
“O Israel,” says the Lord,
“if you wanted to return to me, you could.
You could throw away your detestable idols
and stray away no more.
2 Then when you swear by my name, saying,
‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
you could do so
with truth, justice, and righteousness.
Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world,
and all people would come and praise my name.”
Coming Judgment against Judah
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
4 O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the Lord,
or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
because of all your sins.5 “Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem!
Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land:
‘Run for your lives!
Flee to the fortified cities!’
6 Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem (Zion):
‘Flee now! Do not delay!’
For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you
from the north.”7 A lion stalks from its den,
a destroyer of nations.
It has left its lair and is headed your way.
It’s going to devastate your land!
Your towns will lie in ruins,
with no one living in them anymore.
8 So put on clothes of mourning
and weep with broken hearts,
for the fierce anger of the Lord
is still upon us.9 “In that day,” says the Lord,
“the king and the officials will tremble in fear.
The priests will be struck with horror,
and the prophets will be appalled.”10 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord,
the people have been deceived by what you said,
for you promised peace for Jerusalem.
But the sword is held at their throats!”11 The time is coming when the Lord will say
to the people of Jerusalem,
“My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,
and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
12 It is a roaring blast sent by me!
Now I will pronounce your destruction!”13 Our enemy rushes down on us like storm clouds!
His chariots are like whirlwinds.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
How terrible it will be, for we are doomed!
14 O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart
that you may be saved.
How long will you harbor
your evil thoughts?
15 Your destruction has been announced
from Dan and the hill country of Ephraim.16 “Warn the surrounding nations
and announce this to Jerusalem:
The enemy is coming from a distant land,
raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.
17 They surround Jerusalem like watchmen around a field,
for my people have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.
18 “Your own actions have brought this upon you.
This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!”
Jeremiah Weeps for His People
19 My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain!
My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still.
For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets
and the roar of their battle cries.
20 Waves of destruction roll over the land,
until it lies in complete desolation.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed;
in a moment my shelters are crushed.
21 How long must I see the battle flags
and hear the trumpets of war?22 “My people are foolish
and do not know me,” says the Lord.
“They are stupid children
who have no understanding.
They are clever enough at doing wrong,
but they have no idea how to do right!”
Jeremiah’s Vision of Coming Disaster
23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.
I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills,
and they trembled and shook.
25 I looked, and all the people were gone.
All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.
The towns lay in ruins,
crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger.27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
but I will not destroy it completely.
28 The earth will mourn
and the heavens will be draped in black
because of my decree against my people.
I have made up my mind and will not change it.”29 At the noise of charioteers and archers,
the people flee in terror.
They hide in the bushes
and run for the mountains.
All the towns have been abandoned—
not a person remains!
30 What are you doing,
you who have been plundered?
Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing
and put on gold jewelry?
Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara?
Your primping will do you no good!
The allies who were your lovers
despise you and seek to kill you.31 I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor,
Jeremiah 4 NLT
the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child.
It is beautiful Jerusalem (Zion)
gasping for breath and crying out,
“Help! I’m being murdered!”
Judgment Comes to Judah and to the Whole World
That’s what’s interesting about Old Testament Bible Prophecy. It starts with local immediate judgment, then switches to the distant future.
God says to the people that if they wanted to turn to God, they could have done so at any time. But, no. They kept worshiping the fake gods and man-made idols and look what happened! If you want, you could turn to Jesus right now. The great thing is that He will accept you as you are! As long as you come to Him with a contrite heart — sorry and repenting of your sins — He will forgive you! Yes, it is that simple!
Creation in Reverse
Pastor Sandy Adams explains…
This is a flashback to the opening act of creation. Genesis 1:2, “The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep.” God is going to return the land of Judah to the same shapeless, sunless morass that He had in the beginning when He created the Earth. This idiom is so pungent, so strong, some Bible commentaries consider these verses the most forceful and ominous in all of prophetic literature. Read properly, they make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. There’s no doubt, the scope of this prophecy goes beyond the local judgment of Jeremiah’s day, and foreshadows what will occur at the end of the age.
Here is the creation in reverse. When God created the Earth in Genesis, He started with a world that had no form and void, and darkness was on the deep. But then God added light, and dry ground, and plants, and birds, and beasts, and finally man. But here when God gets through with His judgments, “there was no man” – the birds had fled – the fruitful land was no more. Everything is broken down. It’s a reverse creation!
At the end of the age much of the planet will be destroyed – collateral damage in God’s judgments. But the Earth’s judgment won’t be complete. God will begin a massive restoration. Yet here Jeremiah says God will bring the Earth to the brink of its annihilation.
Again, it’s obvious the scope of Jeremiah’s prophecy has gone beyond the Babylonian invasion to events that will occur at the end of the age. This is often what happens with Bible prophecy. The prophet starts with a local, immediate judgment, but his vision spills over and looks to the future to the end of time, when cataclysmic events will rock the whole Earth.
Sandy Adams
History Repeats Itself
The same thing that happened back then is happening now. That’s humankind’s problem. We don’t learn from history. Thus, we are doomed to repeat it.
Bad leadership (kings) and false teachers (prophets) mislead everyone away from the truth, away from God and into sinful acts that are an abomination to God.
As God sent His judgment to Judah by way of the Babylonians, so He will send His judgement on the world in the very near future.
You must surrender your pride and power!
That’s what submitting to God means. Is pride holding you back? Are you so enslaved to and hung up on religious tradition and rituals that you can’t see the light of Salvation?
In the End Times, the idols — dead people like Mary and the saints — that you pray to, light candles for, venerate and worship will not help you one bit.
The Good News is that God is warning us for a reason. Just like He forewarned the Jews in Old Testament, He’s forewarning us today.
Peter wrote…
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.
2 Peter 3:9-15 NLT
God’s plan of salvation is available to everyone! Yes, there will be judgment and YES this old earth will go away. However, God promises us a New Heaven and a New Earth! Furthermore, it’s a fact that God Keeps His Promises! That is our Confident HOPE!
The Choice is Rather Simple!
Where you spend eternity is a choice you have to make now, while you’re alive and coherent. Once you die, it’s too late. There’s no such thing as purgatory! It’s Heaven or hell.
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
