1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

Jerusalem and to the literal scarcity of food in theTime of Trouble upon Christendom, with its highcost of living, food dictators and food tickets.—Lev. 26:26.Ezekiel 4:17.That they may want bread and water, and beastonied one with another, and consume awayfor their iniquity.— Like as people on poorfood in starvation quantities weaken and die, soChristians weaken and die spiritually on the dietprovided by priests and clergy.FM398EZEKIEL 5THE SEVERED HAIR CALAMITIESEzekiel 5:1.And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife,take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to passupon thine head and upon thy beard: thentake thee balances to weigh, and divide thehair.— This is located "after the days of thesiege" of Jerusalem, or in antitype afterRomanism's and Protestantism's siege is ended in1918. It had a literal fulfillment in 606 B. C. andis to have a literal and a symbolic fulfillment inand after 1918. It depicts the several kinds oftroubles upon Christendom, and the causesprovoking them. The shaving of the headrepresents the affliction of Christendom. (Isa.3:17, 20; 15:12; Jer. 7:29.) The shaving of thebeard was part of the ceremonial treatment of aleper (Lev. 14:8, 9), and signifies that after 1918Christendom will be treated by outraged Justiceas a moral leper, unclean with incurable iniquity,the perverseness, which, in the face of continualpreaching of the Gospel, led up to the recentwars.Ezek. 5:2, 12, 16, 17, relate to features of thedestruction of literal Jerusalem in 606 B. C. and70-73 A. D. and of Christendom in 1914 to 1918A. D. Since in verse 12 a third part of thepersons were to suffer death or affliction, the hairin verses 1, 2 and 3 signify the people in