1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

FM447EZEKIEL 17PARABLE OF THE EAGLESEzekiel 17:1, 2.And the Word of the Lord came unto me,saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, andspeak a parable, unto the house of Israel.—Chapter 17 pictures ecclesiasticism as a king, hispartial captivity to the forces destined to destroyhim, his turning for support to the forces ofworldly wisdom and power, the failure of theattempted alliance, and his final downfall.Ezekiel 17:3.And say, Thus saith the Lord God, A greateagle with great wings, long-winged, full offeathers, which had divers colors, came untoLebanon and took the highest branch of thecedar.— The Assyrians (a great eagle) withgreat wings, long-winged, full of feathers (strongof wing, powerful), which had divers colors(many varieties and phases of appearance) cameto Lebanon (the Hebrew kingdom) and took thehighest branch of the cedar (carried KingJehoiachim captive). In antitype this signifies:The power destined to destroy Christendom(anarchy, Nihilism, Socialism, and their wisdomexpressed in schools of thought tending todestroy respect for Christendom) like an eagle(wise one) with great wings (impressive words)long-winged (far-reaching), full of feathers (fullof argument), has quietly made its way intoChristendom since 1878 and taken captive thehighest ones, many of the leading class ofChristendom (the Cedar) with doctrines ofEvolution, Socialism, and Higher Criticism, alldestructive of the existing order of things.Ezekiel 17:4.He cropped off the top of his twigs, andcarried it into a land of traffick; he act it in acity of merchants.— These were taken captiveby these systems of thought into a conditionwhere the Heavenly ideals of the church were