And you must say to the soil of Israel, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “Here I am against you, and I will bring forth my sword out of its sheath and cut off from you righteous one and wicked one. In order that I may actually cut off from you righteous one and wicked one, therefore my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.”’”​—Ezek. 21:2-4.

Thus Jehovah depicted himself as a warrior who would act against the “wicked” and the “righteous,” evidently meaning those who imagined themselves to be righteous. The “sword” that Jehovah would use was apparently the earthly agency for executing judgment, though it may also have included his unseen heavenly organization of mighty spirit creatures. The earthly agency proved to be Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.

A LESSON FOR TODAY

Jehovah God has not changed his view of people who persist in wrongdoing. Bible prophecy establishes that within this generation God’s “sword” will strike the nations and people who oppose him. (Matt. 24:34) Just as the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of Judah experienced calamity before the surrounding nations did, so Christendom will be the first to feel the painful effects of that “sword.” Why so? This is because Christendom is the antitype of unfaithful Jerusalem of ancient times. Christendom claims to be the “house of God,” enjoying a special standing and relationship with God by means of his “new covenant.” Hence judgment must begin with her, as evident from the principle set forth at 1 Peter 4:17, 18: “It is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God? ‘And if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the ungodly man and the sinner make a showing?’”