I saw the land, and behold it was void and empty; and towards the heavens, and their light was not. Behold I saw when Carmel was a desert, and all the cities were desolated at the presence of Jehovah. For thus Jehovah hath said, the whole land shall be a waste, yet will I not make a consummation. For this the land shall mourn, and the heavens above shall be blackened. Thou, therefore, that art laid waste, what wilt thou do? (Jer. 4:23-31; 5:10, 18). The lion hath come up from his briar thicket, and the destroyer of nations hath gone forth from his place to reduce the land to a waste. In that day the heart of the king and the heart of the princes shall perish; and the priests shall be astonished (Jer. 4:7, 9). In that day every place where there were a thousand vines shall be for briars and thorns, because all the land shall be briars and thorns (Isa. 7:23, 24). A voice of the cry of the shepherds and, of the powerful ones of the flock, for Jehovah is laying waste their pastures: whence the sheepfolds of peace were devastated. Jehovah hath forsaken His tabernacle, for their land was reduced to a desolation (Jer. 25:36-38). This house shall be like Shiloh, and Jerusalem shall be a devastation (Jer. 26: 9; 27:17). Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah shall be a desolation and a devastation in this day, because of the wickedness of your works; your land is become a desolation, an astonishment, and a curse (Jer. 44:2, 6, 22). I will give the land to devastation, because they have committed a trespass (Ezek. 15:8). They shall be devastated in the midst of the devastated lands, and her cities in the midst of the desolated cities. Then I will make the rivers dry. I will give the land into the hand of the evil, and I will lay waste the land and the fullness thereof (Ezek. 30:7, 12). When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and will make the stars thereof black. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine; and I will give darkness upon the land, when I shall bring on thy breaking up (Ezek. 32:7-9). [3] In like manner as the Lord foretold concerning the consummation of the present Christian Church (Matt. 24:29). I will make Mount Seir a waste and a devastation. I will make thee the wastes of eternity (Ezek. 35:3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15). In that day they shall bring up a proverb upon you, and shall say, In wasting we are laid waste (Mic. 2:4). Fear and the pit have come upon us, devastation and breaking up (Lam. 3:47). The mountain of Zion is laid waste (Lam. 5:18). Thine iniquity is consummated, O daughter of Zion (Lam. 4:22). Woe to the sinful nation, heavy with iniquity; they have provoked the Holy of Israel. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness. Your land is a solitude. The daughter of Zion is left as a tent in a vineyard, as a besieged city (Isa. 1:4-9 seq.). What will ye do in the day of visitation and devastation? Consummation is finished, justice is inundated; for the Lord Jehovih is making a consummation and decision in the whole land (Isa. 10:3 seq., 22-23). The Lord Jehovih is making a consummation and decision in the whole land (Isa. 28:22). The prophet fell upon his face, and said, Lord Jehovih, Thou art making a consummation with the remnants of Israel (Ezek. 11:13). My sanctuary was profaned, and the land of Israel was devastated (Ezek. 25:3). Were even Noah, Daniel, and Job in the midst thereof, they only shall be delivered, but the land shall become a desolation (Ezek. 14:14, 16). [4] The final consummation of the Israelitish and Jewish church was accomplished, when the Lord our Saviour, after receiving the sponge of vinegar, cried out upon the cross:

It is consummated (John 19:29, 30);

for it is said in David:

They gave gall for My food, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink; let their habitation be devastated (Ps. 69:21, 25). And in another place:

Without cause have they hid for Me the pit of the net; without cause have they digged for My soul. Let devastation come upon him before he is aware; let him fall into devastation. Lead back My soul from their devastators, and My only one from the lions' whelps (Ps. 35:7, 8, 17);

that is, the church. I will make Jerusalem into heaps, a habitation of dragons; I will reduce the cities of Judah to a waste. Behold, I am feeding them, even this people, with wormwood, and I will give them waters of gall to drink (Jer. 9:10-16). [5] Full consummation, after this, is described thus in Hosea:

The sons of Israel shall sit many days: no king, no prince, no sacrifice, no statue, no ephod, and no teraphim (Hos. 3:4). Such is their state at this day. We have not time to adduce more passages. The passages in which the vastation, desolation, and consummation of this church, are further mentioned, shall be only named: as, for example (Isa. 9:13-21; 22:4-14; Jer. 7:31-34; 25:33; 47:4; Ezek. 13:14, 15; 14:8, 15; 19:7; 25:12, 13; 26: 2; 29:9, 10, 12; 32:12, 15; Joel 1:15-20; 2:3; 3:19; Nah. 1:8, 9; Zeph. 1:15; 2:9; Lam. 1:16; Ps. 73:17-19; 74:3). The devastated are also called the "thrust through" (Ezek. 11:6, 7; 21:30, 34; 26:6; 28:8, 23; 31:17, 18; 32:20-24, 28-32; 35:8; Zeph. 2:12; Lam. 4:9; Ps. 69:26; and in other places). They are said to be "thrust through," because a "sword," by which this is done, signifies falsity destroying truth.