Today we will study the significance of Woe, a dire warning from the LORD. First, we will study the Hebrew words; H1945 hôwy, (akin to H188). H188 ʼôwy, passionate cry of grief or despair, a lamentation. A lamentation means a “Sad song”. So many places to go to but for sake of time I’ll keep this reasonable. Let’s begin in Isaiah 3:8-11 and it reads.
Isa.3:8] For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
Remember, prophecies are for the examples to us in these end times. This is saying, Jerusalem is going to be against God and his word, and they will provoke him to anger. He is not angry with his children who love him and stay in his Word, but to those with understanding know that Jerusalem is the geographical location for these end times.
Isa.3:9] The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
The looks on their faces show that they know what they do is evil. They boast of their sins as Sodom. A sad song for their souls.
Isa.3:10] Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
The LORD will protect his children. Keep planting seeds.
Isa.3:11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
You reap what you sow, do good works for the LORD and in his name and you shall reap life everlasting. But for the wicked they will perish. Let’s go now to Isaiah 5 and begin with verse 7 and it reads.
Isa.5:7] For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
This cry is a lamentation. Notice the house of Israel and the house of Judah are separate. Now here comes the Woes, there will be six.
Isa.5:8] Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
[9] In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
[10] Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
Because they live house to house there is no room to grow spiritually, and eventually they die spiritually. Not much can grow there.
Isa.5:11] Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
Drunken with false teachers, who drive them away from the Word of God, this Woe continues.
Isa.5:12] And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
[13] Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
[14] Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
[15] And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
They shall be blinded by the LORD.
Isa.5:16] But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
[17] Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
That Woe is usually taught without wisdom, just let it read and you see how easy it is to understand. Next woe reads.
Isa.5:18] Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
[19] That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
They have so much sin that they need a cart to pull behind them to carry all their sins. Next woe reads.
Isa.5:20] Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Those that turn everything upside down. From right to wrong and wrong to right. There sure is a lot of that in the world today. Next woe reads.
Isa.5:21] Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe to those that are proud, the downfall of Satan. And the last woe reads.
Isa.5:22] Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Again, do not confuse this with alcohol, this is not talking about that. Let it read. This word “strength” can mean men of wealth.
Isa.5:23] Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
I can’t help but think of Davos, W.E.F. (World Economic Forum)
Isa.5:24] Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Don’t overlook this word blossom, this is where our fruit comes from. Do not let them corrupt your fruit. Also, they despise the Word of the Lord.
Isa.5:25] Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
His outstretched saving arms.
Isa.5:26] And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
Leave the word of the Lord and you may find yourself trapped by those who mean you harm, come back to Him. Now, let’s go to Jeremiah 23 and verse 1 reads.
Jer.23:1] Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
A pastor is supposed to feed the flock of the LORD his word. But these have taught falsely, maybe even to rapture right into the hands of the antichrist.
Jer.23:2] Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
[3] And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
[4] And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
The Lord will provide green pastures for his flock, his children. Psa.23 but let’s not forget Amos 8 and verse 11 reads.
Amos 8:11] Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Now let’s go to Ezekiel where we find more woes. Eze.13 and verse 1 reads.
Eze.13:1] And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[2] Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
[3] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
These are false preachers that prophesied out of their own hearts and not the word of God. To save time, we pick it up with verse 18 and continue.
Eze.13:18] And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
The Hebrew is very specific with this, it says “will you cover every digit of my knuckles with your kerchiefs”. Hiding the LORDs outstretched saving arms.
Eze.13:19] And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
Will you do this for money? Can you save a soul? Notice he is calling them liars, be not deceived in these end times.
Eze.13:20] Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.
Still believe there is a Rapture? God just said that he is against those that teach his children to fly. Let’s continue this study in Revelations, where we find this word Woe G3759 ouai, in the Greek and means; A primary exclamation of grief. Alas Woe. Rev.8:13 reads.
Rev.8:13] And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
Talking about the last three trumps. The fifth trump began on May 15th 1948 when Israel became a nation again. We will begin at the end of the fifth trump with Rev.9:11.
Rev.9:11] And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
The evil that is in the world today is controlled by Satan, that is why it is so evil. But soon there will come a short period of time called “the One World Order” or “the first beast”. This is the time of the Woe being spoken of here.
Rev.9:12] One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
[13] And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
[14] Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
[15] And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Now, the sixth trump sounds. Satan is cast down with his 7,000 angels. And the two witnesses are slain in the streets by Satan himself, and their bodies are left in the street. And Rev.11:11 continues.
Rev.11:11] And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
[12] And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
[13] And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
[14] The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Satan’s angels die immediately at the coming of the Lord. Those seven thousand that were slain. The seventh trump also is a Woe, for it is finished. Did Jesus warn us with a Woe? Let’s go to Mark 13 and read.
Mark 13:17] But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Not saying that being pregnant is a Woe, but those that are deceived and by the antichrist, thinking that he is Christ but is not, they are not virgins anymore and the marriage of the Lamb has come.
Mark 13:18] And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
Don’t be taken out of season, stay in the field and keep working.
Mark 13:19] For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
[20] And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
These Woes are getting exciting, one more Woe in Rev.12:12 and it reads.
Rev.12:12] Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
I believe that Satan finds out at the sixth trump that his time has been shortened from three and a half years to five months. For the Elects sake as Jesus told us in Mark 13. Do not be deceived, Satan comes at the sixth trump and Jesus comes at the seventh trump, we will not be raptured or fly away. Rejoice for Jesus (God’s Word) has told us all things. Let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.
KJV along with The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible