Ezekiel 5:1-3 speaks to the end-time church. The prophet shaves his head and beard, weighs the hair, and divides it in three. One third is burned, one third is struck with the sword, and one third is scattered to the wind. A small number from the last portion is bound in the edge of his garment. Four sections therefore emerge, and they may correspond to the four churches (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) whose messages mention Christ's coming, and to the four prophets (Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Nahum) who warned at the same time. Of the four, only Philadelphia is promised protection from the hour of trial (Revelation 3:10). The Hebrew word for "bind" also carries the sense of keeping, guarding, and hiding in a secret place. The hair is sewn into a hem, which is small and secure, and the hem is part of a priest's garment, since Ezekiel was a priest. This pictures God's people hidden together and safely held by Christ, our High Priest. Verse 4 adds that some of those hidden are taken again and thrown into the fire, which then spreads to all Israel. Some will therefore face severe testing, perhaps martyrdom, so the aim must be to be worthy of the Kingdom, not merely to reach a Place of Safety. Because Ezekiel, a type of Christ, divides the hair, Christ alone decides who is who and who is protected. Members cannot judge which church any group belongs to.

God's judgment on Israel is coming because His people, given His law more than any other nation, have refused to obey it. Ezekiel 7, Jeremiah 6, Amos 3 and Zechariah 7 show Israel rejecting the prophets, growing covetous and deceitful, declaring "peace, peace" when there is none, and hardening their hearts like flint. For this God says He will pour out His fury, repay them for their abominations, and strip them of the wealth they trusted. The same conditions exist in modern Israelite nations, which have legalized sexual sins, treated the Bible as a hate book, and indulged in dishonest dealings, idols, and lusts. Though the trumpet is not literally sounded, these conditions are themselves the warning that disaster follows. That disaster is the great tribulation of Matthew 24, in which only a remnant of Israel survives, as Ezekiel 5's picture of dividing the hair into thirds illustrates. It unfolds through the seals, the trumpet plagues, and the bowls of wrath, which also fall on the whole world because mankind has persisted in war and rebellion. God judges each nation for its own transgressions, Israel and Judah included. Even under these plagues, men blaspheme rather than repent. The judgment is nevertheless corrective. Afterward Israel is restored to its land, repents deeply, and lives in lasting peace under God's law. The proper response now is to seek God individually, turn to Him with the whole heart, and get one's life in order, so that He may spare the repentant (Joel 2, Zephaniah 2, Amos 5).