One of the most shocking effects of Hurricane Katrina has been the anarchy reigning in the streets of New Orleans.

It is easy to want to pass this problem off as an isolated case. But this violence is a much more serious danger than most people would ever imagine.

These types of disasters always produce stirring acts of heroism. But they also lure the worst elements of human nature out from the shadows and expose the ugly underbelly of our culture in a way nothing else does.

In the wake of the storm, some people took advantage of the disorganization and began looting—not just food, but appliances and, most alarmingly, weapons. Soon the city became besieged by thugs and gangs who fired on military helicopters and trucks trying to reach survivors with supplies.

The evils of human nature also emerged within the hordes of people trapped in unbearable conditions within the Superdome. With only a couple hundred law enforcement officers deployed to supervise a crowd of 30,000 people, the situation descended into lawlessness, with beatings and even rapes.

What do these conditions tell us about America?

The appalling lack of character on display is not limited to one American city. It shows what we as a nation can descend to when put in extreme circumstances.

One survivor of last December’s tsunami in Indonesia commented that comparing the response of the Asians to their disaster with that of the Americans shows who the truly civilized people are. Shamefully, there is truth in that statement!

We live in dangerous times—times not only of increasingly fierce and more regular weather disasters but also of nuclear terrorism. City-destroying problems are going to multiply.

We must brace ourselves for the evils in New Orleans to play out in other cities in the near future!

Many commentators have drawn attention to the fact that the people most affected have been poor blacks. Their emotions are running hot as the crisis intensifies and the government response is perceived to be inadequate. Some are accusing the government of racism. Whether or not such accusations are true, the climate of bitterness, mistrust and anger being created in the pressure cooker of New Orleans is truly explosive. It threatens to intensify the deep racial division and hatred in America.

The Trumpet doesn’t take sides. We teach God’s prophecies.

Ezekiel’s Hair

God gave the Prophet Ezekiel some peculiar instructions that provide a graphic illustration of the future downfall of America and the modern nations of Israel (for proof of America’s identity as part of biblical Israel, read The United States and Britain in Prophecy).

“And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them” (Ezekiel 5:1-2). America’s destruction, illustrated by Ezekiel’s hair, is divided into thirds. The first third is to burn with fire.

Notice these important facts. The first third is burned with fire in the midst of the city, which is under siege. The burning is related to a siege.

Herbert W. Armstrong prophesied for many years that the siege would be America’s economy being battered by foreign competition (see Deuteronomy 28:52). The siege means “something hemming in … distress” (Strong’s Concordance). It can also mean “to urge to press upon anyone in pursuit, to besiege a city” (Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon). The U.S. will be surrounded or besieged by fierce and often unfair competition. Prophecy indicates that the European Union will shut the U.S. out of more and more markets. U.S. agriculture has already been hit hard.

As the U.S. economy suffers, unemployment will steadily increase. As that happens, domestic rioting and violence will become much more prevalent.

Modern American history is peppered with shameful examples of lawlessness quickly erupting in the streets when ignited by specific events. The Los Angeles riots in May of 1992 were some of the deadliest in U.S. history, killing close to 60 people and causing an estimated $1 billion in property damage. This is just one example of the destructive potential of siege coupled with burning. Much of that cost was goods stolen by the looters. Some 40,000 jobs were lost because of the rioting. The Los Angeles police and National Guard did virtually nothing—rewarding the rioters with stolen goods and an opportunity to commit violence—even murder!

A similar situation has played out in New Orleans. Without law enforcement, the law of the street takes over. Such unchecked lawlessness will inspire lawlessness elsewhere in the country during future crises. This is the truth that no one wants to admit!

As the economy grows worse, or is under siege, rioters will burn more and more.

The Pestilence

“A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them” (Ezekiel 5:12). Notice that pestilence is mentioned first—it is actually the leading cause of the famine.

The word pestilence means destruction or death (see the Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon). One definition of the root word is “to lay snares, to plot against, to destroy.” So this pestilence could be a plague of violence or burning—not necessarily a physical disease at all! It can be defined as a plague of violence or rioting—such as rioting in the cities or the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Why would the first third be burned with fire (verse 2) if it refers to a disease epidemic?

The pestilence, or plague of violence, will cause many health problems that lead to famine. Sewage disposal will be disrupted. Gas lines will be broken. Jobs will be lost. Society will unravel and the collective panic will bring a stock market disaster. It will get so bad that violence and famine will take millions of lives!

The New Orleans violence is just a type of what will happen in major cities throughout the nation! It is a stark prophecy of our future. Terrorist attacks, rioting and burning are the main thrust of the pestilence mentioned in Ezekiel 5. And this rioting will spread to other Israelite nations—unless people repent and turn to God!

God will get our attention one way or another.

The worse the violence and burning become, the worse the famine will get. The worse the famine becomes, the more intensive the violence will get. It becomes a vicious cycle.

“The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him” (Ezekiel 7:15). The pestilence will afflict only those in the city. Those in the country or field will die from other causes (verse 24). The pestilence, or plague of rioting, terrorist violence and burning, afflicts the cities primarily.

The seeds of this future calamity have already been sown.

Anger and bitterness toward the government inevitably compromise officials’ ability to do their jobs. In New Orleans, the evils on the street provoked some officers to turn in their badges, which only emboldens the criminals more.

How can the government repair its damaged reputation after this incident? We can expect public figures to make more and more inflammatory accusations against the government. Some people know how to play public discontent like a fiddle. The news media help them spread their destructive messages.

Officials say they are doing “all they can” to help the situation—they are stretched to the limits of their capabilities. What would happen, then, if two cities were struck simultaneously? Or three? Or six? The preservation of order could break down almost irreparably. Violence in the cities would be many times worse.

It is not difficult to imagine this future nightmare as we watch the bedlam in the streets of New Orleans.

When the 1992 L.A. riots were at their peak, government authorities asked black sports stars and other leading blacks to plead with their people to stop the rioting. There was virtually no show of governmental force. In the future, when this violence spreads, will this be our main hope for peace? We are getting dangerously close to social anarchy and chaos.

There is only one solution to this nightmare! Our people, black and white, must repent and turn to God. If we fail to do that, the suffering is just beginning!

God Is Against Israel

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations” (Ezekiel 5:8-9). God is going to do “that which I have not done.” This prophecy is also found in several other scriptures (Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1; Jeremiah 30:7). God is going to punish America and the other nations of Israel as no nation has ever been punished!

“Behold I, even I, am against thee.” This statement should strike terror in people! God puts special emphasis on the statement—“Behold I, even I, am against thee.” We should read that with deep concentration; God is against the nations of Israel! They are not up against mere foreign armies. These nations have made the omnipotent God into an enemy! There is no defeating Him! They will lose in a spectacular way, because God is bringing them down.

The suffering, death and destruction will be beyond anything imaginable, because God is very angry with us. “Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it” (verses 13-15).

This is how bad it will get unless Israel repents! The U.S. economy has helped to fuel the whole world’s economy. When it collapses, it will deeply affect the whole world.

This is the severity of punishment it will take to turn Israel to God(Ezekiel 6:7).

There is a big lesson Israel and the world must learn. “And they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them” (verse 10).

The people of Israel will be punished. Then they shall know all these prophecies were not made in “vain”! These warning prophecies have been written and spoken because they were inspired by God. The great God doesn’t speak words in vain! People either listen, or pay a terrifying price!

Then “they shall know that I am the Lord.”