“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it— cities and people alike. I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 8:16-17
Instead of peace, the Babylonian invaders came with snorting horses and an army so big that the whole land trembled. I will send serpents among you, vipers which cannot be charmed: The false prophets and priests had convinced the people of Judah and Jerusalem that they could find a way to maneuver around the coming judgment. They would find, to their great sorrow that God had sent them serpents which cannot be charmed. These people were traveling the wide road. “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many that choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) If we want easy, the wide road is the road to travel. Traveling the wide road, you have lots of company, because Jesus tells us that many choose this road. If we are traveling this road, we won’t have to fight Satan, because this is the road that Satan wants you to travel. Jesus tells us that this is the road to hell and it is the road to destruction. What will the sign read on this road? Will it read road to hell? No, it could even read the road to heaven, because Satan is a liar and he never tells the truth. He wants us to believe that this is the road to travel. It is false prophets that lead us down this road. “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15-16) We need to be careful and not allow Satan and the false prophets to lead us down this wide road.