in papyrus boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.
3 All you people of the world,
3 All you people of the world,
you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the LORD says to me:
4 This is what the LORD says to me:
"I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
and to the wild animals;
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,
from a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.
Footnotes:
Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region
The highlighted words are the ones thought by some to refer to America.
Footnotes:
Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region
The highlighted words are the ones thought by some to refer to America.
"A people tall and smooth-skinned" could describe Americans, perhaps more than any nation in history. Unless you want to include Scandinavians.
"To a people feared far and wide" would definitely describe America and our military technology.
"An aggressive nation of strange speech"...We have been aggressive, certainly. The Soviets called us "Yankee imperialists." "Strange speech" could also refer to English, since it would not have been known in the world of Isaiah.
"Whose land is divided by rivers" could also be America, that is prominently divided by the Mississippi, a river that has nurtured our nation and the world.
"When a banner is raised on the mountains" could refer to the very recognizable American flag. "Mountains" can refer, in scripture, to governments and nations. Our flag has flown in many nations.
"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty" by this nation. At what time? Possible clues are in verses 5 and 6: cryptic references to Armageddon. And what gift might America bring to the Lord? Would she come to the defense of Israel?
By the way, the rivers of "Cush" do not refer to Ethiopia, but Babylon, as evidenced by numerous scriptures about Cush. We are talking about Persia, and specifically the area of the Persian Gulf, that is, Iraq and Iran.
4 comments:
I think Revelation 12 describes us. The moon under her feet? Who else could that be? Wings of an eagle. The Church has been nourished by this land.
Where I first came across this was Francis Frangiapane. I agree with you about Rev. 12 being a logical possibility. That passage seems to logically refer to the church and, even in an expanded way, the believers of all history, the called-out. But America figures into that history, too. She not only nurtured the church more than any other nation, she was also the launching pad for modern world missions.
That is true and we might be one of the seven churches where satan's seat is, New York New York. Remember when we were there getting thrown out of the UN and Scientology's headquarters? Remember the end time feeling we had in that great city? I think of it often and wonder. If Bill Clinton ends up been a UN ambassador or even secretary General of the UN we may be seeing some real end-time developments. This election will tell us which way the nation has chosen as a whole. Toward God or away. Watch the Jew!
You know, that "banner raised on the mountains" could also, maybe even more likely, be the flag of Israel that began to fly over that land 59 years ago.
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