Thursday, April 19, 2012

Where Is America In Bible Prophecy?

While I do not agree with him on everything he writes, I like Walid Shoebat because he gives a clear Bible picture with a different perspective than your mainline evangelical so called self-proclaimed Bible scholars. Such is the case in his latest article "Where Is America In Bible Prophecy?"

This scripturally docomented article by Walid Shoebat that all nations will come under "the antichrist" certainly blows holes in the theory taught by many of those self-proclaimed Bible scholars in the pre-trib camp. For years it has been taught be these same so called scholars that America is not found in Bible prophecy. However, not only does the following article by Walid Shoebat give credible scriptural evidence that America may indeed to be found in Bible prophecy, and according to Mr. Shoebat, the opposite of what multitudes have been taught may be true.

For many years, it has been taught that in the Last-Days literally every nation of the earth – including the United States – will be utterly dominated by the Antichrist; there will be no place to escape from the dreaded Mark of the Beast; every last nation of the world will come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12 is usually used to validate the theory, as is the Apostle John. After all, the Antichrist will be given “authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation,” (Revelation 13:7).

This would seem like an ironclad case for the Antichrist ruling the globe, including the United States, which he uses in his march against Jerusalem. It is this dilemma that caused many to believe that the United States will be taken over by Antichrist.

Before we attempt to solve this issue, it is necessary to clarify the dilemma. For this, we can ask a Jesus-style question: does the usage of the phrase, “the whole earth” and “every tribe, tongue and nation” in the Bible mean “the entire globe”? If so, then did Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:1 send his letter to every nation, tribe and tongue in the “entire globe”?

“Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.” (Daniel 4:1)

“O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him,” (Daniel 5:18, 19).

How about…

“Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom,” (I Kings 4:34)

Did anyone visit Solomon from China?

How about…

“Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt,” (2 Kings 17:29).

Did the inhabitants of every last nation of the earth have Samaritan gods in their homes?

How about…

“the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries.” Isaiah 37:18

Did King Sennacherib of Assyria actually destroy all nations on the face of the earth?

How about…

“As I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth,” (Daniel 8:5).

Did Alexander the Great occupy the whole earth?

So then, let us offer a new perspective regarding the end-times verses:

Zechariah 14:2 “For I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle”
Matthew 25:32 “I will also gather all nations”
Joel 3:2 “I will gather all nations”

Such verses should not be isolated. In context, Zechariah 12 only encompasses the surrounding nations:

“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves,” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

In Joel 3:12 we find the same:

“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.”

“The surrounding peoples” and “all the nations of the earth” are two references pertaining to the same people; “all the nations” and “the earth” is not the entire globe, though the translation may seem to allude to it as such. The problem is that the translation at times makes it difficult since – in English – “the earth” tends to mean “the entire globe” and in Hebrew the word “Eretz” commonly means “the land” and not “the entire globe.”

Then we have the culture. In ancient Hebrew, we find a grammatical construct that makes emphatic statements in order to convey a point, whereas using hyperbole is extremely common in eastern cultures. Elaborating on the exceptions would entirely blunt the impact of the statement. For instance, imagine a speed limit sign that listed the exceptions painted on it, “speed limit 55—except ambulances, fire trucks, police giving chase, etc.” Thus, exceptions cannot be ruled out on the basis of exclusive language. This type of language is actually found quite frequently in the Bible. Throughout the prophecies of end-times the Bible is speaking of a regional war and not global (Ezekiel 36:4, 5, Psalm 79:12, Jeremiah 12:14, Ezekiel 28-32).

One common argument I always get is an objection that “the earth” is meant to be “the known world,” that today’s “known world” must then encompass the entire globe. This assumption is false since all “Four Beasts” in Daniel chapter 7 arise out of “the Great Sea” (Daniel 7:2). “The Great Sea” is the Mediterranean region, not the entire globe. That with all the literal nations of end-times encompasses only the Middle East and Asia Minor. If the first beast (Babylon), second beast (Medo-Persia) and third beast (Greece) all were out within the “Great Sea” (Mediterranean) then the fourth beast of Daniel 7 could only pertain to the Mediterranean Sea as well.

To make the Antichrist rule a global one, many western interpreters today allegorize “The Great Sea” as “the sea of humanity.” In so doing, we lose the meaning and the intent of the prophecy. This reference to “The Great Sea” cannot be an allegory pertaining to the “sea of humanity” since every verse in the Bible refers to “The Great Sea” as the Mediterranean Sea (see Num 34:6-7, Jos 1:4, Jos 9:1, Jos 15:12, Jos 15:47, Jos 23:4, Ezek 47:10, 15, 19, 20, Ezek 48: 28).

The Bible makes every effort to clarify that the nations surrounding Israel are the ones to which it is referring:

“And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord,” (Psalm 79:12).

Do Israel’s “neighbors” include The United States? No. This is confirmed in many places in the Bible: Continue reading here:

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2 comments:

  1. Shalom Toni,

    How are you doing? I trust all is well.

    I have a question; In the great commission we are commanded to take the Gospel to all the world, and for a witness to all nations; are we to understand this to mean to every nation in the world?

    Shalom In Yahshua

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello, Yuri:

    Which of us knows the mind of God? The fact that most every nation on earth in against Christ and His message is evidence that most have heard about the message of Jesus.

    I believe every Christian is to do his/her part in giving the salvation message to others, in one way or the other. With the advent of the internet, the Gospel has been going around the world at breath taking speed. I read awhile ago that it has already been in all the nations. And in countries where the Gospel is closed, such as in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and muslim dominated countries, the Lord Himself is reaching people through dreams and visions, where underground churches have formed. We can rest assurred He is doing the same in closed countries such as No. Korea and China, Viet Nam and so forth.

    I also believe that the day of grace is swiftly coming to an end, because of such hostility toward the Gospel message today all over the world.

    I don't think our Lord would have us throw our pearls to swine. Not everyone wants to hear the salvation message and not everyone will accept it. I think the Lord has His way of reaching people in these perilous times when we cannot.....The Bible tells us in Romans 1:18-20 that no one is without excuse for not believing upon the Lord.

    Shalom and Best Regards,

    ReplyDelete

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