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The United States is not specifically mentioned in end time Bible Prophecy. But, we are there in prophetic type, meaning prophetic symbolism.
Before I reveal our prophetic type, I want to take a moment to explain what I mean when I talk about a prophetic symbol or a prophetic type. A prophetic type is a symbol of a prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled. It prefigures a coming reality. It can be a person, it can be an event, it can be a ceremony, and it even can be an inanimate object.
For example, the Greek tyrant, Antiochus Epiphanes, was a prophetic type of the Antichrist who will appear on the world scene in the end times.
The Old Testament sacrificial system pointed prophetically as a prophetic type to the finality of the Cross.
Every aspect of the Ark of the Covenant was a prophecy about the Messiah. It was made of wood, showing the Messiah would be human. It was covered over with gold, saying the Messiah would be divine. It had three objects inside of it. It had the pot of Manna, indicating the Messiah would be the Bread of Life. It had the tablets of Moses, indicating that the Messiah would perfectly obey the Law of God. It had Aaron's rod that budded, that indicated the Messiah would be resurrected from the dead. And, once a year, the High Priest went in and sprinkled the blood on the Mercy Seat to indicate that it would be through the death of the Messiah that the grace of God would cover the law of God.
One of the most significant prophetic types in all the Bible is found in the Scriptures concerning Joseph, whose life from beginning to end, was a prophetic type of the Messiah to come. His life began when he went to his brethren with a message from God, just as Jesus came to His brethren — to the Jewish people — with a message from God. Joseph was rejected, and Jesus was rejected. His brothers threw him in a pit to kill him, and just Jesus was literally killed. He was saved from the pit, taken up, and given a new life, just as the Messiah was literally resurrected from the dead. Joseph went to a far country where he took a Gentile bride, just as the risen Messiah departed for Heaven where He is currently taking a Gentile bride — the Church. Ultimately, Joseph serving as a prince of Egypt, revealed himself to his brethren, and they finally accepted him, just as Jesus will one day reveal Himself to His Jewish brethren at His Second Coming when He returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then they will receive Him as their Messiah.
A Type of Judah
I believe America's prophetic type is the ancient nation of Judah. You will remember that after the death of Solomon, the kingdom of David and Solomon split into two parts with the northern nation of Israel and the southern nation of Judah.
The northern nation of Israel was apostate from the moment it was founded. It was founded in rebellion against God and it continued in that condition for 208 years. It was finally conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC. During its lifetime, the nation had 19 kings, and not a single one — not one — was considered righteous in the eyes of God.
The southern nation of Judah lasted 136 years longer for a total of 344 years. Eight of its 20 kings were considered righteous by the Lord.
Consider the parallels between Judah and our nation. The people of Judah were given great leaders like Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat and Josiah, just as we have been blessed in our country with great leaders like Washington, and Lincoln, the Roosevelts and Reagan. They enjoyed a great freedom unparalleled in that time, and we have also enjoyed tremendous freedom.
They were granted great prosperity by God, just as we have been. They were favored with abundant spiritual blessings, just as we have been. The Shekinah Glory of God resided in their Temple in Jerusalem. We, too, have been blessed as a nation by God who has been using our nation to proclaim the Gospel all over the world.
I wish I could stop there with this list of positive traits and positive parallels, but I cannot. That's because we share some of the negative characteristics of Judah as well. One is pride. Judah became proud of its blessings and the people deceived themselves into thinking that they were the ones responsible for their blessings. They forgot about the One who was truly responsible, just as we have in this nation.
Another negative parallel is rebellion. As Judah distanced itself from God, it began to rebel against His Word, just as we are now in the process of doing the same thing in this country. The result for Judah was the destruction of their nation by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Isaiah's Inventory
Before God pours out His wrath on a nation, he patiently calls its people to repentance and warns of impending judgment. He did that for Judah in two ways. He did it first through prophetic voices and secondly through remedial judgments.
Let's consider the prophetic voices first. In about 740 BC, God anointed a sophisticated and erudite man named Isaiah to be a prophet to Judah. The first thing God asked him to do was to go out and conduct a spiritual inventory of the land. God knew the sins of the land, but He wanted Isaiah to know them as well.
Isaiah's subsequent report was as startling as it was breathtaking. It clearly revealed that the people whom God had so richly blessed had turned their back on Him and His Word. And, since these are the sins that motivated God to destroy that nation, one that He loved so much, including the city and also the Temple where He resided, because these are the sins that resulted in its own destruction, we should pay close attention to what they were.
The following are the sins that bring about the wrath of God:
Injustice — Isaiah's report begins in Isaiah 5. The prophet began in verse 7 with the first sin, which is the sin of injustice. Here's how he put it, "He [God] expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence."
Greed — He next mentioned greed. Here's how He put it, "You buy up property so others have no place to live. Your homes are built on great estates so you can be alone in the midst of the earth!"
Pleasure-Seeking — The next sin he discovered was pleasure-seeking. He said, "They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties, lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, but they never think about the LORD or notice what he is doing."
Blasphemy — The fourth sin was blasphemy. What a description he has here of that, "They even mock the Holy One of Israel and dare the Lord to punish them. They say, 'Hurry up and punish us, O Lord,' they say. 'We want to see what you can do!'"
Moral Perversion — Next, Isaiah pointed to the shocking sin of moral perversion, perhaps the worst of these sins. Here is what he said, "They say that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right; that black is white and white is black; bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter."
Intellectual Pride — Isaiah lamented the sin of intellectual pride. He said, "Woe to those who are wise and shrewd in their own eyes!"
Intemperance — Next he identified the sin of intemperance. He wrote, "Woe to those who are heroes when it comes to drinking and boast about the liquor that they can hold."
Political Corruption — The final sin he identified was political corruption. He said, "They take bribes to pervert justice, letting the wicked go free and putting innocent men in jail."
Despised the Word of God — Isaiah concluded his list with a summary of sins by identifying the fundamental reason for all of these sins. The fundamental reason is, "They have thrown away the laws of God and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." That was the cause for all of Judah's sins.
And so, the eight sins of Judah that Isaiah reported were: injustice, greed, pleasure seeking, blasphemy, moral perversion, intellectual pride, intemperance and political corruption. All of which he asserted were produced by contempt for the Word of God.
Isaiah also reported that all his calls to repentance were met with scoffing and frivolity. Here is how he worded it:
"The Lord God called you [speaking of Judah] to repent, to weep and mourn, to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins, and to wear clothes made of sackcloth to show your remorse. But instead, you sing, and you dance, and you play, and feast and drink. And you say, 'Let us eat, drink, and be merry,' you say: 'What's the difference, for tomorrow we're going to die.'"
Isaiah responded to this crass indifference with a strong warning:
"God will send a signal to the nations far away, whistling to those at the ends of the earth, they will come racing toward Jerusalem. Their arrows are sharp; their bows are bent; sparks will fly from their horses' hoofs, the wheels of their chariots will spin like the wind. They roar like lions and pounce upon the prey. They seize my people and carry them off into captivity with none to rescue them."
Jeremiah's Inventory
Sixty years later, God called a young priest named Jeremiah to do the same thing that had been requested of Isaiah. He told him to go out and perform a spiritual inventory of the sins of Judah. And, when he reported back to God, he listed the same sins as Isaiah, but he added three that Isaiah did not mention.
Immorality — The first was immorality. This, of course, had been hinted at in Isaiah's accusation of moral perversion. But, Jeremiah got specific. He declared that God had fed His people until they were full, but they thanked God by "committing adultery and lining up at the brothels." He reported, "They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife."
Religious Corruption — Then Jeremiah mentioned the problem of religious corruption, which is a horrible sin. He said, "A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land, the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way!"
Closed Minds — Finally, Jeremiah mentioned closed minds. He declared the people do not listen when God speaks. "Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the God. They won't listen at all."
Jeremiah concluded his list with three fundamental, shocking summaries:
- "Their faces are harder than rock."
- "They have a stubborn and rebellious heart."
- "They do not know how to blush."
Think about America today. That is where we are, folks.
Resource
Dr. Reagan's article is also available in video! To obtain your copy, order via our online store the God's Prophetic Voices to America 2018 Bible Conference DVD Album.
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