Nuclear is not magic; there are worse things. In fact America is currently being devastated by something far worse:
Posted on 03/20/2014 8:01:21 AM PDT by xzins
Bible prophecy related to the end times mentions many nations, including Libya, Iran, Iraq Ethiopia, and possibly even China and Russia, but not the United States of America. In an article on his blog, Pastor Greg Laurie gives three plausible reasons for the nation's exclusion.
"Where is the United States? Why are we not in the last-days scenario?" asks Laurie, pastor of Harvest Church in Riverside, Calif.
One reason why the United States is not mentioned in Scripture is perhaps because the nation "might be devastated by a nuclear war," the pastor writes. "It is a horrible scenario and one that none of us would want to see, but we cannot rule it out as a possibility."
The threat remains despite the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, Laurie argues. "It could indeed be a rogue terrorist nation with nuclear capabilities, or even a terrorist group that could set off the dominoes falling onto each other. I hope this isn't the case, but we cannot rule it out."
Laurie is for a strong military for that reason. "We need to take seriously any foreign threats. But having said that, what about an internal collapse?"
A second possible reason could be that the U.S. might decline as a world power, Laurie says, quoting Proverbs 14:34, which reads, "Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people."
"As our country becomes more and more secular, systematically eliminating God and the Bible from our education system, courts, and the arts, we will begin to reap the inevitable results of sin. We will begin to rot from the inside," the pastor warns. "I think to some degree, we already have [seen that happen] as we have seen the breakdown of the family, rampant crime and so many other problems that have come from disobeying God."
Laurie points out that what once was freedom of religion seems to have now become freedom from religion. "We have succeeded in getting God out of our schools, out of our sporting events, out of our public places and out of our workplaces."
The nation needs to remember that the freedom we enjoy is built on the foundation of absolute truth, he says. "And when you remove that foundation, this freedom actually can turn into anarchy."
A third possibility could be that the U.S. will witness a revival, "which I find a lot more hopeful," Laurie goes on to say. "That is not to say a revival would eliminate us as a world power. But if our nation had a revival, it would affect us. Think about this. Let's say, for example, that one-fourth of all Americans are believers. This would mean that we have approximately 78 million true believers in our country today… When the Rapture of the church takes place, don't you think there would be an impact on the United States…?"
Laurie said we need to, therefore, pray for revival in our country today. "When I say that our nation needs God, I don't mean that we need whatever god everyone happens to believe in," he clarifies. "The only hope for America is when we turn back to the true and living God – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who gave us the Bible as the revelation of who he is, the God who loved us so much that he sent his own son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place."
Because USA is not Israel.
I would add another one: it is mentioned and we don’t recognize it.
Tarshish?
Check out the revelation excerpts here:
http://www.openbible.info/topics/tarshish
In revelation the ships are watching the “great city” burn and saying (I paraphrase), “now who is going to buy all our stuff?”.
Even if the USA is not clearly identifiable in a singular way (i.e., specifically and alone) — the Bible does say that the whole world is against Israel, and that would include the USA, at that time, even if it is not directly involved in the events of that region.
I don't disagree with that. At the same time, I do think there's such a thing as biblical searching, and that that is a good thing. In the process, ideas come and go, and that, too, is a good thing.
It’s not ... As the Bible’s comparisons and descriptions for that “symbol” do not match up.
The pride and arrogance of the American Evangelical is truly something to behold.
I am one of thos American Evangelicals and I agree with the rest of your post.
>>> the Bible does say that the whole world is against Israel, and that would include the USA
True... but those references are during the tribulation period, and once the USA is void of Christians (rapture), that would not surprise me a bit.
Once Jesus removes His bride from the earth, I would imagine that the USA is toast.
We are in such poor financial shape that it’s very possible that we fracture into more than one nation, have parts of us conquered in our weakness, and see a drastic population decline.
By the time everything hits, we essentially could be taken off the stage and don’t play a serious part in things. We might just be supporting cast at that point.
Also, the Western hemisphere basically isn’t mentioned, not just the US. Nor is most of Africa.
I agree. This isn’t about us. But don’t forget what GOD has promised to those who turn their backs on his chosen people.
It rains on everybody, but his chosen people are going to suffer greater tribulation than us before the Messiah returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Keep your eyes on Jerusalem. Do not be deceived by all the false prophets and their doctrines. Pray for HIS quick return and the time of tribulation be shortened.
Nuclear is not magic; there are worse things. In fact America is currently being devastated by something far worse:
That is only true if you are limiting your definition of "Israel" to the geographic, material definition, rather than the understanding of "Israel" meaning God's chosen people. Christians are "grafted on" to those Jews who, hearing the gospels, formed the early church (Romans 11). America* having been founded on Christian principles, is a part of the metaphysical meaning of "Israel" (*in these days, "America" is the majority in this nation who remain Christian and constitutionally "Under God", yet are increasingly at the mercy of the tyrannical secular/fascist state.)
...Israel and those nations that directly interact with her in those last days.
In the world described in apocryphal passages, the "prince of the powers of the air" is active in the end times. In today's world of instant global mass communications, every nation directly interacts with every other.
Amerika huh?
See post 31.
It's interesting to me that modern prophecy seems to be an American Evangelical/Fundamentalist thing...
Some people point to the beasts in Daniel 7 and liken the leopard to the U.S...The reason being the leopard is made up of black spots, a white belly, and brown hair on it's back...Far fetched??? Maybe...
There are a lot of things in the scripture that 'could' point to the U.S.
“Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 1 Corinthians 6:3
Jesus was NOT teaching that we should not judge but that we should make sure that our judgments were righteous and not motivated by self interests. So please don’t use this tired old saw to try and shut people down as it is very clearly unscriptural and often used as a tool by those on the wide road to destruction to stop up the mouths of them warnings them of where they are headed.
“Amerika huh?”
Yep look around, we are now far more socialist a society than even Russia is today.
Than why have SDA’s been correct on where America is going?
I agree with what you said. The problem is tht it is important to not fall into the trap liberals so enjoy - judging people as a group by the acts of a few. For me, each man stands on his own. Now, if he belongs to an OFFICIAL group with a spelled out belief system, say that of Islam, that is different. But evangelicals come in all flavors, as do most Christians.
I disagree with many of my evangelical brothers on the rapture as well as the eternal fate of non-believers, but I call myself an evangelical because I’m a firm believer in enacting the great commission on a daily basis.
Thank you, I did note it. It changes nothing.
What is an SDA?
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