"Good evening, Sally." Bob said as the door opened to him. "I understand that Jim wanted to talk with me."

"Good evening Bob. So he said. Please come in. You'll find him down the hall, second door on the left. Have you eaten? I can whip up something real quick if you haven't."

"No thank you. I ate before I came."

As he walked down the hall, Jim stuck his head out of the door to see who his wife was talking with. Seeing Bob, he smiled and welcomed him into the room. After being seated, Bob asked,

"So what's this all about, Jim?"

"Bob, I have to ask you something about the people here." He paused as if it was difficult to continue. "What do you folks think about Israel?"

"The nation, or the people? And in what way?"

"Both. I'm asking about where you think they fit in Bible prophecy, and the current state of affairs."

"I think The Bible is pretty clear on the subject. They are Gods' chosen people, and it is His chosen land."

Jim looked Bob in the eye. "Why?" Seeing Bobs' expression he continued. "Before I begin to take on the duties of pastor, I think it is a good idea to see if we are all on the same page or not."

"That makes sense. Well, let me start with Jerusalem. I've heard some people claim that, that city and the land of Israel in Old Testament are not the same ones referred to in prophecy. I have a problem with that. First of all is was The Father who said;

1Ki 11:36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

Now I don't believe, and I've found no place in scripture where it says that God has changed His mind about that. Jerusalem is and always has been Gods' city. Another problem with the idea that it wouldn't be the same place, is when it was prophesied;

Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

As you know, every time the term 'in that day' is used, it means the day The Lord returns and sets things right. So even if they are right about Jerusalem not being what scripture says it is, they still have to explain away the Mount of Olives. Unless they want to move every rock and grain of sand to someplace else. Not to mention at the ascension, where the angels said;

Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Now some will grab hold of the 'in like manner' part and say that proves Jesus can return anywhere. But then you are back to where we started, in Zec 14:4 and the Mount of Olives. Lets' face it, Jerusalem is Jerusalem, no matter how much anyone wants to change things.

Now on the matter of who is Israel as far as the people go, scripture covers that pretty well too. It is true that during the trial of Jesus before Pilate the crowd shouted;

Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood [be] on us, and on our children.

To some people this means that the covenant God made with Abraham was broken. They back that up with the words of Jesus, when He said;

Mat 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

However they forget a couple of things. First of all the covenant was made with Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. That means ALL TWELVE TRIBES. The ones that wanted the blood of Jesus were 'Jews'. They descended from the tribe of Judah only. So what happened to the promise made to the other eleven tribes? To say it is broken for all of the tribes because of the actions of one, is to call God a liar. For that matter what happened to the the other tribes? All scripture says is that they were captured and taken away. Everything else is speculation at best.

But even that doesn't really matter. As we know The Bible teaches that God is not a respecter of persons. It also teaches;

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

Since we are sons and heirs through faith in Jesus, and His work on the cross, then genetics are completely out of the question. God doesn't care where we come from, only if we believe in Jesus.

As far as the current state of affairs is concerned, I believe America can be first found in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Gog is described as the Chief Prince on Mesheck and Tubal. Mesheck is Moscow. Gog will team with a number of countries to attack Israel. Those countries are what today we know them as the Islamic World. Then Gog will be turned away from attacking Israel by God and sent north of Mesheck/Moscow to the land of unwalled villages. What is the target if Gog goes north? There's noting north of Russia but snow and ice. Go over the pole, and there is America. Name one walled village in the North American continent. There isn't one that I know of.

I think there can be no doubt that America is what scripture calls 'Mystery Babylon' either. The Book of Revelation gives a good description of it. First we have;

Rev 17:1 ¶ And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

There isn't one thing on that list that America wasn't guilty of. As this says, we are, or were, a rich nation, and we do sit on many waters. Namely, two oceans and countless rivers. But that isn't enough. We also know that scripture says a little later.

Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

Why would sea captains 'stand afar off' and mourn the original Babylon, as I've heard some say? It was landlocked. Given the description of Babylon the Great, and the things it is accused of, it would have to be America.

Some ask 'Why would God judge America?'. The real question is why wouldn't He. God has judged every nation throughout history. What makes us special? Especially given the amount of innocent blood we have poured out through abortion? The perversions we have not only allowed, but in some cases embraced, such as pornography, and drug abuse?"

Bob paused to shake his head. "Not judge us? This used to be a nation that called it's self Christian. By taking that name, we put ourselves into Gods' family. And He says that judgment begins at His house. How could we even think we could escape judgment?

Does that about cover it?"

"I'd say it does." Jim answered. Glad to hear we think the same."


BW, Vietnam Vet