Of Beasts, Birds, and Fish
By Ronald Graham
Does God judge rebellious nations? If so then the questions that must follow are how does He judge and how long will He put off that judgment? Well first of all it’s obvious that God judges nations when they turn their backs on Him. Certainly Israel comes to mind as they passed through numerous periods when they blatantly walked away from God. Although God’s judgments vary from removing his blessings to giving a nation over to a particular sin, we can be assured God’s judgments are always just.
Can you think of a nation more deserving of God’s judgment today than that of the US of A? God has blessed America greatly, so much so that she has prospered to an extent that there has been a worldwide immigration to her shores. But the perception in the eyes of many of our neighbors today is that America has lost her greatness (her blessings).
A question that gets asked so many times nowadays is “Where is America in Bible prophecy”? Just about every prophecy buff has a different answer. My answer to this question is one which many will not like and will probably want to argue about. My answer is that America is not in Bible prophecy because she will have become a subservient subculture with absolutely no influence on the rest of the nations, or she will be completely destroyed by her enemies. Even though America is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, the word of God has many scenarios which might fit the future concerning America. Let’s take a look at just one of the prophetic books of the Bible, Hosea, for what I consider a clear view of America’s last days.
The book of Hosea focuses on the destruction of Israel’s Northern Kingdom, and for ten chapters Hosea pounds away at Israel because of their complacency with corruption, but the parallels between Israel and America are stunning. I thought about the recent occurrences of birds and fish dying and immediately Hosea chapter 4 came to mind.
“By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.” Hosea 4:3. God says He’ll take away the food from Israel because of their lying, killing, stealing, and adultery. Hmm.
Recent reports about all those birds falling from the sky, the tons of fish washing up on banks of rivers, and a slew of crabs having become beached – all dead – are strange occurrences indeed. Many similar oddities have occurred within a relatively short period of time worldwide. Who knows where it will all lead or if it will ever end? Hosea sure seems to have the answer to all these weird things and none of it is looking good for the nations that have turned their backs on God. Certainly, America is no exception.
Hosea was a prophet of God and was commissioned by God to send a message to the Northern Kingdom which was referred to as Israel. The message was one of doom and gloom – the reason for this message was that Israel’s populous had turned their collective backs on God. Hosea isn’t warning Israel about the possibility of impending doom, he was telling them they pushed God too far, calamity was on the way. They (Israel) would soon be destroyed. Hosea spends almost the entire book telling Israel where they went wrong. Interestingly, the book of Hosea is prophetic and we can plainly see many striking similarities to America as we head into these final days on planet earth.
When we compare the extreme sinfulness of Israel that Hosea lays out for them with that of America today the resemblance is uncanny. God sent a foreign nation – Assyria, a devout enemy of Israel – to destroy them. I will attempt to show some of the similarities between Israel (not to be confused with the Southern Kingdom known as Judah) which was totally destroyed, and the good old US of A. But before I venture any further I’d like to remind the reader of Dr. Luke’s admonition as he makes it abundantly clear that just taking a Bible teachers word for something scriptural is not wise. For your consideration, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11. Do your own studying – come to your own conclusions.
For Israel, in those days it was the best of times, they prospered greatly. But for their God, who was looking at Israel from a different perspective, it was the worst of times. As a matter of fact, as far as God was concerned, the clock had run out on Israel. God sent His message via Hosea which lays down an indictment against the Northern Kingdom of Israel – they were about to be destroyed by their staunch enemy, Assyria. Why? They had so completely defiled themselves with worshipping idols and committing adulteries that they no longer even remembered the God that delivered them out of Egypt. They had become the epitome of everything God abhors.
Fast forward approximately 2700 years and we see America has now become just as defiled as Israel. Israel had been established in the north for some two hundred years when God called in their marker, America has been around for a little over two hundred years and it seems we are now in the same boat as Israel. America today, just as Israel then, has become the epitome of everything God abhors.
For some years now America has been the primary worldwide exporter of all forms of evil. Judgment has come. No need to wonder any longer if God will judge America – God is judging America. God’s justice must come – blessings will still be seen because God sends the rain on the just and the unjust equally. But God’s curse will become more and more evident to Americans as well as other nations of the world who follow suit after America.
When America experiences prosperity she inevitably attributes that prosperity to good luck, not to God’s blessings. “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God…” Hosea 9:1. America has also gone a whoring from her God, thus, rejoice not America. “The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.” Hosea 9:2. Watch out America, famine will soon be upon you. You think not? You haven’t been reading the crop reports here in America as well as all around the world have you? Perhaps you’ve forgotten about all the bees that have disappeared over the last few years. Once something becomes old news it also becomes unimportant. People expect God to judge America as He did Sodom and Gomorrah – instantaneously. Perhaps the current judgment is occurring in these stages for a reason. Could it be that God sees a period of time in which repentance may be forthcoming? Don’t bet the ranch on it.
Americans consume untold amounts of unclean food – defiled food – and what nation has more unbridled sin? What do Americans consume these days as food that hasn’t been genetically tampered with, filled with hormones, and other synthetic substances? American’s have been eating food defiled by the very people who produce it as well as our very own government for many years and it is taking its toll. How long ago did this judgment begin? Could the year 1962, the year America through a judicial decree removed prayer and Bible reading from the public school system, be the catalysts?
America has become a nation that refuses to worship the Lord. This will soon lead to a denial of its privileges concerning worship. Keep watching America; you think Washington is your friend? New and encompassing restrictions on worship are on the way; even Christianity’s most celebrated days will be taken away.
Hostility – intense animosity – holding a grudge – these are attitudes attributed to the ungodly because they disregard, disobey, and even despise their Creator God, Jesus the Christ, and even more so when He chastens and judges them. The world hates Him and all who follow Him. The true Christian will soon be the focus of all forms of hostility in America which was at one time founded on Christian morals and precepts. You disagree? Time will tell.
God sets up watchmen to oversee His flock, and these men are given the responsibility to guide, protect, and instruct His children. Could another of God’s judgments be that He allows His watchmen to become ensnared by the corruptness of an ungrateful and disrespectful nation? His watchmen then move into a realm of teaching “another gospel” – where they too no longer recognize their God. They become accursed, thus God’s judgments spread.
“There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.” Proverbs 30:11-14. There is no lower morality for any civilization than when they arrive at this point. This is the point that Sodom and Gomorrah sunk to just before God destroyed them. America is there now. Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities round about? For condoning sin. These two cities as well as those surrounding them condoned the blatant sinful practice of homosexuality, and where is America today in this regard? Condoning same sex marriages is just a simple vote away in the halls of Congress. “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:21.
The worship of Baal is in full force in America today. When the knowledge of the true and Living God is refused, false gods will inevitably fill the vacuum, and when the worship of those false gods becomes evident in a person’s life that person will become just like the god they worship. False gods are heartless, brainless, and completely useless. Those who worship these false gods will take on the same characteristics of heartlessness, brainlessness, and uselessness. If you worship the world’s materialistic ways you will become materialistic. The world is harsh and unforgiving; if you worship the world you too will become harsh and unforgiving just like the world.
The collapse of everything, from our economy to our many freedoms, everything that the greatness of America once stood for, are all up in smoke because of her idolatry. People in America live under a false prosperity. Our economy is held together by how much money we can convince other nations to loan us. Individually, we run up incredible debt on credit cards and mortgages with a due date somewhere off in the future, and completely out of sight. The borrower is a slave to the lender. “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7. America is a nation made up of slaves. Just a few short years ago, in the minds of most Americans, it was the best of times. God is calling in America’s marker.
“By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.” Hosea 4:3.
America has now become the exact copy of Israel’s 734 BC populous. Israel – the Northern Kingdom, was utterly wiped out by their enemy. We too have enemies who would thoroughly enjoy witnessing our complete demise. Americans, as a whole, no longer place much trust or faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but in prosperity and our military might. To God, our self-sufficient attitude has become an offense.
Will it be slavery stemming from our national debt or will America be wiped out because of the way our leaders appease our enemies? Either of those two scenarios won’t be very pretty. Perhaps the Rapture of Christ’s Church will occur prior to any such scenario. Of course there could always be a national repentance that takes place. Let’s pray for repentance first “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 – and then the Rapture – in that sequence.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
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All scripture is from the KJV and God breathed