“given to pleasures.” Isaiah 47:8
“great abundance of thine enchantments.” Isaiah 47:9
“her horses…her chariots, her treasures…” Jeremiah 50:37
“abundant in treasure.” Jeremiah 51:13
“the measure of thy covetousness.” Jeremiah 51:13
for thou shalt no more be called THE LADY OF KINGDOMS Isaiah 47:5
mother named “tarshish” (England) Ezekiel 38/39
Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Jeremiah 50:12
“abundance of her delicacies.” Revelation 18:3
“and lived deliciously.” Revelation 18:7
“all things which were dainty and goodly…” Revelation 18:14
“clothed in fine linen, and purple and scarlet.” Revelation 18:16
“by reason of her costliness.” Revelation 18:19
kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her Revelation 17:6
And the kings of the earth have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her Revelation 18:9-11
Nations receiving great blessings from God also bear great responsibilities. They owe thanksgiving and submission to the God who has so blessed them. We live in a “fallen” world and God knows human beings have sinful nature. He knows we are not capable of perfection. However, when the British Empire and the USA had respect for the Creator God and his Bible, these nations were blessed with growing strength, international power, victory in their wars, and prosperity.
The USA and the British nations…the” “nation and company of nations” who received the best blessings, have squandered their “birthright” blessings and have increasingly mocked and ignored God and all his laws. Instead of proclaiming God and biblical values to the world as they used to, these nations now spread nihilistic Darwinism and a culture which increasingly rejects God’s Ten Commandments and biblical laws.
The USA has booted God out of its schools and universities, and ignored all his moral and economic laws. What is the USA reaping as a result of these actions? As of this writing in early 2009, the USA has entered a national/economic crisis which could leave it domestically weakened and significantly diminished on the world stage. The British Empire disintegrated after World War II and the American “Empire” is now facing the same thing.
You cannot enjoy God’s blessings and disobey him (Proverbs 14:9, Galatians 6:7). As the Divinely-blessed “nation and company of nations” abandon God and his knowledge, they are losing God’s blessings. It is a predictable “cause and effect” relationship.
Isaiah 1-4 prophesies about a “sinful nation”
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
called “my “people…Israel”” (1:3)
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: butIsrael doth not know, my people doth not consider.
in the “last days” (Isaiah 2:2).
2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Remember the name “Israel” describes the “nation and company of nations” of Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:16-19).
48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
However, this prophecy also is addressed to “Judah” (1:1, 3:1, 3:8), and all the tribes of Israel are referenced in the phrase “O house of Jacob” (2:5). This prophecy is directed at the entire western world.
These chapters foretold that the people of “Israel” (and “Judah”) in the latter days would be increasingly sinful.
The U.S. society features feminism and generational conflict = Isaiah,
3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them.
And an openly “gay rights” movement,
3:9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have REWARDED evil unto themselves.
and an attitude of callous disregard for the needs of the poor
1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Their leadership elites is “lead them astray”
3:12 … O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
and political leaders (“princes”) are “rebellious” and are “companions of thieves” who “love bribes” and “follow after rewards”
1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
***Does this sound like the much-publicized, modern political culture of corruption where lobbyists and the rich buy influence and favor from politicians with lavish campaign contributions, rides on corporate jets, and outright bribes? The prophecy also says these nations will be ***
very materialistic,
2:7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with horses And there is no end to their chariots.
they would seek after eastern concepts and occult guidance (“soothsayers”).
2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
The “daughters” will dress and act like temptresses (Isaiah 3:16-24).
3:16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
21 The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
Does this sound like American celebrity and Hollywood culture? A dearth of capable, strong national leaders is also prophesied (3:2-4).
3:2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counseller, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
God still extends an invitation to our nations to repent and avoid the dire penalties which will result if we continue to ignore.
Isaiah 1:16-18 urges us to “cease to do evil” and to do right by the poor and needy. If our nations heed this warning, God will make us “as white as snow.” If our modern western nations do not repent and turn to God, dire consequences are prophesied to occur.
Isaiah 1:4 states we have “provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger,” and 1:28 warns that “those who forsake the Lord shall be destroyed.” We can either choose to humble ourselves before God or he will punish our nations. God is watching our national and personal choices very carefully. You have been warned.