The United States and Britain in Prophecy
By
Herbert W. Armstrong
Chapter 13
“And Now What? The Prophecies for the Immediate Future”
The birthright, once we received it, was stupendous,
awesome—unequalled among nations or empires! But what have our peoples done with that awesome blessing?
They were still
Israelites, even though they themselves knew it not! They were still rebellious, “stiff-necked,” stubborn!
Once the British peoples and the Americans—the “lost” Israelites now supposing they are Gentiles—found themselves basking in the pleasant sunshine of such wealth and power, they were less willing than their ancient forefathers to yield to their
God and
His ways. They felt no need of Him, now! It seems few ever turn to God until they find themselves in desperate need or trouble.
But after God had withheld the birthright 2,520 years, and then, when our peoples deserved
nothing from God, He
suddenly bestowed on us national blessings unparalleled in history—the unconditional promise to Abraham was kept!
No longer is God obligated by His promise to
continue our undeserving peoples in world prestige, wealth and greatness. Once we had been
given such unrivaled position, it was up to us whether we should keep it.
So now back to Leviticus 26. We had previously covered verses 1 through 18. God said that
if, for all these previous punishments, the Israelites would not listen to and obey Him, He would punish them the duration of 2,520 years. Then what?
If, after that 2,520 years of
withholding the birthright, our people—
with the birthright—still rebel, God continues,
verse 19: “And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass.” God has already begun that!
We Had Pride in Our Power!
God could not speak about breaking the pride of our national
power until after that birthright power had been bestowed! He put our nations in the position of possessing the greatest national power any nation or empire ever possessed. We had great
pride in that national power—in our national prestige.
I remember hearing President Theodore Roosevelt tell of
his pride in that power—and how he used it when he was president. The Germans were sending a battleship steaming toward Manila Bay, threatening to take over the Philippines. The Philippines were then a United States possession. President Roosevelt sent the kaiser a terse note demanding that the German warship be immediately withdrawn.
“The kaiser didn’t know, then, that
I meant it!” snapped Mr. Roosevelt. “So I sent another note. Only, I didn’t send this second note to the kaiser. I sent it to Admiral Dewey, in command of the United States Pacific fleet. It ordered the entire fleet to steam full speed toward the German battleship, and if it did not turn around and go back, to
sink it!” said Mr. Roosevelt with emphatic
force! In those days, before World War
i, we had
pride in our national power!
… But We Lost It!
Today even little nations dare to insult, trample on, or burn the United States flag—and the United States, still having power, does no more than issue a weak protest! What’s
happened to the
pride of our power?
We have already
lost it! God said, “I will break the pride of your power!” And
He did!
Other prophecies reveal we are to have soon such drought and famine that disease epidemics will follow, taking millions of lives. When our heaven is as iron, our earth as brass, we will realize rain does not come down from iron, and an earth hard as brass is not getting rain, not yielding food!
Verse 20: “And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.”
But will America and Britain
heed? They never have!
Then what? After all that,
then what?
Verse 21: “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring
seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.”
There again, as in verse 18, is that Hebrew word
shibah. Actually, in the Hebrew in which Moses wrote, there are not the two Hebrew words, one meaning “seven” and the other “times.” There is just the one word,
shibah.
As explained previously, the word is defined as “seven times,” and also as “sevenfold.” The “seven times” conveys
duration of punishment. The “sevenfold” meaning of the same word conveys
intensity of punishment.
Now More Intense Punishment
Because of its use and construction in the sentence, and because of what actually happened, it is certain that in verse 18 this Hebrew word
shibah refers to
duration of punishment—seven prophetic times, which, during this punishment, was an actual 2,520
years!
But also, because of the very
different sentence structure and because there cannot now be
another 2,520-year
withholding of what has now been bestowed, it is just as certain that the
shibah in verse 21 refers to a sevenfold
intensity of punishment. Notice, the wording in verse 21 is entirely different from verse 18. This time it is not worded “seven times more for your sins,” but “seven times more
plagues.” The expression “seven times” in verse 21 is descriptive of
plagues to be brought on them.
So now, if 20th-century Ephraim and Manasseh—Britain and America—refuse to turn to God in obedience—refuse to live the way that
causes, retains, and increases blessings, God will punish them in a manner far more
intense—and even strip entirely from them this colossal, unprecedented national blessing—returning them to captivity and slavery—as continuing verses of this prophecy show.
Do you think so great a fall could not come to so great powers as Britain and America? Do you say, “It
can’t happen
here?” Do you think the
great God who was able to
give them such unprecedented world leadership and power and wealth is not able to take it away from them and throw them, like their ancient forefathers, back into
slavery?
You need to
open your eyes to the
fact that Britain’s sun
already has set! You need to
wake up to the
fact that the United States, even still possessing unmatched
power, is
afraid—fears—to
use it, just as God said: “I will break the
pride of your
power”; that the United States has
stopped winning wars—that America was
unable, with all its vast power, to conquer little North Vietnam! The United States is fast riding to the
greatest fall that ever befell any nation!
The handwriting is on the wall!
You need, now, to
understand the
remainder of this prophecy of Leviticus 26—and also of Deuteronomy 28—and the many other prophecies relating to them and events soon to
violently affect
your life!
You need to look at the prophecies of Jesus, of Jeremiah, of Isaiah, and others describing how much more intense is to be the punishment God is going to lay on the British and American people.
For
many prophecies warn us of a
certainty that it will be trouble such as
never happened to any nation or people!
Knowing our identity—knowing
how the British and American peoples are identified in the prophecies—you need now to become
aware of what is said about us in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Hosea, Amos, and the other prophecies—
what Jesus foretold—as well as in these prophecies written by Moses!
And you need, also, to know why a just and loving God is going to punish His chosen people—people He
chose for a glorious
purpose they have refused to perform.
The very
fact of punishment implies
correction. We need to understand that correction is applied to correct
wrong ways harmful to
us—to turn us around into
right ways that will
cause desired blessings! Understand! God
punishes every son He
loves (Hebrews 12:6).
Understand also human nature! Human nature wants to
be good—to consider itself and
be considered
good, while it wants only to
do evil. It wants the good
result. But it wants to receive the
good while it sows the evil. It somehow fails to grasp the truth that
as we sow, so also shall we reap! It’s all a matter of
cause and
effect!
God’s punishment only reflects God’s
love—turning us from
causing evil results to the way that brings
happy results! God is now about to
stop us from bringing colossal evils on ourselves! God is not angry because we are harming
Him—but because we are harming
ourselves—whom God
loves!
Punishment Is Correction
The prophecies do not stop with revealing the unprecedented multiplied
intensity of punishment already beginning to descend upon America and Britain. The prophecies record also the
result of that intensified punishment. The
result will be a corrected people. The result will be an eye-opening realization of what we have done to ourselves. The supreme punishment will teach us, at last, our lesson! The punishment will
break our spirit of
rebellion! It will lift us up from the cesspool of rottenness and evil into which we have sunk. It will teach us the way to glorious peace, prosperity, abundant well-being!
On beyond the frightful national calamities now descending upon us will come a
blessing inconceivably greater than the national material birthright we have possessed.
We have to learn that material goods are not the
source of happiness. I have often mentioned the many rich men I have known—men whose bank balances were full—but their lives were empty! Material prosperity is indeed desirable—but it is not the source of happiness.
After all, real happiness is a
spiritual commodity! The birthright was only one of
two major promises God made to Abraham. The scepter promise involved not only a dynasty of human kings. It need not have included them at all—had the Israelites retained and been obedient to
God as their King. The scepter pointed primarily to
Christ and spiritual salvation through Him.
Our peoples have basic lessons yet to learn. The
true values are spiritual. Actually, God’s law is a spiritual law. It involves physical acts—but it is based on
spiritual principles. And it requires God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in the mind to fulfill!
Punishment implies
correction. Correction means a change of course. It means
repentance—and repentance means
turning around and going the
other way!
Now, before I give you these sensational prophecies, understand
why national punishment must come, and
who needs the correction!
Only those who are sowing
evil need it—who are transgressing God’s right
ways—God’s law! Those, and only those, who are bringing on themselves the evils that result from transgression.
And
understand this: Although the
nations as a whole are to be put through this unprecedented punishment, yet those
individuals who yield to accept God’s correction
without the punishment shall be protected from it! No one need suffer this intense tribulation!
Sevenfold More Plagues
Now notice again what is laid down in Leviticus 26.
After the national birthright had been withheld 2,520 years and
then bestowed;
after God
gave our peoples that national
power, and has now, because of our national rebellion against His laws,
broken the pride of our power;
after He shall have punished us with unprecedented
drought and epidemics of disease in its wake, then
if the British and Americans still continue in their evil ways—still refuse to repent and turn to their God—He warns: “… I will bring seven times more
plagues upon you according to your sins.” Read that in the Revised Standard Version: “… I will bring more plagues upon you, sevenfold as many as your sins” (verse 21).
What people do not seem to realize is that
sin does bring upon the sinner the
consequences of sin—the plagues of suffering. The Bible defines sin as the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), and the law of God is a
spiritual law (Romans 7:14).
Let’s understand this! I have said that
money is not the source of happiness. Money can buy only material things or services. But there must be the
spiritual content, as well as the physical, to happiness. Material things
alone do not provide satisfying happiness. God’s law is a
spiritual law. In other words, it is
the way to peace, happiness, abundant well-being. Going that way is what God supplied to
cause real happiness.
Conversely, then, can we not see that transgressing that way is to cause
unhappiness, pain and suffering, emptiness, heartaches, fears and worries, frustrations? All these
evils are
caused by transgressing God’s law. The sinner is really
plagued with these evils he brings on himself.
Now study again that 21st verse of Leviticus 26. Punishment
is correction. To
teach us the lesson we have failed to learn by experience, God is going to plague our peoples
sevenfold more than our sins already
have plagued us—sevenfold
more punishment than we have brought on ourselves!
Or, as the Authorized Version says, “seven times more plagues upon you
according to your sins.
” Sevenfold
intensity of punishment—
of correction!
Slavery Once Again
Notice now verses 23-25 (
rsv): “And if by this discipline you are not turned to me, but walk contrary to me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will smite you sevenfold for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you … and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.”
Slavery once again!
Get the real meaning of this! Our
sins have brought punishment. This punishment we have brought on ourselves. If we still refuse to learn the lesson, and be corrected for our own good, God says, “I myself will smite you sevenfold.” We have brought the consequences of
sin on ourselves—now God will Himself bring on us sevenfold more intense punishment—punishment that is
correction!
Now read on to verses 27-33 (RSV): “And if in spite of this you will not hearken to me, but walk contrary to me, then I will walk contrary to you
in fury [the seven last plagues—Revelation 15:1], and chastise you
myself sevenfold for your sins. … And I will
lay your cities waste …. And I will scatter you among the nations ….”
God is going to keep multiplying chastening—correction—upon our peoples
until they
do turn from their evil ways—until they turn
to the ways that
cause peace, happiness, prosperity, all the
good things!
How
unthinkable!—that our Maker shall have to
force our peoples to be happy, to have peace, to be able to
enjoy prosperity, to yield, to accept—our own choice—
eternal life in abundant well-being and
joy for all eternity!
How
unbelievable!—that human nature,
desiring these blessings, has insisted stubbornly in going the way that cuts them off and
causes punishment—
correction—and then refuses to
be corrected until it is
multiplied in
intensity sevenfold! Yes, sevenfold—three successive times!
How
great is our God—and
what love for our peoples He expresses, in patiently tolerating and correcting us
until we accept His boundless
blessings!
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