People try to cram America into the narrative of the Last Days. One of the attempts utilizes Revelation 12:13-14, where the Bible states that "When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach."
The "old saw" goes that the "great eagle" is America. Therefore, America is the refuge of the church ("the woman") during whatever timeframe is underway in John's apocalyptic vision.
The enclosing thought is built from a number of assertions:
- - Israel became a nation in 1948, therefore we must be in the last generation—or—the "End Times" or "Last Days".
- - Therefore, America as a (or the) global superpower must show up in any prophetic text having to do with the "Last Days"
- - Therefore, America must be the eagle by which the woman ("church") flees from the serpent.
- - Therefore, because America is a safe haven, all the "bad stuff" of the Tribulation ("Jacob's trouble") is happening elsewhere—Christians in America will be safe, comfortable, happy, warm, fed, and playing bingo on Wednesday evenings in their local church buildings, while the world burns.
What are the facts that we cannot ignore?
- - America isn't the only nation to use the Eagle as their national emblem in all of history.
- - The symbols, metaphors, and other literary mechanisms of Revelation have a first century audience, not a 21st century.
- - Seeing every eagle in Revelation (or any scripture) as somehow being "America" in the text is simple imposition of what someone wants to see because they expect to see it and so they are on a phishing expedition to see what they want to see.
One might argue that such shenanigans are tolerable because these messages are being used to draw people to Christ. While this may be initially true, it is based on flawed reasoning. It leads to the question of what happens when those people finally awake, both intellectually and naturally, to the lie? Moreover, what occurs when predictions are made, promises are proposed, but none come to fruition?
The initial gain is then left in ruins, resulting in a profound loss of the souls impacted by the manipulation and falsehoods. It can, therefore, be concluded that any gains, however considerable, attained through deceit, inevitably result in a far greater loss in the long run.
The better approach to the entire matter is to embrace brutal and sober honesty. We must refrain from constructing deceptive narratives in our heads, without relying on out-of-context, misinterpreted scripture for support. Honesty should be our guiding principle, not a facade we discard.
If "honesty is the best policy," why then should it be unceremoniously removed, as if it's an outer garment handed to the coat-check girl before we enter the Last Days party? Such a critical component of our character should always be at the forefront of our interactions.
The concluding point is this: America does not need to be embedded in the narrative of the Last Days. This concept first emerged in America during the 1950s and escalated dramatically in the 1990s due to the publication of the "Left Behind" book series. In those times, nations such as America and Russia seemed the most likely candidates to feature in the Last Days narrative. Remarkably, China was off everyone's radar; this misjudgment raises questions about the accuracy of past views of prophecy — it appears that the misinformation began long ago. Now — fast forward to 2023, China now occupies the position Russia once held as we witness Russia descending into turmoil on the Ukrainian battleground.
Upon stepping back and analyzing the facts and figures embedded within the prophecy of Revelation, along with associated 'End Times' scripture puzzle pieces, we are drawn once more to the narrative that circles around John's 'known world' in the Middle East. Nations and geographical areas such as India, China, Australia, South America, Canada, the United States, and even Europe are notably absent from the narrative. Also—forget that "Gog" and "Magog" nonsense as well—more twisting by untrained (idiotic) minds.
This perspective is intensified when one considers the lessons gleaned from World War I, World War II, and other significant global events. We've been conditioned to think that if future world dynamics mirror those of the past century, we should anticipate a strong emphasis on global power projections as we understand them now within the 'Last Days' narrative. Wouldn't we expect that to be the case? Yet — such material is simply not there!
Given the prevalent worldview and thought processes of the 21st century, specifically in 2023, such notions may seem to come across as fairly straightforward and logical. One might allow themselves to consider introducing nuclear weapons into the mix for potentially curbing End Times participation from specific countries on a global level.
Moreover, in our era now being referred to as an age of global pandemics, it could be tempting to further mix all of these elements to validate what may seem like rational assertions, foisting them on a "Last Days" narrative. Moreover, the focusing on why diseases and disasters are currently widespread on our planet suggests there might be angelic entities including mankind's machinations in this global scenario.
Yet surprisingly, there's hardly any reconsideration of alternative possibilities, especially those that are fully supernatural and not somehow inclusive of human "stuff". By fully-supernatural, I am including the belief in higher (multidimensional), divine (interdimensional) forces of beings who are orchestrating events as they always have, beyond the reach and influence of petty human participation. Classic examples of such occurrences include events like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Let us also include the sphere of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for a minute—something that none of us from the 1980s and 90s could have predicted or envisioned. Our understanding of computer technologies during those decades was not expansive enough to comprehend platforms that many of us utilize on a daily basis in our present era. Softwares such as Bing and ChatGPT-4 were simply beyond our realm of imagination then.
We could not foresee the advent of technological marvels like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). However, today, these groundbreaking innovations are rapidly transforming into every-day phenomena. And we are tempted to see tham as evolving into Beasts and Prophets of the digital era, and even figures reminiscent of the antichrist, crafted masterfully from silicon and powered by the prowess of quantum computers.
At this point, allow me to exclaim: TWADDLE! All of it!
Why this sudden outburst? It's because there is a particular aspect that scripture concurs with and prolifically discusses. It aligns with God's deeds of the past—an act that He alone initiates. It is executed in such a manner that men on earth glorify Him alone. This divine intervention, untouched and unaffected by man-made mechanisms, is globally acknowledged without contention. It certainly was in the Days of Noah and until the third and forth centuries of our common era (CE).
Jesus said these words:
Matthew 24:37-39: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
Luke 17:26-27: "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all."
One thing is for sure: Whatever Jesus says is coming will embody two very distinct qualities. First, no one will see it coming. Second, it will be utterly supernatural, beyond the capacities of mere human beings.
The question that lingers is, what impending phenomenon could fill these larger-than-life shoes? Shoes that are seemingly excessively large for the relatively small feet of human beings?
This, undoubtedly, is the core of the query, isn't it?
Let's imagine a situation. We eliminate every nuclear weapon and every man-made disease. Further, consider that the focal point of scriptures, such as in Revelation, is confined to the Middle East, excluding the rest of the world. Then, the subsequent inquiry that arises is, what eventual fully supernatural occurrence could instigate all the events described in the book of Revelation and other related scripture passages?
That's indeed the right question to ponder!
(see Part 2, next for possible answers)