Page 72 - Heavenly Signs III by Mel Gable

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and finer than they were before. our landlord shall not turn us out of doors, though we pay him no rent, but we will keep in
possession. If the houses that were built of bricks be demolished in the war, we will rebuild them with hewn stones that shall not so
easily be thrown down. If the enemy cut down the sycamores, we will plant cedars in the room of them. we will make a hand of God’s
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judgments, gain by them, and so outbrave them.”

Apparently, the nation of Israel felt that they would experience only a temporary setback because just “the bricks
have fallen.” It was with their proud confidence they thought they could rebuild. In fact they felt they would be
able to make their nation better then ever. But this was not the case for them. They were going to be seized by
the Rezin’s foes. Rezin was the king of Aram which is stated in Isaiah 7:1. The foes from the east were Aramenas
and from the west were the Philistines. This was God’s doing. Nevertheless, this judgment did not appease
God’s Wrath because his people continue to refuse to deal with their sin. So, God would continue to chasten
them. Will there be continuing chastening of the United States. This nation continues not to recognize that this is
God’s Judgment of the United States. We need to look to the heavens to see that after 9/11 God’s Wrath on this
nation. When the financial markets opened after 9/11, the stock market lost 1.4 trillion dollars of wealth in one
week of trading. Again, in 2008 the financial crisis and collapse happened in this land. This is where the bank
system was about to collapse under its bad debts. Even after several warnings, this nation didn’t see that this was
from God. They continued in their pride and Constitutional Rights. They don’t understand God’s authority over
this world. But, in America it is believed to be the rights of individuals to be defiant towards God. This is
thought to be logical conclusion of “equal protection” under the Constitutional Amendments. Let us take a look at
Holman Concise Bible Commentary on the subject of Israel enacting unjust laws by corrupt leaders.

“The nation’s corrupt leaders continued to enact unjust laws, depriving the poor of their rights. For such a nation divine judgment was
inevitable. The punitive measures taken by God in the past would culminate in a “day of reckoning,” characterized by exile and
slaughter. The words “Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised,” which appear as a refrain in this
judgment speech, picture the relentless approach of this day.”
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Has the United States enacted unjust laws? Yes, it has enacted laws which are considered an abomination in the
sight of the Almighty God. It has done so over the past 50 years. It all began in 1963 with taking prayer and Bible
reading out of the schools. It later continued in 1973 to legalize abortion and the killing of unborn babies. Next,
it will legalize gay marriage, which is also seen as an abomination by God. But, this is seen as part of the gay
rights movement in this country. It is declared as our right to pursue happiness under the Constitution of the
United States. In 2012, a number of states legalized gay marriages. Will it come to the Supreme Court legalizing
the rights of gays to marry? But, we claim this right as part of our freedom. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 it says “The
conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For, God will
bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” This will ultimately bring greater judgment
to this nation. For, we know by example that God destroyed Sodom for its immoral sexual behavior.

Who are our enemies? The world uses the term of terrorists. However, when we see the true meaning of terrorist
it is the Islamic nations which are very willing to wipe-off the face of the earth the United States of America. Yes,
we have a definite identifiable enemy. They are in the process of developing nuclear weapons for deployment. Is
it possible for God to annihilate our enemies? Yes, if we can turn away from our evil ways. An example is the
Assyrians who were an instrument in God’s Judgment. In chapter 10 of Isaiah, the prophet shifts his perspective
to include the Assyrians. God raised up the Assyrians as His instrument of judgment against Israel and Judah.
The Assyrians arrogantly attributed their military success to their own strength. They claimed sovereignty over
God’s chosen city, Jerusalem. In anger, God announced that He would annihilate Assyria in a “day of punishment.”
The prophecy was fulfilled in 701 BC when the Lord decimated Sennacherib’s armies in Jerusalem.

114 Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Is 9:8–21). Peabody:
Hendrickson.

115 Chisholm, R. B. (1998). The Major Prophets. In D. S. Dockery (Ed.), Holman concise Bible commentary (D. S. Dockery, Ed.) (270).
Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.