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The Bible in the News
The Future President of the United States
And His Policies Towards Israel
Friday, June 06, 2008
www.bibleinthenews.com  Audio & Print versions


Hello again: this is Paul Billington with another edition of the Bible in the News--and it is amazing how much the Bible--and especially Bible prophecy--features in the constant flow of news reports that come to us via the numerous media-forms in the modern world.
At the moment, most of the attention is being focussed on the United States Democrat nominee Barack Obama--a possible future President of the United States. But at this point its all political maneuvering and speculation. Yesterday, this Obama fellow told the world that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel; today he says that the Palestinians can have sovereignty in Jerusalem too! This, perhaps, indicates the sort of President he would be -- vacillating one way and then the next in an attempt to catch the popular breeze.

John McCain, his Republican rival is not getting quite the same amount of media coverage at the present moment--but he will, and according to reports (if we are to believe them), the race for the White House will be a close one.

Who will win? Well, the Prophets of Bible times have nothing to say about that as far as I am aware--and consequently I cannot give the answer either. But from what the Prophets do tell us, we can discern the general course that the United States will pursue as the world moves closer to the final chapters of modern history leading towards Armageddon.

If we study the matter carefully, we cannot escape the conclusion that the United States is to be identified as one of the Tarshish "Young Lions" mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13. In another prophecy, that of Isaiah 60:9, certain "Isles" are associated with the maritime Tarshish power. The prophecy reads:

"Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee."

There is reason to believe that these "isles" correspond to the "young lions" of Ezekiel 38. We hear of them yet again in Jeremiah 31:10, where we read:

"Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock."

From these prophecies we learn the following information:
  1. The word of the Lord, teaching the restoration of Israel, is to be declared in nations and "isles afar off."
  2. These "isles" in association with maritime Tarshish, are to be involved in the work of restoring the Jews.
  3. These "isles," called "young lions" of the Tarshish maritime power in Ezekiel 38:13, are to oppose the invasion of Israel by the northern powers outlined in this prophecy.
Now, the word translated "isles" in both Jeremiah 31:10 and Isaiah 60:9 has a fairly broad meaning. Gesenius the well-known Hebrew scholar says that it denotes "maritime land, whether the sea coast of a continent, or an island." The Companion Bible renders it "maritime countries." The overall sense is thus perfectly clear--"isles afar off" (Jeremiah 31:10) refers to remote maritime lands, or lands that are at a great distance across the sea.

The evidence is that Tarshish refers to Britain, and her "young lions," or "isles" to those former colonies which make up the English-speaking world of today.

The "isles" and far off continents (coastlands) that have been associated with Tarshish-Britain include many former colonies such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada--and even the United States of America. All these countries were exposed to the influence of the English Bible during their early colonial times. In the case of the United States--which is our focus and concern here--it is now recognized that the Bible was one of the most important influences in shaping the nation. That is why we find such a strong Christian-Zionist movement among Evangelical sects in the United States today--and no doubt, this support for Israel will continue, and could well be a factor in influencing the situation described in Ezekiel 38:13.

If the pendulum of policy swings away from Israel under a McCain or Obama future Presidency--as it has under the influence of Condoleeza Rice--it will swing back again in time, and "all" the young lions--as well as Tarshish herself--will fulfill the role that God has appointed for it; for it is His counsel that will stand, whatever the schemes of man might design.

You know: the only way to understand the news, is through the lens of the Bible. Join us again next week God willing, when we will talk more about the Bible in the News.  www.bibleinthenews.com



Printed:  Friday, June 06, 2008

 

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