Sunday, February 19, 2012

Isaiah 40:22-24

As we have noted here from time-to-time, you do not need the apocalyptic (lifting of the veil) visions of Revelations to find passages within the bible about the impermanence of earthly kingdoms. 

Isaiah 40: 22-24 (Amplified Bible)

22It is God Who sits above the circle (the horizon) of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; it is He Who stretches out the heavens like [gauze] curtains and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,

23Who brings dignitaries to nothing, Who makes the judges and rulers of the earth as chaos (emptiness, falsity, and futility).

24Yes, these men are scarcely planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely does their stock take root in the earth, when [the Lord] blows upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind or tempest takes them away like stubble.
The chapter goes on to note that those who wait for the Lord shall have their strength and power renewed.
We in the United States were first empowered through the conquest of an enormous land, almost emptied of people by the ravages of disease, gaining preeminence when our major rivals destroyed themselves (often multiple times), and are still the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world.  The Super Bowl halftime prayers of Madonna aside, it is not clear how much more in the way of divine providence we should be expecting.

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