Does God have a prophetic word for America today? In the aftermath of the war in Iraq, the United States is leading the effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This plan is known as the "Road Map". This puts America in the position of mandating a division of the land of Israel and establishing a Moslem state in the heart of the land. We believe that God has a word for America today.

OFFICE OF PROPHET

Throughout Biblical history God has always established a vessel in the midst of His people that would bring forth His voice or Word. At Mt. Sinai Moses functioned in this capacity. Due to his unbelief, God appointed his brother Aaron to function as priest. Following Moses were a series of judges who were used by God to bring deliverance to Israel and afterward they governed God's people. These judges served as the vessel of God's Word. Samuel is an example of such a judge. The people of Israel demanded a king, and alongside the king, God chose a prophet to speak His Word. So the office originally filled by Moses was divided into prophet, priest and king.
Eventually Israel was dispersed and the king was deposed. Later, the altar was torn down and the priest ceased his function. During the days of Zechariah the office of prophet was closed. From a New Testament perspective, we believe that all of these functions began to be fulfilled in Messiah Jesus. We see him as prophet, priest and king. We understand these functions operate in Israel and the Church. Also, we believe that Jesus is the prophet to the nations.

Some Christian ministers maintain that they have been called as a prophet to a given city, regional area or even to the nation. We maintain that this is inconsistent with the Scriptures. The gift and office of prophet in the New Testament is designed to function in the local church. Ministers called to function as prophets do so for the purpose of building up the local church in order for it to function in its fullest capacity (Ephesians 4:11-16). Prophecy is also a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10) used for the purpose of exhortation, edification, and consolation of the local body of believers (1 Corinthians 14:3). The most basic function of the body of believers (the local church) is to facilitate the manifestation of its head (Jesus the Messiah). Every local church has this capacity for the manifestation of its head. Therefore, the prophet to Israel and to any nation should be heard through the church. If an individual minister begins to assert that he is a "prophet to the nation", he effectively is usurping the position of Jesus.

JESUS' WORD TO AMERICA

Does Jesus have a word for America? Of course, He could express a "Living Word" through any local church at His pleasure. In addition to this, we have the record of the "Living Word" throughout history (the Bible). As we consider this we find many prophecies that speak to the present situation in America. Some examples include: (a) Isaiah 14:24-27 — here God declares that He has a plan to break the yoke of Assyria (the lone superpower of the eighth century BC) on the mountains of Israel. This is His plan for the whole earth. (b) Jeremiah 25:31 — here God declares that He has a controversy with the nations and that He is entering into judgment with all flesh. Finally, through the prophet Joel (Joel 3:2), God declared that He would gather all the nations down into the valley of Jehoshaphat because they had scattered His people and had divided up His land. David declared that God had assured the inheritance of the land of Israel to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to a 1,000 generations. He warned the nations not to "touch My anointed" (1 Chronicles 16.22).
We conclude that the Prophet to America (Messiah Jesus) does indeed have a Word for America which includes: (a) Don't touch my anointed, and (b) Don't divide My land. If the U.S. attempts to deal with Israel as it deals with other nations (i.e., like Iraq in the recent struggle) it will certainly bring the quick judgment of God.

The Tzemach Institute and Fellowship Church will sponsor a special conference later this summer to bring forth this prophetic word [See the information on the front page of this issue.]. Please consider participating and being a part in this crucial effort to avert immense difficulty for Israel and grave judgment on the United States. Pray for Mr. Bush that he be strengthened to resist the pressure to appease the Moslem nations by attempting to divide Israel. If Mr. Bush's heart is truly humble before the Lord, he needs your voice to strengthen him in opposing globalist parties committed to the Moslem nations. If Mr. Bush is truly behind this unbiblical scheme to divide the land of Israel, he needs to hear your voice in order that he begin to "fear God" and repent from this proposed plan. As believers, we are responsible to faithfully bring forth this "Prophetic Word to America". [ Published: 06 May 2003 ] http://tzemach.org/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi

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Written by: Ken Garrison, B.S., M.S.,Th.M. Ken is the Pastor of Fellowship Church located in Casselberry, Florida. His background training is in physics and nuclear engineering. Ken was ordained as a deacon of First Baptist Church, Gaithersburg, Maryland. He was called to the ministry of Pastor-teacher in 1972, ordained as a Pastor at Friendship Baptist Church of Altamonte Springs, Florida in 1976, and installed as Pastor of Fellowship Church when it constituted in 1977. Ken developed the Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies and is the author of several books, including God"s Final Call? and Hebraic Roots.