Does Amos' 2700-year-old prophecy have a direct bearing on the USA? – Bill Perkins - https://compass.org/luxury-wickedness/ …when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Matt. 24:33 Amos was a humble sheep breeder who lived just south of Bethlehem in the 8th century BC when God called him to prophesy to Israel. The Northern Kingdom had split from the Southern Kingdom, but both had been living for decades in peace and prosperity. Satan used this prosperity to get their eyes off justice, and their hearts were not fully God’s. Most Israelis gave lip service to the worship of Jehovah God as their hearts were far from Him. With no spiritual rudder to guide them, rampant corruption and moral decay waxed worse and worse. From the top leadership down, lying and bribery prevailed over truth and honor. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good. Prov. 15:3 So the Lord sent Amos to tell them to turn from their wicked ways or He would not let them go unpunished any longer. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Is. 5:20 Do wickedness and corruption during prosperous times sound familiar? Yep, we’re where Israel was when Amos began his warnings about God’s impending Wrath. It didn't end well for Israel and it won't end well for the USA, but we appear to fall post-Rapture.(2) But what’s amazing is that in the midst of Amos’ warnings, he makes a remarkable statement regarding the timing of God's wrath. He said God does nothing unless He first reveals it to His prophets to warn people what was coming. Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 This was the prophet’s main job—being a mouthpiece for God. It wasn’t easy being a prophet. Often the prophets were killed when people didn’t like what was being prophesied. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! … Luke 13:34a Zechariah (2Chron. 24:20-21) and John the Baptist (Matt. 14:10) are two examples of prophets being killed. And Jonah was so afraid of delivering God’s message to Nineveh that he would rather have died in the ocean. So Amos was sort of defending himself, basically saying that if you didn’t like what he was prophesying, take it up with God… because He always warns His people before unleashing His wrath. Noah preached for 120 years warning people to repent. But since Amos was warning Israel pre-Cross, what does it matter to us? Is there a Church Age application today? And if so, what is it? In the Church Age the Lord doesn’t talk to us through prophets. We have the Word of God and He warns us not to add anything to scripture or we’re in big trouble. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; Rev. 22:18 In the Church Age God speaks to us via the Holy Spirit Who illuminates His scriptural guidelines, warnings and admonitions as we read and study our Bibles. The more we dive in, the more God reveals Himself to us. So by applying Amos 3:7 to us today, the Lord illuminates scriptural warnings to His people, the Believers, before imposing His wrath. Do we have warnings today? This is what is remarkable about the time in which we live (the time period just before the Rapture). First, He says, unlike unbelievers who will be surprised and caught off guard at the Rapture, we should be expecting it because we have Light. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 1Th. 5:4 Scripture teaches there will be an economy right up to the last minute because it's post-Rapture when the music stops. I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, [via the Rapture] so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Rev. 18:4,5 …in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and morning and famine… Rev. 18:8 …For in one hour your judgment has come. Rev 18:10 That’s quite sudden. One day non-Christians are enjoying their prosperity and then in the twinkle of the eye, things change forever. “The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.” Rev. 18:14 Up until the last second, people are having dinners, parties and concerts. Electricity is working, people are working and social events are taking place like always. Then, without warning for non-Believers, things suddenly change. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery [drugs]. Rev. 18:22-23 This fits like a glove with Matthew 24 and Luke 17. In these passages we see the Rapture causes electricity to cease and the mill to stop.(1) The Holy Spirit's departure causes one person to disappear, but the person sitting next to them is left behind. Right up to the end people are working, eating, drinking, building, buying and selling. Life was normal, nothing out of the ordinary. People certainly weren't starving. And it’s worth mentioning the reference to drugs—apparently the whole earth (all the nations) were tricked into taking drugs. Since this is past tense, it means drugs that were taken before the Rapture. Well, that’s interesting!!! So what we get out of all this is that God says He’ll open our eyes if we’re living close to the Rapture so that moment doesn’t overtake us like a thief. We also can rest in the fact that Believers are not destined for God’s wrath. For God has not destined us for wrath, 1Th. 5:9 But you can’t confuse persecution with wrath. Imagine trying to tell a man and his family living in the first century, who are about to be eaten by lions, not to worry because before God’s wrath comes they’ll be Raptured away. In fact, God says just the opposite: Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2Tim. 3:12 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:2-3 So God's wrath and Satan's persecution are totally different. Just like the guy with his family about to be torn apart limb-by-limb as a Colosseum full of spectators looked on, many Believers all over the earth face persecution daily, some as horrible as being eaten by lions. But overall, and even in persecution, we’re looking up for the rescue, not down at things that seem certain to be coming soon. and to await for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. 1Th. 1:10 So keep your eyes up not down as we move closer to our day of rescue. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Col. 3:2 CQLJ! BP References: 1) https://compass.org/one-second-before-the-rapture/ 2) https://compass.org/article-the-united-states-in-bible-prophecy/