Plucking the Eagle's Wings

America: God's Prophetic Vineyard

the rivers of Ethiopia; That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye" (Isaiah 18:1-3). Some Scholars think that the land beyond Ethiopia referred to in Isaiah is America. The nation in Isaiah's vision was a land "shadowing with wings," or literally a land with buzzing wings that sends ambassadors by the sea. Certainly America, along with many other nations, has sent ambassadors across the oceans. The nation that Isaiah described was "scattered and peeled." The word "scattered" in Hebrew means to stretch or to be tall . The word "peeled" in Hebrew refers to being smooth or bright . Therefore, Isaiah sees a people who are tall and have a bright complexion. North Africans are dark skinned, so this nation must be beyond Africa—"beyond the rivers of Ethiopia." Isaiah continued to explain that this nation is "meted out and trodden down." A literal translation would be mighty and conquering . Other Bible translations read: • "a people dreaded near and far that conquers and treads down" (Berkeley translation) • "a terror far and near; a sturdy race of conquerors" (Moffet translation) • "terrible from the beginning onwards, a nation mighty" (Rotherham translation) Since it is located "beyond Ethiopia" and it is well watered by rivers, it is hard to determine what nation the prophet referred to in his day. Continuing to read, a warning is given to the nation. The warning concludes with:

"In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the

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