Plucking the Eagle's Wings

America: God's Prophetic Vineyard

Some Old Testament Hebrew prophets were rejected and others were slain by their own people because their rebukes were so strong. Christ warned, "Upon you shall come all the righteous blood from Abel to Zacharias whom ye slew between the Temple and the altar" (Matthew 23; 35). The parable in Matthew 21 reiterates how God sent prophets to the vineyard of Israel and the people of Israel slew the prophets. Jesus announced that God would transfer His vineyard and give it to a nation that would "bring forth fruit in its season." Most scholars believe this nation was the same nation that Moses Hosea, and other prophets foresaw, "a nation and a people who were not' that God would one day raise up for His name. This nation is the same holy nation the Apostle Peter described when he wrote, "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..." (I Peter 2:9). This new nation is the church, the Body of Christ! When the workers in the vineyard killed the son, Jesus, the vineyard was given over to others. God raised up Gentiles to carry the Gospel of Christ to the nations of the earth after Christ's death was approved by religious Jews. Since Americans have supported sending the light of the Gospel around the world, our nation could represent the end time "transplanted vineyard." Let's explore the prophetic history of America and look for the vineyard. Transplanting the Vineyard—The Early Beginnings of America Christopher Columbus is generally considered to be the discoverer of America. Actually, the native Indians were here long before Columbus arrived, and the Vikings came to America centuries before the Pilgrims. First, I'd like to focus on the Vikings. They were a collective band of Nordic people—Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians—who traversed the seas from about 800 to 1100 A.D. Called the Viking Age, this period has long been associated with piracy, plunder, and barbarism. This is now being recognized as a gross simplification. It seems that they were more interested in trading than in raiding. As commerce developed in various regions, the Vikings assimilated into local populations. A century and a half after settling Normandy, their Franco-Viking descendants conquered England. England would one day be America's birth mother. The Vikings introduced new forms of administration and justice, such as the jury system (or the right to be judged by one's peers). Even

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