“Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.” General George Patton, 1944
Patton gave this speech to the army he was commanding, the Third Army, just before D-Day. It was made famous in the movie Patton starring George C. Scott in the title role.
Indeed, up to that time America had never lost a war. It went on to win World War 2, having fought both Germany and Japan.
Actor George C. Scott as General George S. Patton, in Patton (1970). This image likely evokes feelings of American strength and resolve among many older Americans today.
Over the past century or so, that victory added to the argument as to why America really has been an exceptional nation. It was founded on Christian principles. God blessed America bountifully so. Harvest after harvest of plenty, year after year, was the norm. Running water and electricity were assumed. Any adult American can travel at 60 mph in comfort and privacy, taking only days to travel over an entire continent in their automobiles, fueled by oil found in abundance underground. In July 1969, one million Americans traveled in their cars to the state of Florida to watch the launch of the first manned flight to land men on the Moon, again by the only nation that ever sent people to walk on the Moon and come back safely.
Despite all the abundant God-given blessing, America has been slowly turning away from the true, living God that made all these things possible.
At the same time, America still has a tradition of pride in its abilities, and an expectation that America will prevail in any situation, foreign or domestic. Patton’s words “the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans” is just as true today as it was in Patton’s time.
It is this tradition of Americans expecting America to be first that has even given support to many of President Trump’s “America first” economic and military policies.
American Pride In The End Times
It is also this tradition of pride that colors American Christians’ thinking here in the end times. The Word of God in Daniel 8:3–4 may be telling us all something very different from what Americans are expecting in the US-Iran standoff going on right now.
My books, Daniel Revisited and Iran’s Great Invasion, show that the evidence is rather overwhelming that the fulfillment of those two verses is about to occur. Those verses tell us (along with Daniel 7:5) that Iran will invade the Middle East, occupy and ravage many countries, and be completely successful. This would mean the United States will fail to stop Iran. This could mean a great military defeat for the United States or a wrecking of the American economy.
Of all the Second-Signpost skeptic’s opinions I have heard over the years, this one point is probably the most common: “the United States would never allow Iran to do what it wants.” This very statement stems from the tradition of American pride.
We can see this “universal” and pervasive “knowledge” that the United States will be victorious in any military encounter with Iran, in the news, all the time: Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton’s two strikes, Congress voting that Trump doesn’t need permission to strike Iran (because it is trivial), the US Navy confidentially stating it will deter attacks, the Iran regime is close to breaking, and Iran plays with fire enriching uranium.
And on and on it goes. In addition to the secular world, many pastors have told me that there is no way the United States would fail to stop Iran.
I believe the idea that America will stop Iran—and easily too—is rooted in the tradition of American pride and belief in its continued exceptionalism, and is the main reason the Signpost interpretation is not believed, by the great mass of Americans, Christian or not.
But it will also be the main reason that if and when Iran does actually bypass American efforts to stop it, and Iran does run out across many countries, America, and much of the world will be shocked. Matthew 24:6 and Revelation 6:4 are part of the Signpost interpretation and show that the Second Signpost will start a terrible time in world history, kicking off in earnest the end times.
Oil prices will be many times higher than they are today. The US petrodollar will end. It will impact the cost of everything, being a drag on the economy. With the dollar down, and oil up, and interest rates likely being very different than they are now, this will cause the derivatives’ notional values to go in the wrong directions, causing all the major western banks to become insolvent. This would result in at least a temporary loss of the banking and credit system.
Americans (and possibly Canadians and Europeans) may be surprised, for a time, at all the things in life they cannot pay for, even down to grocery store trips and electric and water bills. Everyone assumes the internet will still be running, but how can it if server companies cannot pay for electricity because there is no credit system?
Americans will no longer feel they are in control. Tens of millions may have no idea where their next meal is coming from.
All these things will come as a shock.
Proverbs 16:18 tells us pride comes before destruction and a fall. The people of Babylon probably felt very safe behind their 300-foot-high walls and three years’ worth of provision. The response was likely shock when King Cyrus and his armies diverted the Euphrates and simply walked through the holes in the wall where the waters of the Euphrates had been.
Many Christian leaders have spoken of judgment and revival coming to America. The Second Signpost may very well be the catalyst.
Categories: America in the End Times, In The News, Signpost #2: Iran
THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS 
Whether America was founded on Christian principles, is up for debate, many of our founding fathers were Freemasons, George Washington was a Freemason. Freedom of religion was put in so the Freemasons could practice the occult freely. I have a picture of a statue of Washington that says, George Washington, Freemason, And First President. If you do an image search with those words, you’ll find it.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-12/house-votes-block-trump-iran-war-senate-showdown-looms
In the U.S. the political dynamics of the power to declare war have been an interesting side-show over the years, with the President typically having the last word. That could change. If Congress ever votes against intervening in the mid-East affairs (for whatever reason), that could be a game-changer. But even without that, as you said, Mark, if the petrodollar becomes impotent in terms of the means of exchange for oil transactions in the mid-East, (for whatever reason), that too is a game-changer. One thing is for sure: The political power structure within Iran is monitoring the political power structure in the West for potential changes. If/when they see a U.S. stalemate in terms of the political will to intervene in mid-East affairs, they will see that as their opportunity to pounce on their prey. There is always more to the story of course. There are many nations in that geo-political zone that would like to be rid of the petrodollar as their means of trade. At some point that is bound to happen. The clock is ticking.
Americans really should look at the state of the UK, once the most powerful empire in the world as a salient warning. Now is the time to introduce national humility.
It’s pretty clear to me that we are only one president away from not doing nothing in the Mid-East. IMO, we have to have a President in power that will be more like Obama and his team (only worse) that will turn their backs on Israel for the final end times scenario. We don’t have to be destroyed from without, but the handwriting is on the wall when we stop being a “consumer” nation- we are toast.
The economy will tank because our economy is based on everyone buying stuff we don’t need, and we are into debt up to our teeth as a nation and individuals. There will be no will or money to intervene in another Mid-East war.
We worked with the American marines in Afghanistan. They were nice people but our overall opinion was that their weakness was pride.
Strong’s concordance is based on the KJV, whose translations of Isaiah 16:4, 21:2, 33:1, and Jeremiah 48:1,8,15,18,20,32 used “spoil,” “spoiled,” or “spoiler” to translate Hebrew word 7703. Because Isaiah 21:2 links “spoiler” to Elam and Media, places now in Iran, the “spoiler” predicted in all of these verses might be Iran. Isaiah 15-16 and Jeremiah 48 are prophecies concerning Moab. Using a Bible atlas, one can see that the places mentioned are in Jordan, while Isaiah 21 is a prophecy concerning Arabia. Though these passages are difficult to understand, their common use of Strong’s 7703 may be the key to understanding them.
Notice that Isaiah 16:6 and Jeremiah 48:29 mention “the pride of Moab.” Could this be the pride that shouts “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”? Personal and national liberty enable healthier manifestations of pride. A noble courage moved America’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and acknowledged Golan Heights to be part of Israel.
Mark
Found this on Sky. The second video clip says the same as you have been warning about.
https://news.sky.com/story/gulf-tensions-britain-is-getting-drawn-into-supporting-donald-trumps-incoherent-policy-11761949
I am convinced that God has given many Christians time with Trump to deal with those in their own swamp like the following. Basically, I have had it with those who promote the opulence gospel. They need to be confronted and then if they refused there needs to be broken ties with such false teachers. Examine the ministers who where with Trump in his initial inauguration, some were good sound ministers but then there were some like the following that are despicable in how they handle doctrine and their money.
Socoineen,
What happened to the UK wasn’t exactly a tragedy. They had an empire and now just a regular nation. I live in the UK, life is pretty good here.
I think seeing the UK as a “warning” only goes to show where Americans are at. Why do you want to be powerful? It’s not going to make a blind bit of difference who is top dog when the Lord comes.
“Why do you want to be powerful? It’s not going to make a blind bit of difference who is top dog when the Lord comes.”
This triggered a memory of my being a part of American students from the University of Kansas on a geological field trip through Britain. We would sleep in bunk beds in youth hostels. Lights out and no talking were expected at 10 PM, which the British travelers faithfully observed. But when the lights went out, some K.U. students uttered statements they thought should be laughed at. None of the British travelers laughed or said anything. I finally blurted out “Crazy Americans!” That made the British travelers erupt with laughter that silenced my fellow students.
On June 25, 2019, Donald J. Trump tweeted a message about Iran that included this statement: “Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force.” Notice the phrase “anything American.” Does President Trump know about what is prophesied in Daniel 8:4? If so, then the phrase “anything American” would mean that if Iran’s prophesied invasion avoids attacking anything American, great and overwhelming force would not be used against Iran.
No “beast” will be able to stand before Iran’s invasion. America is not a beast. America made a beastly Iraq “stand upon the feet as a man” (Daniel 7:4). The portion of Daniel 8:4 that refers to America, in accurate translation, reads “neither was there any to rescue,” which says nothing about ability to do so. America has no obligation to waste money, equipment, and American lives trying to rescue people who hate America.
Mark, I mentioned the Silk Road in a previous post for a reason. Been pondering on it some, don’t you think that once the portion of the road is more established toward Tehran that it becomes more valuable to Iran in trade to China, like say oil? I keep thinking that any disruption in the gulf hurts Iran’s exports as well.
Mark,
Just found this link to a very interesting article. Thinking this Silk Road has some signposts connected to it.
https://financialtribune.com/articles/domestic-economy/66450/iran-china-team-up-on-new-silk-road-project
Pride will be Israel’s achilles’ heel, too, when she is nearly undone by Jacob’s Trouble, unexpected by many. Of course, many Christians will be caught in the same sin, when they find themselves going through what many believe will never happen to them. People are people; the devil is the devil; YHVH is God: all will do according to who we are.
Gary,
Yes, the SRI is a manifestation of China’s growing influence over the entire east half of Eurasia. And yes, China will be hurt temporarily by the Second Signpost.