What Events will occur prior to the coming War?  (TO READ IN BOOK FORMAT, OR TO PRINT THIS ARTICLE)

What Events will occur prior to the coming War?

Repeatedly in my articles on my website I have referred to an upcoming war on America’s soil.  Nevertheless, how could this ever be possible? Whatever would cause such a thing to occur?

It will be simple.

Realize that God will punish us with a war because America has fallen from its past, golden age as a Christian nation by rejecting his soul-rescuing pledge!

A spiritual Fall from a golden Age.

In other words, after our citizens have rejected God’s powerful, gospel pledges – the only thing that ever could effect a moral change in man’s mind – in which gospel believers become peaceful, patient, and loving toward their neighbor as a religious duty toward God, American citizens now have reverted back to their old, natural, treacherous, selfish, lawless selves by nature, in which they are strangers to God, and aliens from his family.  As a result, this new, gospel-less, heathenistic, American society will deteriorate into ever-increasing hatred and violence, which will inflict evermore harm upon itself.

Therefore, understand, first of all, that the crux of the current situation in America is not that tyrants have taken control of America while good men slept, but that our people have rejected God and his life-saving promise!

The Almighty will not remain Passive, but will respond actively, as is characteristic of him.

Furthermore, the Almighty will not just sit back as a society rejects him and his generous gift of gospel grace.  He will severely punish our people as he clearly has threatened to do.

This is why the Almighty has responded, as he repeatedly has threatened to do in his Bible.  That is to say, he has sent us, in the form of punishments, tyrannical government along with bad weather, floods, droughts, disasters, and diseases.  Until our citizens would repent of their sins, and would treasure once more the gospel of salvation which God graciously has sent us; until they would stop their sordid selfishness and lawlessness, and return in repentance to being a Christian nation once again, these punishments not only will continue, but they will intensify.

In other words, these calamities are God’s nationwide call to repentance, in which he implores, “’Return… and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful’, says the Lord, ‘and I will not remain angry forever.  Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God’!” (Jeremiah 3:12-15.)  Nevertheless, both biblical and secular history record that the overwhelming majority of people will not repent and believe, causing the Almighty to complain, “Why should you be stricken again?  You will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint” (Isaiah 1:5).

Though thousands of bumper stickers may cry out, “God bless America!” how could he when hundreds of millions of citizens reject with malice what is required of them to bring down Heaven’s blessing, namely, to repent of their sins, and to believe in his gospel pledge?

Be clear on this!  What currently is going on in our land is not a political crisis, but a divine punishment.  The political and social acts are a façade, so to speak. For instance, after World War II some German leaders openly admitted that their defeat in that war was due to their punishment by the Ruler of nations.  Just the same, look up any historical book!  See if you could find even one historian that will admit this biblical truth that war is a punishment of God!

Nevertheless, Arnold J. “Toynbee says in his Civilization on Trial (p. 94):  ‘In studying history as a whole [we] should… relegate economic and political history to a subordinate place and give religious history the primacy’.”[1]  “George Bancroft… wrote:  ‘Each page of history may begin and end with:  Great is God, and marvelous are His doings among the children of men…. [But] it is when the hour of the conflict is over that history comes to a right understanding of the strife and is ready to exclaim: “Lo, God is here, and we knew Him not”’.”[2]

As always, the Almighty simply is orchestrating the acts of men in order to bring about his desired result.  In this case, it is the punishment of our citizens.  Thus the political, social, and economic problems of our country are merely symptoms of a far worse problem.  For example, if you were to take some kind of national aspirin to suppress these country-wide symptoms, this would neither address nor solve the root problem.  In fact, the root problem only would cause these symptoms to return.

The root problem is unbelief.  Thus America must return to God through repentance and gospel faith.  This is God’s standing criteria.  Nothing less will do; for the Lord has threatened that whenever a nation would chose for itself new gods, then there will be war (Judges 5:8); that the nation that would forget God will be turned into hell (Psalm 9:17); and that the Lord is a man of war (Exodus 15:3), choosing war as his last resort to punish “the world for its evil and wicked for their iniquity” (Isaiah 13:11), as he once warned backsliders through his Old Testament prophets, and then assuredly did it; as he himself threatened Jerusalem in the New Testament (Luke 19:43-44) and then accomplished it.

Yet look around you!  What would you see? Listen to what is being said!  What would you hear?  Would you see or hear of any repentance and gospel faith? America has forgotten its God.  Even such a humiliating and sobering, national punishment as occurred on 9/11/2001 has not brought about a countrywide repentance and return to God.  This is why you could and should be divinely certain that a great war will be coming upon our soil.  It is certain because God certainly keeps his biblical threats.  Since our citizenry has not responded by repenting and believing his gospel after lesser afflictions have been sent to it in the forms of governmental and economic oppression, as well as ideological, deceptive religious, and social oppressions, the Almighty God, ruler and disposer of nations, will lose his patience, and finally, according to his biblical treats and practice, will drop war on this land like one, huge rock.

In light of this our citizens should remember that God will not be on the side of any political white hats in our country against any political black hats.  Everyone will feel his punishment, including those who have been repenting and believing his gospel all along.  Just the same, in their case whatever the loving Lord would allow to happen, will be for their spiritual strengthening and soul benefit, as he has promised in his unbreakable Bible.  In fact, if God would use this war to take a believer home to heaven, what loss would that be?

Secular Predictions based on secular Conclusions

To be sure, a number of people have commented on the internet that a war will come soon upon American soil.  They have referred to this as the “Second American Revolution,” or the “Second Civil War.”  Actually, to be precise, it should be termed “the Third War of Secession,” for in the previous two wars, a number of our citizens never attempted to take control of the main government at any time, or to change its makeup as is common in civil wars.  They simply wanted to start up a new government on the land which they occupied.

Such commentators have based their conclusions solely on the evidence of the ever-hardening, social and political divisions which they see in America, the members of which are so bitterly opposed to one another with malice, and so irreparably divided, humanly speaking, that it will be only a matter of time before these parties will come to blows.  Nevertheless, these divisions are merely part of the Almighty’s scripted plot.  To be sure, the deep divisions which you now are witnessing are what society was like in earlier times just before the start of the Revolutionary and of the Civil Wars.

Just the same, these men have chosen, indeed, refused to base their conclusions on the only certain, and biblically assured fact, namely, the moral, or spiritual sign of the time (Matthew 16:3); namely, that it clearly and biblically is certain for all to see that a rejection of the gospel by the citizens of America is calling down God’s anger.  For the time being it consists in the form of minor afflictions, but ultimately it will be an annihilating war.

Purposely, divinely-arranged Similarities

Furthermore, could anything more definite be said about this coming war, for example, what events would precede it, or how would it begin?  Yes, there could be.  From what source?  It would be from those similarities which God placed into the preceding, two wars.

Understand that there were two, prior wars on our soil, so severe, that our very existence as a nation was in jeopardy; or, as in the case of the Civil War: our breakup into two or more nations was almost realized.  These were most severe times, crucial above all others.

Moreover, there were unique similarities between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, remarkably and astonishingly unique, humanly speaking, but intentionally arranged this way by Providence, as the citizens at that time aptly called God.  These similarities, which the average citizen readily and clearly could and should see, understand, and be certain of, will occur also in the upcoming war, since this war will be equally as severe.

How could this be possible?  How could I be justified, not only in concluding such a thing, but for publicly teaching such a thing, for expecting my readers to believe such a matter, and for holding my readers accountable for disbelieving such a thing?  Indeed, how could anyone be certain that such similarities not only could, but must happen again in the next war on American soil, because God will have ordered it so?

First of all, the average, unbelieving American could and should be certain (Matthew 16:2-3) from the Almighty’s threats in the Bible regarding any nation that would meet the criterion of rejecting his gospel pledge, that our people today have met this criterion.  As a result, the Almighty will send an annihilating war to us such as he sent, for example, in the Old Testament to Assyria, and to the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel.  Keeping this in mind, the upcoming war should be no less severe than the two, previous, existence-threatening ones in our country.

Secondly, these similarities have been arranged by the Almighty for a reason.  These similarities have been arranged to get America to repent and to believe the gospel by impressing upon everyone emphatically that the Lord of heaven is in full control of our land’s destiny, and that he will respond accordingly to our misbehavior.

Furthermore, the fact that Heaven would choose to make similar three, specific events, the number three being his biblical, identification number, will demonstrate that it is the biblical, high and holy triune God that certainly is doing this.  Think about that!

To be sure, while the people before the Revolutionary War would not have been capable of knowing which acts and events at that time would be similar to those in the future; while the citizens before the Civil War may not have been alert to the probability that there would be similarities with the preceding War, we today have no excuse either for not expecting them, nor for not knowing what they will be assuredly.  They will be Heaven’s emphatic warning sign to us.

It is true, there have been other wars for independence and other civil wars throughout the world.  Nevertheless, the template of events preceding not only one, but both of our wars on our own soil is so different and so unique from these.  Indeed, what makes our wars all the more striking is that the run up to both of them is similar.

Just what exactly are these similarities?  They are the following.  As your read them, keep in mind, the following axiom:  “War is not a calamity which men can bring upon a land and people without God’s will but at all times a great chastisement of the great angry God himself” (C.F.W. Walther, Standard Epistles, translated by Donald E. Heck [Concordia Theological Seminary Press:  Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1986], page 512, from a sermon on 1st Chronicles 21:9-14).

The first Event:  Begun in a Fit of Passion

First of all, the “Third War of Secession,” coming after the first two:  the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, likewise will not be entered into calmly or rationally by cool and wise heads after a long, thought out process of counting the cost, for instance; or of considering the duty of protecting citizens; and only after that, resort to the taking up of arms reluctantly.  On the contrary, men in a fit of passion will rush to begin this war.  How?  Men will do what they commonly have done throughout American history:  they will take a simple political issue,  turn it into a moral matter of right or wrong, and then rally around that.

For example, in the Declaration of Independence the signers had appealed “to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions,”[3] though in this document all of their listed theses, grievances and observations were purely political, not biblical.  Hence by this statement they would turn a purely political matter into a moral issue. In fact, to appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of their political intent to declare an independence from their government would only bring down Heaven’s condemnation on them, for as it was pointed out eighteen months earlier, the president of the New York “chartered college taught that ‘Christians are required to be subject to the higher powers; that an apostle enjoined submission to Nero’.”[4] Likewise, “the meeting of the Friends of Pennsylvania and New Jersey gave their ‘testimony against every usurpation of power and authority in opposition to the laws of government’.”[5]

To be sure, earlier, while he was in England observing the results of a popular election, Franklin “spoke with indignation of the punishment that must await a people ‘who are ungratefully abusing the best Constitution and the best King any nation was ever blessed with’.”[6]

Indeed, the entire Revolutionary War could and should have been avoided.  That is to say, there would have been no desire on the part of the revolutionists in the colonies to rebel if only they would have listened to the prior, publicly published advice of Benjamin Franklin.  For example, “he had advocated an union of the colonies” already in 1754 for protection against foreign attack.  Otherwise he favored the “establishment of an English army in America, paid for by duties imposed on the colonies.”  This measure would have avoided the subsequent Stamp and Tea taxes, the objects of so much violence in Massachusetts.  In a further publication “he advocated a legislative union, which would have enabled the English Parliament, without injustice, to tax America,”[7] thereby giving no impetus to the slogan, “No taxation without representation!”  However, the elected Assemblies of the colonies had no civic will at all to implement this advice, choosing instead, frankly, to be civically lazy and miserly.

Furthermore, the war between England and the American colonies was not entered into calmly or rationally.  Instead, there was a rush to start a war in a fit of passion.  Why?  “It is evident that great wisdom, moderation, and tact were needed if healthy relations were to be established between England and her colonies, and unfortunately these qualities were conspicuously absent from English councils.”[8]

“From this time [1767] the English government of America is little more than a series of deplorable blunders.”[9]

“Every mail from America” to England “brought news that New England at least was in a condition of virtual rebellion; that Acts of Parliament were defied and disobeyed with the most perfect impunity; that the representatives of the British Government were habitually exposed to the grossest insult, and reduced to the most humiliating impotence.”[10]

“The burning of the ‘Gaspee’, the destruction of tea in Boston Harbour, and the manifest connivance of the whole population in the outrage, raised that indignation to the highest point…. [The English politicians] resolved to throw away the scabbard, and to exert all the power of Parliament to reduce Massachusetts to obedience.”[11]

Likewise, in the year 1772 Samuel Adams “still retained his influence in the [Massachusetts] Assembly, and he was unwearied in his efforts to excite ill feeling against England, and to push the colony into rebellion.”[12]

“Riots and outrages were of almost daily occurrence.”  “Conspicuous Tories were tarred and feathered, or placed astride of rails and carried in triumph through the streets of the chief towns. One man was fastened in the body of a dead ox…. Most of the courts of justice in Massachusetts were forcibly closed…. Conspicuous politicians, even members of the [Continental] Congress, are said to have led mobs.”[13]

Note:  Was any of this biblical?  Of course not.  For instance, in his Sermon on the Mount our Lord Jesus never said, “Blessed are those who form mobs; who tar and feather, riot, and incite violence against their neighbor.”  These activities only demonstrate the moral, and hence, the spiritual bankruptcy of the Congregational churches in New England at this time.

To be sure, no American student ever would like to hear this.  That is to say, any citizen would like to hear only complimentary accounts of his nation’s founding; for example, of how his founding fathers were all heroes, courageously struggling, sacrificing their all:  their property, lives, and honor for the birth of their nation, so that on its independence day the citizen could beam with satisfaction.  Thus no American schoolboy, for instance, would look forward to reading in his textbook the actual fact of the matter; that is, that the moral condition of too many of his fellow citizens was so bad that it had to call down from Heaven the worst punishment which God almighty has in store for any declining nation:  a war on its inhabitants.  In other words, God was so provoked over the decrepit, moral conditions in our land that he was intent on punishing the thirteen colonies by war.  It was only after time had passed, and after he had heard the repentant cries of some of the people for deliverance, that the Lord was moved, and, according to his biblical pledge (2nd Chronicles 7:14), brought an end to his punishment.  Not only that, but out of his unfathomable grace, at which we could only marvel, he gave an additional, undeserved blessing:  out of the ashes of war he brought forth on this continent a new nation.  (“God rejects revolution as rebellion against heaven; but if by revolution a new power is created, he confirms it and demands obedience to it” [C.F.W. Walther, Standard Epistles, Donald E. Heck, translator ((Fort Wayne, Indiana:  Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1986)), page 244].)  What grace!  What an undeserved blessing!  Above all, this is what should be commemorated on the Fourth of July in order for our people truly to be grateful to Heaven.  Indeed, this is why men, upon witnessing the wonderful works of God, sing out:  “All glory be to God on high!”

Likewise, before the Civil War moral conditions, once again due to gospel unbelief, had declined so badly that the Almighty was provoked into sending another war.  As Lincoln substantially summarized the situation in a statement equal to that of the best keenly perceptive and articulate clergyman:  “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.  But we have forgotten God.  We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.  It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”[14]  If Lincoln, a non-Christian, could see this, it could and should have been evident to all.

Thus also the coming, future war will be “got up drunk,” as a Louisiana father during the Civil War once put it in his own earthy way in a letter to his son in the Confederate army, “but it will have to be settled sober.”[15] Thus some Americans already today are not thinking calmly, but are seething with anger, burning with revenge, and itching to retaliate, eagerly awaiting the least slight or slip up on the part of whom they hate:  either the government, or government-supporting citizens, to “get up a war drunk” that will ruin this whole land from sea to shining sea, and will create widows and orphans by the tens of millions, instead of praying to God to avert this war, and to pursue his solution for preserving the peace.  Such men are not patriotic Americans standing for right and principle, but are enemies and traitors, simply mouthing off with a lynch mob mentality, and actually joining the ranks of those munitions makers, merchants, and bankers who would dream of profit from yet another war.

The Solution for preserving the Peace

Rather, we should keep our heads when dealing with others who have offended us, or who have trespassed against us.  To do this successfully, God first will have to transform our minds through his gospel power so that we will want to do the right thing as a religious duty to him, and not to respond with retaliation.  As a result of having our souls divinely moved by our Lord’s assurance, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called ‘the children of God’!” (Matthew 5:9), we will “desire peace, and pursue it” (1st Peter 3:11).  Thus we ever must hold the gospel of peace before our eyes so that it may do its holy work of guarding our hearts in a spirit of peace (Philippians 4:7) in order that we may not do something rash.

For instance, Alexander H. Stephens, the desired candidate for the position of President of the Confederacy, when specifically asked if he would “fire the first shot,” replied, “No.”[16]  As a result, a hawk, Jefferson Davis, was nominated instead.  Thus later, even though the commander of Fort Sumter had agreed to surrender at a given, future day, Davis would not wait, but gave the order to fire on Fort Sumter.  This military action, which caused the American flag to get shot up, subsequently incensed and provoked the North, bringing about this response:  the dogs of war were unleashed.

Thus Davis, a church-going Episcopalian, did not guard his heart (Philippians 4:7) by suppressing the natural hatred and the revenge in his sinful heart, nor did he motivate his Christian mind by God’s gospel (Ephesians 4:22-24) to pursue the paths of peace as any morally transformed Christian daily could and should do.  Hence this was not a case in which Christianity itself had failed, but one again in which the patient had spurned the prescription of his Great Physician, and negligently or selfishly had chosen something lethal.  Neither was this a case in which the new Confederacy, of whose people Davis was responsible for their defense, was being threatened by the North with war.

Hence this is why also the current, regular, church-going Jefferson Davises in our country need to keep their sinful, treacherous, revenge-filled hearts (Matthew 15:19) in check by a scolding from God’s commandments, and with a motivation by God’s gospel to pursue the paths of peace:  so that the dogs of war will not be unleashed, as it senselessly happened at the negotiations involving Fort Sumter; just as it will happen again in this country in the future if it studiously would not be stopped.

Indeed, in his first, inaugural address Lincoln correctly advised, “Intelligence, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him will adjust all our present difficulty.”[17]  Yet this was not attempted by the critical actors involved, but negligently, or selfishly ignored.  For example, in North Carolina the Raleigh Banner pointed out:  “The big heart of the people is still in the Union.  Less than a hundred politicians are endeavoring to destroy the liberties and usurp the rights of more than thirty millions of people.  If the people permit it, they deserve the horrors of the civil war which will ensue.”[18]  William Tecumseh Sherman had toured the United States, and had found the newspapers, politicians, and the educated classes corrupt, blind, and selfish to the point of tragedy.[19]  Representative Tom Corwin of Ohio added, “I cannot comprehend the madness of the times.  Southern men are theoretically crazy.  Extreme Northern men are practical fools.  The latter are really quite as mad as the former.  Treason is in the air around us everywhere.  It goes by the name of patriotism.  Men in Congress boldly avow it.”[20]  Indeed, during the Revolutionary War, despite the fact that in the colonial Assemblies “the reins of power… had fallen into the hands of the revolutionary classes,”[21]  “a third part of the whole population… were throughout opposed to the Revolution.”[22]   In the remaining third of the population “there were also great multitudes who… dissented on grounds of principle, policy, or interest from the course”[23] of war which the revolutionists were adopting.

Thus the call of our hour, then, is not for us to start up another war in a fit of passion, but to head it off by rechristianizing our nation, especially its worldly churches, by genuine biblical repentance and faith, not with the current sham of religiousness.  In response to this, the Almighty will keep his pledge, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2nd Chronicles 7:14).

Otherwise, “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God” (1st Peter 4:17).  In other words, the faithful and unfaithful churches first will get hit by this war.

A prior,  foreign War

Secondly, there will be a foreign war involving America that will end twelve years prior to the great war. Thus the French and Indian War (1754-1763) ended twelve years prior to the War of Independence, and the Mexican-American War ended twelve years prior to the Civil War.

Incidentally, war never was declared officially either in the War of Independence or in the Civil War; nor will it be declared in the coming Third War.

A legislated Tax

The apparent cause for the Third War, or at least the cause which historians commonly will agree upon, will be due to the opposition by some, but not by all of the population, to legislation that will affect their property adversely.  Consequently, they will turn this mere, political legislation into a moral issue, and elevate it further into a life or death issue; that is, they will go to war over it if they would not get their way.

A prior example of this would be the following:  “Give me liberty or give me death!” A later example would be this:  In 1860 a banner flared at a mass meeting in Alabama, urging, “Resistance to Lincoln is Obedience to God.”[24]

The vehement, Whig opposition in colonial times was to legislation known as the Coercion Acts of Parliament of 1774, the first of which was the closing of the port of Boston.  This was to be in force until a reimbursement would be made for the destruction of the tea in the Boston Tea Party.  The second Act was the remodeling of the Charter of Massachusetts.  The third Act was to remove the trial of prisoners accused of capital crimes from a place where public feeling was so violent that a fair trial probably would not be obtained.  (Consult the trial of the soldiers in the “Boston Massacre”!)

How could these three Coercion Acts adversely affect the property of the colonists in Massachusetts?  This was stated “in the remonstrance of the province.  ‘By the first’, they say, ‘the property of unoffending thousands is arbitrarily taken away for the act of a few individuals; by the second our chartered liberties are annihilated, and by the third our lives may be destroyed with impunity’.”[25]

Nevertheless, if a man were to poke a bear in the eye with a stick, and then, after the bear had responded in self-defense, would denounce the bear for its actions, and even would file of list of grievances against the bear for its response, such an act foolishly would be improper.  Indeed, it would be absurd.  Yet this is what some of the revolutionaries did.  To be sure, the people, the merchants, and the government of England had their own grievances against the revolutionaries.  Consult Lecky, pages 86-89 and 155!  Then, after the Coercion Acts had begun, others, like Washington, simply came to the aid of and to the defense of those colonists which were in need.

Thus in its political protests to its mother country, the revolutionary party did not have the moral high ground.  In fact, at one point this group even “changed their ground” from one position to another.  Refer to the remarks made by the editor, Osgood, and by Tyler in Lecky on pages 488-489!

Furthermore, the Boston Tea Party, unknown to everyone at the time, set in motion a series of responses and counter-responses which led the actors through a labyrinth of acts and events, first by one party, then followed by the unpredictable, but plausible responses by the other party, until armed conflict resulted.

Likewise prior to the Civil War there was vehement, Southern opposition to proposed legislation by the North, that would forbid slavery in the nation’s territories (its future states).  This would threaten the political power of the Southern planter aristocracy.  Briefly stated, the South needed new areas into which slavery could spread in order that it would have political representation to match that of the growing North.

Just the same, how would it be possible that such a thing as legislation, which forbad slavery in the territories, could affect adversely the planters’ property, namely, their slaves?  In a speech given in the Senate in 1861, Senator Robert Toombes of Georgia emphatically believed that it would.  He reasoned,  “You seek to outlaw $4,000,000,000 of property of our people [the estimated value of all of the slaves] in the territories of the United States.  Is not that a cause of war?  Is it a grievance that $4,000,000,000 of the property of the people should be outlawed in the territories of the United States by the common government?  Then you have declared, Lincoln declares, your platform declares, your people declare, your legislatures declare – there is one voice running through your entire phalanx – that we shall be outlawed in the territories of the United States.  I say we will not be; and we are willing to meet the issue; and rather than submit to such an outlawry, we will defend our territorial rights as we would our househeld [sic] gods….

“All these charges I have proven by the record; and I put them before the civilized world, and demand the judgment of to-day, of to-morrow, and of distant ages, and of Heaven itself, upon the justice of these causes.”[26]

A preliminary Attempt

Nevertheless, some years prior to the beginning of the upcoming war, there will be a “trial run,” or preliminary attempt, so to speak, to secede and to begin a war, just as it occurred in the first, two wars.  For instance, in the first case it occurred in the vehement response to the Stamp Act (1765) which eventually was repealed.  The Almighty had his good reasons for bringing about the Stamp Act, as he had good reasons not to use this event as a vehicle for war just yet.  Consult Isaiah 55:8-9 and Romans 11:33-34!

In the second case, a trial run occurred during the Nullification Movement (1828-1832) at a time when the Southern States were upset vehemently over the high tariff laws (taxes) which adversely were affecting their property (money).  That is, South Carolina nullified the national tariff laws within its own borders, stating that if the federal government would try to enforce its tariffs, South Carolina will secede from the Union, and prepare for war.  As with the Stamp Act, this offending, tariff legislation eventually was changed.  For the record:  the slavery issue did not enter into these arguments.

Hence some years prior to the third outbreak of war, this will happen:  There will be a preliminary outburst or reaction to legislation related to the one that later will introduce the third war.  This occurrence will be intended by God, as it was in the first two wars, to be a wake up call to America of what soon will happen if it would not repent.

Exceptional, civil Violence

In the past, before each war there were incidents or events of exceptional, civil violence.  For example, mob violence occurred in Massachusetts in connection with the Tea Tax.  Prior to the Civil War such events as “Bleeding Kansas,” and the armed takeover of the Harper’s Ferry Arsenal occurred.

A new, political Party

A new, prominent, political party also will come into being a few years prior to the outbreak of war.  For example, after 1768 certain, colonial, political proponents called themselves “Whigs” after the minority party in the British Parliament, members of which were in sympathy with the colonists.  The Republican Party was formed in 1854 in Ripon, Wisconsin in order to get moving emancipation efforts for the slaves.

The Spark

The origin of the war, or the “spark” that would set it off, humanly speaking, will be a premeditated incident or event after a legislated tax measure, or in response to that proposed tax measure.

For instance, the “spark” for the Colonial War was the premeditated ambush of the British soldiers as they returned through Lexington from their mission at Concord.   The “spark” for the Civil War was the premeditated shooting up of the American flag at Fort Sumter.

An elitist Class will be dethroned by the upcoming War

In the War of Independence, the Tories, that is, the loyalists to the mother country, specifically, the old gentry of the land, lost their estates to seizure during the war.  In the Civil War “Lincoln was at the vortex of the revolution to break the power of the Southern planter aristocracy and usher in the dominance of the financial and industrial interests centered in New York City.”[27]

In a related note:  In the first war the Almighty ultimately had the revolutionary party win, and the loyalists lose.  In the second war, just the reverse happened.

About a dozen States will secede

Thirteen colonies seceded in the War of Independence to form a new government on the land which they occupied.  They did not try to invade England and to overthrow that government.  Just the same, in some respects this was also a civil war.  “The civil war between Whigs and Tories had… been much more savage than the war between the English and the Americans; and the revolutionary party attributed with some reason the long continuance of the struggle to the existence and to the representations of the great loyalist party in America.”[28]

At the time of the Civil War eleven states formally seceded from the Union:  Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.  However, there was a good probability that more would secede.  For instance, in 1861 “The Kentucky Legislature… adjourned … proclaiming neutrality but still in the Union”[29] though the governor at that time was pro-South.[30]  Only the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862 “clinched Kentucky to the Union.”[31]  The governor of Missouri also was pro-South.[32]  Counting these two states then, the number would have been thirteen.  To be sure, in the border state of Maryland the city of Baltimore had an active minority of secessionists.[33]  Even “the mayor of New York… in ’61 tried to get his city to secede from the Union.”[34]  Hence formally there were eleven states that seceded.  Informally, there were people in the border states that in their hearts had seceded..

Likewise, the Confederate States of America did not intend to overthrow the government in Washington.  They simply wanted to form their own government on the land which they occupied.  Likewise before the coming, future war:  About a dozen states will secede from our Union, and will form a new government on the land which they occupy.  Immediately, they will begin to form an army, as the Continental Congress and the Confederacy did.

Summary

In summary then, these will be the acts of men which God will orchestrate in order to bring about his desired result of a war of punishment, concerning which you should realize that “war is not a calamity which men can bring upon a land and people without God’s will but at all times a great chastisement of the great angry God himself.”[35]

First of all, this future war will begin in a fit of passion in opposition to legislation that will affect their property adversely, or at least to a proposed, legislated penalty on their property (the outlawing of slavery in U.S. territories). Prior to this time there will be acts of exceptional, civil violence.

Secondly, this war will not occur until after America has fought in a prior, foreign war which will have ended twelve years previously.  Confer the French and Indian War and the Mexican War!

Thirdly, there will be a trial run, so to speak, at breaking up the Union in the form of a revolt against a proposed or legislated measure.  Consult the Stamp Act opposition and the Nullification Movement!

Fourthly, this war will not occur until a new, prominent, political party would have come into existence.  Recall the American Whigs and the Republican Party formed in 1854!

The spark that will set off this war will be an armed conflict between the two, bitterly opposed, political sides:  the status quo government and the revolutionary party, or the rebels, such as happened on the Lexington green, and at Fort Sumter.  As a spark would start a forest fire, or as a snowball would roll down a hill and acquire a snowballing effect, so this event would begin a war from which there would be no turning back until, in God’s estimation, it would be spent.

Around the start of this war about a dozen states will secede from the Union, and will form their own federal government over their own territory.  Refer to the Declaration of Independence and to the Confederate States of America!  Once formed this government would call on its supporters to form an army to protect it.  Recall the formation of the Continental Congress and its call to George Washington to head the militia in 1775!  Remember the formation of the Confederate States of America and the raising of its army in 1861!

Whether a formal declaration of independence would be composed, as was done by the Continental Congress in 1776, or whether there simply would be an implied one, as was the case when the Confederate States of America formed in 1861, the formation of a new, federal government in opposition will be, in effect, a declaration of war.  In fact, it will be the point of no return in regards to hostilities.

To which of the two sides will God ultimately give the victory:  The one that seceded, or the one that still would retain power in Washington D.C.?  That information has not been supplied, nor could it be deduced at this time.

Furthermore, since the first, two wars in America were fought by two factions of a disunited country, so when Washington’s vision speaks of an invasion by armies from Europe, Africa, and Asia, this will not be against a united America but a disunited one, in which two factions are at war with one another.  Thus the invaders will side with one of these factions.

Moreover, as America will be punished by this war for its unbelief, so all the other nations from Europe, Africa, and Asia that join in this war will be punished by the Almighty for their gospel unbelief.

Thus this is how the third war of divine punishment on American soil will be started by the Almighty.

To be sure, none of these things are on the horizon.  Yet this is no matter for concern.  America simply is going through another God-designed labyrinth of human events, which, with its twists and turns, typically never does give a clear view of the future.  This is why God has given to you his protection promises, prophecies, and the two signs of the times[36] to assure you of the future with divine certainty.

Indeed, notice that what was going on in the American colonies in 1765 was not what eventually occurred in 1775!  What America intended and worked at in 1850 was different than what happened in 1860.  This is because there was no political will on the part of enough of the citizenry in the earlier years to perform what they did ten years later.

To be sure, a part of the labyrinth of history, with its twists and turns, is this change in the political will of a citizenry which is unforeseen, and hence, unpredictable.  That is to say, over time the Almighty, in his providence, will orchestrate events and men’s acts to bring about a different social climate, more or less, for peace or for punishment.  As a result of this, men will change both their political will and course from what it previously was; namely, they will be moved to react with different speech, acts, and plans.

Thus you have these intentional similarities from these last, two wars, which God has marked for your express notice, to rely on with divine certainty as to what he will bring about in our future.  See them!  Be assured of them!

Punishment of America by the Muslims

Moreover, it could and should come as no surprise to the biblically well-read American that the scourge of Islam should rise against our country since America has rejected the gospel; for in his Bible God has threatened to use the followers of Islam as his punitive tool in New Testament times against those Christian countries that have fallen away from the gospel.

God prophesied in Revelation 9:14-19 about his curse called Islam, which he specifically would raise up in New Testament times, which he would send as a punishment upon those lands which had fallen away from the true gospel faith.  He has simply raised up one evil to punish another one.

That is to say, in reaction to the falls from gospel faith which the Christian nations would take from time to time in the New Testament times, after periods of spiritual golden ages, God prophesied in Revelation 9:14-19 about his curse called Islam, which he specifically would raise up in New Testament times, which he would send as a punishment upon those church members who had fallen away from the true gospel faith.  By prophesying to us about this, the Almighty is putting us on notice.

To be sure, as long as it would remain faithful, the Almighty never would send a curse upon his church.  Only after it would backslide treacherously into unfaithfulness will the Almighty carry out his threat:  “The nation and kingdom that will not serve” God “shall perish” (Isaiah 60:12).  In order to describe the fierce intent and the results of Islam in its punitive role, Scripture used picturesque language in Revelation to describe it.  That is, in the Revelation passage the plan of the Lord Jesus is to picture one thing that is familiar to the reader, in order to get him to understand this future matter that is unfamiliar.

Thus, when in response to a terroristic attack by Muslims in America, church members would ask Gideon’s question, “If the Lord would be with us, why then has all of this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13) they could and should be assured from Scripture’s threat that it must be because our land has fallen away from faith in the gospel, for this would be the only reason why God would punish us by the Muslims.

To be annihilated or not?

Will the Almighty annihilate America, as he did so many other nations in the Old Testament who rejected him, or nearly annihilate our country, as he did gospel-rejecting Judah in the Babylonian Captivity, and other lands since then as he has threatened to do?  The answer will be “No!”

How could you be assured of this?

The Bible, of course, is silent on America by name.  Just the same, because of his great grace, and for the purposes of your preparedness and high comfort, the Lord of heaven has left you an assurance by which the American citizen could and should be certain that his country will not go out of existence, but will survive.

What would this assurance be?

It will be something that, from the Bible, we see that God has done sparingly, but graciously, on occasion. It is something by which God will inform a ruler about the destiny of his nation, the information of which the ruler normally could not know.  That is to say, the Lord will give to a ruler a vision of the future.

This will not be unusual.  In the past, before God would send a severe punishment upon a land, he would send visions, or on other occasions prophets, to warn national leaders ahead of time; to prepare that nation spiritually for repentance or punishment.  For instance, consult the biblical examples of Abraham (Genesis 15:12-14); Pharaoh (Genesis 41:1-7); Joshua (Judges 2:1-6); Saul (1st Samuel 28:19); David (2nd Samuel 21:1; 24:10-13); Ahab (2nd Chronicles 18); Jeroboam (Amos 7:10-11); Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:28; chapter 4); Belshazzar (Daniel 5); Hezekiah (2nd Kings 19:6-7); Josiah (2nd Chronicles 35:20-24); and the king of Nineveh (Jonah 3)!

In our case, the Lord graciously gave to George Washington at Valley Forge an account of the future of this country.  It is in this account that Washington is told of a great war that would come upon this country; a war in which the Republic would be pitted against all other nations; a war in which this land would not be annihilated, but, ultimately, would by God’s rescue, survive, and be victorious.  This account has been given at the end of this article.

This account showed George Washington that not only would there be a great war, but that two other wars would precede it.  In other words, there would be three, great crises that would come upon America, all of which would be in the form of a war, on which the survival of the Union itself would hang in the balance.  These wars would be the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the coming great war.  To be sure, during these first two wars there were precarious times in which our Republic was in danger of going out of existence as we know it today.  Our country will face the same danger in the coming, third, great war.  Just the same, in this latter war, as in the first two, God will see to it that, again, out of his great mercy, the Union will survive.  Indeed, note the importance of the fact that there will be three crises!  This is the unmistakable sign of the great God himself:  the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the true and triune Lord of heaven.

In fact, realize that this goes to the heart of the matter!  Why did the Lord decide to send three crises upon our people?  He did it for three, biblical reasons:

(1)  To let our Republic know that it is he, the triune God, who is doing it;

(2)  So that he, the Creator and the Preserver of America, would be adored; and

(3)  To purify the American Christian, and to make him trust more firmly in Heaven’s protection promises, yet, at the same time, to punish the unbeliever, and to bring him to his spiritual senses.

In other words, let it be taught that God will cause America to win in the end, and not be annihilated!  Why?  Would it be because America is privileged above all other lands?  No.

It will be so that God will be adored.  God will take weak, outmatched America, array the whole world against it, and allow the world every means and opportunity to crush it.  Yet God will spare America so that the remnant will adore him.

The Third Saver

Since America will not be annihilated, but will win this war in the end; that is, since one of the two factions in America will win in the end, then, like the first two wars on American soil, there will be a national saver.  In other words, a great, military leader on the order of a Washington and of a U.S. Grant will be raised up by God to be used by him to be the saver of our Republic.[37]

George Washington’s Vision at Valley Forge

“I do not know whether it is owing to the anxiety of my mind, or what, but this afternoon as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something seemed to disturb me.  Looking up, I beheld standing opposite me a singularly beautiful female.  So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed, that it was some moments before I found language to inquire into the cause of her presence.  A second, a third, and even a fourth time did I repeat my question, but received no answer from my mysterious visitor except a slight raising of her eyes.  By this time I felt strange sensations spreading through me.  I would have risen but the riveted gaze of the being before me rendered volition impossible.  I assayed once more to address her, but my tongue had become useless.  Even thought itself had become paralyzed.  A new influence, mysterious, potent, irresistible, took possession of me.  All I could do was to gaze steadily vacantly at my unknown visitant.  Gradually the surrounding atmosphere seemed as though becoming filled [sic] with sensations, and luminous.  Everything about me seemed to rarify, the mysterious visitor herself becoming more airy and yet more distinct to my sight than before.  I now began to feel as one dying, or rather to experience the sensations which I have sometimes imagined accompany dissolution.  I did not think, I did not reason, I did not move; all were alike impossible.  I was only conscious of gazing fixedly, vacantly at my companion.

“Presently I heard a voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn’, while at the same time my visitor extended her arm eastwardly.  I now beheld a heavy white vapor at some distance rising fold upon fold.  This gradually dissipated, and I looked upon a strange scene.  Before me lay spread out in one vast plain all the countries of the world – Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.  I saw rolling and tossing between Europe and America the billows of the Atlantic, and between Asia and America lay the Pacific.  ‘Son of the Republic’, said the same mysterious voice as before, ‘look and learn’.  At that moment I beheld a dark, shadowy being, like an angel, standing, or rather floating in mid-air, between Europe and America.  Dipping water out of the ocean in the hollow of each hand, he sprinkled some upon America with his right hand, while with his left hand he cast some on Europe.  Immediately a cloud raised from these countries, and joined in mid-ocean.  For awhile it remained stationary, and then moved slowly westward, until it enveloped America in its murky folds.  Sharp flashes of lightning gleamed through it at intervals, and I heard the smothered groans and cries of the American people.  A second time the angel dipped water from the ocean, and sprinkled it out as before.  The dark cloud was then drawn back to the ocean, in whose heaving billows it sank from view.  A third time I heard the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn’.  I cast my eyes upon America and beheld villages and towns and cities springing up one after another until the whole land from the Atlantic to the Pacific was doted with them.  Again, I heard the mysterious voice say, ‘Son of the Republic, the end of the century cometh, look and learn’.

“At this the dark shadowy angel turned his face southward, and from Africa I saw an ill-omened spectre approach our land.  It flitted slowly over every town and city of the latter.  The inhabitants presently set themselves in battle array against each other.  As I continued looking I saw a bright angel, on whose brow rested a crown of light, on which was traced the word ‘Union’, bearing the American flag which he placed between the divided nation, and said, ‘Remember ye are brethren’.  Instantly, the inhabitants, casting away their weapons became friends once more, and united around the National Standard.

“And again I heard the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn’.  At this the dark, shadowy angel placed a trumpet to his mouth, and blew three distinct blasts; and taking water from the ocean, he sprinkled it upon Europe, Asia, and Africa.  Then my eyes beheld a fearful scene:  from each of these countries arose thick, black clouds that were soon joined into one.  And throughout this mass there gleamed a dark red light by which I saw hordes of armed men, who, moving with the cloud, marched by land and sailed by sea to America, which country was enveloped in the volume of cloud.  And I dimly saw these vast armies devastate the whole country and burn the villages, towns, and cities that I beheld springing up.  As my ears listened to the thundering of the cannon, clashing of swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, I heard again the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn’.  When the voice had ceased, the dark shadowy angel placed his trumpet once more to his mouth, and blew a long and fearful blast.

“Instantly a light as of a thousand suns shone down from above me, and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud which enveloped America.  At the same moment the angel upon whose head still shone the word ‘Union’, and who bore our national flag in one hand and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of white spirits.  These immediately joined the inhabitants of America who I perceived were wellnigh overcome, but who immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks and renewed the battle.  Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict, I heard the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn’.  As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel for the last time dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America.  Instantly the dark cloud rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious.

“Then once more I beheld the villages, town and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard he had brought in the midst of them, cried with a loud voice:  ‘While the stars remain, and the heavens send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the Union last’.  And taking from his brow the crown on which blazoned the word ‘Union’, he placed it upon the Standard while the people, kneeling down, said, ‘Amen’.

“The scene instantly began to fade and dissolve, and I at last saw nothing but the rising, curling vapor I at first beheld.  This also disappearing, I found myself once more gazing upon the mysterious visitor, who in the same voice I had heard before, said, ‘Son of the Republic, what you have seen is thus interpreted:  three great perils will come upon the Republic.  The most fearful is the third passing which the whole world united shall not prevail against her.  Let every child of the Republic learn to live for his God, his land and Union’.  With these words the vision vanished, and I started from my seat and felt that I have seen a vision wherein had been shown to me the birth, progress, and destiny of the United States” (Anthony Sherman, Words of Life:  George Washington’s Vision [1880:  Christian Workers Union, Inc.]; note: originally published by Wesley Bradshaw; copied from a reprint in the National Tribune, Vol. 4, No. 12, December 1880; on microfilm at the Sterling Library, Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut).

A Defense of the Divine Authenticity of Washington’s Vision

It has been proposed that this account is simply man-made, and not Heaven-sent; that is, that someone, somewhere at some point simply made up this whole story.  In reply, the following defense of its divine authenticity could be made, first of all, by looking at some natural questions.

For example, if a man, not Washington, merely made up this whole story in bad faith, who was he?

Moreover, what would have been his motive for doing so?  That is to say, what would he have gained by doing it?  Notoriety?  Yet he could not claim the authorship, for then he only would expose himself as a fraud and be self-condemned.

Would an anonymous writer have done it to make money?  How could anyone earn money off of this narrative?

Would it have been done to give Washington more renown?  Washington already had plenty of renown.

Furthermore, when men make up an account of a divine vision in order to gain a following, their stories will have a plot which appeals to sinful pride and to sinful desires; for instance, in which men and their efforts are glorified or are crowned with success; for men know that no one ever wants to listen to a teller of bad news.  No one ever gains friends or acceptance by doing that.  Yet this is just what the account of Washington does:  this account is a bearer of bad news.  Its main theme is that there will be three, existence-threatening disasters in the form of wars sent upon this nation.  Indeed, the scenes of these wars depict desperate cries amid terrible bloodshed.  In addition, this account scolds and humbles the reader.  In fact, this narrative agrees fully with the biblical penalty of a war to punish a country for its rejection of the gospel.

What is more, a mere man would be unable to make up a narrative such as Washington’s.  There is, indeed, a difference between simply being able to follow a written story, or even to imitate an already existing story, and being able to create one.

For instance, in 1418 in Florence, Italy, after an architect by the name of Brunelleschi won the competition to build a dome for the cathedral, and his design later was revealed publicly, the losing architects complained that they could have designed the same thing.  Yet Brunelleschi pointed out to them that only after they had seen his design and had knowledge of it could they have imitated it.  To prove his point he challenged them to make an egg stand up freely on one end on a flat piece of marble.  After they could not, Brunelleschi took the egg, tapped it hard on one end on the marble in order to flatten it. Then he simply stood it up on the flattened end.  Thus even something as simple as this will be impossible to do without the knowledge of how to do it.

To be sure, the author of a man-made vision would have a natural fear of not being believed by the general public.  So in order to impress his readers of its divine origin, he would be inclined to make up things by introducing features which would be mysterious, and, therefore, would not have to be explained.

To the contrary, the specific purpose of a Heaven-sent vision will be to make the unknown, known, the unrevealed, revealed, and the unclear, clear by the use of comparisons or metaphors which would be familiar to, and could and should readily be understood by the reader.

What is more, to have an angel (2nd Kings 19:35), or a host of them (2nd Kings 6:16-17), fight for a country according to God’s plan, is entirely biblical.  Refer to Daniel chapter 10!  Likewise, whenever an angel would appear in a dream to men (Matthew 1:20; 2:13, 19), or would appear in human form, it either was to bring a message to men which they otherwise could not know, or it was to perform some service for men as a messenger of God’s providence.  Consult Genesis chapters 18 & 19; Luke 1:11-13 & 26-31; 2:8-12; 24:4; Acts 1:10!

Nevertheless, in recent times a writer has remarked in opposition to the genuineness of Washington’s account:  “The tale of ‘Washington’s Vision’ was penned by Charles W. Alexander (1836-1927), a Philadelphia journalist who published The Soldier’s Casket, a periodical for Union veterans of the Civil War.  Writing under the pseudonym ‘Wesley Bradshaw’, Alexander authored several ‘vision’ or ‘dream’ pieces featuring historic American figures which were published as broadsheets and in various newspapers during the Civil War and were later offered for sale through advertisements in the pages of The Soldier’s Casket.

“The meaning of ‘Washington’s Vision’ was apparent to Alexander’s contemporary audience.  First published in April 1861 (at the outbreak of the Civil War) and full of references to ‘Union’ and ‘Republic’, this account of Washington’s praying ‘to God in secret for aid and comfort’ during the darkest days of the American Revolution and being visited by an angel who revealed to him a vision of the United States victorious was an obvious allegory for Unionists whose America was facing its greatest crisis since the revolution:  a civil war pitting one half the country against the other in a struggle that threatened the existence of the Republic.”

Just the same, these remarks still would not undermine the genuineness of this account.  For instance, the testimony of Isaac Potts, a minister, of seeing Washington pray alone in the woods at Valley Forge, is not a fictional narrative.

In addition, Washington’s account had been around before the Civil War had ended.  Thus in the year of 1861, neither Charles W. Alexander nor anyone else could know with certainty from any other source whether or not the new Southern Confederacy ever would reenter the Union at some time in the future.  For example, an Assistant Secretary of War, Charles Dana, believed in 1863, when the outcome of the war was still unknown, “that the political territorial and political integrity of the nation must be preserved at all costs, no matter how long it took…. I preferred one nation and one country, with a military government afterward, if such should follow, rather than two or three nations and countries with the semblance of the old Constitution in each of them, ending in wars and despotisms everywhere.”[38]  In 1864 General Sherman wrote to a delegation of the city council of Atlanta:  “If the United States submits to a division now, it will not stop, but will go on until we reap the fate of Mexico, which is eternal war.”[39]  Indeed, as late as the capture of Atlanta in September of 1864, it was more likely that Lincoln would be voted out of office, a peace party would take over the Northern federal administration, and that the North and the South would remain separate rather than ever come together again.  Thus no one commonly in 1861 would venture to make up a story regarding an end to the Civil War which resulted in a definite unification, for he would know that he only would be guessing; and, if demonstrated to be wrong, he definitely would be subject to public ridicule, which no author commonly would risk.

On the other hand, if a man would have Washington’s account brought to his attention, and would be convinced of its divine truthfulness, he could identify the second conflict of three in it with the Civil War, and would not be afraid to stand by its prophesied outcome.  In fact, at just such a time any citizen could and should publicize this story widely in order to reassure both North and South that the Union would stand after that war’s end in spite of current appearances, for that would be the purpose for which the prophecy was made known to others aside from Washington.

Moreover, why would it be necessary in 1861 to prophesy falsely of yet another war after the Civil War, and to describe it in such a unique and detailed manner?  What would be the author’s motive, or his gain?  To be sure, why then would he announce only one more war; why not two, or three more?

Therefore, the implication that Charles Alexander simply invented this account of Washington in order to sell his magazines and reprints, and to deceive his readers into a baseless optimism, will not remove these contradictions.

Furthermore, that three, internal wars would occur in this country is the sign of the triune God:  the number three; his sign to us that he is in control completely of the life of our land.

What is more, the authenticity of this account is corroborated by the fact that the first and the second conflicts described by this story have been fulfilled in the Revolutionary War involving America and Europe, that is, Britain and France, and also in the Civil War with its “ill-omened spectre from Africa” indicating the slavery matter.

Indeed, the American wars featured in Washington’s account are specific and connected, just as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in American history have been specific and connected by their stunning similarities which have been listed above.

In fact, think about it!  At this latter date in time, you no longer have just one war by which to judge.  You have two wars with the important evidence of their striking similarities to corroborate Washington’s account.

Therefore, since these two wars are connected, as the wars in Washington’s account are connected, God purposely must have designed them for a reason:  to get your express attention to rely with divine certainty on the fact that he is the one who has made them specific and connected in order to assure you that only he is the sustainer of our country.

A Lack of Acceptance

Hence what would happen if you would send a copy of Washington’s account to the officials of any Lutheran synod today for their appraisal, and would ask them if it would be true and genuine that a real angel had spoken to George Washington; and would ask if they, therefore, would believe this account, and would urge their member congregations to believe it also?

Their answer to you, in effect, will be a polite “No.”

Likewise, if you would ask a Lutheran pastor if he would believe it to be divinely-sent, he also will reply politely with “I cannot.”

If you would ask him “Why not?”  he may respond, “Only after all the events have taken place will I ever believe that this story is divine.”  Otherwise, he will reply that he would need some additional assurance, divine assurance, that this account was Heaven-sent before he would believe it.

If you would press him further, and would ask him  in what form this divine assurance would take, he probably would confess that he would not know.

Therefore, tell him what it will be!  That is right.  Inform him that you know of such assurance, indeed, an assurance sufficient enough for the average Christian to believe that this story is divine!  It will be this:  The first two wars prophesied by this account already have come true.  The third war prophesied assuredly will come true since the scriptural sign of the times (Matthew 16:1-3), not the one that indicates a nation’s future “peace” (Luke 19:42), but the other one that indicates “the time of visitation” of a war (Luke 19:44), assures us of such a future war, since America clearly and commonly has rejected the gospel, as Jerusalem once did.

Nevertheless, if someone still would reply, “I still do not believe that Washington’s account is genuinely Heaven-sent,” I will assure him, “The evidence for this exists in sufficient quantity for the average layman to see it and to be convinced of it beyond a reasonable doubt.  So believe it, and accept the assurance which it gives; for that is its purpose!”

Gene Urtel                                                    2018

[1] Ewald M. Plass, What Luther Says Saint Louis:  Concordia, 1959), page 654A footnote.
[2] Plass, page 651A footnote.
[3] George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, volume IV (New York:  D. Appleton and Company, 1888), page 450.
[4] Bancroft, page 108.
[5] Bancroft, page 109.
[6] William Edward Hartpole Lecky, The American Revolution, editor James Albert Woodburn (New York:  D. Appleton and Company, 1908), page 141.
[7] Lecky, page 142.
[8] Lecky, page 104.
[9] Lecky, page 105.
[10] Lecky, page 164.
[11] Lecky, page 165.
[12] Lecky, page 136.
[13] Lecky, page 175f.
[14] Walter A. Maier, Christ, Set the World Aright (Saint Louis:  Concordia, 1945), page 368.
[15] Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln (Pleasantville, New York:  The Reader’s Digest Association, 1970), page 366A.
[16] Sandburg, page 209B.
[17] Sandburg, page 188A.
[18] Sandburg, page 161B.
[19] Sandburg, page 311A.
[20] Sandburg, page 167A.
[21] Lecky, page 383.
[22] Lecky, page 222.
[23] Lecky, page 222.
[24] Sandberg, page 164B.
[25] Lecky, page 167.
[26] Robert Toombs, “The Right of the South to Secede,” Great Epochs in American History, edited by Francis W. Halsey, Volume VIII (Funk & Wagnalls Company:  New York, 1912), pages 16-17.
[27] Sandberg, page 382B.
[28] Lecky, page 484.
[29] Sandberg, page 212A.
[30] Sandberg, page 205A.
[31] Sandberg, page 243A.
[32] Sandberg, page 205A.
[33] Sandberg, page 212B.
[34] Sandberg, page 254B.
[35] C. F. W. Walther, Standard Epistles, translated by Donald E. Heck [Fort Wayne:  Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1984], page 512.
[36] The two, scriptural signs of the times (Matthew 16:1-3) are these:  The one will indicate a nation’s future peace (Luke 19:42), if that nation would be repenting and believing the gospel.  The other will indicate a nation’s future punishment by war (Luke 19:44), if that nation would not be repenting and not believing the gospel.

[37] In his dictionary of 1828 under the word “Savior,” Noah Webster, the Christian, pointedly had this to say:  “General Washington may be called the saver, but not the savior of his country.”  He was referring to the well-known remark made by General Henry Lee III who stated in a memorial address which commemorated the first President’s death, “Washington, the savior of his country, did not disdain to acknowledge and adore his great Savior.”
[38] Charles A. Dana, Recollections of the Civil War (Lincoln, Nebraska:  University of Nebraska Press, 1996), page 29f.
[39] William Tecumseh Sherman, Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, volume II (New York:  Da Capo Press, 1984), page 126.