A California Earthquake : A Prophetic Exegesis
Adapted from Isaiah 24-28, 30-33

The city is shattered and in chaos. Joy has faded away and all merriment has ceased.

Nothing but desolation is life in the city, and its gates have been smashed beyond repair. So it will be in the United States, when the day wrath has come.

Around the world many peoples raise their voices and cry out for joy, acclaiming the from the west, the majesty of YAHWEH. Therefore let YAHWEH be glorified in the eastern regions, and the name of God in the coasts and islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we have heard them sing ascribing beauty and righteousness to YAHWEH.

But alas, I said, ‘Depravity! Depravity! Woe betide me, for traitors still deal treacherously! Truly they are double dyed traitors. Therefore the hunter's snare and the trap and the pit are prepared and await to threaten all the inhabitants of the earth. Whoever runs from the snare, falls into a pit, and whoever climbs up out of the pit, falls into the trap. The windows of heaven have been opened, and the earth's very foundations have been shaken; the earth has been utterly shattered, it is convulsed and now it reels wildly, and staggers and lurches like a drunkard and sways like a tin shack in a wind storm; the sins of the inhabitants of the earth weight heavily upon them,, and so the earth collapses and rises no more.

For on that day has YAHWEH punished the hosts of heaven and on earth the kings of the world. They are herded together and packed like prisoners in a dungeon, locked away in jail to be punished for many years. The light of the moon has grown pale and the sun has lots it radiant glory for YAHWEH of Hosts has taken the throne and has been revealed in glory to the elders of God's people.

YAHWEH, you are my God. I shall exalt you and praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planned long ago, certain and sure. You have turned their cities into ruined heaps, their fortress into rubble. Even the mansions in their cities have been swept away, never to be rebuilt. For this reason many in this cruel nation of America holds you in high honor, the cities of this ruthless people of the United States treat you with awe. For Truly you have been a refuge for the poor of the world who have been crushed and plundered over many years by Washington, truly you been a refuge to the needy in their distress, crushed under the violent blows rained down upon them by Washington, D.C. You have been a shelter from Washington's tempest, shade from the blazing heat. For the blast of that ruthless city is like an icy storm or a scorching drought. You subdue the roaring of our enemy and the ruthless song of Washington dies away.

On Eden's highest mountain God will prepare a banquet of rich fare for all the peoples, a banquet of wines well matured, richest fare and well matured wines strained clear. On Eden's highest mountain YAHWEH will destroy the pall thrown over all the nations, the veil shrouding all the peoples. YAHWEH will destroy death forever. Then YAHWEH God will wipe away the tears from every face, and throughout the world remove the indignities from God's people. YAHWEH has spoken.

And on that day, people will say, "See, this is our God; we have waited and God will deliver us. This is YAHWEH for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and exult in God's deliverance."

For the hand of YAHWEH will rest upon the mountain of Eden, but Washington will be trampled where he stands, just as straw is trampled into the muck. Washington will spread out his hands like a swimmer attempting to swim, but his arrogance will be sunk with every stroke of his arms. For YAHWEH will overthrow their high walled fortress, leveling their walls to the very ground and bring Washington down into the dust.

And on that let God's people in YAHWEH's churches sing : ‘We have a strong city, with high walls and ramparts like those of a mighty fortress built for our safety. Open the gates, throw open wide the gates! Let a righteous people enter, a people who keep faith! ‘

YAHWEH, you keep those of a firm purpose untroubled because of their trust in you. Trust in YAHWEH forever and ever, for God is an eternal rock. YAHWEH has brought low all who have dwelled high in a towering city; God levels it to the ground and lays it in the dust, so that the victims of Washington, the oppressed and the poor and needy may trample that place into the dust and tread it under their feet. (Rise up! Rise Up! Storm rises in your power!)

With all my heart I long for you in the night, and at dawn once again I seek you, for when your Law prevails upon the earth the inhabitants of the world learn what justice really means. The wicked are destroyed; they have never learned true justice. Godless even in an upright land they remain blind to the glory of YAHWEH. YAHWEH, your hand is lifted high, but they cannot see it. Their dead will not live again, for you have punished and destroyed them, and wiped out all memory of them. YAHWEH, in our distress we sought you out, chastened by the whisper of your rebuke. We were like a woman in labor, but we gave birth to only wind. We have not achieved any victories in the land, and given birth to no one to inhabit the earth. But your dead will live again. Those who sleep in the earth will awake and they will shout for joy; for your dew is like a sparkling light, and the earth will bring those long dead to birth again.

So then, go my people, and enter your rooms, and shut the door after you; withdraw for a little while, until the wrath of YAHWEH has passed. For YAHWEH is coming from God's Holy Dwelling place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their sins; then the earth will reveal the blood shed upon it and hide the bodies of those who have been slaughtered no more.

On that day YAHWEH with a cruel sword, with a mighty and powerful sword will slay the Dragon of Washington, that twisting serpent, that writhing serpent the Leviathan; God will slay that monster of the deep.

And then after this day, sing the song of the pleasant vineyard. ‘I, YAHWEH, am its keeper, I water it regularly, for fear that its leaves should wilt. But I get no wine. I would just as soon have briars and thorns which I could then trample down, unless it grasps me as its refuge and makes peace with me - yes, let it make peace with me.

In time God's people will take root, and they will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit. For has YAHWEH struck down the churches as their enemies were struck down? God's quarrel with those quarrelsome churches ends by driving them into exile with a cruel blast, and this wipes out their iniquity, and the removal of their sin has been the result. They pound to chalk dust all their altar stones and their sacred poles and incense altars are not left standing.

And at that time YAHWEH will beat out the grain from the river Euphrates in Iraq all the way to wadis of Egypt. On that day a great trumpet will be sounded, and all of God's people who have been lost and wandering will be gathered and come to worship YAHWEH on Eden's Holy Mountain.

Alas for the proud garlands of Washington's drunkards, fading flowers, lovely in their beauty, on the heads of those drip with perfumes, on those who are overcome with wine! For YAHWEH has at God's bidding one who is mighty and strong, like a sweeping storm of hail, like a destroying tempest, like a torrent of water in flood; he will beat down on the land with violence. The proud garlands of Washington's drunkards with be trampled underfoot. The fading lowers, lovely in their beauty, on those who drip with perfume, with be like early figs ripe before summer, Whoever sees them plucks them, and their bloom is gone. On that day YAHWEH will be a lovely garland, a fair diadem for the remnant of God's people, a spirit of justice for the one who sits as a judge, and of valor for those who repel enemy attacks at the gate.

These also lose their way through wine, and are set staggering by strong drink : American ministers and their prophets lose their way through strong drink and are befuddled by wine; they are set wandering by strong drink, lose their way through tippling, and stumble in judgment. All of their tables are covered with vomit and filth is seen everywhere. Who then is there who can be taught. Who then makes sense of what they are hearing? They are like babes just take from the breast who make nothing but some babble of meaningless nonsense, mere noises on every side. So therefore through barbarous speech and a strange sounding tongue YAHWEH will speak to those people to whom it once said, ‘this is true rest; let the exhausted have rest,' and ‘this is repose,' but they refuged to listen. Now to them the Word of YAHWEH shall be just some babble of meaningless nonsense, nothing but noises on every side, so that as they walk they will fall backwards, they will be injured, trapped and snared. Therefore listen to this you arrogant ministers and prophets who proclaim ‘we have made a covenant with death...when the overwhelming torrent comes, it will not touch us, for we have taken refuge in lies and sheltered in falsehoods.' But YAHWEH shall lay in Eden a foundation stone, and those who have faith will not waver. And YAHWEH shall use justice as a plumb line and righteousness as a plummet. And then hail will sweep away your refuge of lies and flood waters will destroy your shelter. You covenant with death will be annulled. You compact with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming flood comes you will be swept away with it. When you understand what you are hearing, it will mean sheer terror, for as they saying goes, ‘the bed is to short for a person to stretch and the blanket is to narrow for a cover.' But YAHWEH will arise and storm with rage to do what God what must do, to perform the task, the unexpected task. But for now do away with your arrogance for I have heard destruction decreed for your land by YAHWEH of Hosts.

Woe betide the rebellious churches of America, says YAHWEH, who makes plans, but not of my devising, who weave schemes, but not inspired by me, and wind up piling sin upon sin. Without consulting me they hurry down to Washington, to seek shelter under Pharaoh's protection, to take refuge under Pharaoh's shadow. Pharaoh's protection will lead to humiliation and refuge under the shadow the United States of Egypt will bring you disgrace. Though his officers are in Iraq and his envoys reach as far as Iran, that unprofitable nation will leave everyone in a sorry plight; they will find neither help nor profit, only humiliation and disgrace.

The Beast of the North : an oracle

Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and roaring lion, of sand viper and venomous flying serpents, they convey their wealth on humps of camels and their treasures on the backs of donkeys to an unprofitable people. Worthless and futile is the help of the United States of Egypt; therefore I have given her this name : The Dragon Subdued.

Now while they are watching you, write it down on a tablet, engrave it as an insciption, that it maybe there in future days, a testimony that will last for all time to come. They are a church full of rebels, disloyal children, children who refuge to listen to YAHWEH's instruction. They say to the seers, ‘you are not to see' and to the prophets ‘you are not to prophecy. Do not produce true visions for us; give us smooth words and flattering oracles and illusory visions. Turn aside. Leave the straight and narrow path, and rid us of that Holy One.

Therefore, because you have taken this attitude, this is the Word of then Holy One : You have rejected this warning and put your trust in devious and dishonest practices, on which you lean for support, therefore you will find this sin of yours to be like a high wall, cracked and bulging, which suddenly, all in an instant, comes crashing down. It crashes and breaks like a clay pot, shattered beyond all repair, so that among the fragments not a shard is found that is big enough to scoop water. In calm detachment lies your safety, your strength through quiet trust. But you would have none of it. No, you said, we will take up strong war horses. We will ride upon swift war horses.' Therefore even more swift will be your pursuer, and a thousand will flee at the challenge of just one, until you are left as lonely and deserted as flag sitting on a mountaintop, a signal post sitting on a hill. Yet YAHWEH is waiting to show favor to you, and yearns to have pity on you, for YAHWEH is a God of justice. Happy are all those who wait for God.

See YAHWEH comes from afar, with anger blazing and doom heavy. God's lips are charged with wrath and God's tongue is like a devouring fire. God's breath is like a torrent in spate as the nations are sieved out for destruction; God puts an bit in their mouths to lead the peoples astray.

But for God's people there will songs, as on a night of a sacred pilgrim feast, and gladness of heart as if one marched to the sound of the pipe on the way to the mountain of YAHWEH. Then YAHWEH will make God's voice heard in majesty and reveal God's arm descending in fierce anger with devouring flames of fire, amid cloudburst and tempests of rain and hail. For at the voice of YAHWEH, Washington's heart fails her, as Washington feels the stroke of God's rod. Tambourines, lyres, and shaking sistrums will keep time with every stroke of the rod of the punishment which God will inflict upon Washington. For Topheth was made ready long ago, its fire pit deep and wide, becomes a blazing mass of logs, with the breath of YAHWEH like a stream of brimstone setting it ablaze.

So then woe to those who go down to Washington for help, and who rely on war horses, because they are so many, who rely on war chariots because they are so plentiful and in horsemen because of their vast numbers, but who do not look to the Holy One or seek guidance of YAHWEH. Yet YAHWEH, too, can bring trouble and does not take back any threats that were made previously to Washington (in November 2004). God will rise up against evil doers and against all who go to the help of those evil doers. Those Egyptians are just mortals, not some kind of god, and their warriors are just flesh. When YAHWEH's hand is stretched out both the helped and the helper will stumble and fall, and they perish together.

You churches have been deeply disloyal, yet come back to YAHWEH for on that day every single one of you will toss away your idols of silver and your idols of gold which your own sinful hands have made. The United States will fall, but not by human swords; a sword that no mortal wields will devour Washington. They will flee before this sword, and their young warriors will be put to forced labor repairing the damage to Iraq, while their officers will be helpless with terror, and their captains powerless to flee. This is the Word of YAHWEH, whose fire blazes in Eden, and whose furnace burns here. Those powerful scoundrels from America will no longer be thought noble, nor will those powerful American villains be thought honorable. For the scoundrel will speak just like a scoundrel, hatching evil in his heart, godless in all his conduct and a liar to YAHWEH. He starves the hungry of their food and deprives the thirsty of anything to drink. The villains tactics are villainous and they are always devising wicked devices to bring ruin on the poor through the telling of endless lies, and to deny justice to the needy. But the one who is of noble mind forms noble designs, and in those designs they stand firm.

So then rise up you women who are at ease, you complacent daughters who live without a care. Mark my words. You may be carefree now, but you will be quaking with fear. You women now at ease, be terrified; tremble, you women without a care. Strip yourselves naked, and put on sackcloth of mourning, for the land with its yield of thorns and briars, mourn for every happy home in the bustling city, for mansions have fallen and the streets are deserted, and both citadel and watchtower have fallen, to become the delight of wild asses, until a spirit from on high is lavished upon us.

So woe betide, Washington, you destroyer, yourself undestroyed, you betrayer, yourself unbetrayed.

YAHWEH, show us your favor, for our hope is in you. Uphold us every morning, save us when troubles come. At the crack of thunder peoples flee, nations are scattered at your roar; they are stripped of their plunder and spoil as if stripped b y young locusts, like a swarm of locusts folks swarm over their plunder and their spoil.