I suddenly realized that the telescope had nothing to do with what I was seeing, but that it was a vision coming directly from God. And to prove this to myself I took my eyes away from the telescope, so that I was no longer looking through the lens, but the same scene remained before me.
The Sword and the Cup
There, clear and distinct, lay all the North American Continent, with all its great cities. To the North lay the Great Lakes. Far to the Northeast was New York City. I could see Seattle and Portland far to the Northwest. Down the West Coast, there were San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Closer in the foreground, there lay New Orleans, at the center of the Gulf Coast area. I could see the great towering ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and trace with my eye the Continental Divide. All this and more, I could see spread out before me as a great map upon a table.
And as l looked, suddenly from the sky I saw a giant hand reach down. That gigantic hand was reaching out toward the Statue of Liberty. In a moment her gleaming torch was torn from her hand, and in it instead was placed a cup. And I saw protruding from that great cup, a giant sword, shining as if a great light had been turned upon its glistening edge. Never before had I seen such a sharp, glistening, dangerous sword. It seemed to threaten all the world.
As the great cup was placed in the hand of the Statue of Liberty, I heard these words,
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Drink ye and be drunken, spew and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send.” As I heard these words, I recognized them as a quotation from Jeremiah 25:7. I was amazed to hear the Statue of Liberty speak out in reply, “I WILL NOT DRINK!” Then as the voice of the thunder, I heard again the voice of the Lord, saying, “Thus says the Lord of Hosts, YE SHALL CERTAINLY DRINK.” (Jer. 25:28)
Then suddenly the giant hand forced the cup to the lips of the Statue of Liberty, and she became powerless to defend herself. The mighty hand of God forced her to drink every drop from the cup. As she drank the bitter dregs, these were the words that I heard, “Should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of Hosts.” (Jer. 25:29)
When the cup was withdrawn from the lips of the Statue of Liberty, I noticed the sword was missing from the cup, which could mean but one thing. THE CONTENTS OF THE CUP HAD BEEN COMPLETELY CONSUMED! I knew that the sword merely typified war, death and destruction, which is no doubt on the way.
Death in the Gulf of Mexico
Then as one drunken on too much wine, I saw the Statue of Liberty become unsteady on her feet and begin to stagger, and to lose her balance. I saw her splashing in the Gulf, trying to regain her balance. I saw her stagger again and again, and fall to her knees.
As I saw her desperate attempts to regain her balance, and rise to her feet again, my heart was moved as never before with compassion for her struggles. But as she staggered there in the Gulf, once again I heard these words, “Ye shall drink and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more because of the sword that I shall send among you.”
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As I watched, I wondered if the Statue of Liberty would ever be able to regain her feet—if she would ever stand again. And as I watched, it seemed that with all her power she struggled to rise, and finally staggered to her feet again, and stood there swaying drunkenly. I felt sure that at any moment she would fall again—possibly never to rise. I seemed overwhelmed with a desire to reach out my hand to keep her head above water, for I knew that if she ever fell again she would drown there in the Gulf.
Stephen Strang 
Charisma Media Staff 
Charisma Staff 
