While the East was the site of terrible pogroms and atrocities against Jews, it was the liberal, enlightened, 'free' West where the two greatest holocausts of Jews have taken place. The German Reich murdered 6 million Jewish bodies. US assimilation has reportedly claimed a greater number of souls,...
America melts tribal ties. Jewish leaders write and preach incessantly on the evils of intermarriage. And the Jewish intermarriage rate has gone from 10 percent before 1965 to more than 50 percent since 1985–not counting ethnic non-Jews who convert. "We have lost more Jews to intermarriage than to the Holocaust," thundered a direct-mail appeal I once received. [NOTE: Vanishing Russian Jew: 80% Assimilation Rate in U.S. ]... and seeks to export that spiritual holocaust to Israel through rampant missionary activity. Both nations, Germany and the US, used the Eagle, ancient emblem of Imperial Rome, as a standard.
Of the 'Roman' Empire, which over time evolved into the American Empire, the Maharal wrote in Ner Mitzvah:
...the fourth empire was a universal synthesis, alone equivalent to the others [the three preceding it].A few comments here: It has been noted before that the name Bush spelled backwards in Hebrew is shuv, also meaning return. He returns three times to Jerusalem to indicate that 1) Hashem wants His people to return to Him and to Eretz Yisrael; 2) this "peace" process of "returning" land to the Arabs is really about returning us to our Divine heritage and destiny; and 3) Mr "Shuv" himself is returning in another gilgul to finish what he started when he, as Titus, destroyed the Beit HaMikdash HaSheini, but instead he is returning for his ultimate 'reward.'
...Because of its universality, this empire is motivated to be everything, not allowing anyone else to co-exist along with it.
...It therefore destroys all others, and is occupied with destruction only. ...Indeed, the basic trait of this empire was destructiveness, as it burned and destroyed the Temple of our God, ....
...Its destructiveness derives from the non-existence that cleaves to it [Am-reika], since the fourth empire is the end and finish of the world empires; their deterioration and ruin. The fourth empire is associated with void, and he who is associated with nothingness and void has the power to transmit it to another. Thus, the fourth empire derives the capacity to destroy and demolish all that is. [Listen to the Iraqis on this subject.]
...Void, however, is what leads to existential renewal, as is well known, and therefore the vacuum and non-existence created by this empire will lead to the re-existence of Yisrael. The fourth empire is therefore called a swine --- Hazer, for it will return ---TaHazor, royal power to Yisrael.
The Maharal continues:
...It is important to understand that Hashem is the designer of the order of the four world empires. ...in order to exist they surely must be attached to Hashem in some respect. Each empire is thus symbolized by an animal that has at least one clean sign, as the Midrash relates, indicative of an aspect of association with the Holy One.This brings to mind the German obsession with purity of race and the evangelical obsession with homosexuality while all the mega-preachers are committing adultery or worse. It's also noteworthy that the standard fare for the most important Christian holidays is pork---the Xmas ham and the Easter ham. Just thought I'd throw that in.
The first three empires are symbolized by the camel, the coney, and the rabbit respectively. Each of these brings up its cud, a sign of purity, although its hoofs are not split. Note further, that the sign of purity of these empires, is hidden and internal, an indication that their partial connection with the Holy One is internal and concealed. The fourth empire, on the other hand, is not symbolized by an animal whose sign of cleanliness is hidden, for on the contrary, the split hoofs of the swine are openly revealed. This indicates that the relationship that this empire has with the Holy One, is not more than surface deep. That is, it pretentiously flaunts signs of purity, while truthfully, on the inside, it is not pure. Pretending to be pure is the closest it comes to the Holy One and to truth --- by displaying their hoofs which externally and superficially indicate purity, while this is not really so.
But the question is, even if the US is the present equivalent of Rome, does it necessarily relate to Gog uMagog? Is there any indication in any of our sources that Magog and 'Rome' are one and the same or might Gog arise to oppose the emergence of Yisrael from out of the destruction of Edom/Rome?
To be continued... If anyone has anything to contribute, please use the comments section.
