LDS Freedom Forum

In a financial discussion for SS a few weeks ago, where people who seemed rich were sharing about their $130,000 cancer bill (a small prostate problem), mortgage, taxes, children, schooling, mission, etc., it hit me very hard that:

The USA's current economic, social, and cultural lifestyle is not sustainable. Something's gotta give, and it will, soon.
If we are not willing to search and live outside the box, many of us will be dashed upon the rocks of life.

I've made it through much of a problematic life because of doing just that.

I think now is the time to get prepared. It's still easier to do again something you learned once a few years ago, than trying to do it the first time under stress of life or death...

We've previously had great discussion here on the forecasted non-sustainability of today's economical situation.

Any practical solutions and helps to make life sustainable, so that we're not overwhelmed (intentionally, by TPTB) by the stresses?

1. The Spirit.
2. One day, I'll be judged by God. There might be witnesses, but there will be one judge and sentence, and that's what I need to prepare for.
3. Faith, hope, and charity. These will get us to believe that God knows our current and future needs, and can direct our lives.
4. Traditions might have been great, and some might still be great, but: It's okay to not be traditional. There is a difference between truth and tradition.
5. Knowledge by study and by faith. I can't believe how many Saints will turn ONLY to the church for needs and helps regarding marriage, children, money management, career, health, food storage, and everything else. There are TONS of "temporal" books, courses, and people out there that are wonderful and full of knowledge, even for "spiritual" things.
6. I plan to get more involved with government, at all levels. It might not mean much, but... I might start spending more time writing more about political things.

The United States is a nation that consumes more than it produces, by a margin of $900 billion per year, and the problem is getting worse. The total population has increased since 2000; the number of workers has gone down. It is only able to sustain itself by printing money and exporting its currency to the rest of the world in lieu of actual goods, but eventually, the rising debt will require the government to print so many dollars that the currency becomes devalued, foreign nations no longer find it desirable, we lose the ability to consume more than we produce, and the whole system comes crashing down.

Officially, America's GDP has grown since 2000. But if you calculate inflation based on actual commodity prices, you'll find that isn't quite true. I averaged the price increases of gold, silver, copper, wheat, soybeans, and crude oil and found that a dollar in today is only worth 43¢ in 2000's money. With that factor of inflation, total GDP has fallen to 90% of what it was, per capita GDP is at 75%, and because of rising inequality, median wages are 60% of what they used to be.

We only manage to pay for our current standard of living with a huge amount of indebtedness. For a (rather repugnant) account, given by a better writer than I am, of the sort of life this is leading to for individual Americans, I recommend Dmitry Orlov's post at: http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2019/02/h ... y-get.html

I know what you mean.
I’m ready to move onto farm land and start a huge garden. ( More like a custom grower of restaurant quality victuals).

It’d be a real “Green Acres” kind of move.
But I like rural people and I don’t mind living close to the bone.

I’ve always thought the American concept of retirement was ludicrous. I don’t need to maintain a rich lifestyle at the same economic level as now. I’d rather scale back and live a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Anyway, everyone who puts their whole life in the hands of worldly retirement planning are in for a surprise when it all crashes down one day.

Revelation 18. All of it.

Specifically verse 7:

7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. . .

Here's the whole thing:

1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Excellent thread with great posts. the current U.S. growing debt is unsustainable. An enemy hath done this, to borrow a quote, with help from politicians. Great will be the fall of it(Babylon in all forms, shapes, and sizes).

Yesterday a few of us forum members visited a SHTF refuge area for a civilization that was destroyed. While there, we visited a village where it was obvious that survival and life was dependent upon water, food, shelter and safety from the ravages of war. The latter meant living in a hole in the rock the size of a typical household freezer. The discussion revolved around how they could possibly have lived in such a condition, but in duress or if they never knew any different, I suppose you do what you have to.

https://mobile.twitter.com/JeremyFeakin ... fsrc=email

A small speck of hope, in a sea of despair.

I don't think there is enough time left to be worried so much about a financial crash.... That's because I think we are right up against the hard and complete crushing of our society... "as suddenly as the whirlwind" as Ezra Taft Benson said.

We are currently fulfilling two prophecies which describe our day perfectly, the first comes from an unpublished revelation which was given to Joseph Smith in 1831, it reads:

"Verily, I say unto you, that the day of vexation and vengeance is nigh at the doors of this nation, when wicked, ungodly and daring men will rise up in wrath and might, and go forth in anger, like as the dust is driven by a terrible wind; and they will be the means of the destruction of the government and cause the death and misery of many souls; but the faithful among my people shall be preserved in holy places during all these tribulations." (Letter from W.W. Phelps to Brigham Young, dated August 12, 1861, Joseph Smith Collection, Church Historians Office.)

Now if those who are on the left (and many on the supposed right) and are attempting to destroy us don't fit the description of "wicked, ungodly and daring men" rising "up in wrath and might, and go(ing) forth in anger", I don't know what does. So it should be obvious where this is leading and that we don't have much time left, right? Now consider a second statement by Ezra Taft Benson, said he:

"if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they ". . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant". (1 Nephi 14:6; 3 Nephi 21:11, 14, 21; D&C 84:114-115, 117)

“The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the "abomination of desolation" is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction." (Oct. general conference, 1961)

These two statements are stark and to the point, can anyone argue that the "abomination of desolation" via nuclear war isn't imminent? Given our present circumstance, it could happen at any time, right? So when Russell M. Nelson says in 2018 "Wait till next year. And then the next year. (2020) Eat your vitamin pills", could that not qualify as "any time"? Could "vitamin pills" be a metaphor for potassium iodine? He continually tells us that we are on the verge of big changes, right? In 2018 he said:

"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."

Could "miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory" be a reference to Adam Ondi Ahman? And when he says "But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost" is he implying that we need to be able to see what's coming and connect the dots for ourselves?

As I said at the beginning of my post, I think there's much more to be concerned about than just a financial crash. I think it's going to be just as the Lord predicted. From JS Matthew we read:

41 But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man;
42 For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage;
43 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Time to get our act together, after all, "time is running out", right?

I have more to say about connecting the dots here:

http://thebridegroomcometh.net/are-you- ... -the-dots/

Perhaps you will find it of interest...

friendsofthe wrote: ↑May 5th, 2019, 9:44 pm I don't think there is enough time left to be worried so much about a financial crash.... That's because I think we are right up against the hard and complete crushing of our society... "as suddenly as the whirlwind" as Ezra Taft Benson said.

We are currently fulfilling two prophecies which describe our day perfectly, the first comes from an unpublished revelation which was given to Joseph Smith in 1831, it reads:

"Verily, I say unto you, that the day of vexation and vengeance is nigh at the doors of this nation, when wicked, ungodly and daring men will rise up in wrath and might, and go forth in anger, like as the dust is driven by a terrible wind; and they will be the means of the destruction of the government and cause the death and misery of many souls; but the faithful among my people shall be preserved in holy places during all these tribulations." (Letter from W.W. Phelps to Brigham Young, dated August 12, 1861, Joseph Smith Collection, Church Historians Office.)

Now if those who are on the left (and many on the supposed right) and are attempting to destroy us don't fit the description of "wicked, ungodly and daring men" rising "up in wrath and might, and go(ing) forth in anger", I don't know what does. So it should be obvious where this is leading and that we don't have much time left, right? Now consider a second statement by Ezra Taft Benson, said he:

"if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they ". . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant". (1 Nephi 14:6; 3 Nephi 21:11, 14, 21; D&C 84:114-115, 117)

“The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the "abomination of desolation" is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction." (Oct. general conference, 1961)

These two statements are stark and to the point, can anyone argue that the "abomination of desolation" via nuclear war isn't imminent? Given our present circumstance, it could happen at any time, right? So when Russell M. Nelson says in 2018 "Wait till next year. And then the next year. (2020) Eat your vitamin pills", could that not qualify as "any time"? Could "vitamin pills" be a metaphor for potassium iodine? He continually tells us that we are on the verge of big changes, right? In 2018 he said:

"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."

Could "miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory" be a reference to Adam Ondi Ahman? And when he says "But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost" is he implying that we need to be able to see what's coming and connect the dots for ourselves?

As I said at the beginning of my post, I think there's much more to be concerned about than just a financial crash. I think it's going to be just as the Lord predicted. From JS Matthew we read:

41 But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man;
42 For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage;
43 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Time to get our act together, after all, "time is running out", right?

There will be a financial crash. I think in 2024.

But there are four trials coming: plague, famine, financial crash and government disruption/destruction. I think they come two at a time.

2020, 2024, 2027, 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033.

These are the years to pay attention to both for evil and for good.

All great posts in this thread. I have to agree 100% that America's lifestyle is not sustainable. In 2008 I said there was no way our society would not have crashed within 10 years, and yet, here we are.

I would again say there's no chance that we won't collapse within the next ten years, or even the next five. But I could be wrong again. I'm ok with that. I like hot showers, electricity on demand, and a very comfortable bed.

Each day is an opportunity to learn something new to prepare for a radically different lifestyle. That's what I do with my blog, PrepSchoolDaily dot blogspot dot com. I started it to teach my sons and daughters and daughter-in-law the things they need to know and be able to do with regards to food and medicine. The focus is on one narrow topic each day, not a bunch of generic lists like are found on most blogs. The supplies to have and how they are used. The diseases that will be making a comeback and how they are treated and if alternative medicine works for that specific condition.

Does iodized salt go bad?
What antiseptic is best for cleaning animal bites?
Which vitamins occur naturally in which foods?
What meds prevent absorption of which vitamins?
Can typhus really only be treated with doxycycline? Are there no natural remedies?
How do you treat cholera?
What's the best source of vitamin D?
How do you use OTC pain relievers like prescription pain relievers?
How to make powdered milk taste good (probably the most important thing of all, right?).

And I decided to make it available for all to read. I don't get a lot of views, and that's ok. If Heavenly Father wants more people to find my blog and read it, He'll have to make it happen. As it is, I learn something new each day, or I cement what I thought I understood in my brain better, and I do that when I research, then later when I write, and then again when I proofread right before the post appears on the blog the next day.

Eventually, there will be no grocery stores and no pharmacies. Orson Pratt prophesied there would be no manufacturing and no farming. We all know it's coming. Every little thing we can learn beforehand will make life much easier in the aftermath.

Michelle wrote: ↑May 5th, 2019, 7:26 pm Revelation 18. All of it.

Ah, Revelation 18. Such a great prophecy - I just happened to read it yesterday and couldn't help but notice how well it applies to our day. (And that isn't to say it only applies to our day; Babylon the Great signifies all worldly civilizations, and I am sure the Roman Christians in St. John's time believed, just as correctly, that it was talking about events in their day.)

Anyway, I read it and was struck with just how obsessed with merchandise the people are. You have all this death and devastation going on, and the main concern is that... merchants can no longer find a market for their wares. And that's what makes them cast dust on their heads and mourn.

And we're seeing that attitude in the United States. America is wealthy enough that most people live like kings even in the so-called bad times, and yet the electorate gets far more upset when the stock market goes down than when the government pays for abortion or bombs civilians in undeclared wars.

Then you have this:

23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

What a lot of people don't know about Verse 23 is that the Greek word translated as "sorceries" (here and three other places in Revelation) isn't mageia, the usual Greek word for sorcery from whence we get "magic," it's pharmakeia, the root of pharmacy / pharmaceuticals / pharmacist.

It referred then, as it does now, to the making and using of drugs. And the Greeks didn't have antibiotics or other drugs for treating physical ailments; to them, pharmakeia was about altering people's mental state. So basically, psychotropic substances.

When the Apostle John said that sorcery would be a big problem in the last days, he wasn't talking about Wiccans and Harry Potter.

Egypt is (the U.S.) and is the "Greater Babylon"

Gileadi

The word "clouds" is a metaphor which means "trouble".
Isaiah 2:7,8 "idols" - "materialism" - wealth"

7 Their land is full of silver and gold
and there is no end to their wealth;
their land is full of horses
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols:
they adore the works of their hands,
things their own fingers have made.

The expressions “their land is full of” and “there is no end to” repeat themselves in parallel as if to dramatize a surfeit of worldly possessions. Isaiah sums up the “silver,” “gold,” “wealth,” “horses,” and “chariots” of Jehovah’s people as mere “idols” (’elilim). Enamored with “the works of their hands,” his people have become steeped in materialism—a pernicious form of idolatry. It is at the height of this overabundance of “things” or their modern equivalents, moreover, that Jehovah’s Day of Judgment approaches for his people, hastening the time of his coming to reign on the earth (vv 10, 12, 19, 21).

-------------

"Of the more than thirty ancient events of which Isaiah predicts endtime versions, one is a Sodom and Gomorrah type of destruction. Endtime Babylon will be thrown down “as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 13:19). In his oracle addressed to “Babylon,” however, Isaiah defines Babylon as both a people and a place—the “sinners” and the “wicked” of the “earth” and the “world.”
He predicts that Jehovah will “make the earth a desolation, that sinners may be annihilated from it.” Jehovah has “decreed calamity for the world, punishment for the wicked.” He will “end the arrogance of insolent men and humble the pride of tyrants” (Isaiah 13:1, 9–13).

The fourth of seven parallel parts of a literary structure in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22, 23; 47) additionally gives a structural definition of Babylon.
Babylon consists of an entire conglomerate of nations and peoples who are allied against Zion.
Even those of Jehovah's people who don’t repent ultimately ally themselves with Babylon as the world polarizes into two camps. In that endtime setting, Jehovah calls his own people by the names “Sodom” and “Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10), signifying that in that day their wickedness will compare with the wickedness of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah—and that their fate, likewise, will resemble Sodom’s and Gomorrah’s."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Isaiah 19

1 An oracle concerning Egypt:
When Jehovah enters Egypt riding on swift clouds,
the idols of Egypt will rock at his presence
and the Egyptians’ hearts melt within them.

Ancient Egypt, where Israel’s ancestors found refuge—birthplace of the birthright tribe of Ephraim, and of Moses, Israel’s deliverer—typifies a land with strong ties between Jehovah’s end-time people and end-time “Egypt.”
In the Book of Isaiah’s apocalyptic context—when history repeats itself—the world’s superpower codenamed “Egypt” forms a part of Isaiah’s Greater Babylon and suffers covenant curses in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment.
So great is Egypt’s desolation on the heels of Jehovah’s “swift clouds” that its people’s hearts “melt within them” as in Isaiah’s vision of Babylon (Isaiah 13:6-8).

2 I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians;
they will fight brother against brother
and neighbor against neighbor,
city against city and state against state.
3 Egypt’s spirit shall be drained from within;
I will frustrate their plans,
and they will resort to the idols and to spiritists,
to mediums and witchcraft.

Anarchy and civil war in the great superpower of the world form the prelude to its desolation. As much of the land is destroyed from within, Egypt’s enemies see their chance to invade from without.
When Jehovah withdraws his Spirit because of a people’s evildoing, they are left to their own devices. Their alienation causes Jehovah to close the heavens. They lose the light they once had, and a man’s adversaries become those of his own people. Desperate, they turn to false channels of information—idols, spiritists, mediums, and witchcraft—only to compound their plight (Isaiah 8:19-20; 42:17; 44:17; 45:20).

4 Then will I deliver the Egyptians
into the hand of a cruel master;
a harsh ruler will subject them,
says the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.

The nation of Egypt in Isaiah’s day was ruled by a non-native Afro-Egyptian (Cushite) pharaoh of Egypt’s 25th dynasty (760-656 B.C.) (cf. Isaiah 18:1; 20:3-5). This was a period of extensive government programs but of moral decline that set the stage for Assyria’s invasion and conquest of Egypt.
Like ancient Egypt, end-time “Egypt” deteriorates politically (vv 11-15), experiences economic hardship (vv 8-10), and suffers severe drought conditions (vv 5-7). Egypt—the breadbasket of the world—is reduced to poverty. Only the God of Israel, who rules over all nations, is able to save Egypt (vv 20-24).

5 The waters of the lakes shall ebb away
as stream beds become desolate and dry.
6 The rivers shall turn foul,
and Egypt’s waterways recede and dry up.
Reeds and rushes shall wither;
7 vegetation adjoining canals and estuaries,
and all things sown along irrigation channels,
shall shrivel and blow away and be no more.

The covenant curse of withering vegetation—synchronized with a plethora of other misfortunes—afflicts Egypt as its vibrant society wanes like the vegetation itself. Egypt’s flora epitomize the transitory nature of life for its corrupt inhabitants (cf. Isaiah 5:24; 37:27; 40:6-8, 24).
Foliage that “shrivels and blows away and is no more” typifies the fate awaiting them and all who comprise Greater Babylon.
Egypt’s bodies of water that dry up and rivers that turn foul, too, are a metaphor of its people (cf. Isaiah 18:2, 7; 37:25; 42:15), their pollution and evaporation signifying their descent into chaos.

8 Fishermen will deplore their lot
and anglers in canals bemoan themselves;
those who cast nets on water
will be in misery.
9 Manufacturers of combed linen
and weavers of fine fabrics will be dismayed.
10 The textile workers will know despair,
and all who work for wages asuffer distress.

A supremely industrialized and agricultural land, Egypt spirals into decay. Where once there existed plenty, now a dearth prevails. Where once Egyptians were gainfully employed, now they remain idle. Even traditionally staple livelihoods disappear. A spirit of “misery,” “dismay,” “despair,” and “distress” pervades Egypt’s society (v 3). A hitherto highly prosperous nation is imploding, leaving its large populace without seeming recourse (v 15). Like all who make up Greater Babylon, Egypt—the most elite of nations—is rendered wretched as Jehovah’s judgments come upon her (cf. Isaiah 24:4; 32:10).

--------------

11 The ministers of Zoan are utter fools;
the wisest of Pharaoh’s advisers give absurd counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
We ourselves are as wise as the first rulers?
12 Where are your wise men indeed?
Let them please tell you, if they can discern it,
what Jehovah of Hosts has in mind for Egypt!
13 The ministers of Zoan have been foolish,
the officials of Noph deluded;
the heads of state have led Egypt astray.

In Egypt’s political capital, Pharaoh and his advisers follow foolish policies in their attempts at economic recovery, further exacerbating Egypt’s problems. Considering themselves as wise as Egypt’s founding fathers, they act presumptuously, only to lead Egypt deeper into ruin. Deviating from well-proven principles—relying instead on their own wisdom—they and their remedial strategies cause a loss of confidence in the nation, leading to anarchy and civil war (vv 2-3). If Pharaoh and his advisers are indeed as wise as they regard themselves, then let them predict what Jehovah has in store for Egypt!

14 Jehovah has permeated them
with a spirit of confusion;
they have misled Egypt in all that it does,
causing it to stagger like a drunkard into his vomit.
15 And there shall be nothing the Egyptians
can do about it,
neither head nor tail, palm top or reed.

Egypt’s ruling elite resemble disoriented persons possessed by a spirit of confusion who lead an entire nation astray, politically and economically. The people’s cumulative guilt has reached its saturation point. Only Jehovah’s judgments can cleanse the nation of its wickedness and idolatry (v 3).
The motifs of a “drunkard” who “staggers” into his “vomit” link the nation of Egypt to Jehovah’s people of the tribe of Ephraim and to Ephraim’s intoxicated prophets (Isaiah 28:1, 3, 7-8; 56:10-12). The “head” and “tail,” “palm top” and “reed” allude to the people’s leaders (Isaiah 7:8-9; 9:14-15; 36:6).
-----------------
Isaiah 28

7 These too have indulged in wine
and are giddy with strong drink:
priests and prophets have gone astray through liquor.
They are intoxicated with wine
and stagger because of strong drink;
they err as seers, they blunder in their decisions.
8 For all tables are filled with vomit;
no spot is without excrement.

As the political and ecclesiastical leaderships of Jehovah’s people always appear on a par (Isaiah 3:2-4; 9:14-16; 24:2), so Ephraim’s “fat proud ones” (vv 1, 4) include its “priests,” “prophets,” and “seers” (Isaiah 56:10-12). Intoxicated with the wine of self-deception (v 15), they “stray,” “err,” and “blunder” in their policies.
Instead of obtaining revelation from Jehovah (vv 9, 14, 16, 26, 29), they water down his word until it is ineffectual in empowering his people (vv 10-13; Isaiah 32:6).
The best their spiritual feasts offer is “vomit”—partly digested food regurgitated for Jehovah’s people to consume.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
continuing from verse 15

16 In that day the Egyptians will be as women, fearful and afraid at the brandishing hand Jehovah of Hosts wields over them.
17 The land of Judah shall become a source of terror to the Egyptians; all reminded of it shall dread what Jehovah of Hosts has in store for them
.
The Egyptians’ behaving as women in that “day”—Jehovah’s Day of Judgment—implies not only fear in the face of danger but transgender issues.
The hand Jehovah of Hosts wields over them identifies the king of Assyria/Babylon, who threatens to invade Egypt and all the lands that comprise Isaiah’s Greater Babylon.
The “land of Judah” represents those parts of the world the archtyrant conquers first before invading Egypt, as Assyria did anciently. What Jehovah has “in store,” which causes “terror” and “dread,” is Egypt’s imminent day of reckoning (cf. Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9; 22:5; 30:1-5; 31:1-3).

18 In that day five Hebrew-speaking cities in the land of Egypt will swear loyalty to Jehovah of Hosts. One shall be known as the City of Righteousness.

Five “cities” or city-states in the land of Egypt contain covenant communities of people who swear allegiance to Israel’s God in his Day of Judgment. Rather than trust in human measures to counter threats facing the nation, these inhabitants instead turn to their Maker.
The existence of a “City of Righteousness” in the land of Egypt alludes to the affiliation of Jehovah’s end-time servant—Jehovah’s righteousness (Isaiah 41:2; 46:11-13)—with Egypt’s covenant communities (cf. Isaiah 1:26; 38:4-6). As Joseph in Egypt served as a savior to his brothers in a time of evil, so does Jehovah’s servant (v 20).

19 In that day there shall be an altar erected to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt and a monument to Jehovah at its border.
20 They shall serve as a sign and testimony of Jehovah of Hosts in the land of Egypt: when they cry out to Jehovah because of the oppressors, he will send them a savior, who will take up their cause and deliver them.

Just as a temple was built to Israel’s God in ancient Egypt by émigré Israelites, so one is built “in the midst” of end-time Egypt, its “altar” denoting both atonement for transgression and consecrated offerings. A “monument” at Egypt’s border suggests a memorial erected by Jehovah’s people who dwelt there. Their serving as a “sign” and “testimony” reflects these persons enduring loyalty in spite of their falling victim to injustices at the hands of oppressors.
Just as Jehovah sent Moses in answer to his people’s cries in ancient Egypt (Exodus 3:1-9), so he sends them a “savior”—his end-time servant.

21 Jehovah will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day. They will worship by sacrifice and offerings, and make vows to Jehovah and fulfill them.

The presence of Jehovah’s servant among Egypt’s covenanters has the effect of intensifying their devotions to the point that Jehovah personally manifests himself to them.
Because the verb to “know” signifies a consummated covenant relationship, the Egyptians’ worship of Jehovah results in their literally coming to know him, not just know about him. Underscoring their experience with Israel’s God is their worship by “sacrifice and offerings” and “making vows” and “fulfilling them” (cf. Isaiah 56:6-7; 60:7; 66:20-21), inferring that others who have made such vows or covenants aren’t fulfilling them.

22 Jehovah will smite Egypt, and by smiting heal it: they will turn back to Jehovah, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

Although it is Jehovah who smites the wicked—both his own people and the nations (Isaiah 9:13; 27:7-8; 60:10)—he uses the king of Assyria/Babylon as his instrument (Isaiah 5:25; 10:20; 14:6).
Jehovah’s intent, however, is to cause the wicked to “turn back” to him—to “repent” and “return”—so that he may heal them. He heals them when at last they “see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand in their heart, and repent, and are healed” (Isaiah 6:10; cf. 58:1-8).
Too often, however, only when wickedness results in covenant curses, does such healing occur (Isaiah 26:16; 27:4-5; 54:7-8).

I think this lifestyle is not sustainable, but it could easily end not with a bang, but with a whimper.