America Look Unto The Rock Whence Ye Are Hewn!

by Rev. Ken Kemble 
Post Office Box 5204, Uvalde, Texas 78802-5204 
 
 
“Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look 
unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look 
unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and 
blessed him, and increased him.” Isaiah 51:1,2 

It is generally assumed and taught that America is named after the famous explorer, 
Americus Vespucci (1451-1512). Others claim that America is named after Richard 
Ameryke, enthusiastic supporter and financier of the explorer John Cabot (1450-1498). 
The name America, however, is actually much older, and has been attached to this 
great land since the time of the Vikings and before, hundreds of years before the time of 
Columbus, Cabot or Vespucci. 

It has been suggested that “America” is derived from the old Norse word “Ommerike” 
(oh-meh-ric-eh), that was evidently in common use among the North Atlantic sailing 
fraternity from around the beginning of the 11th century.* 

Omme means “out there,” “final,” or “ultimate.” Rike (spelled a number of ways in 
ancient Norse manuscripts such as rige, rega, rike, rikja, and reykja) means “great land,” 
“kingdom,” “empire.” It is the equivalent of the Gaelic “righ” and the German “reich.” 
The old Norse ommerike, however, is simply a slightly corrupted form of the still more 
ancient Visigothic term amalric. † 

In fact, Professor Louis Miskovsky of Oberlin College wrote in the 1920’s that America 
is “simply another form of the old Gothic Amalric.” Amal means “heaven;” and ric 
means “Kingdom,” just as in the old Norse rike. We find the same old word handed down 
to us today in the modern German term “Himmelreich,” used for the Biblical 
 

“Kingdom of Heaven.” ‡ 
Thus, America (amalric, himmelreich) literally means Kingdom of Heaven. 
“A marvelous appellation,” wrote Miskovsky, “and calculated to make us 
thoughtful.” Indeed, one might almost believe that this name, apparently given to our land 
by mere accident, was in reality prophetic, looking forward to a bright day to come. 
 

America…Kingdom of Heaven! God’s country! 
Throughout our history men and women have fought all manner of trouble to come to 
this great land. It was a new and mysterious “Promised Land;” a land flowing with milk 
and honey, prepared for us by the Hand of the Almighty. They came usually at risk of life, 
and sometimes lost it. But in their hearts was a righteous fervor. They wanted not only to 
be free, but to establish a place where they could live for God unfettered by the chains of 
religious persecution! 

The Pilgrims were Separatists (a dirty word nowadays, but highly scriptural—2 Cor. 
6:17). They settled here in the early 1600’s and established a “Civill body Politick,” and it is made very clear in the Mayflower Compact that they did so under God, referring to God 
and the Christian Faith repeatedly throughout the Compact. The Compact even begins with 
the words “In the name of God, Amen.” They lived their lives according to the Word of 
God, and to them this was truly America, the Kingdom of Heaven. 

By the early 19th century, the United States of America was a marvel and a wonder to all 
the world. Our God had placed us above all the other nations of the earth, just as He had 
promised to do if we were obedient (Deuteronomy 28:1). We were so blessed of God and 
so full of strength, liberty and bounty that one almost had to come to America and see it to 
believe it. And that they did; by the hundreds. 

One of those who curiously came over for a visit to see this great new wonder called the 
United States of America was a French historian and researcher named Alexis de 
Tocqueville. He came to see what made America ‘tick.’ In 1826, after he had been here 
for a time, he came to a conclusion. He said: 

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbours and 
her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile land and boundless prairies, and it 
was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame 
with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great 
because she is good, and if America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” 
Back in those days, there were indeed many mighty men of God in the pulpits across 
America. Men like Jonathan Mayhew, Samuel West, and countless others stirred their 
congregations on to holy living. They preached righteousness. They preached obedience 
to God. They preached the Kingdom of Heaven. The pulpits of America were, as de 
Tocqueville states from first-hand experience, aflame! 

Sadly, I see a totally different America when I look around me and when I listen to the 
news on the radio. Lawlessness abounds in the land of the free and home of the brave. In 
fact, it becomes more and more evident if we take an honest look at life in America today 
that we are neither free nor brave. We are in bondage. A bondage of our own making. 
The bondage that results from turning away from God. 

Matthew 24:12, in speaking of our present day, says: “And because of the abundance of 
lawlessness (rebellion against God’s Law), the love of many shall become cold.” 
We have indeed become cold, and have lost our first love. We have become a wicked 
and adulterous generation, calling evil good and good evil. We accept all manner of 
wickedness in the name of tolerance, and are called “un-christian” if we don’t. Forgiveness 
of the wicked seems to be the principal concern, while the cries for the re-establishment of 
righteousness in the land are made out to be the ravings of an ogre. 

We have brazenly turned our back on God and despised the inestimable treasure of His 
Holy Word. We have become a nation of infidels, reprobates and debauchees. We allow 
our unborn to be slaughtered without even the blink of an eye, and talk about it as though it 
were merely some trivial political issue. We accept decadent sexual perverts as normal, 
and castigate anyone who dares suggest that they are what they are; wicked. 
Our nation’s Capitol is filled, even at it’s highest levels, with sexual deviants, liars and 
felons; and nobody even seems to care. 

More and more, the lovers of righteousness and those that love God’s Holy Word are 
called “hate mongers” and the wicked are smothered with sympathy and called simply 
“human” or even “good!” 

Righteousness is more and more becoming a relic of the distant past. It is now an undesirable trait. It simply doesn’t fit in to the communistic New World Order that 
everyone seems to want. 

Just as the angry mob so long ago shouted “Give us Barabbus” and “Crucify Jesus,” we 
have said “Away with Christ,” “Away with His Word,” “Away with Christian ideals,” and 
we have welcomed Barabbus with open arms! Just as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, 
we have married strange wives and have begotten a whole new order, both in our society 
and in our churches, that is contrary to the Divine order! Just as the mighty Samson, we 
have laid our head in the lap of Delilah, and have been lulled to sleep by the constant, subtle 
stroking of the world upon our mind. We have lost our vision and our strength. 

America, look around. You have ceased being good; and whether you realize it or not, 
you are no longer great; not like you once were. And you have only yourselves to blame. 
De Tocqueville’s prophetic words loom ominously overhead. Your demise is sure if you do 
not repent with a humble and contrite heart, and look unto the Rock whence ye are hewn for 
grace and mercy. 

The God of Heaven is the God of your fathers as far back as the history of the faith goes. 
He is the Lord your God, and He is a jealous God. He will not tolerate this wanton 
rebellion and harlotry! Submit yourselves under the Mighty Hand of God! Forsake all 
of this foul wickedness! Turn back to your God (“In God We Trust!”) and obey His 
Commandments and Statutes. Serve Him with your whole heart. Draw nigh to God, and 
He will draw nigh to you! Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will, once 
again, lift us up! 

For He hath said: “If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble 
themselves, and pray, and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I 
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 
Amen, Lord! Let it be! May America be truly America, Kingdom of Heaven, once 
again! 
 
 

* “Did The Vikings Name America?” by Dick Wicken (1998, p.1) 
† Phonetically, the ‘l’ is interchangeable with ‘r,’ as with many languages, thus giving 
us “amarric,” which lacks only the closing breath to be the same word. 
‡ A quick reference to any passage in the German New Testament which speaks of the 
Kingdom of Heaven will verify this fact. Amalric, Himmelreich and America are 
synonymous. 
 
 
 
REPENT AMERICA!! It is your ONLY HOPE!! 
 
 
(Permission to reprint this article is hereby granted, provided it is reprinted in its entirety, 
with full credit given, and no changes are made to its content.)