Does Isa/Yesh 9:10 apply to America, as Johnathan Cahn suggested? Well, you know the old saying about how if you have 2 Jews, you get at least 3 opinions. Cahn gave you one opinion. I'll give you two more and make the case both for and against.
The Case Against:
There's plenty to tell us that Isa 9:9 (9:10) does NOT apply to the USA and was never intended to. The JPS renders it like this (numbering it 9:7-11)
We are told that this applies to Israel, not the USA. In fact, perhaps this started with "The Lord sent a word into Jacob...Israel" in order to prevent any misinterpretations he foresaw coming in the 21st century. He even went on to further define it as Ephraim and Samaria, a governing body that no longer reigns in Israel.
And if 9:9 (9:10) were translated like this...
The translation would be perfectly fine, since this is indeed talking about a species of tree that gives off figs. Using the JPS translation, you see an amazing parallel between Isa 9 and the tree struck on 9/11. Using this translation, WHICH IS JUST AS ACCURATE (if not more so) , you don't. Why not? Because the America sycamore is not the species of tree being discussed in this passage.
"שִׁקְמִים" refers to the ficus sycamorus or "Fig Sycamor" that grows in Israel, not the Platanus Occidentalis or buttonwood that was growing at ground zero.
The twin towers were not made out of bricks, but steel. No bricks fell on 9/11, and no fig tree was cut down. The USA is not surrounded by the Arameans and the Philistines on both sides, and if we interpret this as applying to 9/11, we have to conclude it was arrogant for America to rebuild the twin towers and that G-d is going to destroy America for doing it. And the tree referred to by "שִׁקְמִים" doesn't really grow in America. Yes, we've given an American tree a similar sounding name, but it is not the same tree. So it cannot possibly be directly at America.
The Case For:
While Isaiah / Yeshayahu 9 is not directly applying to America, we can learn lessons from it that we can apply to America. We can conclude that if we behave the same way people did in the past, G-d will treat us the same way He did to those who made the same mistakes before us.
America does not fit geographical or physical descriptions given. But it does fit the cultural description given. America once thought of itself as "one nation under God", but many people are removing the "under God". the Supreme Court even once ruled that the USA is a "Christian nation." But today we've removed spanking and prayers from our public schools and it has been replaced with school shootings.
Is America a society that fits the symbolism of Isa 9:10? A nation that has replaced a refined heart and fruit bearing with pride and a lack of fruit? You bet. Of course, Canada and Europe also fit that description just as well, and I can't find anything in Isa 9 that fits America more strongly than it fits Canada or Europe.
Senator John Edwards quoted this verse on the Senate floor when saying America would rebuild the Twin Towers. Was that G-d trying to tell us that Isa 9:10 is directed at America? Well, there is no reason to conclude it more strongly applies to America than any other nation. Perhaps the more correct question would be whether G-d was directing our attention to this lesson in history so that we would learn from it and not repeat it. Perhaps it was a warning that G-d will deal with us the same way He did ancient Israel when it first happened there, as opposed to the concept that Isa 9:10 was written with America in mind and the future events in mind as they would unfold there?
Was Isa 9 written for America's sake? Or did G-d manipulate history and draw our attention to this verse as a way of telling us to learn from history? Perhaps that is more the proper perspective. For example, the agreement that created the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) could have been signed anyway. Did G-d orchestrate the events to cause it to be signed under a sycamore tree as a symbol for us? Maybe. But I doubt Isa 9 was written mentioning the "שִׁקְמִים" because he knew one day that men would sign the NYSE agreement underneath a tree that would bear a phonetic resemblance to how that tree name is pronounced. I'm more inclined to think he influenced the events to draw our attention to an ancient example that would eventually apply.
And I personally see more specifics that fit the NYSE than I do fit New York or America. For example, the word in Isa 9:10 was directed at "Ephraim" (doubly fruitful). While I don't see how that fits the USA overall, it can fit the NYSE since it was housed in the "Twin Towers" and that is where the fruit of their labors were earned. America is not surrounded by Arameans to the East and Philistines to the west. But this fits the twin towers. Aramean means "I will lift up" and Philistine means "invade". These two towers were lifted up, and then invaded on 9/11.
While the American sycamore is not the same as the Israeli fig sycamore referred to in Isa 9, it is, from at least some perspective, the closest tree that would have some sort of cognizance with the "שִׁקְמִים" . And it was replaced in New York with a tree bearing some sort of resemblance to the Cedar of Israel. Is that because Isa 9 was written to fit what would happen in America in 2001 and shortly thereafter? Or was G-d putting it in the hearts of these people to pick that type of tree in order to draw our attention to the ancient warning more strongly? I'm more inclined to think it was the later. I think Isa 9:10 was written to fit the events as they happened in ancient Israel, and that modern events were influenced by G-d in some small minor ways in order to fit the ancient text so we would pay more attention to learning a lesson from history.
That doesn't really count as America being mentioned in Scripture. It does count as G-d drawing Americas attention to learning from the past by pointing America to an example that fits our present day culturally. Maybe He even directed a few events to better match this historical reference to draw our focus there more closely.
And while the Twin Towers were made of steel, and not bricks, again, keep in mind that he root Hebrew word here "לבן" which refers to something that went through a whitening process in the fire. That DOES HAPPEN to steel.
I watched the link at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqmUw_fl4QQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player that Jim gave. It was great. If you haven't seen it, watch it.