I am frequently asked about the role of America in biblical "end-times" prophecy. Often the question arises "What does the bible have to say about America's role in prophecy?
The short answer is "nothing". The bible does not address America in any way in our end-times prophetic scriptures.
What does this mean?
This answer is more difficult. The books of Daniel and Revelation, which include detailed accounts of the events of the seven-year Tribulation, give great detail to the world's powers during the last days of "this generation". We hear about the growth of the revival of the Roman Empire, which we consider to be currently represented by the EU/Mediterranian Union; we read about the "Kings of the East", and their military forces; we also read about other potent countries and regions, mainly located in the European theatre, but nothing whatsoever as far as America. In fact, we don't even see scriptures which mention our general region of the world.
Its hard to imagine that America would not have a significant role in end-times prophecy, with such epic, world-wide events taking place, but the fact remains, America is not mentioned, either by name, or by region. There are several theories which attempt to explain this:
- The first and perhaps the most plausable theory is the Rapture of the Church, creates a scenario which would immediately weaken the U.S. and create financial and military collapse. The most obvious rebuttal to this theory is that the entire world would be affected by the Rapture, but a closer analysis might lend more information. The fact is, the U.S. has a greater percentage of Christians than the countries/regions that ARE mentioned in prophetic scriptures. We know that the Islamic countries, surrpunding Israel will be a potent force, and the Rapture of the Church will create little damage to these countries/regions. Unfortunately, Europe is in the same situation, as the Church is dying a slow death in most European countries. The same can be said for the "Kings of the East", a vague reference to the regions east of the Euphrates River, which are not predominately Christian. This theory holds that the U.S. would be damaged far more than these other countries and the financial and military collapse due to the Rapture would weaken the U.S. irreversibly, and essentially remove the U.S. from the world stage.
- A second theory considers the fact that Islamic terrorists, who are committed to destroying the U.S. and Israel, may finally acquire weapons of mass destruction and damage the U.S. with a series of nuclear, chemical or biological attacks, or perhaps an "EMP" (electro-magnetic pulse) attack, all of which could render the U.S. as completely ineffective during these final years.
- Yet another theory considers a possible financial collapse of the U.S. as hastened by China, Russia and other countries manipulating the dollar and global oil in order to severely weaken the U.S.
There are other theories as well, but the above seem the most plausable. We could also see a combination of the above.
Regardless, we do have some instructions from God, which should direct our path during these difficult times,.
First, we are told to NOT have a spirit of fear. We must remember that God remains firmly in control, and He has given us the final chapters of earth's history. We know how the book ends, we just don't have every detail. Jesus began His dissertation on end-times prophecy by telling us not to face these days with fear: "...but see to it that you are not alarmed" (Matt. 24:6). Even more comforting, Jesus informed us of another germane fact: "Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near." (Luke 21:31)
If the above scriptures aren't comforting, then we may focus on this message from Jesus: "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)
We are told not to have fear during these times. We are also told to "watch" for His return during these times. Lastly, we are told that by seeing the various signs around us, which are in abundance, we should know that His return is near.
These are not empty words. These are not words to ignore. These are not words to dismiss.
As we face these last days, the temptation is to submit to fear - fear that we could face economic collapse; fear that the U.S. could be attacked by terrorists, making 9/11 look like a minor event; fear of an uncertian future. But the future is very very certian. We have promises from Jesus; we have assurance from Jesus; we have absolute certianty about our future.
There is a certian irony in all of this. The more uncertian the world around us seems, the more assurance we should receive from the scriptures - Jesus knew we would be facing these times, and He responded by reassurance, hope and knowledge. When things look the bleakest, we should have our strongest convictions. When the world around us seems the most ominous is when we should be the most optimistic - because our future is certian.
Jesus told us to forget about fear, and to focus on His return.
Good news in bad times. Keep watching: His return near. Its a promise.
1 comment:
I found your post on America in prophecy fascinating. You start by pointing out that it would seem surprising that a nation as important as the United States would not be mentioned in end-time prophecies, if I understood you correctly, and I agree. You mentioned several possible explanations, but there is one you haven't mentioned. It may be because you have not heard of it, or because you have heard it but reject it.
Most prophecies in the Bible have to do with Israel, and only are concerned with other nations as they come into contact with Israel. But the Jews are not all of Israel. The books of Kings and Chronicles show how the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and part of Levi separated from the other tribes. The Jews were the southern kingdom and the rest of Israel was the northern kingdom. They were taken into completely separate captivities by different enemies, Israel taken captive by Assyria and the Jews taken captive by Babylon, and were forcibly moved to different locations. Moreover, these distinct captivities of the two nations were separated by more than a hundred years.
The northern tribes of Israel were not Jews and never became known as Jews.
This means that there could be whole peoples today, descended from the northern tribes that went into captivity, who are Israelites who do not know they are of Israel. Today, only the Jews are known as Israelites.
When you look at the prophecies concerning Israel in general and the sons of Joseph in particular, you will find that they closely fit the events surrounding the English speaking peoples in the last two centuries and their present condition.
I did not come up with this idea - I first learned about it from someone else. When I first started to research this, I tried to be skeptical. I even studied probability mathematics to see what the odds were that this could be a coincidence, and I spent a great deal of time putting the problem in mathematical form. But in the end, the proof of this was very convincing to me. Not only was I able to prove that the United States is part of Israel and is the subject of much prophecy, but I was able to use this to prove, for myself, that the unlikelyhood of the events of the last couple of hundred years fitting Bible prophecy so closely constituted proof that the Bible was inspired by a God who could know the future.
You can get details about this from a number of books written by various authors. I have put together an account of how I learned this and proved it in a book titled Preaching the Gospel , which covers prophecy that has been fulfilled concerning the United States and prophecy about what is yet to happen. But I can also get the names of other books by other authors that cover this same material, if you are interested.
This is not something that is believed by traditional Christianity, and many critics raise arguments against it. But I have considered those arguments, and they do not hold up logically. America is part of Israel.
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