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America in Prophecy
By Tom Brown
 What
will happen to America according to Bible prophecy? Will it remain a world
power or recede from world dominance? Will it be destroyed or continue to
prosper? Your belief about this subject will affect the way you live and
plan your life. If you think that America will be destroyed, then you are
likely to horde your wealth and pull your money out of the stock market,
perhaps even head to the mountains for protection. If, on the other
hand, you believe God will continue to bless America, then you will plan
accordingly. This subject is important, especially for Americans.
There
are more questions about the United States in prophecy than any other
country, and for good reason: America is the only super world power. Because
of America’s unique role in the world there is much discussion about how it
will fit into the biblical end-time plans set by God. Much speculation has
confused the body of Christ concerning where America is in prophecy. Two
main theories have circulated about America in prophecy.
1. Doom and gloom theory.
This view surmises that America is Babylon the Great mentioned in the
Book of Revelation. The Bible predicts her destruction, and so some believe
America will be destroyed. Those who have this outlook conclude that the USA
is
Babylon because it is a world power, and according
to Revelation 18:2, "With a mighty voice he shouted: "‘Fallen! Fallen is
Babylon the Great!"
The people who preach this are often people who hate
America for various reasons. Some dislike America because they have not
shared in their piece of the American pie. They feel cheated, so when they
see the prediction of Babylon’s collapse, inwardly they rejoice and hope it
happens.
Others have been brainwashed against the USA. Some have come from other
countries and heard all the bad about America, and so they have a tendency
to believe in America’s doom. They believe eventually that God will judge
her for her many sins.
I heard a Romanian minister who came to America for the first time. He
landed in Southern California, and there he thought that this section
represented average-America. He was not welcomed in the churches to preach,
as if, the churches owed him their pulpits. He had trouble finding an
apartment, and complained that many apartments did not welcome children and
pets, so he wrongly reasoned that America hated children and animals. He saw
people begging for food, and incorrectly assumed that all beggars really
wanted jobs but could not find any.
After having such a difficult time in the beginning he finally had doors
opened to him to preach, and it should not surprise us to find him preaching
that America is Babylon the great and that God is about to destroy America.
After all—with his background with the Soviet Block, and his misconceptions about
America, and initial bad encounters—his experiences prejudiced him against
America and so he stumbled onto the passage about Babylon and thus believed
that it represented America. The passage in Revelation became his theme.
And so this brings us to another reason why people believe America is
Babylon: they have been taught it. They have been convinced because they
heard some passionate discourse on this subject and so they were persuaded.
Never mind the fact that the author of Revelation tells you the location of
Babylon—This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven
hills on which the woman sits (Rev 17:9). Rome was always called the
city on seven hills. Babylon is a symbol of Rome, not America.
2. Insignificant role theory.
There are those who understand that America is not Babylon, but because
the Bible does not specifically name America in end-time prophecy, the
theory goes something like this: If America is going to be a super world
power in the end times, then the Bible should have mentioned her, and since
there is no specific, unambiguous mentioned of America, then the USA will be
an insignificant nation during the end times.
Notice that this conjecture is based on "silence." Since the Bible is
silent about America, then America will not be important. How in the world
can a theory be based on silence? This is an awful and illogical
interpretation; let me explain.
During the times of the Old Testament, China was a great world power, and
yet the Bible never mentions her. Why? Because the Bible deals with Israel
and is only concerned with the neighboring nations or the empire that was
ruling her. Just because the Bible is silent about China did not mean the
Chinese Dynasties did not exist. They existed and were very powerful, and
yet there is no mentioned of them. This proves that America does not need to
be mentioned by name for America to be a world power.
Biblical prophecy is concerned with Israel and her surrounding neighbors,
and so America is not specifically named in prophecy because she is not an
immediate neighbor. But one should not hypothesize that America will cease
from being a world power.
I Believe
I have told you a couple of theories about America in prophecy, now I
want to share with you some insights that I have received about the role of
America in light of prophecy. I have scriptural reasons to believe that
America is in God’s prophetic plan and that God will continue to bless
America.
I admit that the USA is not specifically mentioned by name unless
you want to play the word game and say that JeUSAlem is America, but
I think that is stretching the truth, if not down-right breaking it. No,
there is a much saner and better way to understand America in prophecy.
First of all, America is mentioned in a general sense, just like any
other nation.
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations
on earth will be blessed through him. (Gen 18:18)
and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
because you have obeyed me." (Gen 22:18)
God promises that all nations on earth will be blessed through
Abraham and his seed. So any nation can experience blessing through Abraham
and the seed. Abraham and the seed represent both the Jewish people and the
Christian Church. How a nation directly treats these people will determine
whether or not they will be blessed. America was the first nation to give
freedom of religion, and because of this freedom, Christianity has spread
widely in the USA and in the world. There is no controversy over the impact
America has had on the spread of the gospel. Freedom of religion will always
pave the way for the spread of Christianity because her ideals and message
surpasses any world religion.
The only reason Christianity has not flourished in the Middle East is
because Islam controls the governments and will not allow Christianity
freedom to preach equally along with Islam. They know if they allow it, then
Christianity will spread like wild fire. In America, Islam is free to
propagate their views, but their views are weak compared to Christianity,
and so it does not spread widely in our country. Statistics show a very high
conversion rate of Muslims to Christianity in America, and for good reason:
Christianity preaches the Savior not a prophet. Who would people
rather have as their leader: a Savior or a prophet? Jesus wins every time
over Muhammad.
Not only can a nation be blessed by being kind to Christ and his Church;
they can also be blessed by being good-hearted to the Jewish people and
Israel. The Jewish people have been persecuted from the beginning, and in
every nation they settled, they were mistreated. Eventually America was
established in 1776; the Statue of Liberty was given by France, with the
emblem, "Give me your tired your poor, your huddled masses of your teeming
shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside
the golden door!"
Jews believed this promise, and so with trepidation and yet excitement,
they boarded ships and registered their names in America. They were still
frightened of persecution so they changed their Jewish names to avoid it.
Of course as in all countries, there were some anti-Semites in America, but
there were more people willing to give anyone a chance to make it if they worked hard and were honest.
For the first time, the Jews had a country that would not discriminate.
America allowed them to prosper, and it is no wonder that America is blessed
of God. America has allowed the gospel and the Jews freedom to flourish. Any
nation will experience the blessing of God if they do likewise.
America’s Sins
When I speak on this topic, people often query me, "But Pastor,
America has committed such gross sins. They took the land away from the
Indians, they sent the Japanese to the concentration camps, and they bought
slaves from Africa. With these and other atrocities, how can you say that
God will continue to bless America."
Let me say that America is not perfect. However, God did not make
perfection a requirement to be blessed anymore than He made it for you.
Are you perfect? Have you ever sinned? Should your past sins cause God to
stop blessing you? Doesn’t God offer forgiveness when a person or nation
repents?
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,
torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil,
then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. (Jer
18:7-8)
Noticed that God gave nations warnings of destruction, but if they
repented then the prophecies would be withdrawn. The Bible says that "Righteousness
exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Prov 14:34). Any
nation will be exalted or disgraced by the good or bad conduct of its
people. God does not give a blanket promise of prosperity or destruction to
any nation. He promises, however, that prosperity will follow a nation that
lives righteously.
Sure America has committed sins, but which nation has not? What America
has tried to do is make things right! Not many nations can say that. For
example, America has given reservations to native American tribes. Also they
apologized to the Japanese-Americans for what had happened to them during
World War II.
Concerning slavery, remember, nearly every nation practiced slavery, and
so America only continued the practiced, but America and Great Britain, were
the first two nations to abolish it. It cost more American lives than all
the wars combined for her to stamp it out. Since then, nearly all nations
have followed their example and eradicated it. America has also tried to
rectify the injustices of slavery by offering affirmative action and other
programs for minorities. Despite some injustices, America is becoming fairer
to all.
America has made its mistakes but tries to change. I think this is one
reason America has been blessed.
The Eagle
Let's face it: America is blessed by God and hated by many people. Why
is America hated so much? Let me share with you an important revelation from
the book of Revelation that will explain the world’s hatred and envy of
America.
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the
sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
(Rev 12:1-2)
This woman represents Israel. It is clear from the description of the
woman: she is clothed with the sun and moon under her and she wears a crown
of twelve stars. This was the description Joseph was given in a dream by
God. He saw his eleven brothers as stars and his father as the sun and
mother as the moon bowing down to him.
The woman was the original Israelites, and from them came the nation of
Israel. John sees her pregnant. Within the womb of Israel was the Messiah,
Jesus.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven
heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third
of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood
in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour
her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child,
who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was
snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a
place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260
days. (Rev 12:3-6)
This of course is a picture of Satan trying to kill Jesus before he was
born but unable to. After Jesus death on the cross, He rose from the dead
and ascended to the Father, and so Satan could not destroy Him. So whom does
the Dragon turn to? He turns to the woman. The woman flees into the desert
where God takes care of her. For centuries the Jews struggled to survive.
They did. God had His unique way to save her:
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might
fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken
care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
(Rev 12:14)
Notice the she was given wings of a great eagle. The national
symbol for America is the Bald Eagle. The Book of Revelation and other
prophetic books like Daniel clearly use animals to depict nations. They
apply the lion, bear, and other beasts to symbolize various nations (see Rev
4:7; 17:3 and Daniel 7:4-7). The eagle symbolizes the USA that would protect
and help Israel. It is no secret that America was instrumental in—first,
defeating Hitler and thus freeing the Jews; second, giving Israel their
homeland; third, protecting and aiding Israel; and forth, in opening its own
doors to the Jews to make a living. There are as many Jews living in America
than are living in Israel. No nation on the earth has near the population of
Jews that America has.
America has fulfilled its prophetic role in caring for Israel, and it has
cost America its reputation in the world and it has made her the target of
terrorists. Satan inspires the hatred that people feel toward America,
because he hates America for being a friend of Israel and for allowing the
gospel to spread throughout the world. As long as America continues its
friendship toward the Christians and Jews, God will bless America!
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