I don’t believe America is mentioned in Bible prophecy—certainly not directly.
A lot of people think America is mentioned indirectly. For example, they will look at passages like Isaiah 18, pointing to the unnamed nation in the chapter. They may suggest that America is the ten lost tribes of Israel, the young lions of Tarshish in Ezekiel 38, or Babylon from Revelation 17-18.
However, I don’t think any of those places are America in prophecy. It is Scripture’s silence about America which I find significant. If, in the future, we stay the great superpower we are today, then I think the Bible certainly would mention us. For example, the Bible mentions nations like Rosh (Russia), Persia (Iran), and the kings of the East (which likely include India and China).
Something has to happen to America to reduce us from our superpower status, and I think that event is going to be the rapture of the church. All of the salt and light will be extracted out in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and when that takes place, America will be reduced to being a second or third-rate nation overnight.
When we think about God’s judgment on America in the future, we need to consider how we live today in a culture that is collapsing all around us.
In one of his books, Erwin Lutzer writes that there are three things we can do in America: we can be complicit, we can be complacent, or we can be courageous. To be complicit means giving up and giving into the culture, becoming part of it. Being courageous means giving everything to the Lord, serving Him, and standing for Him in these times in which we live.
Lutzer further wrote, “The day of the casual Christian is over? No longer is it possible to drift along, hoping that no tough choices will have to be made. At this point in American history, any moral and spiritual progress will have to be one at a great cost. The darker the night, the more important every candle becomes.”
In Your Inbox
We don’t want to be people that just curse the darkness around us. We want to shine as lights. Jesus said that we “are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16), and we certainly want to do that in our culture.
There’s a quote I read years ago which says, “The world at its worst needs the church at its best.” Our world today is at its worst, and the church today needs to be at our best. We need to be seizing the opportunities that God has given to us and living lives that are pleasing in God’s sight.
Four Keys To National Blessing
There are four things I see in the Bible for God to bless America or any other nation. We need to think about these and apply these to our own lives and in our churches in these times.
1) Support The Nation Of Israel
All the way back in Genesis 12:3, God gave the only foreign policy statement in all of the Bible when he said to Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.”
Very emphatically, God is saying that support for the Jewish people brings blessing, and cursing the Jewish people brings cursing. We’ve seen this play out throughout history, and it continues to be God’s foreign policy today.
One of the things we need to do in America is support the nation of Israel. The problem is support for Israel in our nation today is eroding. More Democrats in America today favor the Palestinians over Israel for the first time in any American political party. Additionally, most young Americans (56%) between 18 to 29 view Israel unfavorably.
In another stunning statistic, the majority of Americans aren’t sure whether President Biden favors the Palestinians or Israel. Now I have an inkling of which he favors, but it’s not good for our country to be unsure. We ought to know that our president favors the nation of Israel.
It doesn’t mean that we agree with everything the Jewish government does, but we want to be supporters of Israel, and when we do, God will bless our nation.
In spite of all the problems we’ve had in America through the years, one of the reasons God has had His hand of blessing upon us is because our nation has been the chief supporter of Israel.
2) Pray for our country
In 1 Timothy 2:2, we are told to pray for those in authority over us, which are our national leaders. That’s one of the ways that God blesses us.
One of the things people often talk about is praying 2 Chronicles 7:14, which states, “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.” But notice it goes on to say, “Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.”
This passage in 2 Chronicles 7 is when Solomon is dedicating the temple. God is telling Solomon that someday when the people disobey, and He brings discipline on them (Deuteronomy 28), if they pray to Him from this place, the temple, then He will come and heal their land. We need to remember that passage is a specific promise to the nation of Israel, their land, and their temple.
While we can make an application of that today, it’s not a promise to America. Certainly, it’s always good to humble ourselves, to pray, and to seek God. We can apply it to ourselves, but we need to understand that’s not a direct promise to America today.
3) Promote missions and the Gospel
Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Now we don’t often think of our feet being the most beautiful part of us, but feet that spread the good news are beautiful to God. He blesses a nation and a people who spread the good news.
America has been the greatest missionary nation of all time. We need to continue to spread the Gospel, and God will continue to bless us.
4) Practice godliness in our lives
Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” One of the ways to have blessing upon our country is to be a righteous nation.
We know about all the sin and moral pollution in our culture, and we may not be able to do anything about that, but we can control our own lives. Many today are decrying all the sin in our culture while living lives themselves that are sub-Christian, not behaving in the righteous standards that God has for us.
Remember, in the book of Isaiah 5-6, he says “woe” to the people six times for their sins, but finally, in chapter six, he says, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips…“
We need to live godly lives and not contribute to the corruption in our culture.
1 John 3 says, “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” If we believe that Jesus can come back at any moment, that should be a purifying hope in our lives.
Bring In The Candles
Back on May 19th, 1780, there was a remarkable day in the northeast of America. There was a great darkness that came over the land. It was very ominous, and people thought it was the end of the world.
In Hartford, Connecticut, the legislature was meeting. Many concluded that this was the end, so the House of Representatives adjourned, stopping the meeting, thinking it was all over.
However, in the Senate, when someone brought up a motion to adjourn, Colonel Abraham Davenport, who was the leader of the Senate at that time, said this: “I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.”
I love that story because there is a descending darkness in our country today. But as the darkness descends, let’s not just curse the darkness; let’s bring in the candles and keep working so we can be found faithful when Jesus comes.
Let’s be found doing our duty and living in the light. Keep looking, loving, and laboring as we await the coming of Jesus Christ.
