No Tricentennial for America?
Pre-Trib Conference December 6–8, 2010
Manfred E. Kober, Th.D.
Introduction
God has ordained three institutions for the benefit of man: the home, the church, and civil government. As there are biblical principles explaining what makes a godly family and a growing church, there are principles explaining what makes a great nation. If a nation follows divine directives, it can expect God to promote it, protect it, and preserve it. Our nation has been graciously blessed by God more than any other nation because certain things are true in our country’s background that are not true at all or only partially so of other nations.
We would like to consider four inspired passages and draw from them four important principles that explain why God has uniquely blessed the United States. From each passage we will glean a major premise, from our nation’s heritage we will derive a minor premise, resulting in a hopefully cogent conclusion.
Because the effects of these principles continue, God’s blessings on America will also continue. God stands by His Word. Predictions concerning our country’s demise are premature. America can boast unique features that are absent from other nations. The following discussion in the first part of this manuscript will point out some of these formative features of the United States and possibly give us hope for America’s future. Part two deals with some of the major events of the end-times. In part three an effort is made to discern America’s place in the context of prophetic predictions for this planet and its nations.
1A. The Exceptionalism of the USA
1b. The Genuine Piety of Our Founding Fathers:
Exodus 20:5,6: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
1c. The Major Premise:
As the twelve tribes of Israel were camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, they were about to be fused into a nation. Incorporated in the Ten Commandments, which are directed exclusively to Israel, is a timeless principle which applies to any nation. If a nation is begun by an ungodly, idolatrous nucleus, God will mete out punishment to the third and fourth generation (Ex. 20:5). However, if a nation is initiated by a group of godly founding fathers, God will bless that nation to a thousand generations. (See Deut. 7:9, where the word generations is used.) The premise of Exodus 20:6 then is: God will bless even the remote descendents of a godly people.
2c. The Minor Premise:
Although denied by many, our nation more than any other nation, was established by a group of godly men for God’s glory. Though rejected by revisionist historians, this truth can be demonstrated from early American documents. The Mayflower Compact, framed in 1620 by the first permanent English settlers in the North American wilderness, gives three reasons for their settlement: “having undertaken for the glory of God, the advancement of the Christian faith and the honor of King and countryÉ.” They loved God, loved the Gospel, and loved their mother country. (If the king of England had not made it impossible for the colonies to exist as he tore to shreds every agreement he made with the settlements, we would still be loyal Englishmen.)
Even in Jamestown, founded in 1607 as a strictly economic venture, the first Charter of Virginia of April 10, 1606 expressed their desires:
We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People as yet live in darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and Savages, living in those parts, to human Civility, and to a settled and quiet Government: DO, by these our Letters Patents, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intended Desires (emphasis added).
Not every colonist in those formative years was a Christian, but on those early vessels there came not just sailors, soldiers, servants, and scoundrels, but saints. These individuals helped lay the foundation of each colony. Their Christian piety influenced the colonial politics. They had one overriding passion, to share the Gospel both with their neighboring settlers as well as the noble savages. It is they who qualify for the promise of Exodus 20:6.
3c. Conclusion:
Our country today is blessed not because of what we are now, but because of what we were in those early days when a band of believers framed the foundation of a cluster of colonies with one overriding purpose: for the worship of God and the witness of the Christian Gospel. God promised blessings to thousands of generations. Assuming that a generation is about 25 years, we have exhausted only 16 of these generations since the Mayflower landed. The promise strongly suggests that God’s blessings will continue.
2b. The Gracious Promotion of the Jews:
Gen. 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
1c. The Major Premise:
The principle of Genesis 12:3 is clear: God will deal with nations in accordance with how they treat the nation of Israel. Those who promote and protect Israel will experience the blessing of God. Those who persecute Israel will be cursed by Him. As God avowed in Jeremiah 30:20: “I will punish all that oppress them.” History is replete with illustrations of nations that persecuted Israel and the God of Israel in turn punished them. Where are the mighty Assyrians and the militaristic Babylonians? Their empires crumbled. Their races vanished. Why did they disappear? There is one major reason for the demise of these peoples. They touched God’s people. Israel is God’s special treasure. Even when Israel is in unbelief, He calls His people “the apple of his eye.” Let us note the two prominent passages of God’s loving concern for Israel:
Deut. 32:10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Zechariah 2:8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
2c. The Minor Premise:
The United States holds a unique place among the world’s nations in relation to the Jews. Unlike other nations, we have never once had a governmentally instigated persecution of the Jewish people. The first refuge in history with full freedom for persecuted Jews was called Rhode Island where Roger Williams encouraged all persecuted individuals, especially Jews, to settle. With his blessing the Touro Synagogue, the first synagogue in America, was established by the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1656. Our nation’s history demonstrates that we have never been guilty of persecuting the Jews but have helped them more than any other nation.
In modern history it was the political pressure exerted by the United States that brought about a homeland for the Jews in 1948. It is the United States that guarantees the continuous existence of the State of Israel through economic and military aid at the rate of $1.2 billion annually. When attacked by its intractable Arab enemies, Israel has just one friend it can count on and that is the United States. Former President Jimmy Carter, whatever we might think of him, echoed the sentiments of the United States Government toward Israel in his congratulatory comments upon Israel’s thirtieth anniversary as a nation: “As the President of the United States I can say without hesitation that we will support Israel, not for just another thirty years, but forever.” Other American presidents have made similar statements.
3c. Conclusion:
In Genesis 12:3 God promised continuous blessings upon those who bless Israel. Our nation has had many differences with Israel but it has never failed to promote and protect Israel. Because of our gracious promotion of Israel, God has greatly blessed us as a nation.
3b. The Great Preponderance Of Christians:
Genesis 18:23-26 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
1c. The Major Premise:
Before God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their “very grievous” sin (18:20), He disclosed to Abraham His purpose in the impending judgment. Abraham, true to his Jewish nature, started to dicker with God and asks whether a righteous God would destroy the righteous with the wicked. God’s justice seems to preclude an indiscriminate judgment of the godly with the ungodly. The Lord graciously affirms in response to Abraham’s annoying questioning that, indeed, He would not destroy these two abominably wicked cities until the righteous have been delivered, whether they number fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, or ten. The main point of the passage is clear: God is very reluctant to destroy a wicked place with many righteous people in it. God will normally not destroy the wicked without first delivering the godly.
2c. The Minor Premise:
God always judges sin. He has not forgotten the sins of America and will settle the score someday, but the Just Judge (Gen. 18:25) will not allow the righteous to perish with the wicked. The Lord was very reluctant to destroy the world in the deluge without first delivering Noah and his family. He would not destroy the corrupt cities without first rescuing that one pious person, Lot (2 Pet. 2:7,8). And God is not about to destroy our wicked nation until and unless the believers are removed into the presence of the Lord through the Rapture. Then the well-deserved and long-delayed judgment will come. Some say that if God does not judge America, He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology. This statement ignores the debauchery of these cities where every male individual was a homosexual (Gen. 19:4). Certainly the United States with all its problems has not sunk to their level of degeneracy. Indeed, we in the United States have the world’s preponderance of Christians. By some estimates, over 80% of the world’s believers reside in the United States. Many thousands of fundamental churches and institutions make America unique in the world. When church attendance in Europe has declined to 2%-3% of the population, some 43% of the people in the United States attend church regularly. America alone has a fundamentalist movement that still influences our nation, represented by 17,000 godly churches.
3c. Conclusion:
God, the righteous Judge, is very reluctant to punish a place until first delivering the righteous. Our nation has been uniquely blessed by God with the world’s majority of believers. It is because of their righteousness that God has exalted our nation (Prov. 14:34). When these believers are removed in the Rapture, the postponed punishment upon America’s sins will come, but not before.
4b. The Grand Purpose for America:
Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
1c. The Major Premise:
Paul, speaking to the Athenians on Mars Hill, makes an important point: God has determined the course of each nation, including the time a nation begins and ends as well as the geographical boundaries where it is located. While men establish countries and through conquest and treaties fix borders, God in His sovereign superintendence determines the existence and extension of nations. It is He who sets the chronological and geographical boundaries. God has a purpose for every person, every family, congregation, indeed for every one of His creatures. He works all things after the counsel of His own will to accomplish His purpose (Eph. 1:11). This is especially true of nations whom the Lord raises or removes (Dan. 4:35). Thus we conclude: The Lord has a special purpose for each country.
2c. The Minor Premise:
The United States is not specifically mentioned in Scripture; therefore, we cannot point to a passage of Scripture and extrapolate from it God’s purpose for our nation. The silence of Scripture is compensated for by the frequent observations by our Founding Fathers concerning the divine design for America.
It bears repeating that the First Charter of Virginia of 1606 speaks of the main purpose of the first English settlement as that of “propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness.” Plymouth, the first permanent English settlement in North America, was established, according to the Mayflower Compact, “for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.” Most American charters spell out the main reason for these settlements: to proclaim the Gospel. America, as our Founding Fathers saw it, was to be a lighthouse for the unsaved. More than that, it was to be a land for the oppressed. God appeared to have at least a two-fold purpose for our country. He ordained it to be a hope for the world’s unsaved and a home for the world’s oppressed. We send out missionaries to all countries and absorb immigrants from all nations. People hated and hounded elsewhere have found a home here. The motto “E pluribus unum” (“Out of many, one”) suggests our national destiny. As our founders saw it, this was something totally new, a novus ordo seclorum, a new order of the ages. They were establishing a nation where everyone would be welcome and a nation that would bear a witness to the world.
3c. Conclusion:
America, however imperfectly, has been true to its destiny. We have been a lighthouse of the Gospel. Of the world’s approximately 50,000 evangelical missionaries, 45,000 come from the United States. We are the land of refugees and immigrants. The boat people from Vietnam as well as the captives of Castro’s Cuba all are welcome here. The rejected, the refugees and the refuse of other nations find a refuge in the United States. God has blessed us because we are fulfilling His destiny for our country. As long as we are faithful to that destiny, God will be faithful to America.
2A. The End-Times and the Nations
Without question, the United States is the number one world power. With the events predicted for the tribulation and Second Advent drawing ever nearer, is it possible that our country is exempt from these major world events? Let us note the major geopolitical events predicted for the end times and then see if we may possibly find clues as to the future of the United States.
It appears that there are three major wars raging on this earth between the Rapture and the Second Advent.
1b. The Conquests of Antichrist:
1c. The confederation of the ten kingdoms:
The final stage of the world’s kingdoms will be a revival of the Roman Empire in the form of a ten-nation confederacy.
1d. The remarkable image of Daniel 2:
1e. King Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great image, portraying the four major world kingdoms between Nebuchadnezzar’s time and the establishment of the millennial kingdom.
2e. The final kingdom is Rome.
Rome’s last stage, symbolized by the feet comprised of iron and clay, will be annihilated by Christ’s kingdom.
Dan. 2:35, 44 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. . . And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
2d. The ravaging beasts of Daniel 7:
1e. Daniel’s vision involved four beasts, each representing a world kingdom from Daniel’s day until Christ, the Son of God, would replace the false Christ, the man of sin.
2e. The fourth beast with no counterpart in the animal kingdom combines the worst features of the preceding three.
3e. The ten horns out of its head are ten kings.
Dan. 7:20, 24 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. . . And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
4e. The emergence of another horn means that another dictator arises who will subdue three kings and seven will voluntarily subject themselves to his rule.
5e. The ten horns correspond to the ten toes on the image revealed in Daniel 2 and involve a ten-nation confederacy emerging out of the former Roman Empire.
2c. The coming of the world ruler:
1d. His designations:
1e. The Roman prince, apparently ruling from Rome: Dan. 9:26
2e. Antichrist: 1 Jn. 2:18
3e. The little horn: Dan 7:8, 24, 26-27
4e. The willful king: Dan. 11:36
5e. The beast out of the sea: Rev. 13:1; cf. Isa. 17:12-13
2d. His dominion:
1e. For three and one half years he rules over ten nations.
1f. A strong power from the East prevents him from extending his rule worldwide.
2f. Apparently a revived militaristic and expansionistic Russia will keep Antichrist at bay.
2e. For the last half of the tribulation Antichrist “shall devour the whole earth.”
Dan. 7:23, 25 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. . . And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
2b. The Chastisement of Russia:
1c. In the middle of the tribulation period Russia and her satellites will invade Israel: Ez. 38-39
While at least eight different times have been suggested for the invasion of Israel by Gog and Magog, this writer finds the middle of the tribulation period to be the most likely period for the attack.[1]
1d. Until the middle of the tribulation period there will be Western and Eastern powers, much like the situation in recent years before the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the crumbling of world Communism.
2d. The invaders will be totally destroyed by eight distinct divine judgments, as graphically pictured in Ezekiel 38:17-23.
2c. The power vacuum caused by the demise of the Kings of the North prompts Antichrist to extend his rule.
3b. The Campaign of Armageddon: Dan. 11:40-45
Even though Antichrist is world ruler, there will be challenges to his rule. A series of battles will erupt, and this campaign is named after Armageddon (Rev. 16:16), a fertile valley in northern Israel, the place where the bloodiest battle will be fought. The blood will be up to the horse’s bridle (approximately four feet) for the space of two hundred miles (Rev. 14:20). If taken literally—and there is no reason to do otherwise—this river of blood will fill the low places of Israel. With liquid seeking its own level, the river would flow in the Valley of Armageddon toward the Mediterranean Sea and part of it south in the Jordan Valley, turning the saline Dead Sea a livid red.
While the battle rages in northern Israel, all the world’s armies will also be gathered to successfully battle against Jerusalem: Zech. 12:1-2; 14:1-2
1c. Daniel gives the sequence of the human attacks against Israel:
1d. The action by Egypt: Dan. 11:40a
2d. The attack by Russia: Dan. 11:40b
3d. The advance of Rome: Dan. 11:41-43
4d. The approach of the Asiatics: Dan. 11:44 (200 million; Rev. 9:16)
5d. The advent of Christ with His heavenly army Dan. 11:45, cf. Rev. 19:14-20
3A. The Evaluation of the United States in Prophecy
1b. The attempts to discover America in prophecy:
Some expositors are more, some less, dogmatic that America is mentioned in prophecy.
1c. Some identify Babylon with the USA.
Logsdon suggests that “the wealthy, powerful, wicked, God-forsaking endtime nation, spiritually called Babylon in prophecy” is the USA.[2]
2c. Some identify the nation of Isaiah 18 as the USA:
Isaiah 18:1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the river of Ethiopia:
1d. The land in question is the land overshadowed with wings. Since our America’s emblem is the eagle, our nation must be in view.
2d. Only gross spiritualizing can lead to that conclusion.
The land is said to be beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, something hardly true of the USA. Besides that, the eagle was the symbol of Rome and is presently a symbol of Germany, Austria, Spain, and Poland. Wikipedia lists over 20 nations whose national symbol is the eagle.
What is more, Isaiah 18:1 does not even contain a reference to eagles but insects. Merrill F. Unger notes that the land in view is apparently "ancient Ethiopia or modern Sudan. The reference to the buzzing of the wings evidently describes one of its most pestiferous insects (or all of them) for which the country was notorious."[3]
3c. Some see a reference to the United States in Ezekiel 38:13.
“The merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof” protest against the invasion of Israel by a northern power. It is suggested that Tarshish is England and America is one of the young lions, or “colonies” of England. To find England or the United States in this passage involves blatant eisegesis, first reading these nations into the text.
Maxwell Coder has well said, that “many attempts have been made to find America in the prophetic Scriptures. All of them have been rejected by conservatives as violating sound rules of exegesis.”[4]
2b. The absence of America in prophecy.
There are various suggestions why the United States is not specifically mentioned in the prophetic Scriptures.
1c. By the time of the rapture, America has passed out of existence. Does this mean Australia, Japan or South Africa that are also not mentioned have passed out of existence?
2c. America has been conquered by Russia or some other nation.
This scenario, while suggested by many, is demonstrably false. If the USA were conquered by a nation today, that victorious nation would be a world power tomorrow. But according to Daniel 2 and 7, there can be four and only four world empires between Nebuchadnezzar’s time (606 B.C.) and Christ’s kingdom. These four kingdoms are identified as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Also, until the middle of the tribulation period there are two major centers of power on earth: the Western Confederacy and Russia with her confederates. Russia and China, who always wanted to be world powers, will be unsuccessful. The USA, which could have been a world empire, refused to exercise its absolute power in the days following World War II and since the collapse of Communism in 1990.
3c. America is not mentioned because prophecy is primarily concerned with Israel and its immediate neighbors. Because of this, says John Walvoord, “it is not surprising that geographical areas remote from this center of Biblical interest should not figure largely in prophecy.” [5] The only exception to this appears to be Gog and Magog, whose point of origin is identified three times literally as “the uttermost parts of the north” (Ez. 38:6, 15; 39:2).
4A. The Existence of America Until the Rapture
While our nation is not mentioned specifically in prophecy, we may nevertheless infer God’s destiny for the USA by contemplating the course of our country. There appear to be some discernible reasons why God has raised our country and will most likely preserve it until the rapture. Two reasons were mentioned earlier, one reason was intimated.
1b. The United States promotes missionary activity.
We saw that the very first settlers testified that they came here as the Mayflower Compact states, “for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith.” In the New England confederation of 1643, the uniform testimony is “whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity with peace.”
God has honored America for its missionary efforts. God needs a lighthouse for the world’s unsaved right until the rapture, after which the 144,000 witnesses will be ministering.
2b. America protects the chosen people.
Ever since Roger Williams encouraged the persecuted Jews of Europe to settle in his colony, America has been a refuge for Jews. Of the world’s 17 million Jewish people, 7 million live in the USA. With our national efforts the modern state of Israel was established. Its continuation has been assured by the consistent support by the USA. God promises to bless those who would bless Israel (Gen. 12:3). God is blessing us and will bless us because of our special relationship to His special people. After the rapture, when our country becomes anti-semitic, Antichrist will sign a treaty of protection with Israel. Until then it seems to be God’s design for America to help Israel.
3b. America provides a home for the politically and religiously persecuted all around the world.
The Statue of Liberty best represents one aspect of America which appears to point toward our destiny as a home for the world’s oppressed. It may well be that God has raised the USA in part to be a “Mother of Exiles.” Such a refugee nation appears to be needed until the rapture.
God will not let America’s sins go unpunished. But the well-deserved and long-delayed judgment will not come until the righteous have been removed. As He removed Noah and his family before He brought the flood and as He removed righteous Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, so God will remove the believers through the rapture before He sends His judgment upon the earth, including our beloved nation.
5A. The Endurance of America in Days to Come
It is possible to trace in general outline the future of our country. Though no direct reference is found in the prophetic Scriptures to the U.S.A., various features relating to the future of America can be discerned.
1b. Preservation until the rapture:
It bears repeating that God’s providential design for America seems to have been to make it a home for the oppressed, hope for the world’s unsaved and helper of Israel. (Gen. 12:3). Until the rapture God protects and uses our nation to help Israel. Also until the rapture the United States is the main sending country for missionaries. After the rapture the 144,000 will be God’s witnesses and Antichrist will be the protector of Israel.
2b. Pandemonium after the rapture:
With millions of American Christians gone, our country will become a third-rate nation with its institutions collapsing and its societal structures in total shambles. Furthermore, America will experience a time of unprecedented trouble, turmoil and tribulation, a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to the same time (Dan. 12:1). Since the “indignation of the Lord will come upon all nations” (Is. 34:2), this dreadful time would include the USA.
3b. Persecution of Israel:
America’s pro-Israel stand will change dramatically after the rapture, when all the Christian influence will be gone from our nation. All nations will persecute the Jews. Christ predicted that they would be “hated of all nations” (Matt. 24:9), which sadly also includes the United States. As a result, every last Jew will return to Israel (Ezek. 37:21; 39:28).
4b. Participation in the Roman Empire:
After the rapture the center of Western power will be Rome. The U.S.A. may well become a territorial extension of the revived Roman Empire, seeing that America’s religious, cultural and political roots lie in Europe.
5b. Perplexity at Gog and Magog:
The world’s nations, including the USA, will stand by in utter amazement when the hordes of Gog and Magog attack Israel (Ezek. 38:13; 39:21).
6b. The preaching of the 144,000 and an angel:
Through the 144,000 witnesses and the ministry of an angel, people in every nation and tribe on earth will hear the gospel during the Tribulation period. Americans thus will have a final opportunity to be saved (Rev. 7:9; 14:6).
7b. The punishments of the Tribulation:
Vast numbers of the world’s people perish in the judgments of the Tribulation period. Through two judgments alone, half the world’s population and, presumably, half of America’s population perishes. As a result of the pale horse “the fourth of the part of the earth dies (Rev. 6:8). Through the judgment of the sixth trumpet ”the third part of men” are slain (Rev. 9:15). By the end of the tribulation the population of the world and that of the United States are devastated, for the gruesome prediction is that “the inhabitants of the world are burned, and few men left” (Is. 24:6).
8b. Participation in Armageddon:
All the world’s armies will be gathered at Armageddon to fight against Antichrist’s forces and finally against the descending Savior and the saints. American armies will be represented and they, like all the other armies, in their insane invasion of Israel, will be suddenly and dramatically destroyed by Christ (Rev. 16:16; Rev. 19:19; Zech. 12:3; 14:1-2).
9b. Pilgrimage to Jerusalem:
Saved Americans who survive the Tribulation period will join other nations on a yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the Savior and to present gifts to Him (Is. 60:6-9; Zech. 14:16-17).
10b. Prosperity in the Kingdom:
Spiritual and physical well-being will characterize the world’s nations, including the United States. God’s Spirit will be poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28, 32). All the desert areas of the earth will be healed, including America’s deserts and “Bad Lands” (Is. 35:6). God’s peace, like a mighty river, will flow from Jerusalem to all the nations, including the United States (Is. 66:12).
11b. Prominence in the New Jerusalem:
Americans will most likely be among the nations on the new earth to seek out the Lord in the capital of the universe, responding to His rule and reveling in His glory.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it (Rev. 21:24).
Partial Bibliography
Coder, S. Maxwell. The Final Chapter. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1984. (Chapter 7: “The United States and Other Nations,” 81-90).
Johnson, Carl G. Prophecy Mad Plain for Times Like These. Chicago: Moody Press, 1972. (Chapter 4: “Is America Headed for Destruction?” 38-64).
Logsdon, S. Franklin. Is the USA in Prophecy? Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969, 64 pp.
McCall, Thomas, ed. America in History and Prophecy. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976. 143 pp.
Unger, Merrill F. Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002, 1190.
Walvoord, John F. The Nations in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967. (Chapter XVI, “America in Prophecy,” 172-176).
[1] Mal Couch, editor. The Gathering Storm—Understanding Prophecy in Critical Times. Springfield, MO: The 21st Century Press, 2005. See chapter 9, “What is ‘Gog and Magog’ in Regard to Bible Prophecy?”
[2] S. Franklin Logsdon, Is the USA in Prophecy? Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969, 55.
[3] Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002, 1190.
[4] Maxwell S. Coder, The Final Chapter. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1984. (Chapter 7: “The United States and Other Nations,” 81-90).
[5] Walvoord, John F. The Nations in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967. (Chapter XVI, “America in Prophecy).”