I will start this column out with a disclaimer. This week’s column is not a commentary on the recent elections. It is not a commentary on any political party or candidate. This week’s column looks at Biblical prophecy and what it says about the United States.
Some prophecy teachers attempt to read the United States into prophecy. For example, the “young lions” of Ezekiel 38:13 are often considered to be America since we gained our independence from England, and England’s symbol is a lion. Others equate America with the Babylon mentioned in the book of Revelation. That Babylon has immense wealth, power, and influence like no other nation on earth. Today, this could represent the United States. However, we only need to go back about 150 years, and people said, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.” My point is this: we cannot say with one hundred percent certainty that the Babylon of the book of Revelation is ancient Babylon (modern-day Iraq), or symbolic of another nation. We cannot point to Babylon, the young lions, or any other name used in Scripture and say, “That is the United States.”
So, since America didn’t exist when the Bible was completed, how can the US be in there? If God wanted to, He could have mentioned us by name. He did this with King Cyrus over one hundred years before he was born (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1). But God did not choose to do that.
However, a small three-letter word draws America into the prophecies of the future. The word is “all.” What can we learn about America’s future by looking at when the Bible uses the word “all.”
America will follow the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will receive what appears to be a deadly head wound. Whether his death is real or staged, he appears to overcome death and is worshiped by everyone. Revelation 13:3-4: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
The Antichrist gains authority over all nations, including the United States. Revelation 13:7-8: “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
There will still be Presidents, kings, Prime Ministers, and leaders of nations, but all of them will surrender their authority to the Antichrist (Revelation 17:12-13).
America will be under the Antichrist’s one world economy.
The Antichrist will control who can buy and sell. Revelation 13:16-17: “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
This controlled buying and selling can serve purposes beyond identification. It is reasonable to believe that, with today’s technology, this mark will also store financial information. One swipe can tell who a person is and how much money they have. If the government controls health care, it could include that information, too. Someone obese may not be allowed to buy fattening foods, or someone with diabetes may be unable to purchase regular soda or cookies because of the sugar content.
He who controls the purse strings controls, and the United States, along with the rest of the world, will give the Antichrist complete control.
During the days of the Antichrist, world commerce will collapse internationally (Revelation 18). Revelation 18:12-13 lists merchandise including precious metals, clothing, food, animals, and even human lives, illustrating the extensive reach of the Antichrist’s economic system.
There are quite a few more “all” things the US will succumb to in the future, but I will mention only one more today. All nations will gather themselves against Israel. There will come a day when the United States and Israel will no longer be friends. Zechariah 12:3: “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”
You may read one, some, or all of the things above and think, “The United States would never allow that.” Well, the above quotes are from the Word of God. For the United States not to fall in line with the rest of the world on these things means the United States won’t exist when these prophecies are fulfilled.
So then, how far away is the reign of the Antichrist and the fulfillment of these prophecies? Five years? Fifty years? Five hundred years? Only God knows. However, with the signs Jesus gave us and the puzzle pieces of other prophecies falling into place, it is enough to make me believe that the reign of the Antichrist is more in the five to fifty-year range than five hundred years away. Then again, only God knows.
Preacher Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.
