I\u2019m trying hard to answer this question with a straight face.<\/p>\n
Short answer: No.<\/em><\/p>\n Longer answer: Absolutely not! Whatever are you thinking??<\/em><\/p>\n On the interstate I passed a billboard advertising some ministry that is focusing on biblical prophecy. Big letters: \u201cTHE USA IN BIBLE PROPHECY!\u201d And a website.<\/p>\n My opinion\u2013and that\u2019s all this is; this is my website and I can freely post it; thank you very much\u2013is that the people involved in this kind of \u201cfind the USA in the Bible ministry\u201d fall into two groups:<\/p>\n –1) well-intentioned unthinking believers who love Jesus but were never grounded in the essentials of the Christian life, and are now being led seriously off-track;<\/p>\n –2) clones of Harold Camping (the guy who was in all the news some years back for predicting the end of the world) who spend all their time trying to unlock the Rubik\u2019s cube of the Bible so they can know more than anyone else as to what the Lord is up to.<\/p>\n Both groups are in bad trouble.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span>The first ones\u2013the well-intentioned unthinkers\u2013need to go back and read the entire New Testament on their own. They will see that the major thrust of the Gospels and the Epistles is to a) live God’s good news before the world and b) share that good news with the world.\u00a0 Prophecy in the New Testament is a secondary feature.<\/p>\n The second group\u2013the Campingites who play with the Bible like it\u2019s their own private mystery game\u2013falls into several classifications.<\/p>\n –Some of them need to get saved. They\u2019re bringing their carnal mind to God\u2019s Word which can be understood only by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit alongwith<\/i>\u00a0the help of God\u2019s faithful disciples. (See II Peter 1:20)<\/p>\n –Some are saved but suffer from bad mental health. They remind me of the obsessive-compulsive Adrian Monk of the \u201cMonk\u201d TV series. They overlook a thousand major aspects of the Christian faith in order to focus on some element so minor as not to deserve a moment of their time. The only cure I know for the bad mental health afflicting so many preachers and leaders is the fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23. With their \u201clong obedience,\u201d the Holy Spirit in time can overwhelm the gaps in their dysfunctional psyche and make them whole with the qualities of a healthy man or woman of God.<\/i><\/p>\n –The others are just having fun. These are the people who get their kicks out of solving riddles. They are convinced God has left clues throughout the Word for us to unravel.<\/p>\n Where in Scripture?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n So, where do they find that the Bible speaks of the United States in prophecy? Answer: in obscure, hard-to-understand passages which God\u2019s people cannot agree on as to their meaning.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I have the proper understanding,\u201d we can hear them say. Pardon me for groaning.<\/p>\n A little knowledge of history would have stopped the false teachers in their tracks. Do they have any idea how many know-it-alls came before them, all with the key to understanding God\u2019s plan for the world\u2019s future based on some tiny insight they alone have figured out? And that time proved them all to be mistaken?<\/p>\n Here are two quotes taken verbatim from websites claiming the USA is in Bible prophecy–<\/p>\n –It makes sense that the most powerful and influential nation on earth will play a vital role in the final stunning events of the world\u2019s closing chapters.<\/i><\/p>\n –Does it make sense that God would forget to say anything about the most powerful nation on earth, the USA, in biblical prophecies about the latter days of our age?<\/i><\/p>\n An Old Testament prophet has the answer to both questions. \u201cBehold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing and Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him as less than nothing and worthless\u201d (Isaiah 40:15-17).<\/p>\n The Lord\u00a0 of the massive universe–remember its size!–is not impressed by our nations, their wealth or big numbers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to read the quotes above without laughing. The very idea that the living God, the Lord of the universe, would neglect to say something about the mighty USA in Holy Scripture is unthinkable.<\/p>\n The pride of man is something. The pride of American preachers\u2013some at any rate\u2013is a thing to behold.<\/p>\n God, forgive us for our pride and our foolishness.<\/p>\n Before mentioning where we actually do find the USA in Scripture, I need to call the attention of readers to the remark the Apostle Peter made about the writings of the Apostle Paul. They apply to so much of the prophetic scriptures over which God\u2019s well-intentioned have wrestled through the ages\u2026.<\/p>\n \u2026our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.<\/i>\u00a0(II Peter 3:15-16)<\/p>\n Untaught: that\u2019s the well-intentioned unthinking believers we referred to above. Unstable: those are the ones with poor mental health.<\/p>\n Alas, both groups have ever been with us. And if I may say so, have been the bane of the church throughout the centuries.<\/p>\n So, where do we find the United States of America in the Bible? Answer: in the same place we find Costa Rica and Nigeria, Canada and Korea.<\/p>\n –\u201cWhosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely\u201d (Revelation 22:17).<\/p>\n –\u201cWhosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved\u201d (Romans 10:13).<\/p>\n –\u201c\u2026that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life\u201d (John 3:16).<\/p>\n –And here: \u201cUnto whom much is given, much shall be required\u201d (Luke 12:48).<\/p>\n –And finally: \u201cWhen the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him\u201d (Matthew 25:31-32). That\u2019s it: the USA will be standing before Jesus to be judged.<\/p>\n Sickening, ain\u2019t it? That God is not impressed by us.\u00a0 How dare He?<\/p>\n Get used to it, friend.<\/p>\n Father, give us church leaders and Bible teachers and seminary professors with their hearts aflame with a love for Jesus, their heads screwed on right, and their ministries directed toward a faithful exposition of thy word and the obedient application of thy will. In Jesus’ name.\u00a0 By Jesus’ blood.\u00a0 For Jesus\u2019 sake. Amen.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m trying hard to answer this question with a straight face. Short answer: No. Longer answer: Absolutely not! Whatever are you thinking?? On the interstate I passed a billboard advertising some ministry that is focusing on biblical prophecy. Big letters: … Continue reading