I’m in the middle of leading a Bible study through my church on the topic of America and the End of the Age. Last week was the introduction, and this week we looked at the question: Is America in the Bible?
If you are a believer, perhaps we can all agree that God has truly blessed America. Its independence was based on Christian principles. It is the wealthiest nation in history and is responsible like no other in regards to world evangelization. Our nation has also been a safe haven for the Jews and an ally for modern-day Israel. We have been a bastion of human rights (despite serious missteps) and a leader in scientific and medical advancement.
Likewise, if you are a believer who holds true to God’s Word, we can also agree that America is now morally bankrupt in many ways, from adultery to abortion to homosexuality to a church that is increasingly more fat, lazy, and selfish.
So, is America in the Bible? I have found four schools of thought as to whether this is true. There are those who believe America is:
- Vaguely referenced
- Symbolized by an eagle
- Babylon the Great
- Not mentioned at all
Adherents to the first view believe that there are verses that mention America through vague references and geographic locations. Look up these scriptures for yourself, but here are the phrases that are latched on to: “an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers” (Isaiah 18:7); “I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations” (Ezekiel 28:7-8); “the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages” (Ezekiel 38:13); “the mightiest fortresses” (Daniel 11:39). If your first reaction is that this viewpoint is a bit of a stretch, I agree with you. This involves imagination to believe, and an ignorance of the surrounding Scripture.
The second group is composed of those who believe that America is symbolized by the eagle. There are two main passages to support this viewpoint. One is found in Daniel’s dream of the Four Beasts: “The first was like a lion, and it had wings of an eagle.” (Daniel 7:4). Some are convinced that the lion represents the British Empire, which spawned America (the eagle). The reality is that Babylon was often symbolized by a lion with wings. Therefore, most scholars agree that the four beasts were the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires, which ruled the known world in that order.
Since America provided a safe haven for Jews for centuries, some also believe that the eagle in Revelation 12:13-14 supports this viewpoint. The problem is, Scripture clearly states that the eagle is God. See Exodus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 32:11-12 for proof.
Perhaps the idea with the greatest momentum right now is that America is Babylon the Great (the third group listed above), as mentioned in Revelation 17. This is the End-Times harlot that leads the world down the drain. Other candidates for this entity are Rome, modern-day Babylon in Iraq, and an End-Times false religion. There are around 60 characteristics of this entity. I’ve found that those who believe Babylon the Great is America, Rome, or Iraq tend to only focus on the characteristics that do fit and ignore the ones that don’t – and there are several glaring dissimilarities.
There are some factors that seem to contribute to these first three viewpoints. Americans tend to read the Bible within our historical and cultural context. We also have bad and lazy habits like proof texting and confirmation bias. These are the practices of quoting verses with no regard to the passage they’re pulled from (proof texting) and only studying viewpoints that affirm our own viewpoint (confirmation bias). Lastly, many American Christians want our country to play a role at the End of the Age, either due to nationalistic pride (the first two viewpoints) or a belief that God needs to judge us for leading the world astray (as Babylon the Great).
Lastly, there are those who don’t believe America is directly mentioned at all, except in the most general sense. Some believe this to be true because the anticipated rapture will decimate our population. Others believe God will swiftly judge us, be it through catastrophic natural disaster or allowing another country to bring devastating war. 
Or perhaps our failure to practice simple economics will cause us to just fade away into the annals of history. It is my concern that most Americans’ nationalistic pride keeps us from ever considering that our country will not be here at the End, or at least will not be “great” indefinitely.
Here are some important realities to remember. Yes, Jesus came to save all people (Matthew 24:14, Acts 1:8). But the Bible is Middle-East-centric, and so is prophecy. Many Old Testament prophecies concerning the Middle East haven’t happened yet, such as Damascus being destroyed (Isaiah 17) and the War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39). Further, Israel is the epicenter:
• It became a nation again as prophesied (Ezekiel 36-37; Matthew 24:32-34)
• The Temple Mount is the End-Times hotspot (Revelation 11)
• The Battle of Armageddon takes place in Israel (Revelation 16:16)
• The New Jerusalem is in our future (Revelation 21)
In conclusion, I don’t believe anyone can prove that America is mentioned in the Bible, other than in the most general sense. Therefore, I believe it is logical to conclude that our nation may experience incredible hardship and death before the rapture – and this hardship may have nothing to do with the End of the Age. But do not fear – our hope is in the Lord! Times of trial are also times of great spiritual harvest. God will be looking for us to be bold in our faith, and many of our fellow countrymen will be in desperate need.