"the hole at the end of america" by Dystopos is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
"Look, I will make you insignificant among the nations. You will be utterly despised! 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of a rock, the heights of its dwelling, you who say in your heart: ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ 4 Even if you soar like the eagle, even if your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down!” declares Yahweh.
"For the day of Yahweh is near against all the nations! Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head."
- Obadiah 2-4, 15
In 1911, President Woodrow Wilson said that, "America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture" (quoted in David Jeremiah's What in the World is Going On?, p. 127).
President Reagan wrote that, "I have always believed that this anointed land was set apart in an uncommon way, that a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the earth who had a special love of faith and freedom" (p. 120).
American pastors, in general, believe that America is not in bible prophecy; that it is a special case, a "light to the nations," "exceptional," a "city on a hill." Tim LaHaye, quoted in the same work, wrote that, "One of the hardest things for American prophecy students to accept is that the United States is not clearly mentioned in Bible prophecy, yet our nation is the only superpower in the world today" (p. 130).
We will examine these claims in light of history and the biblical texts.
If America was a Christian nation, it would not be abusing other countries, or starting wars of aggression, or undermining other governments in its pursuit of global hegemony. Yet this is exactly what it has done--especially since WWII. The slide below shows all the attempts to overthrow other governments--even in cases where those governments were democratically elected! The asterisks indicate successful overthrow.
In 2013 WIN/Gallup polled countries of the world, asking them to identify the greatest threats to peace, and the clear winner was America. The results can be seen here. The claim then, that America is a country guided by Christian principles is a lie. America is a violent, greedy, abusive country that has created more misery than any other since the end of WWII. The fact that most Americans don't know this is a tribute to the sophistication and effectiveness of propaganda--the control of mainstream media sources by government--not to any facts on the ground.
We will now address the claim that America is not in bible prophecy; that it is some special case, a "city on a hill," "exceptional," "a light to the nations," etc.
Well, Rome is not in bible prophecy either by name, but most interpreters understand the terrible fourth beast of Daniel 7, and the beasts of Revelation 13:1-10 and Chapter 17 are Rome in some form, although not named. I suggest that America is indeed in bible prophecy, and is represented, along with its British partner, by the Lamb Beast of Revelation 13:11-18.
The previous beast from the sea, in Revelation 13:1-10, is the Papacy. It arose after the destruction of Imperial Rome and ruled over much of Europe, becoming the new Rome. We know it was the Papacy because it persecutes the saints (v7), has a loud, blasphemous mouth (v5-6), authority over many people and nations (v7), and acts for 42 months, or 1260 prophetic years: from the Emperor Justinian's time, in the 6th century, to the late 18th century. History teaches that the French Revolution (1789-1799 CE) ended Papacy's power. Monarchies fell across Europe and were replaced by republics. Religion was deemed a personal matter, not a state matter. No longer could a corrupt church threaten political leaders with excommunication. Papacy's political power was gone.
Yet we know Rome must be around in some form at the end. Daniel 2, the famous statue prophecy, describes the Roman power as represented by legs of iron. At Christ's return, a symbolic rock will be thrown at the feet of the statue, pulverizing it. The feet are a mixture of iron and clay. Iron means Rome. Clay means people--especially God's people--but in this case, God's people corrupted. The feet of the statue then, shows that Roman-like powers in league with false Christians, should be expected at Christ's return. It's the same idea as the harlot in Revelation 17--corrupt Christianity--sitting on top of the beast, the Roman-like political system. Do we see this today?
Yes! Take America. We have a corrupt, white evangelical church which has partnered with the Republican Party for power and has as its hero, Donald Trump: a lying, greedy, abusive conman, who is currently indicted for trying to overthrow the 2020 election, which he clearly lost. Is this really the Christian nation President Wilson had in mind? Obviously not. And there is a similar situation in other countries. The previous President of Brazil, Bolsonaro, also had a corrupt evangelical church at his feet. President Putin of Russia has a corrupt Russian Orthodox Church doing his bidding. And we could cite many more examples. At Christ's return then, this would be the state of the world: harlot churches in league with political powers.
Returning to the Lamb Beast of Revelation 13:11-18, we read:
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people.14 And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.16 And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,17 and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
The Lamb Beast comes out of the earth, because it arises in a relatively sparsely populated land, compared to the Papacy, which arises "out of the sea"--the sea of humankind (Rev 17:15), but especially around the Mediterranean, where Imperial Rome initially arose. To put it another way, America and Britain arise from land surrounded by sea. Rome arose from the sea (the Mediterranean) surrounded by land. The Lamb Beast has two horns, meaning it is a partnership, as the two-horned Ram Beast in Daniel was a partnership between the Medes and the Persians. If America is one of the horns, who is the other? History shows that Britain and America have worked very closely together. Their security and intelligence services, militaries, and financial and business interests are tightly interconnected. They fight wars together and support each other's propaganda and interests. Britain is the other horn, but it is America that is the leader in our time, as Britain was previously. And it is this Anglo-American power that leads the entire West now. Anglo-America and the West is modern day Rome, God's enemy.
The Lamb Beast has "two horns like a lamb, but speaks as a dragon" (v11). It pretends to be Christian, but its real source of inspiration and power is Satan the devil, who leads the opposition to God. It "exercises all the authority of the first beast" (v12). It assumes the role of world leader in the presence of the first beast (Papacy). In other words, it would become the new Roman power while the Papacy still existed, although in a humiliated state. America rose as a power just as the Papacy declined at the French Revolution, in the late 18th century. "He makes people worship the first beast [Papacy], whose fatal wound was healed" (v12). Anglo-America began as the British Empire, and was initially Roman Catholic. I believe the fatal wound refers to the destruction of Imperial Rome in 476 CE, and the healing of the death-stroke was the rise of Papacy, which took up the reigns and power of Rome.
But Britain did not remain Roman Catholic. King Henry VIII wanted an English church beholden to him, not the Pope, so created the Church of England. It was an "image" of the Papacy: complete with priests, an altar, incense, and holy water. The Church of England, like the Roman Catholic Church, also persecuted Christians that did not bow to its authority--even burning many at the stake. This "image" of the beast would then be replicated in many other countries as state Protestant churches, and those also persecuted Christians.
The Lamb Beast "makes fire come down out of heaven" (v13). It would dominate the world, to a large extent, via air power. When the United States entered WWII, the combined airpower of Britain and America overwhelmed the Germans and Japanese. Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forcing Japan to surrender. In our time, the United States has deployed a network of drones across North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and elsewhere. It uses these to kill anyone suspected of 'terrorism': essentially anyone that opposes America's hegemonic aspirations. Indeed, the Lamb Beast makes "fire come down out of heaven in the sight of men."
The mark of the beast, where "no one can buy or sell," (v17) refers to sanctions. America and Britain control most of the world's financial systems. America has the power to cut off countries, businesses, or individuals financially, bringing them to economic ruin. No other country has this power. But this is changing. The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are now equal in economic power to the G7 and greatly exceed it in population. Dozens of other countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, largely because of the indiscriminate use of sanctions for political purposes by America. I expect the BRICS to grow in power as the West loses power.
The mark of the beast also refers to slavery: those with the mark willingly enslave themselves to the beast. They defend its evil ways and happily repeat its propaganda. This is contrasted with those belonging to Jesus: they are sealed in their forehead and belong to him (Rev 9:4).
The man with the number of the Beast, 666, meaning exceedingly sinful, is misunderstood by most prophecy interpreters. It is usually applied to Nero, or some other evil Roman emperor, or the Pope, or Hitler or Stalin in our time. But the 666 man is associated with the Lamb Beast, Anglo-America, not the Sea Beast, the Papacy, or any other political or religious entity. The angel in Daniel 12 gives us some more information: there would be a 1290 year period between the time true worship was suppressed (by Constantine in 313 CE, with the Edict of Milan), until 1603 CE, when "Stuart Absolutism" arose in Britain (Dan 12:11). This is also the Abomination of Desolation of Daniel 11:31 and the wicked King mentioned in Daniel 11:36. So the first 666 man was King James Stuart (1603-1625), and after his death, his son Charles (1625-1648) took up the mantle. King James declared his reign to be according to "Divine Right", and that he only reported to God Himself, and as such, was leader of the Church of England as well as the state. This was blasphemous: King James was a corrupt homosexual who flaunted his affairs with his young male lovers. "He will show no regard..for the desire of women" (Dan 11:37). To think that God would place such a man in the position of head of the Church, which only Christ can claim, was blasphemous. His son Charles continued the blasphemy of Divine Right, but the prophesy said, "blessed is the one who is patient and attains to the 1335 days!" (v12). Adding 1335 years (a day for a year--see Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:5-6; Daniel 9:24-27), from Constantine's Edict of Milan, in 313 CE, gives us 1648 CE, the year King Charles was tried and convicted of treason by the British Parliament. He would be executed in January of the new year, signifying the end of the 666 man of that time--a reign which lasted 45 years.
But is this the only 666 man in the Lamb Beast, Anglo-America? I believe the first account, in Britain, is meant to be an example of what we should expect nearer to Christ's return. Since this 666 man was actually two people: first, King James I, then upon his death, King Charles I, we could expect another 666 man to be similar. But who?
When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, something had changed in the evangelical churches. Before Reagan, they generally viewed politics as a dirty game that good Christians should avoid. But with the rise of the so-called Moral Majority and other conservative movements, white evangelicals were manipulated and deceived into seeking power for its own sake, and it was massively corrupting: the true Bride of Christ has only one master, Jesus, and one country, the Kingdom of God. They became, as it were, a spiritual harlot. This is no different than King James using the Church of England for political purposes.
From the 1980's until now, the white evangelical church in America has fallen further: hiding sexual abuse scandals, cheering on US forever wars, supporting racism, opposing efforts to protect God's creation (see Rev 11:17-18), and rallying around Donald Trump, who they claim is "anointed of God, like Cyrus." Really? Donald Trump is a greedy, lying, abusive conman with little or no idea about what Christianity is or what the Bible teaches. He just saw an opportunity to gather a block of voters that were loyal to him no matter what he says or does; and this got him elected President in 2016. So I believe the 666 man in the Lamb Beast is first Reagan, and then Trump, as James and Charles were in Britain. How this turns out remains to be seen--the presidential election of 2024 could be hugely consequential--but we know this: God does not take lightly claims to his favor that are lies. He is not impressed with fake Christianity or false prophets that claim to speak in his name. When Israel apostasized, God punished them severely with the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Romans. He will not let the American Republican Party, its fake Christianity, and its disgusting leader, Donald Trump off the hook either. They must answer for their smearing of God's good name.
There is another prophecy of note which refers to our time period. In Daniel 11:40-45, we read:
40 “And at the end time the king of the South will wage war with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through.41 He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.42 Then he will reach out with his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.43 But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels.44 But rumors from the East and from the North will terrify him, and he will go out with great wrath to eliminate and annihilate many.45 And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him."
I believe the King of the North is the West, led by Anglo-America, and the King of the South is the BRICS, led by China. Verses 40-43 describe the conquest of the Middle East for its oil wealth. History shows it was originally Britain prior to WWII, but as America arose after WWII, it became the leader, and American oil companies flocked to the Middle East to make vast amounts of money, protected by the American military. Middle Eastern governments that resisted the theft of their oil were destroyed or replaced (see the above slide). "Rumors from the East and from the North will terrify him," and he goes "out with great wrath to eliminate and annihilate many" (v44). I believe this refers to the rise of the BRICS--especially Russia, to the north, and China to the east, relative to Israel.
America realizes that if the BRICS is successful in creating financial and trading systems outside its control, its dreams of world rulership will be over. And so Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and many other countries have suffered horribly under American bombing, drone strikes, and invasions. "He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him" (v45). Trump moved the US Embassy, the modern equivalent of the "tents of his royal pavilion," to Jerusalem in 2018, which is exactly between the seas (Mediterranean and the Dead Sea) and Mount Zion. At some point after, "he will come to his end, and no one will help him." Anglo-America, as the last representative of Rome, God's enemy, will no longer be a world power. It will be destroyed. No one will help him because Anglo-America has abused enemies and friends alike. They will watch it go down from a distance.
But where in the story is Babylon the Great, described in Revelation 17 and 18? There, we see a harlot sitting on a Roman-like beast, surrounded by kings and merchants. The scope is global. This prophecy is similar to Daniel 2, and describes the state of the world near Christ's return. It is a worldwide system of harlot churches (she is the "mother of harlots" - 17:5), Roman-like political power, corrupt business ("merchants"), and corrupt oligarchs, referred to as "kings." Essentially, Babylon the Great is Western culture and its leader is Anglo-America. At some point, "the ten horns [governments] that you saw will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put it in their hearts" (v16-17). Governmental "ten horn" powers will turn on the harlot and her children as punishment from God. The kings (oligarchs) and merchants (corrupt business leaders) will stand at a distance out of fear (Rev 18:9-10, 15-16). This then, looks like a people's revolution much like the French Revolution. But this time the scope is the entire world, not just France and Europe.
What does the near future hold? I think Russia will likely win the proxy war in Ukraine and the West will be humiliated. Countries that were colonial outposts for Europe in Africa are kicking out their colonizers (e.g. Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger recently ousted France). The era of Western dominance and neocolonialism is quickly coming to an end. The BRICS will continue to grow in power and influence, attracting investment away from the West. The European Union will cease to exist at some point as their economies continue to unravel and more anti-EU governments are elected. And America will receive the judgement of God upon her for her wicked works: hypocrisy in religion, weaponization of its dollar through unjust sanctions, lying, fake-Christian politicians, corrupt pastors and false prophets, destruction of God's creation, widespread immorality and idolatry, mistreatment of its poor and needy, and military interventions that leave devastation and ruined lives behind. After God deals with Anglo-America and the West in general, along with its harlot churches, he will turn to the remaining powers. They will be brought low, and replaced by the Kingdom of God under Jesus Christ our Lord, as the pulverizing of the statue in Daniel 2:41-45, and the replacing of it with "a kingdom which will never be destroyed," shows.
There is a remote possibility that Anglo-America's leaders will see the folly of their ways and repent, as Nineveh did when Jonah put them on notice. But this is unlikely. There is just too much arrogance and blind stupidity among them. It is comforting to know that God always accepts us back if we are truly repentant, but I doubt Anglo-America will take advantage of this, although many individuals likely will.
For sincere Christians, we put our hope and trust in Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God, which will replace all these evil powers with a righteous government that truly cares for its people, and whose King, unlike world leaders, was willing to die for his subjects. Praise God!