The United States in God's Plan for History

As history has progressed through the ages, there has always been some awareness, in some part of the world, of God's plan. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, God announced that he would send a savior. Throughout the ages, God has made his plan known in various ways. Throughout history, there have been two nations that were founded on a belief in God: Israel and the United States. Each country had periods where it followed God and was blessed for it. The United States is rejecting God at about the same time that the events that were prophesied in the book of Revelation seem to be imminent. Is the rejection of God by the United States, and the resulting decline, God's final warning to the world before the Great Tribulation?

God's Message in Ancient Times

God's message was available to the world's inhabitants from the earliest days. God promised a savior to Adam and Eve right after they sinned. Adam was still alive when Enoch and Methuselah began their lives, and could have told people personally about what happened in the Garden of Eden. Enoch was a preacher, and proclaimed the Word of God to those that wouldn't listen to Adam. Methuselah lived for the rest of the antediluvian period; his name means "when he dies, judgement." Methuselah was Enoch's son and would have been very familiar with his message. He could have even known Adam. Methuselah lived right up to the time that the flood came, and could have warned the people. If Methuselah's message wasn't enough, Noah's boat building would have stuck out like a sore thumb in a world that had never seen rain and had no ocean.

After the flood, Noah's son Shem lived a very long life; although much of the world had turned to idol worship by the time Abram was born, Abram could have met Shem and learned of the true God from him. Abram was renamed Abraham, and ended up founding the nation of Israel, which was founded on the law of God.

Israel's Rise and Fall

Israel was a small nation, especially when compared to countries like Babylon, Media, Egypt, and Persia, which were world powers at the time that Israel was at its height, but it was a country that was known by many. When Israel followed God, the world was in fear of the nation and of its God. As Israel became prosperous, it started to forget the good things that God gave them, and ended up losing battles to its enemies. Eventually, they were carted off to countries like Babylon and Persia; some of their descendants ended up in an Israel that was a province of the Roman Empire. Jesus grew up during the height of the Roman Empire; his message spread far and wide in the centuries after his death.

America's Rise and Rejection of God

Outside of Ancient Israel, the United States was the only nation that was founded on the belief in God (Vatican City might also be considered, but it is more like a religious capital than a nation). Although other countries have had official religions, America was the only nation that was founded because Christians wanted to worship God. Like every other nation, early America was not perfect: they broke treaties with the native population, not all founders were Christian, and some American Christians even persecuted Christians of other denominations. These early struggles helped form a people that generally believed in a creator, but allowed others to have the liberty to follow their conscience and choose whether or not to believe in God themselves.

Like Ancient Israel, America has prospered; however, like Ancient Israel, America has turned away from God in recent decades. America's enemies are becoming more powerful, while the United States has lost influence. Although some Arabian countries believe that the United States is the "Great Satan", it cannot be just due to the immorality that is exported from Hollywood. The Netherlands are known for drugs and prostitution, yet the United States as targeted as the ultimate evil. Could it be that the world still sees the United States as a nation generally populated with believers in God?

America's power and influence was used by God over the last couple of centuries to spread the message of the Gospel, but the time of America's Christian influence is declining. At the same time, the stage is being set for the prophecies in Revelation to be fulfilled. Could the rise and fall of the United States, a nation founded on the principals of God, be the last warning before the tribulation begins? Only time will tell.