Is America mentioned in Bible prophecy? Other modern-day nations are, and we recognize them because they still bear their Biblical names: Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. Many nations, including America, are also prophesied about in the pages of your Bible, but they are not as easily recognized because they haven’t retained their Biblical names.
For example, Biblical peoples called Elamites, Parthians and Medes - make up the modern-day nation of Iran. Ammonites, Edomites and Moabites represent the nation of Jordan today. And Ishmaelites are the Arab nations of the Arabian peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq.
There are also ancient Biblical peoples who make up America and Great Britain, do you know what their Biblical names were? Do you know where they originated geographically and how they ended up in Western Europe and the Americas? It’s a fascinating story!
It begins with God assigning all ethnic groups their own distinct language at the tower of Babel (GEN.11), so that they would band together and move to their respective lands that He had earmarked for them: “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their habitations.” (ACTS 17:26) “The Most High God gave the nations their lands. He divided up the Human race. He set up borders for the nations. He did it based on the number of the angels in His heavenly court.” (DEUTERONOMY 32:8)
God was directly involved in where various ethnic groups ended up, and He determined their pre-appointed times to arise and flourish. Many of today’s modern-day nations did not come on the world scene until the last few centuries.
God used a man named Abram to raise up the Arab nations, Israel, and many of the Western nations of the earth today. We learn this fact in the reading of promises & prophecies made to Abram: “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God kept this promise in raising up the nation of Israel in the womb of Egypt, which has been a blessing to the world, with many nations benefiting from adopting much of Israel’s system of Law, from Jewish contributions in Mathematics and the Sciences, and all people having access to forgiveness of sins, through the death of the Jewish Messiah.
In a series of subsequent promises made to Abram, God added this: “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations” (GENESIS 17:5); “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies” (GENESIS 22:17);
These same promises were made to Abraham’s son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons who would become the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. Jacob took away the birthright blessing from his first-born son, and gave it to Joseph: “Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel (JACOB), so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright. Yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, from him came a ruler (Christ), although the birthright was Joseph’s…” (ICHRONICLES 5:1,2) This text shows that the promised Messiah, who would be first Savior & then King, would come through the line of Judah. But the birthright blessings of national greatness would come through the line of Joseph.
So before Jacob died, he put a special birthright blessing on the 2 sons of Joseph, saying, “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth… He (Manasseh) also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother (Ephraim) shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” (GENESIS 48:16,19)
Great Britain, over a span of 3 centuries, birthed 65 nations (‘a multitude of nations’) - including the United States. God calls Ephraim His firstborn (JEREMIAH 31:9), even though he was 2nd born to Joseph, because God birthed Great Britain as a nation before the United States, which has also become a great nation as Manasseh was prophesied to be. But Ephraim was the greater of the two, with the sun never setting on the British Empire.
Moses was inspired to prophesy about Joseph (and therefore Ephraim & Manasseh): “And of Joseph he (Moses) said ‘Blessed of the Lord is his land, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath, with the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months, with the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills, with the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. His glory is like a firstborn bull, and his horns like the horns of the wild ox; Together with them he shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.” (DEUTERONOMY 33:13-17)
It is Great Britain and the United States that have ‘pushed the peoples to the ends of the earth’ - pushing their peoples into North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Indonesia and a host of other nations around the world. Joseph was to have blessings of the deep. Three of the top 10 nations on earth in terms of natural resources, are the United States, Canada, and Australia.
One of the promises given to the descendants of Israel was that they would possess the ‘gates of their enemies.’ In 1704, the British built a military port in the city of Gibraltar, to secure the free movement of ships through the Strait of Gibraltar, the 8.1 mile passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Arabs for centuries even called it a ‘gate', referring to it as the ‘Gate of the West’ and the ‘Gate of Morocco.’ The Ottoman Empire tried to build the Suez Canal, but ceased the effort because of the time and expense. The British built the 120 mile Suez Canal in the 1860’s - and operated it until 1956. The French started the Panama Canal in 1881 but gave up the effort because of challenges and expense. America completed the 51 mile Panama Canal in 1914, and administered it till 1977. The Khyber Pass, located in what is modern day Pakistan, was part of the ‘silk road’ trade route between Asia and the Middle East. Primitive paths were carved out of this Pass over the centuries - but it was the British who engineered a road, a railway and telegraph lines through it in the 1880’s. It’s more than a coincidence that Ephraim and Manasseh ended up building and controlling these strategic gates of the world - it’s the hand of Almighty God!
In the Old Testament we read about one of the kings of the House of Israel: “In the 31st year of Asa, king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel, and reigned 12 years.” This kingly line is important, because of its connection to the British people: “The Cimmerians were in fact identical with the Israelites deported from Northern Israel after the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C… the Israelites deported from Bit Humria, of the House of Omri, are identical with the Gimirraja (Cimmerians) of the Assyrians sources.” (Who were the Cimmerians and where did they come from? - A. Kristensen 1988 Pgs. 1, 126) “…The most ancient inhabitants of our island (Britain) were called Cymry… the Welsh, who are their descendants, have always called themselves Cymry… the Cymry of Britain originated from the continental Kimmerians.” (History of the Anglo-Saxons - Sharon Turner Vol.1 Ch.2 Pg.31)
A Wikipedia article about the Cimmerians says: “The arrival of the Cimmerians in Europe was part of the larger process of westwards movement of Central Asian Iranic nomads (Assyria deported Israel to N. Iran), towards southeast and Central Europe, which lasted from the 1st millenium B.C. to the 1st millenium C.E.”
Speaking of the re-gathering of Israelites to the promised land after the Battle of Armageddon, the prophet Jeremiah was inspired to write: “Sing with gladness for JACOB and shout among the CHIEF of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I will bring them from the ‘north country’ and gather them from the ends of the earth.” (JEREMIAH 31:7,8)
Today, the United States is CHIEF among the nations (economically & militarily), especially when you add to it our English speaking allies to the north, along with Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. And why is it so important to know who JACOB represents today? Because of this text in the book of Jeremiah: “ For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it… Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it; And it is the time of JACOB’S trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” (JER. 30:2-7)
Saved by Christ Himself, at His return (MATTHEW 24:21,22), but not until we have learned who we are, where we came from, why the British & American peoples rose to such prominence and power in the last days of this Age, and repent of not living by the Judeo-Christian ethics that elevated us as peoples!