Is America Mentioned in Bible Prophecy?

Let’s explore the evidence, starting with Rev. 13:11–15: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.... And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” 

We have already identified the first beast as the Roman Catholic Church State that controlled Western Europe for 1,260 years. (See “The End-Time Beast of Revelation” in this issue.) To identify this second beast, we must note the contrasts between them. 

The first beast arose from the sea, which is said to represent “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Rev. 17:15. The Mediterranean world, where the medieval Roman Catholic Church arose, was quite heavily populated. By contrast, this new “lamblike nation” was to arise from “the earth,” or from a relatively unpopulated region. 

The lamblike beast was also to rise around the time that the first beast, or the papacy, received her deadly wound. Many Protestant Reformers shared the understanding that the papacy’s 1,260-year (42-month) period of political power was to end some time in the latter part of the 18th century. As early as 1754, John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement and a brilliant Bible scholar, began looking for the rise of the second beast. In his comment on Revelation 13:11, he stated, “He is not yet come, though he cannot be far off. For he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first beast.” (In 1798, Napoleon’s army captured Pope Pius VI. He died in prison a year later.)

In the latter part of the 18^th century, the United States of America emerged as a new world power. One historian, speaking of the birth of the American nation, describes “the mystery of her coming forth from vacancy” and “like a silent seed” growing into an empire.¹

America commenced young and gentle. Though compared to a lamb, the same symbol used to portray Jesus Christ, she nevertheless had power, represented by her two horns. The fundamental principle of the First Amendment is separation of church and state. Properly understood, this principle is quite Christlike. Jesus presented the distinction between civil and religious authority when He said, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matt. 22:2l. 

Although the beast appears as a gentle lamb, it undergoes a drastic change and speaks “as a dragon.” A nation “speaks” through its laws or official decrees. By enacting religious legislation, the lamblike beast will enforce some form of worship and will do so in contrast to its original nature. Revelation 13 depicts an ultimate union of church and state within this nation. At some point in the future, this country’s principles of the separation of church and state will be repudiated. In fact, Bible prophecy reveals that the U.S. will one day be foremost in enforcing the mark of the beast upon the whole world. Rev. 13:12, 16, 17. (See “The Mark of the Beast” in this issue for what constitutes the mark.) 

When America enforces worship through its official laws and persecutes those who cannot conscientiously participate in legislated worship, then this nation will “speak as a dragon.” In the face of this country’s historical legacy of constitutional freedom of worship, it is hard to believe that one day these liberties will be denied. Yet, the prophecies of Revelation 13 predict this. 

For further study, see the following resources: The Great Controversy and The History of Tomorrow.