Editor’s Note: Part 1 in a series.
(March 22, 2023) Historians claim that most dominant nations stay on top for 100 years. At most — maybe 200 years. The outlier was the Roman Empire. Depending on your definition of dominance, Rome’s reign as an important ancient nation lasted from 750 B.C. to its fall in 476 A.D.
Other important ancient nations included Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece. These nations set a pattern for achieving national greatness by conquering, capturing and subduing their neighbors through war.
Ancient Rome seemed to perfect the template of subjugating nations through military conquest, allowing some autonomous rule, as long as taxes were remitted to Rome!
Though conquered by the Vandals, Heruli and Ostrogoths in the late 5th Century, less than a century later, the Emperor Justinian I, tried to restore the glory of the Roman Kingdom, unifying Constantinople and Rome through this recognition of the authority of the Pope in Rome. Successive European rulers, Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Charles the Great, and even Napoleon continued an association with the Roman Church, most of them being crowned by the Popes, as “Ruler,” or “King of the Holy Roman Empire.” In 1804, Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon Bonaparte the crown and he placed it on his own head, continuing the monarchy associated with Rome — and the Church!
The Powers That Changed the World!
The rest of the 19th Century saw the rise and dominance of the British Empire. At its height, the “sun never set on the British Empire,” but British dominance gradually ceded to the United States in the 20th Century.
Britain and America each did certain things well for the over 200-year period at the zenith of their collective power for the world, most notably the defeat of despots like Napolean, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and nations that sought to rule through tyranny, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union.
Both nations prospered after bringing forth the rule of law, and were the first modern nations to outlaw slavery, Great Britain in 1833 and the United States thirty years later, by executive order of President Abraham Lincoln. The United States Constitution codified individual rights and freedoms that were unique in human history but had an ancient counterpart thousands of years earlier.
The Fall of the English-Speaking People
Does Bible Prophecy indicate the fall of American power and dominance? Bible students have wondered for years if a demise of the power and prestige of American hegemony would fulfill Bible Prophecy. And not just for America, but for all English-speaking nations of the world,
Is America at the brink of destruction? What are the symptoms of decline, how quickly will it happen, and what can Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders do to prepare for it?
American and British Roots
World News and Prophecy Review, along with many students of the Bible, single out the English-speaking nations of the world as the descendants of the ancient nations of Israel, specifically, “Jacob” who inherited the national blessings of greatness from his father Isaac, who had received them from his father Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham included national power and great wealth. In Genesis 12:2, Abraham was told; “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 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.”
The Bible record shows Abraham’s descendants did grow and eventually became 12 separate nations. Hundreds of years later these nations would become a unified Kingdom, ruled by Saul, David and Solomon before a division of the Kingdom after Solomon’s death.
When Solomon died, the tribes of Judah, some of Benjamin, and the Levites remained in Jerusalem, the capital city, and in the southernmost area of Israel, known as Judah, while the rest of the tribes, including many in the small tribe of Benjamin became a separate group of nations, known throughout the rest of Bible history as “Israel.”
Israel, also known as the “Northern Kingdom,” or “Samaria” the capital, was carried off to captivity in 721 B.C. by one of the Empires of destruction mentioned above — Assyria. About 120 years later, the nation of Judah was conquered and deported to Babylon.
The “Lost Tribes of Israel”
From that time, the northern Kingdom was lost in antiquity. Ten nations seemingly vanished! Did they really disappear?
The prophet Amos, a herdsman from Judah, in the eighth century B.C. wrote: “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.”
Decades before ancient Israel, also known as Jacob/Joseph (used interchangeably in prophecy) was deported to Nineveh and the surrounding region of Assyria, Amos was inspired to show that these nations would remain intact — even though conquered and transported from their homeland.
The “Birthright Blessing” Inheritors
Though all 12 tribes were named after their father Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, meaning “Overcomer with God,” the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, are specifically shown to receive the majority of the birthright blessings of Abraham.
Near death, Jacob blessed the 2 sons of Joseph with “a portion above your brothers.” (Genesis 48:21) Before his last breath, Jacob made a final prophetic pronouncement.
The Last Days
Genesis 49 carries the prophecy of Jacob to a startling connection with our present day. With all 12 of his sons assembled, he said; “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:” (emphasis ours)
In verses 22-26, it is obvious that Joseph (through his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh who would become separate nations) received an additional blessing of national power and greatness with abundant resources and Godly protection.
Note that the promises were reserved for “the last days!” Since all these nations were the victims of National captivity, they weren’t fulfilled thousands of years ago. IF they have been fulfilled in our modern age, we need to know which peoples in history inherited these blessings.
One Clue
A key identifier that historians overlook is the association of the English-speaking people and the Holy Bible. After the printing press was invented, for the first time in history, the scriptures, over time, became available to almost everyone. Beginning in the 16th Century, William Tynsdale and other scholars began to translate the Old and New Testaments from Hebrew, Greek, or from Latin translations. In 1611 King James commissioned the Authorized version of the Bible which became the standard translation for hundreds of years!
The British Empire published and taught the laws of God, and of society throughout their many colonies. Their missionaries blanketed the four corners of the earth with the message of the Gospel. While it may not have been perfectly executed, it was work that was filled with the zeal of sharing the message of God.
The framers and signers of the U.S. Constitution based the law of the 13 Colonies from the “rights of citizens” which are described in the “Law of Moses.” It was the Holy Bible that inspired modern laws of evidence, witness, protection of the innocent, laws of inheritance — the building blocks of a rational, sane society!
Is it just some massive coincidence that the most prosperous nations in human history, at the beginning of their dominance of world affairs — people who became protectors of and the inspiration of other nations — were also the greatest proponents of the use of The Holy Bible?
IF the English-speaking nations of the modern world are descended from Joseph, wouldn’t you want to know what will happen to those nations in the Last Days?
No other nations through history have shared such a common association with the Law of God. If this is the case, can we pinpoint other prophecies of the end time that point to the eventual punishment of those nations?
Next: What is ahead for the United States and Commonwealth of Nations?
For an in depth look at this fascinating topic, please request your free copy of The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.
You can download or read this book from this link: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-united-states-and-britain-in-bible-prophecy
World News & Prophecy Review
areaoftheearth