As America marks its 250th year, the Fourth of July offers more than fireworks and grilled hamburgers—it offers a moment to reflect on the deeper currents of history that shaped this nation and the prophetic foundations that continue to influence its future.
My friend Mike —an ardent student of John Adams—insists that July 2nd should be the real Independence Day. A few years ago on the 4th of July, when I wished Mike “Happy Independence Day,” he drolly commented, “Well, you’re a couple of days late, but thanks anyway!” After all, his favorite President, John Adams, had written to his wife Abagail “that July 2nd would be celebrated as the great anniversary Festival, with pomp, parades, bonfires, and illuminations.” Yet when I asked Mike how many people showed up to his July 2nd barbecue, he grew very quiet.
July 4th won the cultural battle, and perhaps for good reason. It marks not only the adoption of Jefferson’s Declaration but also the remarkable symmetry of history: both Jefferson and Adams died on July 4, 1826—exactly 50 years later.
But anniversaries are not just sentimental markers. They are opportunities to revisit the ancient foundations of nations, especially those whose rise intersects with biblical prophecy.
And America is one of them.
Why Prophecy Still Matters
In recent decades, interest in prophecy has waned among some in the Church of God community. The reasons vary—failed date‑setting, generational shifts, or the mistaken belief that prophecy is somehow separate from Christian living.
But Christ Himself taught the opposite.
“Do business till I come.” — Luke 19:13
“Blessed is that servant whom his master… will find so doing.” — Matthew 24:46
Prophecy is not an escape from life—it is a framework for living faithfully, productively, and wisely.
And central to prophecy is one unavoidable truth: If you don’t understand who Israel is, you cannot understand the Bible.
The Bible is a book about Israel. Its covenants, its promises, its future, and its role among the nations. ISRAEL is the MAIN ATTRACTION of the Holy Bible.
Would you believe that Scripture commands God’s people to understand Israel’s place in world history? Notice:
“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you: 8 When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel. (Deuteronomy 32:7-8) (Emphasis ours, throughout)
In these verses, Moses recounts the inspiration God gave him in recording Genesis 10:32 and how the 70 nations that descended from Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japeth, were divided after the flood.
In Deuteronomy 32, Moses adds a new wrinkle–those nations inheritance would be arranged around the descendants of Jacob–or “Israel” as his name was changed after he wrestled and prevailed, with God, in Genesis 32.
God arranged the nations around Israel. That includes America.
Ephraim, Manasseh, and the 2520‑Year Mystery
To understand America’s prophetic identity, we must revisit Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s sons in Genesis 48.
Jacob placed his name—Israel—specifically on Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim was the younger brother, and Joseph was concerned that Jacob placed his right hand on the head of the youngest, instead of the traditional firstborn.
“Thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.” — Genesis 48:20.
This ordering matters. The pattern of Jacob’s laying on of hands, signified that the younger brother Ephraim would receive the incredible national blessings of prosperity and strength first, becoming a colonizing power around the globe.
Jacob also prophesied that the descendants of these 2 boys would become separate nations who would receive a greater national blessing than the rest of the sons of Jacob. (Genesis 48:19-22)
In Genesis 49, near the time of his death, Jacob told all 12 sons to gather round him, so that he could “tell you what shall befall you in the last days.” (Verse 1)
The prophecy for Joseph (his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh) was truly astounding (verses 22-26). The language suggests agricultural abundance, industrial wealth and economic power, natural resources, global trade dominance, military strength.
Together, the prophecies from the 48th and 49th chapters of Genesis point to future outcomes for the descendants of Ephraim, whose blessings would be realized first, and Manasseh. Ephraim would become a “multitude of nations,” and Manasseh would become a great nation. (Genesis 48:19)
But Scripture also shows that Israel’s national blessings would be withheld for disobedience:
“I will punish you seven times for your sins.” — Leviticus 26:24–28
Using the prophetic day‑for‑a‑year principle (Numbers 14:34), seven prophetic “times”, with each year representing 360 days, (7 x 360) equal 2520 years before those national blessings would be realized.
Israel’s captivity began around 721 BC. Add 2520 years → 1800 AD.
And what happened around 1800?
The British Empire exploded onto the world stage.
President Thomas Jefferson launched westward expansion with the enlistment of Captains Lewis and Clark, and their exploration paved way for Jefferson to complete the Louisiana Purchase from the French.
England dominated the seven seas, colonized Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and ruled the subcontinent of India. America began its ascent to greatness after defeating the British in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and added the Gadsden Purchase and Alaska to its territory and achieved National greatness throughout the 20th Century.
Many historians associate the 19th Century as the peak of the British Empire. And since 1900 many have called the next hundred years the “American Century.”
This is not coincidence. It is prophetic timing.
On its 250th Anniversary, the United States remains the most powerful and influential nation on the world stage.
As Americans celebrate the Semiquincentennial, another Bible prophecy–perhaps a bit obscure– may offer us a clue as to future actions. The prophecy is found in Zechariah 11.
Zechariah and the Breaking of Bonds
“Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.” — Zechariah 11:14
This passage describes a future moment when the unity between Judah (the Jews) and Israel (Ephraim/Manasseh) fractures. Has this already happened, in part?
Following the defeat of the World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Britain ruled much of the Middle East, including Palestine, Jordan and Iraq, by the Mandate System established by the League of Nations. The British, more so than any other nation, were responsible for ushering in the potential for a Jewish homeland. In 1917, The Balfour Declaration, issued by His Majesty’s Government paved the way for this possibility, proposing the idea of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East.
For roughly four centuries—from the early 1500s until the end of World War I—the Ottoman Empire was the dominant political power across most of the Middle East. Its collapse created the power vacuum that Britain and France largely filled through the postwar mandate system.
But Zionist leaders were frustrated that Great Britian limited Jewish immigration, blocking holocaust survivors from entering Palestine. In 1946, the King David Hotel, housing many British bureaucrats and military officials was blown up, killing 91 people, including 28 Britons. The next year, Britain referred the “Palestine question” to the United Nations and eventually left the Middle East altogether.
War between Arabs and Israelis began almost immediately after the British evacuation and has been ongoing since that time.
The formerly helpful unity between Great Britain (Jacob) was broken and has never been the same since.
Britain (Ephraim) and Judah parted ways. This break between the Jews and Ephraim may have been the first to happen in modern times. Since the end of WW 2, it has been the United States that has been Israel’s protector, calling the nation of Israel its greatest ally in the Middle East.
Are we witnessing a similar fracture today? Between the modern state of Israel and the United States?
America’s relationship with modern Judah is under strain—politically, militarily, and morally. The wars in Gaza and Lebanon, the geopolitical entanglements, and the rising domestic backlash all point to a weakening bond. A rising sentiment in the United States today is that America has been involved in far too many incursions in the Middle East for the past 40 years, and support for Israel is at an all-time low.
This is not dogma. It is observation. But one thing is certain–
The Good News: The Reunion Ahead
Prophecy does not end with division—it ends with restoration. Several significant prophecies indicate that the breach between Judah and Israel will be restored after Jesus Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God. (Jeremiah 3:17-18, Isaiah 11:11-13)
Hosea 1:10-11 “Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’ 11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together, And appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel!
The tribes will be reunited. The covenant will be restored. The division between Judah and Israel will be healed.
But prophecy also warns of decline when nations reject God’s Shepherd.
Yet the story ends with hope.
America’s past is remarkable. Its present is turbulent. Its future—like Israel’s—is ultimately in God’s hands.
And for those who understand prophecy, that future is bright.
World News and Prophecy Review