The motives and actions of some of the American Founders were influenced by biblical prophecy. This perspective so shaped America, from the first colonies until this time, that it is not possible to understand America without understanding why and how these prophecies did this. This is a general overview of them, but we can expound on them in more detail in later Briefs as needed to better understand the course of American history.
The prophecies of Scripture are unique in human history. No other religion, philosophy, or worldview has anything to compare with them. They accurately foretold the coming of major events and people. They also paint a big picture of God’s plan for mankind and the earth. Naturally, this would have an influence on those who understood and believed them. They are like a map for this age that shows where mankind has been, where we are now, and where we are going with great clarity.
Biblical prophecy centers around mankind’s purpose to have a special relationship with God. Man diverted from this by disobedience, but God did not give up on man. Instead, He established a plan for reconciling and restoring mankind to this special relationship with Him. It also included redeeming and restoring the world that was put under the dominion of man to the paradise it was originally created to be. There is no other vision or hope for the future that can compare to what we are given through biblical prophecy.
God’s main Agent for redeeming and restoring mankind and the earth is “The Messiah.” He was prophesied to come first as a sacrificial lamb to redeem, and then again to restore. The time between these two was to call forth those who would rule with Him in His kingdom that is coming to bring peace on earth, and restore mankind and the earth. By His rule the deliverance of mankind from all of the consequences of our transgressions would be accomplished and paradise restored. The Apostle Peter called the coming kingdom of The Messiah “the period of the restoration of all things” (see Acts 3:21).
In preparation for the coming kingdom of God, those called to rule with Him had to learn how to overcome the evil that corrupted man and the world. Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, could have set up His kingdom immediately after He had redeemed the world with His sacrifice, just as His apostles asked Him to do. However, He delayed this so that those called to reign with Him could learn to overcome evil and restore with the power of His sacrifice.
Those who learned to overcome the evil of the present age, to live by “a different spirit,” would also learn through our own redemption, reconciliation, and restoration, how to help others do the same. As this was done in the midst of the great darkness of this age, they will have proven both worthy and capable to rule with Christ in His coming kingdom.
As part of the above, those called are also to prepare the way for God’s coming kingdom by building a highway (see Isaiah 40). This is the establishing of God’s “higher way.” By this the way for the coming of the kingdom to the world, and for the world to come to it, is “made smooth.” Some of the American Founders saw America being a special part in building this highway.
As the kingdom of God is God’s government brought to earth, an important element of this highway is to help governments on the earth apply the principles of God’s government now. “The Great Commission” is to make disciples of all “nations,” not just individuals. This discipleship is described as “teaching them to observe all that The Lord has commanded” (see Matthew 28:20). This understanding of the call to disciple nations was especially illuminated during the Reformation just before the discovery of America. Most of the American Founders were a part of or were greatly influenced by the Reformation and this mandate to disciple nations, so they of course applied it to their own.
America is not the kingdom of God, but it has at least been a part of this highway that must be built to prepare for it. Before the American Republic, no other democracy or republic had lasted more than a few years without self-destructing. America is now approaching its 300th year as a republic. Many other nations around the world have now become republics. The Republican form of government was modeled after the government of Israel established by Moses in the wilderness in preparation for them to possess the Promised Land, which was understood to be a prophetic metaphor for the coming kingdom of God.
A republic is not a democracy as many presume. Our Founders made this clear. They noted that every attempted democracy in history had “committed suicide” very quickly. Founder John Adams called a democracy “two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.” The implication was how a democracy would likely trample the rights of minorities. Along with their fear of the tyranny of a potentate, they feared “the tyranny of the mob” also. The fickleness of public opinion can shift so dramatically and fast that no government has been able to survive the stress.
Our Framers chose to establish a republic that would be ultimately accountable to the people, but not subject to capricious swings of public opinion. A republic is the majority choosing representatives who would make the laws and govern. This is how Moses established the first republic when he had the people choose 70 elders from among their elders who would judge (rule) Israel with him. Then they chose “captains of tens, hundreds, and thousands” that were a model for more local governments.
The core value of this Republic had to be freedom because true worship requires freedom. We can make a parrot say or do what we want, but it will not be in its heart. God is seeking those who will worship Him because they love Him and His ways, not because they have no choice. For this reason, the Founders were resolute that Religious Liberty was the foundation of all true liberty, and why religious freedom had to include the freedom not to be religious as well. It was upon this foundational belief that freedom of speech, the press, etc. were so solidly moored.
The teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civil and social life that it would be literally—and I do not mean figuratively, I mean literally—impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals—all the standards toward which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves… ~President Teddy Roosevelt
The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests. ~President Andrew Jackson
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© 2020 by Rick Joyner. All rights reserved.
