America's Greatest Challenge

Just 200 years ago, Lewis and Clark made their famous expedition of discovery across the continent. As one reads of their journey, he cannot help being impressed by their courage in the face of overwhelming challenges. The nation itself has faced many challenges during its 228 years of existence. We believe that America is today facing what is perhaps its most crucial challenge. This challenge is spiritual in nature and deals with how this nation chooses to respond to the emergence of the modern nation of Israel. It is spiritual because the significance of Israel is only seen when considered in light of God’s redemptive activities in the earth. What will America choose? What will be the consequences of this choice?

Great Struggles of the Past

Many great struggles could be cited here, but, we will deal with only three: The War of Independence, the Great Civil War, and the combined World Wars.

Many great struggles could be cited here, but, we will deal with only three. The first is the War of Independence. The American army was made up of irregulars, mostly farmers who left their fields to join the effort. The British army was the best trained and equipped army of the day. Indeed, England was a superpower of that era. The outcome of the struggle was anything but certain. Yet, the poorly equipped American army persisted in the struggle to the final victory at Yorktown in 1781. Independence was secured.

Eighty years later the nation was divided in the great Civil War. The issues were states rights and human rights. The North and the South struggled from one battlefield to another in the bloodiest conflict that this nation ever engaged in. Finally, the struggled ended at Appomattox with the surrender of the South. The union was preserved and the peoples formerly enslaved were freed.

Finally, I will cite the struggle of the great World Wars. Usually this is treated as two great wars, although, I tend to see it as one struggle beginning with WWI and ending with WWII. To the participants this was a life or death struggle. Practically the entire human community was involved. Millions of people lost their lives. The war ended with the surrender of German forces in May, 1945 and by Japan in September of that year.

Each of these struggles involved a spiritual component while the greater struggle was manifested through the physical force exerted by massive armies. We are now engaged in a struggle that is primarily spiritual in nature. This makes the struggle even more difficult because many, if not most, people do not realize that the nation is in grave peril. We want to point out that we are not speaking about the "War on Terrorism." This struggle is within the heart and soul of the nation and ultimately will be determined by how this nation chooses to deal with the reality and sovereignty of God.

America and Israel

Unlike the opponents involved in the struggles cited above, when Israel is compared with America it hardly gets on the chart no matter what the area considered. The population of the United States is around 265 million while Israel has a population of 5 million, a mere 2% of the American population. The land mass of Israel is of the order of 10,800 square miles. This is comparable to the area of Florida bordered by the Georgia line, I-95, I-75 and Orlando. Furthermore, there is no comparison in terms of military power, natural resources or industrial might.

Yet, God has declared that He would set Israel high above the nations.

"The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord Your God, as He has spoken." (Deuteronomy 26:18-19)

For over 100 years God has been calling His people out of the nations and bringing them back to the land of Israel. He is in the process of exalting Israel to the position declared above. This plan is an integral part of God’s redemptive purpose. Isaiah boldly prophesied of this day saying,

"For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined." (Isaiah 60:12)

"For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined." (Isaiah 60:12)

Today, America is the lone super-power of the world. It’s influence is exerted all around the globe. But, this is happening in the context of what God is doing and will ultimately do through His people Israel.

What Will America Do?

It appears to me as if there are two great philosophies at work in America. One is the popular, secular mindset of pursuing American hegemony throughout the world. This entails the development of economic trade and the encouragement of democratic reform while these activities are being protected by the projection of U.S. military force. The objective is the continued growth of the economy which promises an ever increasing bounty of wealth, power and influence for Americans.

The alternative mindset is predominantly Christian. There are millions of Christians whose primary allegiance is to the God of the Bible. These love Israel and, at least to some degree, recognize Israel’s significance in God’s plan. This is not a monolithic group but a very diverse one, ranging from the mild recognition that God’s hand is upon Israel to bold Christian Zionist. This group represents the real core values that made America great in the first place such as humility and frugality; they are God-fearing, hard-working, and Biblically righteous people. These are the values that sustained America in the previous struggles cited earlier in this article.

Consequences

So America is in the valley of decision. Which path (or philosophy) will it choose? Will it continue to pursue global dominance and the projection of American power and influence across the world? Or will it humble itself relative to Israel and recognize her unique role in God’s redemptive plan? To do the latter would mean establishing a unique policy toward Israel’s existence and spiritual function and formulate policy toward every other nations consistent with that policy. This would result in an obvious conflict with the Moslem nations, with Europe and, probably, with most of the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the political system of America appears to be structured so that anyone being elevated to high national office must be committed to global hegemony. This appears to be the case independent of the political affiliation of the individual. Fifty years ago, President Dwight Eisenhower warned America of the power and influence of the Military-Industrial Complex. We believe that he was speaking of what the book of Revelation calls the Great Harlot (Revelation 17,18). If America continues on the present course, it seem evident that it will lead to God’s judgment and destruction. Americans will ultimately find that the "Road Map," and plans like it, lead to Har Megiddo, Armegiddon.