No nation is an exact representation of the Kingdom. But I see an enormous amount of value in the history of America. It remains the best of a bad bunch. Under Trump for all the bad press he gets I see a reversal of many of the antichristian trends of recent years e.g. the restoration of the first amendment to the discussion of abortion and appointment of supreme justices with some sense.
To be sure, God in His almighty sovereignty has from time to time usually used America as a tool in His plan for the destiny of the world. But it's foolish to silly to praise the pot for the use of it made by the potter.
Historically America did / is doing the following:
1) The defeat of Kaiser Wilhelms ambitions in WW1 and then Hitler in WW2 owed a lot to American intervention and tipped the balance in favour of good and of freedom.
2) Marshall Aid after WW2 saved Europe from ruin.
3) Without America Communism would probably have conquered the world.
All of this was done not for "favor of good and freedom" but by the US government to maintain the power and wealth of the elite, both in Europe and in America.
For instance, during those wars the US government promised colonized native people "liberty and freedom" if they would fight for the American cause, but then after both WWI and WWII, the US government instantly reneged on those promises and promptly turned them back over to their European masters.
After WWII, the US was on board with the Treaty of Versailles, which
even at the time was known to be so Draconian in its penalties upon Germany that it was certain Germany would ultimately have to respond with war, whether there was a "Hitler" or not.
The fact that the US had learned a lesson from the earlier mistake and administered Germany and Japan at the end of WWII with more worldly self-interest than they did at the end of WWI is not the goodness of Christ. That's merely the self-interested "goodness" of the world. Even evil men know how to do "good" to those from whom they expect "good" in return.
Everything the US government does in the world is to make more secure its political and economic power in the world.
4) The foundation of the state of Israel following 2000 years of exile and the holocaust owes much to American intervention. America remains crucial to Its ongoing defence against Islamic extremism and hostile neighbour's.
First, that was mostly Great Britain. Second, Jews had secured a significant amount of political and economic power in the US by then. I'm not at all "blaming" them--they were understandibily looking out for their own interests--but that wasn't from the goodness of Christ, but again, a matter of worldly self-interest. The average American was still anti-Semite.
Everything the US government does in the world is to make more secure its political and economic power in the world. The US has attempted to us Israel as a counterpoint to the USSR and a continuous counterpoint to any other Middle Eastern nation assuming regional dominance. By keeping them all teetering, the US maintains power.
5) Innumerable missionaries and benevolent charities originated in the USA.
All that has been done by non-government Christians, not by the US government, so that's not a matter to praise the US government. Great Britain in its heyday did more
government-sponsored missionary activity than the US has ever done, even including non-government missionary efforts. If that's supposed to be a point of praise for a nation, Great Britain is the winner.
6) There is an ongoing witness from a country with probably more Christian believers than any other on the planet.
God has never cared about numbers. God is certainly more concerned about purity of belief and effectiveness in His actual mission: Make disciples of all nations.
Oppressed Christians in China are making disciples at the rate of 1,000 a week. China might already have more Spirit-filled Christians than America, where most "Christians" in America are only Christian by nominal default. Christians in North Korea--even those horribly oppressed Christians in North Korea--have swelled in ranks from 5,000 in the mid 90s to an estimated 50,000 today.
Christians in America cannot hold a candle up to them. Theirs is the mightier witness.
7) The American dominated era since WW2 has been on of the most peaceful in global history and it remains crucial to world stability. While America is preeminent other powers are not violently competing for the throne.
That could be said for Imperial Rome as well in Paul's day. And for longer than so far for America.
Now, that's not an insignificant point today, just as it was not in Paul's time. It is a fact that "Satan moves easily under the veil of chaos."
I have observed that the Body of Christ can operate more effectively in an orderly society than in social chaos
even if the orderly society is oppressive. We can compare North Korea or China or the USSR with Sudan and see that the Holy Spirit can work in an oppressive ordered society, but hardly at all in complete social chaos.
That's why Paul and Peter could advise the Christians of their day to obey the laws of even an evil king to maintain social order and to pray, specifically,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
God has used America as His tool.
He also used, at one time or another, Egypt, Persia, Rome, and Great Britain as His tools. God
deposes kings and raises up others. It is therefore absolute madness for Christians to tie themselves to any particular king or nation, because God does not respect any worldly king or nation--they are nothing but tools in His hand.
For those Christians who have a glimmer of understanding of that, I strongly recommend diving into 1 Peter, which is the "field manual" for Christians as ambassadors of Heaven deployed to the nations of the world.
