What’s Next for America?

Beginning the New Year 2026 and considering all that’s happening that looks to signal the very end of this Age of Grace, sets the stage for wondering just how near we might be to the time when Christ calls His Bride. And, meantime, the question arises: Just what might be next for life in America?

While thinking about my research in writing my Harvest House book released in 2009—The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible Prophecy?—took me back to God’s dealing with America in the 1930s. The things Americans suffered were considered by preachers and politicians alike to be God’s wrath and judgment.

One well-known writer, John Steinbeck, even gave his famous novel on that depressed time in America the title The Grapes of Wrath.

America had gone through a tremendous time of growth and relative prosperity during the “Gay 90s” (for the younger readers, it had nothing to do with the 1990s, nor with homosexuality). It was the 1890s, and the term “gay” still enjoyed its proper definition.

Despite the early 1900s bringing about World War I, the nation leaped forward, and soon the “Roaring Twenties” brought forth the flappers and boisterous, even debauched, “good times.” Reformers tried to squash the hedonism, and the passage of the 18th Amendment instituted prohibition against alcohol manufacture, sale, and transportation. The action only increased rebellion against morality. American gangsters took over, and illegal booze, gambling, and every other type of nefarious activity permeated culture and society.

Then, in 1929 came the stock market crash in the United States, and worldwide depression quickly followed. The wrath of God had fallen!

Or had it?

No, it had not. Neither had His judgment against America’s sin fallen upon the nation, thus affecting the world—not in the sense of God’s great judgment that came upon the antediluvians, the wicked, violent, even genetically corrupted earth dwellers of Noah’s day.

But God’s mighty hand of correction through the Great Depression and the horrendous “Dust Bowl” era came down hard on the backside of this nation He so manifestly chose to accomplish great things for His great purposes. Those things would include, in particular: 1) developing the technologies that would spread the gospel around the entire world, and 2) to act as midwife for the birth of modern Israel on May 14, 1948, and to become that Jewish peoples’ closest ally—an ally that just happened to soon become the most materially blessed, most powerful, and most influential nation the world has ever known.

America has, despite recession, economic downturns, and wars that took thousands of young American lives, known a standard of living and pleasures—both unsullied and debauched—like no generation of any people in history. The profoundly disturbing questions to ponder are: Will God choose to again correct this special nation called America? Or, will He take His hand off to an extent, allowing the US to find its own way, and the people to do what is right in their own eyes, which is what much of the American electorate seems to want?

Daily I read news, even from those who write on things from the Bible prophecy perspective who fear this nation will now feel the Lord’s hand of wrath. These writers usually are those who reject totally the pre-Trib view of the Rapture. They hold that the die is cast, as one of Shakespeare’s characters said. I don’t necessarily subscribe to that “judgment and wrath is about to fall” opinion—at least not in the immediate, near-term way many who write the fear-filled articles and books believe.

God’s wrath, however, is building. It will be unleashed when the “prince that shall come” confirms the covenant with Israel and Israel’s antagonists (Daniel 9:26–27).

That pouring out of God’s anger won’t happen until the Church is removed. However, there is almost certainly a heavenly decision that has already been made and is even now in the process of implementation. It is likely the decision to either take corrective measures as in God’s past dealings with America in order to get this nation back on the moral course, to complete its work in His grand prophetic design, or to give rebellious masses what they more and more demonstrate they demand. They demand freedom to choose what is right in their own eyes.

God’s decision to take His hand off to some extent would be far more fearful than His again taking corrective action like world economic depression. To let the rebels do what is right in their own eyes, thus casting God away from any semblance of divine guidance, means America’s work is done. That is indeed a frightening thing to contemplate.

I must say that I, with reverential consideration, don’t expect immediate meltdown and correction from Almighty God. I believe with all that is within me that He has been demonstrating corrective movements over the past years and months—movements that have gone unheeded by even the majority of His people. These have chosen to bury their heads in the sands of watered-down messages that have practically no relevance to God’s message of doctrinal truth. Rather than revival, there have been false, emotional outbursts that have done disservice to the Lord, who purchased each and every one who has been born again. It seems to me that the Church’s work, like that of America, has almost run its course.

Dave Hunt once wrote a book called Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust. His basic premise was that this fallen world system—and particularly the United States and even the Church—would be drawn ever deeper into believing in humanistic salvation by seeming peace and prosperity. He demonstrated, then, through historical precedent and Bible prophecy both past and yet to come that the world of fallen man will, at a future time of unprecedented evil activity on earth, endure a holocaust far worse than that perpetrated by Adolf Hitler. The end will bring, he concluded, God’s wrath and judgment on an incorrigibly wicked world.

I believe America and the world might be entering a time of so-called peace and prosperity as Dave foresaw. But it will be abbreviated by Christ’s sudden intervention. The “change” the country and the world is clamoring for through trust in human governmental entities rather than God’s moral governance will, as my late friend Dave Hunt wrote, swiftly bring the holocaust of the Tribulation.

As many know, I believe that Jesus’ prophecy on “the days of Lot” (Luke 17: 28-30) is exactly where this generation likely stands on God’s prophetic timeline.

It will not be world economic collapse or the end of the American dream, as some declare, that will preempt the “sudden destruction” of Luke 17-30. Jesus said that the economy will be business as usual, while wickedness proliferates just beneath the surface of civility, when He next catastrophically intervenes into the world of sin and rebellion.

As a matter of fact, instead of the economic collapse into the Tribulation, as some prophecy writers of the anti-pre-Trib Rapture sort are declaring, I believe we are headed for somewhat of an economic boom.

While, at the moment, the writers of economic collapse are pointing to the rise in prices they believe will bring economic despair at the Tribulation level, the facts are entirely different. The following item points to what is happening under this unusual president named Donald J. Trump.

Well, Donald Trump has done it again!

He stumped the chumps.

The “chumps” in this case were the “blue chip” academic and financial economists whose consensus forecast this time last year was for high inflation and low economic growth. Wrong on both counts.

As you’ve probably heard, the GDP growth for Q3 came in at a red hot 4.3% following 3.5% for the second quarter. Some 90% of the professional economists got it wrong — all underestimating the strength of the Trump economy. QED: these weren’t random errors. These were “hate Trump” errors.

They also predicted inflation of above 3% for 2025. It’s going to come in at closer to 2.7% with the last two months trending down to the Fed inflation target of 2%.

Starting in the second quarter, GDP has been nearly twice as high as predicted.

To quote the inimitable special agent Maxwell Smart: “Missed it by that much.”…

Krugman and others all thought Trump’s tariffs would ignite runaway inflation.

There’s no doubt tariffs did cause a rise in aluminum, coffee, and beef prices – commodities that got hit by tariffs as high as 50%. But the economic pundits failed to take account of the disinflationary effect of pro-growth policies like deregulation, Trump tax rate cuts, and pro-America energy policies. These counteracted the impact of tariffs on prices overall.

One would have thought that the academics and media would have learned from their mistakes of always underestimating Trump on the economy. But they seem incapable of self-correcting. They keep doubling down on dire predictions about Trumponomics. (https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/moore-economists-got-2025-all-wrong)

While prices continue to be too high for consumer affordability because of prior economic mishandling, I believe changes to bring costs down for the consumer are in process.

Do not think that this coming economic uptick is a good thing in terms of the world. Rather, it is a harbinger of the moment when God takes His great hand of restraint off this fallen planet and takes His family into the clouds of Glory!

It signals the any-moment Rapture!

Jesus said the economy will be just like it was in Sodom when Lot was removed. Business in that wicked place was booming—so much so that Lot chose to settle there when his Uncle Abraham gave him a choice.

It also will be like it was in Sodom once God’s family—all born-again believers in His Son Jesus Christ—are removed. Sudden destruction will follow, like in ancient Sodom.

So, like in the case of Lot’s family (the only righteousness God recognized in Sodom), the righteous–all born-again living and dead during the Church Age or Age of Grace will be removed from amongst the unbelieving of this fallen planet. This will be the Rapture—the pre-Trib Rapture!

Let us pray for the president and for all governmental leaders, so that we might lead peaceful lives. This is commanded of us by the Lord. But let us work to complete whatever He puts in front of us to do for the Kingdom. Let us, as Oswald Chambers entitled his book of devotions, do “Our utmost for His highest” while our fleeting time remains upon this fallen sphere.

—Terry

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Pakistan Ministry Mission Appeal from Terry James

To my Rapture Ready and Prophecyline family: I again solicit your support in spreading God’s Word in Pakistan.

Your generosity in past missionary efforts has just been wonderful beyond measure. I again prayerfully ask that you open your spiritual heart in helping fund the distribution of the books I have given to our pastor in Pakistan to use while he preaches and teaches about our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Anil Jasper translated my little book, Prophecy Power: Strength from God to Face Your Future. He has now also translated into the Urdu language my small book, HeavenVision: Glimpses into Glory.

This is the book in which I describe my widow-maker heart attack on Good Friday of April 22, 2011. In this book, I tell of being somewhere in the heavenly sphere each time my heart stopped. The voluminous documentation of that medical emergency shows why my survival was so unusual that the Cardiological Association gave me the “Cardiological Patient of the Year” award and asked me to speak at their convention.

Of course, at the heart of my testimony is the salvation message that Jesus alone can save the soul from an eternity apart from God the Father.

The first book Pastor Anil translated, then distributed, and continues to distribute to the people of his country, Prophecy Power remains a great witness of Christ’s saving power. HeavenVision will now add a second tool that will help Pastor Anil win souls for God’s eternal family.

I have special permission from my publishers to donate these books to this ministry. I receive no compensation whatsoever from their distribution in Pakistan.

Your donations are essential to carry out this all-important mission. I believe your contributions will result in great heavenly rewards some eternal day when we all come before our Lord at the judgment seat of Christ.

We need funding to print and distribute these books beginning this month.

May the Lord bless you mightily for helping in this mission to the people of Pakistan.

Again, I don’t have a way to accept credit cards or PayPal-type contributions. I ask that you send a check to the address below.

Please put in the line at the bottom of your check: “For our Pakistani mission.”

Also, please include your email address so I can thank you individually. Being blind now since I was fifty-one, sending out letters is beyond my ability. But sending emails is easily within my capability, and I certainly want to thank each of you.

Please make the check out to my name–Terry James—and send to:

Terry James Prophecyline
P.O. Box 38
Benton, AR 72018
Thanks, and God’s Blessings.

Terry 

PS—I am thankful and so pleased to announce that we have received a donation offer that will greatly help in this effort to fund printing and distribution of my books in Pakistan.

A most generous brother in Christ has offered up to $7,500 in matching funds for donations we receive.

In other words, for each donation you send, he will match with an equal amount up to $7,500.

This will greatly bless our effort to provide for the printing and distribution of these two books, each of which has been translated by Pastor Anil Jasper into his Urdu language.

Thanks to each of you who helps reach our goal, which we believe will be sufficient to accomplish this missionary effort in our Lord’s service.

All funds received will be used toward reaching the people of Pakistan with truth from God’s Word.

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The Winds of Tribulation

A popular 1971 novel, The Winds of War by Herman Wouk, depicted the buildup to WWII starting six months before Germany’s invasion of Poland and ending shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The lengthy novel, almost 900 pages, followed the events in the family of Victor “Pug” Henry, a fictional middle-aged naval officer and confidant of President Franklin Roosevelt.

In the same way, we see unmistakable evidence today of the nearing time when antichrist will “make a strong covenant” with the many (Daniel 9:27), which will start the clock ticking on the seven-year Tribulation. I know that many of you, like me, thought that the Rapture might happen in 2025 because of the many signs pointing to the start of the Tribulation.

But take heart, the winds signaling the Tribulation’s soon arrival continue to blow and along with them, the nearness of our homegoing.

The Winds of War

Just like the months preceding WWII, wars and rumors of war fill the airwaves and Social Media. As I write, another major conflict with Iran seems imminent and given the widespread nature of the rumors, it might possibly begin before you read this article.

The winds of war are again blowing through Europe as its nations, especially Germany, appear ready to join Ukraine’s fight against Russia. At times, both sides in this ongoing war have seemed ready to agree on a ceasefire, but the horrific bloodshed continues unabated. But for the Lord’s restraining hand, this war might have already triggered WWII with Europe joining the conflict to defend Ukraine.

Tensions between the U.S. and the alliance of Russia and China continue to simmer below the surface with the recent U.S. capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro drawing sharp rebukes from them. The Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which seems inevitable, will likely lead to a catastrophic war between America and China with Russia coming to the defense of its ally.

The winds of war tell us that second rider of the Apocalypse will soon begin his trek across the earth (Revelation 6:2-3). But this cannot happen until Jesus opens the second seal after we are already in Heaven with Him.

The Winds of Financial Distress

The national debt in the U.S. recently soared to over 38 trillion dollars pointing to the fact that our economy is a house cards that might collapse at any moment.

The efforts of President Donald Trump to infuse tariff and foreign investment money into the U.S. economy have seemingly forestalled the inevitable, but troubling signs persist. The excessive cost of living in American has many here on the brink of financial disaster with most living paycheck to paycheck. Inflation is down, but the explosion of prices under the Biden Administration remains and continues to bring hardship to most families.

The U.S. economy is a ticking timebomb that someday will play a significant role in the depression conditions described in Revelation 6:5-6.

The Winds of Antichrist

Daniel’s prophecy regarding antichrist’s future peace accord with Israel tells us it will include “the many.” Until this past year, I didn’t understand this reference. I knew it would include Israel, but who are “the many?” Recent events have brought clarity to this matter.

As President Trump seeks to do what other presidents have sought to do for over five decades and failed, he has introduced a new wrinkle into the Middle East peace negotiations. He’s involving other nations, most of them Arab, in the process to relieve the tensions. Could this be a template that antichrist will follow in his future agreement that kicks off the seven-year Tribulation? The sense of Daniel 9:27 is that he will take an existing covenant and make it better or stronger.

The Bible tells us that only Jesus will bring peace to the world, including Israel, at His Second Coming. Today’s ceasefires will fail, but the Lord will continue to protect the nations and do so quite visibly in response to the Gog/Magog invasion (Ezekiel 38-39). In the meantime, the continual battering of war is conditioning Israel to readily agree to the terms offered by antichrist.

The Winds of Another Temple

In Matthew 24:15-31, Jesus referred to the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy as something that would start a time of great suffering for the Jewish people leading up to the time of His Second Coming. What’s pertinent to our discussion concerning the soon start of the Tribulation is that between Jesus’ day and May 14, 1948, Israel didn’t exists as a free and sovereign nation with whom antichrist could make his deal. It’s only been since then that the words of Daniel 9:27 could happen.

The other assumption in Jesus’ words is that a third Jewish Temple would exist for antichrist to desecrate. Since this couldn’t happen before 1948, another one must exist by the midpoint of the coming Tribulation. The advanced preparations for this future temple, the training of Levite priests to serve in it, and the building of a trainline to take people from the Ben Gurion airport to the Temple Mount all point to the nearing time of its construction and thus also to the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27.

Just like time leading up to WWII, we see unmissable evidence that the Tribulation period is oh so near. Should anyone attempt to write a novel entitled The Winds of the Tribulation, the amount of source material would seem endless.

In His sovereignty, God has already determined the moment of Jesus’ appearing to take us home to glory as well as the time of antichrist’s deal with “the many.” The words of Scripture, however, indicate that our wait for the realization of our blessed hope will soon come to an end.

-Jonathan