Over 30 years ago, Hal Lindsay wrote in his acclaimed book on the Endtimes, Late Great Planet Earth (1970), “…according to the prophetic outlook the United States will cease being a world leader of the West…. [Based on Daniel 7] it is certain that the leadership of the West must shift to Rome, in its revived form, and if the U.S. is still around at that time, it will not be the power it now is” (pp. 95-96). Tim LaHaye, co-author of the renowned Left Behind Series (1995), holds a similar view. Writing in 1984, LaHaye stated in his book The Coming Peace in the Middle East (1984), a book on the false peace surrounding the rise of the Antichrist, “It is not difficult to predict the future of America… we will be[come] a fifth-rate power” (p. 172).

If Lindsay and LaHaye, both Pre-tribulationalists, are correct, what might be the cause of America’s decline? Famed Christian economist Larry Burkett in his book, The Coming Economic Earthquake (1991), is of the opinion that a severe economic downturn, one that dwarfs the Great Depression stock market crash of 1929, will be the cause. He states:

Americans are literally consuming their asset base and transferring their wealth to the lenders. [This is exactly like] the latter stages before the Great Depression [where] there was a massive transfer of wealth via debt to lenders (p. 64)…. [Today] most American families, in spite of their outward appearance of affluence, live on the brink of economic disaster. They have little or no savings to fall back on in difficult times and now are borrowing against the equity in their homes to buy nonessential goods. If the value of their homes falls during an economic downturn, both the borrowers and lenders are going to be in real trouble (p. 65). …Based on the study of other economic collapses, I believe there will be a series of crises prior to either a depression or hyperinflation (p. 175). [But] when the real economic tremors begin, it will be too late to do much about it…. The collapse of this economy truly will come like a ‘thief in the night’ (p. 161).

This opinion is supported by famed Canadian eschatological scholar Grant R. Jeffrey. Writing in his Final Warning: Economic Collapse and the Coming World Government (1995), he stated,

A nation cannot continue to borrow forever, going deeper and deeper in debt each year. Finally, ‘they hit the wall’ and economic collapse is [inevitable]…. I am not a prophet so I cannot predict when the government of… the United States… will ‘hit the wall’ financially. That moment will occur when the national debt and its compounding interest charges have risen so high that the total tax revenue of the country will not be able to pay the interest on the national debt (p. 228).

These well-known and well-accepted Pre-tribulational scholars, writing principally to their Christian readers, speculate that, regardless of the Divine method for America’s reduction, whether it be economic or otherwise, there is every possibility the causing event(s) will occur before the Rapture (see Coming Peace, pp. 143-152). David Wilkerson, renowned worldwide for his book, The Cross and the Switchblade, concerning his ministry to inner New York City gangs, offers in his book, America’s Last Call: On the Brink of a Financial Holocaust (1998), that “the [economic] upheaval that’s coming to America is, [in part], a purging of the church… [because] tragically, many Christians today are chasing the almighty dollar, trying to strike it rich, just like the rest of the world” (pp. 114-115).

In addition to America’s demise before the Rapture, it is also extremely important to realize that Pre-tribulationalism, like the other perspectives on the timing of the Rapture, is only a theory; it is not a fact. Every student of Biblical prophecy should be humbled by the fact that God has seen fit to not provide us with all the information, thus making it impossible to establish a complete picture, a total composite fact, regarding Jesus’ Second Coming. (Hence, the controversy over the timing of the Rapture amongst those deeply committed to Jesus Christ.) As an example of this God-ordained ignorance, look at Revelation 10:3-4, where the Apostle John, the author of Revelation, is told to refrain from writing what the Seven Thunders have spoken. An honest student of Scripture will readily admit, then, not all the information regarding the Second Advent is available to us. Coupled with this, we “look through a glass darkly” regarding other details of Jesus’ return. Matthew 24 clearly states in verse 34 that “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” Or does it? Scholars note the Greek work genea, translated here “generation,” can also mean “nation (race).” Is Jesus setting a timeframe, generation; or is he reassuring the Jewish people they will not be totally destroyed in the coming Great Tribulation and Wrath Judgments, by saying “this nation (i.e. Jewish race) will not pass away”? Arguments, by deeply committed Christian expositors, have been made for both. Clearly, we do “look through a glass darkly” at some prophetic passages.

If all of these presented insights are correct, then even if one wishes to embrace a Pre-tribulational viewpoint, by admitting it is a theory, the emergency preparation adage of “Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst” still holds true. Pastors and leaders and other mature Christians who do not prepare their flocks or themselves spiritually, psychologically (psuche, soulically), and physically for the possibility of facing great tribulation are violating that adage and will have a congregation, or their families, unprepared for the Great Tribulation should it include the Church.

“Let those who have ears…”