With so much craziness and destruction happening in the world, many have come to believe we are about to face the “End Times” the Bible speaks of. But what role, if any, would the United States play in that?

Well, according to the books of Revelation, Daniel, Matthew, and a few others, biblical scholars and experts have surmised that the end of the present age, as we know it, will begin with seven years of tribulation, finally ending in the battle of Armageddon in Israel. The return of Jesus Christ then follows this.

The great battle, of course, will take place between Israel and her allies and Persia (modern-day Iran) and its allies.

But what side does the United States fall on?

As you likely know, the US is never clearly referenced. Some say this is a good thing. Others say it could be bad.

For Pastor Paul Begley and investigative journalist Troy Anderson, who co-wrote “Revelation 911: How the Book of Revelation Intersects with Today’s Headlines,” one possibility is that America is the nation referred to in Revelation as Babylon. This great trading nation suddenly experiences judgment by fire and is burned to the ground.

Anderson said, “It talks about the merchants of the world trading with her. And in one hour, she burned with fire. And they stand from afar and watch her burn and mourn because they know that they grew rich from trading with all of her luxuries and that kind of thing.”

But this is just a guess.

Begley suggests another.

As you may know “eagle’s wings” are mentioned a few times both in Revelation and in Daniel, each seeming to refer to a specific nation. Begley believes the reference could be to the United States, seeing as how the bald eagle often represents us.

In Daniel 7, for instance, four beasts are mentioned, one is like a lion with an eagle’s wings. Coinciding with Anderson’s suggestion, the lion is believed to represent the Babylonian Empire, one of the first empires to fall in the world’s history. It could be a reference to Great Britain as the lion part and the US as the eagle’s wings.

Next on the list is a beast like a bear (representing the Persian empire), then a leopard (the Greek empire), and finally one with iron teeth (the Roman empire and most powerful).

Later in the Bible, in Revelation, just three of those four are mentioned. A beast rises, having parts of the three: the lion, the bear, and the leopard. But no mention is made here of the eagle’s wings.

The assumption here is that a nation rises that encompasses all the rest, a beast kingdom, a one-world government.

So, where are the eagle’s wings?

The chapter just before mentions them separately, seen rescuing a woman who is believed to be representative of Israel.

As Begley says, “When you go to Revelation, three of (the past beasts) come together as part of a one world government. But the eagle doesn’t. It stays with Israel, flying with Israel as like a protector, a big brother.”

Another possibility is that the US is part of a land called Tarshish, a nation to the west of Israel. In Ezekial, it is mentioned that in the fight against Persia, “the merchants of Tarshish and all their young lions” protest Persia’s invasion of Israel.

This could be a reference to Great Britain as a land to the west full of merchants, and it has been the mother country of many, including the United States. So the US could be one of her “young lions,” supposedly protesting the attack on Israel.

Still, another possibility is that the US is never referenced and doesn’t have a major role to play.

As a major world power at the moment, that seems hard to imagine. But what if the nation experienced a massive revival and then, as the Bible foretells, Christ raptures his church, leaving the planet and the newly-brought-back-to-God US with much fewer people than now?

Again, these are all possibilities, none of which may be correct.

The only thing that is certain is that whoever sides against Israel will fall. Not only the Bible but history tells us this as well.

So we had better choose wisely if this is indeed the end times.