Is the United States Prophesied in Ezekiel 38:13?

Some Bible teachers say that the United States of America isn't found in the Bible or in Bible prophecy. But recently it struck me that that's like saying the Rapture of the Church isn't found in Bible prophecy! It may not be mentioned using those exact words, but the Rapture is clearly described in other ways. Similarly, the word "Trinity" isn't found in the Bible either. Are we to conclude therefore that the Trinity is not Biblical or is not found in the Bible? Of course not. Yet unfortunately this is the reasoning which some have in regards to the United States in Bible prophecy. We need to correct our thinking in this area and really study God's Word and compare Scripture with Scripture to find the truth: "Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of Truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). 

Yesterday I was listening to Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries as she and a co-host talked about Bible prophecy in light of current events. The co-host commented that if the United States is "the young lions of Tarshish" mentioned in the Bible, then our country can be found in Bible prophecy. Jan agreed that Ezekiel 38:13 does appear to be a reference to the United States.

I immediately started to do more research on this topic, and I must say that it's a fascinating study! Many Bible scholars believe that "the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof" (Ezek. 38:13, KJV) is a reference to Great Britain and its colonies ("the young lions thereof")—one of which is the United States of America. The key Bible verses that I came across which mention "Tarshish" or "the ships of Tarshish" are: 

• Genesis 10:4; 
• 1 Kings 10:22; 
• 2 Chron. 9:21, 
• 2 Chron. 10:36; 
• Psalm 72:10; 
• Isaiah 2:16, 
• Isaiah 60:9; 
• Jeremiah 10:9; 
• Ezekiel 27:12, 
• Ezekiel 38:13; 
• Jonah 1:3. 
• Also see Ezekiel chapter 19 where "lions" and "young lions" clearly refer to kings and nations. 

Let's look carefully at several of these key verses:

JONAH 1:3

"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD."

This is probably the most familiar reference to "Tarshish" in the Bible. Notice how well the historical account supports the conclusion that the biblical "Tarshish" is the present-day British Isles, or in other words, "Britain is the land of Tarshish":

   "When Jonah, also, arose up to flee unto Tarshish, he sailed from Joppa on the coast of Syria, and the circumstances mentioned (in Jonah 1,) imply that his voyage was of some length, and coupled with the intention which led him to undertake it, makes it probable that the Tarshish he sought was the Cassiterides, or Tin Islands, the most distant and least known colony of Tyre. The account of this portion of his history is as follows: 'But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.'

   The circumstance of his paying the fare being mentioned, coupled with his attempting to fly from the presence of the Almighty, leads to the supposition that his voyage was one of more than ordinary length, and for which the amount paid for the fare would be considerable: whilst the very idea of fleeing from the presence of the Almighty, would suggest to his mind the necessity of seeking the most distant asylum:—Britain, in the furthest known west, beyond the bounds of knowledge to any nation except the Phoenicians and for ages afterwards regarded as beyond the borders of the earth. ('divisos orbe Britannos.'—Horace.) This unknown spot appears to have been considered by Jonah as the one most secure from the penetrating search of the Almighty." ("The Churchman's Monthly Review and Chronicle" [January, 1842], pp. 62-63.)

Similarly, Pastor Chuck Smith (1927-2013) comments: 

Jonah was arising and seeking to flee from the presence of the Lord, heading for Tarshish. Biblical scholars are divided as to the location of Tarshish. Some say it is a part of Spain; others say it is England. The preponderance of scholars seem to favor England. Wherever Tarshish was, it was the furthest outpost of the known world at that time. It was the jumping off. You can't go any farther than Tarshish from the civilized world. It was the end. It was as far as you could go. Beyond Tarshish lay that wild, boisterous Atlantic, and out there somewhere that precipice, that chasm, that just the ships dropped off into oblivion. No ships ever came back from their voyages on the Atlantic. They surely must have gone over the edge of the world someplace and disappeared. So Tarshish was as far as you dared to go, and that is where Jonah was heading. "I'm going to get as far away from God as I can. I'll head for Tarshish. I'll hide from the call of God, from the presence of the Lord." (Charles Smith, "Commentary on Jonah 1:1-17". Chuck Smith Bible Commentary. 2014.)

PSALM 72:10

"The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts."

Commenting on this portion of text, C. H. Spurgeon identifies ancient Tarshish with Britain. He writes: "Psalm 72:10 The Kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: Britain and some of her sister islands shall do homage to this great Solomon."

ISAIAH 60:9

"Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee."

The English Puritan John Trapp (1601-1669) writes:

And the ships of Tarshish first,] i.e., With the first, or, In the beginnings, as the Vulgate hath it. The islands were converted as soon as any, as this of Britain is said to have been....Omnium provinciarum prima Britannia publicitus Christi nomen recepit ["Of all the provinces Britain first publicly accepted the name of Christ"], saith Sabellicus [Ennead. 7, lib. 5], Of all provinces, Britain first embraced the faith of Christ. From the which also, as we first of all the ten kingdoms [Revelation 17:7; Revelation 17:12] revolted to the Pope, so we were the first that shook off that yoke; our Henry VIII being the first that broke the neck of the Pope’s usurped authority.

The English preacher John Shawe of Christ's College, Cambridge, also affirmed this same history as authentic in a sermon preached to the English barons at York on Sunday, March 24, 1650. The words of Shawe are as follows:

"Very ancient historians call this our nation primogenitam ecclesiarum, the first begotten of all the churches, and tell us that though Christ was preached in some other nations before this, yet that this was the first wherein the christian faith was publicly entertained by prince and state; omnium provinciarum prima Britannia publicitus Christi nomen recepit; and they add that Lucius king of Britain was the first christian king in the world...[which was about] in the year after Christ, 169". (Yorkshire Diaries and Autobiographies in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, pp. 400-401.)

John Gill (1697-1771), the English Bible scholar and theologian, also understood "the ships of Tarshish" (Isa. 60:9) to be in reference to the ships of Great Britain. Gill writes: "what ships can be better understood than ours of Great Britain, so famous for shipping, and which claims the sovereignty of the seas?"

EZEKIEL 38:13

"Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?"

In a book titled "The Merchants of Tarshish, and the Young Lions Thereof," Are They Not England and Her Colonies?, Henry Smith Warleigh of England writes the following in regards to Ezekiel 38:13 and "the merchants of Tarshish" (pp. 32-34):

Let Americans look at this oracle. It mentions not only "the merchants of Tarshish," but "the young lions thereof." Now if the young progeny be lions, the old progenitor must be a lion too. The difference is only in age, not in kind. The symbol is an old, but not decayed lion, and a numerous and vigorous progeny. Plainly we must understand here a nation and her colonies. And who has not heard of the British Lion? and who is not acquainted with her numerous and flourishing colonies?

Let me here observe, that the inspiring Spirit often employs some of the known national heraldic emblems in setting forth the duties and destinies of that nation. Thus Daniel was taught to foretell the rise of the Medo-Persian empire, under the symbol of a ram, with one of its horns higher than the other; and Faber tells us of the observations of travellers, that to this day just such a ram may be seen carved on the pillars of Persepolis. The same Daniel foreshews the rise of the Grecian empire under the symbol of a goat; and I need not remind all here, that the Macedonians were called Ægeadæ, or the goat people; their city was called Ægæ, the goat city. Alexander, the founder of this empire, called his son Alexander Ægus; and who does not know where the Ægean sea is. Our Lord Himself alluded to the national standard of the Romans when He said, "Where the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." And who will take upon him to affirm that the prescience of God had no reference to our national heraldry when He spoke of "the merchants of Tarshish, and the young lions thereof." In our national arms we have a lion rampant and three lions couchant. The third of these last was added by our brave Richard, who fought and conquered in Palestine, and bore the title of king of Jerusalem, and he adopted it because he believed he was fighting the battles of the "Lion of the tribe of Judah." I found no distinct argument on this fact; but it must be acknowledged to be worthy of observation, that it should be borne by the "merchants of Tarshish," the friends of the Jews....

The British Lion is old, but not decrepit. He is as strong and vigorous as ever, and his roar is not less terrible than it was. And America is one of our young lions, only, being the oldest, and not liking a pat or two from the paw of the old mother, she determined to walk alone, and cater for herself. And as she roars and roams abroad, we look on with pride, and think she does credit to her paternity. But though she is jealous of her independence, and very properly will not allow the old country to interfere, yet once let the old mother be hardly treated by the rest of the beasts of the field, and the "young lion" will claim her relationship, and spring to her help. When, the other day, there was a talk about a certain country invading us, what did she say through one of her chief organs of public expression? The words were few, and worthy of a young British Lion: "If the battle be between despotism and free institutions, America can show that she has money, and power, and soldiers, and ships, and sailors too; and it need not be told on which side America will be." A good roar that: the old lion could hardly have made a better. And after such a roar as this, can we, even in a lecture, wish to exclude our cousins in the new world? Nay, we cannot do without them, we do not wish to do without them, and let them understand that what we predicate of ourselves we predicate of them.

Samuel Minton of Oxford University wrote a book on the same topic titled "The Merchants of Tarshish," or England, America, and Russia in the Last War. Minton writes the following in regards to England and the United States in Bible prophecy (pp. 29-30): 

Further: in Ezekiel [27]. 12, we find Tarshish applied to a country that dealt largely in metals. And in Jeremiah x. 9, we find it also applied to a country that deals largely in manufactured articles, whether of metal or of clothing.

If, then, on looking round the nations of the earth at this moment, there shall be found one, and one only, upon which all these Scripture marks without exception are visible, why should we doubt it to be the nation intended by this prophecy of Ezekiel? And such a nation there is. England is the greatest mercantile and maritime nation in the world. England has ships of Tarshish such as no other people in the world have, even yet. England commands in great measure the East Indian trade. England is celebrated not only for her trade in metals, but especially for her trade in manufactured metals, and still more in manufactured clothing. England is a "merchant" in her love for peace, but a "lion" in her strength for war. And what country in the world can boast of such "young lions?" What country can claim to be the mother of a people, so young, so mercantile, possessing so many of her own characteristics, so fond of trade, so enterprising, and yet so ready and powerful for war, as the United States of America? They are, I believe, first and foremost, the young lions of Tarshish. I believe that "the merchants of Tarshish and all the young lions thereof," represent this British Empire with her colonies and dependencies, and also that great Transatlantic nation, our own flesh and blood, one with us in race, in language, and in religion—the United States of America. I believe it is mainly the combined power of England and America, that will be put forth in that last war, on the side of God's ancient people, against the huge confederacy by which they will be threatened, and on which the Lord himself will inflict the last decisive and terrific blow.

The Presbyterian minister J. P. Weethee, Principal of Madison College, Uniontown, PA, gives these insights in his book The Eastern Question, In Its Various Phases (p. 293):

Let us now turn to Spain, France, and England, as those countries identified with the Tarshish of the past and future. The ancient Phoenicians extended their commerce as far as England. This will scarcely be questioned; for England has the greatest tin mines. The ships of Tarshish traded as far north, therefore, as England. Tarshish is not now the name of those countries of western Europe, nor of any other country; but Ezekiel could not give them any other name than that by which they were then known; the name known in prophetic history. England, France, and Spain would still be called in prophecy by that ancient prophetic name, Tarshish. The prophecy contains an explanatory clause: "With all the young lions thereof (of Tarshish). The expression is this—"the merchants of Tarshish, with the young lions of Tarshish." Assuming, what we have proved, that England was the ancient Tarshish, and that Great Britain is the Tarshish of Eze. xxxviii. 13, or the chief of both the ancient and the future Tarshish, Who are "her young lions?" Tarshish of Ezekiel xxxviii. 13, has young lions. This is what Ezekiel says only in another form of expression—"with the young lions thereof." Tarshish had her "merchants," and her "young lions," her merchants and young colonies.

There is also an interesting article in The Prophetic News and Israel's Watchman titled "The Ships of Tarshish; or Great Britain in Unfulfilled Prophecy" written by E. J. Hytche. In the article, Hytche concludes that "Great Britain is the prophetic Tarshish". (Hytche, Alfred Edersheim, Editor, The Prophetic News and Israel's Watchman [1882], p. 91.)

M. R. DeHaan (1891-1965), the famous Bible teacher and founder of the Radio Bible Class, concurs with the above analysis. In his booklet Russia and the United Nations in Prophecy, DeHaan writes on pages 22-25:

THE SHIPS OF TARSHISH

   Now this pattern of things appears perfectly clear from the Scriptures, if one will study it carefully. We wish to call your attention especially to Ezekiel 38 and verse 13. After Russia comes to take the spoil of Palestine and has subjected the defenseless countries to her communistic rule, she will be opposed by certain nations which will stand in her way. Let me quote the verse again:

  "Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?"

 Ezekiel 38:13

   We see from this verse that Russia's advances are protested and opposed by these armies and her motives questioned, and these countries are called Dedan, Sheba, Tarshish and her young lions. Now Sheba according to the Bible expositors referred to the Arabian tribes in the south of Arabia, and Dedan refers to a people in the same area, and from the context it seems very, very evident that they are the African colonies which are associated with Tarshish in this last final battle. But when we come to the name, Tarshish, we have but little difficulty in identifying many of the United Nations who will defeat Russia in that day.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE

   The name, Tarshish, occurs about twenty times in the Scriptures. A careful study of these passages reveals some very interesting things. I have had a most profitable time looking up each one of these passages in its setting and context, and some wonderful truths have been brought to light. I mention a number of them which point very definitely to one nation, and her allies.

   1. The Jews spake of Tarshish as the uttermost land in their knowledge, the land which was farthest west from Palestine. In those days, of course, nothing was known of the western hemisphere and to the Jews in Palestine the land to uttermost west could, therefore, mean only England and the British Isles.

   2. We are further told that Tarshish was a merchant nation. Its pre-eminence lay in the fact that it was a nation of traders. Ezekiel speaks of the "merchants of Tarshish" in verse 13 of chapter 38, and it is also mentioned in other passages of Scriptures, especially in [Isaiah] 23, from 1 to 14.

   3. Tarshish was a maritime nation, its chief means of trading was by ships because of its island location. In 2nd Chronicles 9, verse 21; 2nd Chronicles 20:36; in Psalm 48:7; in Isaiah 2:16; and in Isaiah 23:6; as well as in Jonah, we have mention made of ships in connection with the country of Tarshish, so that the expression "ships of Tarshish" has become proverbial. In this connection remember that Britain has been the outstanding maritime nation of history. The slogan, "Britannia rules the waves" is too well known to all of us to leave any doubts in our minds.

   4. Tarshish is identified as an island nation. The Bible speaks of the "isles" beyond the sea. By this the Israelite understood the islands beyond the Mediterranean. The word, "the Sea" or "Great Sea" was the Hebrew expression for the Mediterranean Sea. The only isles which are found there are the British Isles. (See Jeremiah 25:22)

   5. Tarshish is also a nation with many colonies. Notice Ezekiel's words very carefully. Ezekiel says in the verse which we quoted, "the merchants of Tarshish with all the young lions thereof." Tarshish has cubs, called young lions, and we all know the familiar figure of a lion as the symbol of Britain. We speak of the British lion, and the figure of the lion on her banners is too well-known. We speak of the Lion of England, and know just exactly to what it refers.

   But this lion has cubs, according to Ezekiel. Britain's colonization has produced a litter of mighty cubs: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, and all her English-speaking allies, and her colonies in Africa, represented by Sheba and Dedan. There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind, therefore, after a diligent and exhaustive research that Dedan, Sheba and Tarshish in Ezekiel 38 can be nothing else than the Western Empires headed by Britain and her healthiest cub, the United States.

   In passing may I remind you that these countries, Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the other English-speaking nations have always been the defenders of Israel, have always been kind to the Jews: over and over again they have given them haven, and protected them against their enemies, and defended them, even though in the handling of the Palestine problem many mistakes have been made for which God in turn will also judge these nations. We refer specifically to the terrible mistake of seeking to divide the land of Palestine between the Arabs and the Jews. But generally speaking, they are the ones who have befriended Israel, and so we are not surprised to find in Ezekiel 38 that it will be these nations who will contest and question Russia's attempt to take Palestine, and under God defeat Gog and Magog when they come down in the tribulation period.

More recently, Dr. Henry Morris also saw a connection between "the merchants of Tarshish and their young lions" (Ezek. 38:13) and England and America. In his book The Revelation Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Prophetic Book of the End Times (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1983, pp. 109-110) he writes:

The sudden invasion of Israel will be restricted verbally, though not militarily by "Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, and the young lions thereof" (Ezek. 38:13). Sheba and Dedan were in Arabia, and this passage suggests that the wealthy Arab oil states, themselves the objects of Russian cupidity [insatiable greed], may still at that time be outside Russian control. Tarshish is probably the same as Carthage, founded by the Phoenicians. "Tarshish" means "smeltry," and the ancient Phoenicians, the first great mariners, founded iron smeltries, mines, and settlements in many lands, including at least Spain and England, and quite possibly even in America. Thus "the merchants of Tarshish and their young lions," in modern equivalence, most likely are the western nations in general.

 

The Institute for Creation Research in their New Defender's Study Bible (Nashville: World Publishing, 2006), written by Dr. Henry Morris,  has this note on Ezekiel 38:13:

38:13 Tarshish. Tarshish was a grandson of Japheth through Javan (Genesis 10:4). Javan was ancestor of the Greeks and Tarshish seems to have migrated still farther west. His name is always associated with a far-flung merchant marine, possibly allied somehow with the Phoenicians. In the context of the last days, however, Tarshish and “the young lions thereof” would seem to represent nations of Japhethites (which would mean primarily Europeans and Americans) with widespread economic and maritime activities. Many scholars believe the city-state of Tarshish was originally in either Spain or Portugal or England, and it was these nations, of course, that primarily settled the Americas also. Thus, England, the United States and other Euro-American nations are probably the ones who will remonstrate with Gog over the projected invasion of their friend, Israel. The invasion will be so sudden and large, however, that they will not have time to send military aid to Israel, even if they want to.

Similarly, Dr. David Jeremiah shares the following thoughts on Ezekiel 38:12-13 from his New York Times best-selling book What in the World is Going On? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers [2008], pp. 171-173):

In a verse that follows this prophecy, Ezekiel spoke of some nations that will not be involved in the invasion of Israel: "Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, 'Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'" (v. 13). Most Bible scholars believe that Sheba and Dedan refer to the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula, including modern-day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the Gulf countries of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Tarshish was a term that in ancient times described the western-most part of human civilization. Many scholars believe that "the merchants of Tarshish" and its "villages" and "young lions" refer to the market-based economies of Western Europe. Some scholars have even dared to be more specific. Dr. David L. Cooper wrote, "When all the historical statements are examined thoroughly, it seems that the evidence is in favor of identifying Tarshish as England." Another scholar, Theordore Epp, agrees with this identification. He points out that the lion is a symbol for Britain and suggests that Britain's colonies, many of which have spun off to become nations of their own, are the cubs, or "young lions" in Ezekiel's prophecy. He said, "Great Britain's young lions, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the African colonies, and the United States are strong enough to make an exhibit of disfavor in that day."

If Theodore Epp and Dr. Cooper are right, it seems that the West in general will not participate in the invasion of Israel. What interests us in this study is that Ezekiel's prophecy of the alignment of nations, showing which ones will and which will not rise to crush Israel, squares very closely with the alignment of nations we see shaping up in the world right now. Thus we find that Ezekiel's ancient prophecy, written some twenty-six hundred years ago, informs us as to what is going on in the world today right before our very eyes.

Here are some other resources that I've found on the subject:

• "WHO ARE THE MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH?" by Derek Walker

• "Tarshish — Britian or Spain?" by John R. Ecob

• "Are the UK and USA in Ezekiel 38?" by Bill Salus

• "Tarshish, Cornwall and Tin and Gold Trade in the Ancient World" by Mervyn Islip

There are many more articles online!