How can America become great again? On the campaign trail in 2016, Donald Trump gave his view. That summer, he wrote a book titled Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America. It was originally titled Crippled America, but he changed the name to Great Again.

I didn’t know about his book at the time, but I also published a small book that summer titled Great Again. The quip of my book reads, “Why America is falling fast—but its greatest glory ever is imminent.”

People need to compare these two books. Both are about America becoming great again, but they are opposites in how that will be achieved.

If you believe the prophecies of the Bible, you will understand why no politician can make America “great again.” Only God can do that—and it must be done His way. But He has given us ironclad promises that He absolutely will do so!

President Trump correctly identified many problems in America and promised to fix them. God even used him to save America temporarily (2 Kings 14:26-27). But the president has failed to give God credit. Perhaps America’s greatest sin is ingratitude to God for making America great! President Trump is no exception.

As I warned in my book, “America’s president says, ‘I will make America great again.’ Notice the big I: I will make America great again—not God—like I made myself great. That attitude is going to usher in the ultimate disaster.”

We are now heading toward this ultimate disaster: a coming nuclear holocaust and, for those who survive, a prophesied captivity! All this could be prevented by heartfelt prayer and repentance from our sins. The Bible records devastating prophecies that show us what happens if we fail to do so.

Amos 7, for example, addresses “Jeroboam,” the ancient type of President Trump today. The chapter is about Jeroboam rejecting God’s message and concludes with God’s warning: “Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.”

It is through this captivity that God will make America great again. Sadly, that horror is what it will take.

Ancient Israel went into captivity for breaking the Sabbath and polluting God’s holy days. We are breaking God’s law today, and we will face the same fate because of our rebellion! No great military power, no genius economic plan, no human ingenuity can change this!

Ezekiel asked the most sobering question of all: “[W]hy will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11). God pleads with our people to repent. But we sleep on!

Anciently, the nation of Judah went into captivity. That is what it took to awaken the Jews. After 70 years, they returned to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. They were teachable and trembled at God’s Word, and they were ready to obey and build for God!

This coming captivity will have the same effect—on a much larger scale.

In Amos 9:14-15, God promises: “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them” (New King James Version).

Notice: This restoration is not brought about by man, but by God alone.

In those days, “the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it” (verse 13; nkjv).

No more will weather curses destroy our harvests, nor will inflation consume our increase. Everyone will have his own property and laws to protect it. There will be unprecedented abundance individually and greatness nationally.

The near future holds a lot of bad news, but that is only temporary. In the end it is good news because it is paving the way for Israel to know God! Soon, everyone will be educated in God’s ways and blessed for their obedience!

Anciently, God intended the nation of Israel to be an example and a blessing to all nations, leading the world into a relationship with Him (e.g. Deuteronomy 4:5-8). Though that nation failed, God still intends to accomplish that goal. He still wants Israel’s descendants to fulfill the glorious purpose of serving as a shining example to the world. And one day soon, they will be!

Jeremiah 31:6-7 give us a glimpse into the world after Jesus Christ returns. Here God calls America and Britain “the chief of the nations.” These will be the leading nations in the World Tomorrow!

This chapter pictures God lovingly gathering these people from captivity (verses 8-10), showering them with blessings (verses 12-17), and establishing His new covenant with them (verses 31-34).

Jeremiah 33 also depicts the time after America and Britain have endured the Great Tribulation. God promises to restore their prosperity and make them a positive example. They will become “a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it” (verse 9). Yes, people will be moved to worship God at His outpouring of generosity and love toward these nations!

It is hard to imagine how great America will be. But this much we know: America is going to be great again!