HISTORY REPEATS

History has taught us over and over about the rise and fall of empires. They were ‘the greatest’ and then … they were not. Archeological digs reveal one great civilization built on top of another great civilization. Bits and pieces of pottery, rock, and wood all strewn about the dig sites; broken down walls, looted graves, and empty aquifers – an eerie echo of what later generations would call, “the great ______________ empire.” You fill in the blank — Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Roman, Incan, Mayan …

How do great empires end? Well, in the simplest of terms fit for a short blog, while they were enjoying the fruit of their labors, reveling in their spoils, and living large; the guy next door was pumping iron, loading his gun, and making an army. Corruption, greed, and infighting are also major reasons why empires fall. There’s a rottenness within. Another army may come charging through the door, but the downfall had already begun on the inside.

Do civilizations know when they coming to an end?

What do you think it was like right before the destruction began? When do you think people began to realize that their greatest enemy was them? The greed, inherit to living large, led to corruption and lies, pitting one group against another, their heels dug in, determined to have what they felt they deserved, no matter the cost. The constant infighting, citizen against citizen, everyone selfishly looking out for his own; and the hateful tearing apart of what used to be a unified entity, rendered a weakened society, ripe for the taking.

Sound familiar?

As I consider the last 10 years or so, I have had two recurring thoughts.

#1.

We should worry less about China, Russia, and North Korea, as we will most likely implode from within. A society that cannot even define the basic biology of male and female, and that has allowed children and their (naturally) immature, childish meandering thoughts to influence the governing body has much to fear! As a parent, it is your job to govern your child, and not the other way around. But instead, led by an agenda-driven media, we have parents putting pressure on the government and society to accommodate the underdeveloped, uninformed, and ever-changing thoughts of young children. They throw their kids on a bandwagon, not having any idea where it will lead, and with no clue as to the lifelong repercussions of these behaviors. This is a societal experiment and parents are allowing their kids to be used as guinea pigs. Shame on them.

#2.

We are like the proverbial frog in the pot of slowly boiling water. The frog just stayed there as the water got hotter and hotter until he was cooked to death. Will we also stay in the pot as the water gets hotter and hotter until it’s too late?

As I watch the news, (less and less, to be honest), I realize I hear devastating information on the regular from men and women in expensive suits with dazzling smiles and $200 haircuts. It’s insane! Our cities are burning, innocent children are gunned down while they play, women rejoice and applaud over laws that allow them to kill their own babies, and our government shakes hands with, and gives money to, our global enemies on a regular basis.

Is there hope?

Yes, there is. There is always hope – in Christ. He is our constant, ever-present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1). The Lord proclaims in Isaiah 66:1 – Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Never, ever, does God relinquish His throne. He is the King of all that is, and He desires to pour out His great love on His children.

The truth is civilizations are not meant to last forever.

They are tools in God’s hands to advance His gospel and to bring salvation to the world. Danielle 2:21 – He changes times and seasons, He deposes kings and raises up others, He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. (Does it seem that the men and women who govern this country are wise and discerning?)

Is this our end?

I don’t know. I hope not. But, there’s a lot of ‘bad’ out there. A lot. But …

I do know that Christ has made a way, the only way, for us to be able to stand before God. If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will be cleansed from your sins by the blood that He shed at the cross. I do know He is always extending His grace, mercy, and love to those who want it. His forgiveness is complete, and He never says ‘no’ to the heart that seeks Him.

I do know that there are many (millions? billions? How many? No one, but God, knows.) of people who know Christ and are praying for this country and the world we live in, and God hears the prayers of His saints.

While the evil may seem great, God is greater!

But I do believe time is winding down.

Think for a minute -- the last legal abortion statistic from hospitals and clinics according to the CDC in 2019 (not including the abortion pill) was 629,898. How long will a holy, righteous God, the Creator, allow for a nation to kill its own – easily and eagerly? Or, in the case of gender politics, how long will a loving God watch while we inflict such tragic emotional and psychological damage on our weakest members in deference to a cultural trend? A TREND!! Do you think that God does not care?

And they say, How would God know? Does the Most High know anything? Psalm 73:11

What arrogance! God gives people time to repent and to come to Him. But there is a time limit and every day we are closer to it – it’s either our death or the Rapture, whichever comes first.

The Rapture

The stage is set for Christ’s return, of that there is no doubt. He is coming to get His church—all of it. Whoever has believed on Christ as their Savior is part of that church. The Bible says in He will come as a thief in the night, and in I Thessalonians 4:17 it says: we which remain will be caught up together with Him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (He does not touch down on earth for the Rapture – that happens at His second coming.)

Our hope is in Christ, now and for our future.

But we live in this world, so until the day the trumpet blows, and we find ourselves being rocketed to heaven, we will do our best to pray, help others, speak out against evil, protect the weakest, and always, share the Good News to anyone who might listen

If this is the last hurrah for America, so be it. I’m not interested in the bits and pieces some future generation may find concerning me.

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