Though no one can predict the future of our nation, we can say with confidence that God is in control, His cause will triumph, and He judges nations.  ‘The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Gibbon’s famous work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, lists five reasons for the fall of Rome. There are several parallels between ancient Israel and Rome, and even more disturbing, between Rome and America.

1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. American families are under attack by humanists, homosexuals, and Hollywood. Some don’t even know what a family is any more (Matthew 19:4-9).

2.  Higher and higher taxes: the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses or the populace. America is on the greatest spending binge in history. Many have forgotten how to work; they expect the government to support them (2 Thessalonians 3:10; I Timothy 5:8).

3.  The mad craze for pleasure: sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal. Many Americans are so obsessed with sports that they have no time for Bible studies (2 Tim. 3:4; Hebrews 11:25).

4.  The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within – the decadence of the people. Babylon’s wall, water, and wealth could not prevent the Persian invasion (Daniel 5). No armament can protect a nation that has rotted from within – not even America’s.

5.  The decay of religion: faith fading into mere form; losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Most churches have become social clubs, pursuing entertainment to attract bigger crowds.  Many audiences no longer expect to hear book, chapter, and verse (2 Timothy 4:1-4). They have replaced the house of prayer with food, fun, and frolic (Matthew 2 1:12-14).

Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.  – by Rick Duggin