The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
By Pastor Hal Mayer
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry once again. It is astonishing that America and the British Commonwealth are facing multiple cascading crises on many fronts. Today, we’re going to look at those cascading crises as a whole. We can look at the history of Rome and see the same things happening today that took Rome down. Whatever the case, the best way to defend yourself against the coming collapse of western society is to align yourself with heaven and be loyal to the principles that heaven has given us. If you want to be under God’s protection, you have to follow His council.
Let us begin with the word of prayer. Dear Father in heaven, we are at the mercy of forces that are adversarial to You in this world. But since You are the God that raises the humble and humbles the proud, we ask that You will humble us and protect us from the sinful elements and the pull of this world that will destroy us if they can. We plead for Your mercy. And as we study this subject today concerning the fall of the Roman Empire, we ask you to impress our minds with where we are today. We want to understand so please give us Your Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and inform us and transform us so that we will be loyal to You through all things to come. We ask in Jesus name, amen.
Turn with me in your Bible to Daniel chapter 4. You remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the image. After the Chaldeans, astrologers, magicians and soothsayers failed to interpret the dream, Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, because the “spirit of the holy gods” was in him (Daniel 4:8, 4:9) came into the king and interpreted the stunning dream. Then in chapter 4 the king had another dream, a strange dream that applied to Nebuchadnezzar personally which the Chaldeans and astrologers and their colleagues couldn’t interpret either. Then Daniel came in, interpreted the bad news and gave Nebuchadnezzar some prescient counsel. It’s in verse 27.
“Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.”
Nebuchadnezzar was allowed some time to put away his sins. But when Nebuchadnezzar, 12 months later, spoke proudly and bragged of his accomplishments the prophecy was fulfilled. We will read verses 30-32.
“The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.”
God sets up kingdoms and takes them down. Listen to Daniel’s musings on the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2:20-21.
“Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding…”
God still does this. And He predicted hundreds and even thousands of years in advance what was to come in the future with a precision that defied human logic. It is astonishing that people today reject the Bible and the truth of God to their own hurt and destruction. Fulfilled prophecy is inspiring proof of God’s power and of His guiding hand in world events. And God will take measures so that men, whether they are in high positions or low, whether they be rich or poor, whether they are righteous or wicked, will know that it is God who guides the affairs of men and determines the outcome. Notice what Nebuchadnezzar said in chapter 4:37.
“Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”
Nebuchadnezzar got it, finally. After the seven years of living like an animal, and was restored to his throne, and he acknowledged God who rules in truth. God loved him and gave him experience that would convert his heart. Do you think God can do that to rulers today? He can if they will let him.
Today, we are living in an era of deception and control. Political leaders lie to the people. Economic leaders lie to the people. The mass media lies to the people. As a common person, you have no chance to know the truth unless you are studying scripture and applying the principles found in it to your life. Then and only then are you free to believe and act in the way of truth and righteousness. Then and only then can you understand the depth of the deceptions that are swirling around us.
The Bible tells us that God raised up Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, and also predicted their fall and the fall of many others in the pages of scripture. The predictions were fulfilled as they were foretold with stunning accuracy. It does not end well for those who do not believe them. God is amazing. Listen to this from Isaiah 46:9, 10. God tells us that He Himself is the God of prophecy.
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure…”
God does not tell falsehoods or make predictions that won’t happen unless the people meet the conditions for escaping the disaster.
The Roman Empire was symbolized by the legs of iron in the statue that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream in chapter 2. In verse 40 Daniel describes this Roman Empire as of iron.
“And the fourth Kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.”
Rome’s military juggernaut conquered the existing world at that time. Rome was straddling the world with imposing force and brutality. It seemed like there was no stopping her. She was victorious wherever her military went. She consolidated many peoples and lands into her empire. It was as if Rome was invincible. And the people of Rome believed that Rome would never be overthrown or fall. They were lulled to sleep by the belief in the seeming “eternity” and superiority of their system in the long history of military and economic successes. Despite repeated threats to their existence they always seemed to manage to come out victorious.
God predicted and then orchestrated the rise of America. That’s found in Revelation 13:11-14. Not only that, He predicted the age of deception that America will bring to the planet. Listen.
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”
We are only at the beginning stages of the deceptions that America will bring upon the world. America has been a stronghold of truth and freedom. God raised it up to nurture and develop His unique and final message to the world, including the sanctuary message and the seventh day Sabbath. Satan is aiming to take that message down. But he first has to make America a bastion of oppression and deception. Then he will be free to attack the three angels’ messages and all that they stand for. It will be labeled “misinformation” or “disinformation.” Those who proclaim it will be punished severely. America is getting ready and putting measures in place for that right now.
America has been the leader in the development of the worldwide response to the pandemic, for instance. And the push is on for labelling misinformation and disinformation even though it is truthful. It’s very easy to see that these labels can be misapplied to the truth. In fact, the labels can be misinformation and disinformation themselves. Nothing could be more evil than developing some sort of injection that destroys lives and makes people prone to disease and death before they have a chance to hear the message and call opposition to it “misinformation” or “disinformation.” America unexpectedly to most has been in the forefront of the developing deceptions in these last days. This is quite the opposite of what America was intended to be.
But as America declines, she loses credibility with other world powers. She will think that she has to show them that she has supernatural powers to build up her strength and reputation again. She will be in league with the pope of Rome and will claim to have spiritual power. The Bible says she will have power to do miracles to convince the world of her preeminence.
But God also predicted that the American empire would fall too. When she collaborates with Papal Rome to persecute God’s Sabbath keepers, that will be the signal that America’s fall is very near. It is always deadly to any nation or empire and to religious freedom to collaborate with Rome. For Rome squeezes them and drains their economic lifeblood by her policies and her political meddling, for Rome wants to advantage yourself and build herself up above all nations at their own expense. If you think about it, Rome is responsible for much of the decline of American economic, cultural and social power and influence already. Through the welfare state, which Rome has nurtured and cultivated; and through a wealth distribution, America has been greatly diminished in its power and glory.
The American Republic became an empire too. It was not an empire that was primarily based on military might. But it was an empire of influence and ideas. America achieved unprecedented influence in the world and on western societies especially, but it served to check the ambitions of other societies too, including the papacy. America symbolizes the decay and rot in every western society today. It’s worth noting that mostly what applies to America applies to all of the western world.
The Roman Empire attained military and territorial achievements, but she also attained staggering wealth, unmatched architecture and technology, a legal system worth emulating and a profound and broad cultural influence (which, by the way, she got from Greece). America has done much the same.
But the great majority of Romans became complacent, unconcerned, self-absorbed, distracted and addicted to luxury, ease and entertainment. America has been a leader in technology, architecture and profound wealth, and has developed an unprecedented legal code. But also, America is rotting from inside economically, militarily, culturally and morally. Even its legal structures are being dismantled. The majority of its people are as unconcerned as the Romans were. They are addicted to entertainment and leisure; they are self-absorbed and distracted by worldliness and luxury.
Seneca, the famous Roman senator, predicted the fall of the Roman Empire. No one paid attention to him. Few today are willing to see that the same conditions exist in Western countries around the world and they refuse to think the unthinkable; that their countries could be overthrown by hostile forces, whether they be military or economic, social or cultural.
The famous author Edward Gibbon, in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, identifies four major causes that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, the breakdown of the family, an insatiable craving for pleasure, increased taxation and unsustainable buildup of the military and armaments.
Will Durant, the famous historian, wrote, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.”
The height of power and glory that Rome had achieved were truly staggering, but the mighty “impregnable” Rome fell anyway.
God does not predict the rise and fall of nations and kings arbitrarily. He watches the decisions of the people, or rather, way in advance, even thousands of years, He sees what will happen and the decisions that will be made. And He rewards or punishes them based on the righteousness or wickedness of their actions. America and the British Empire, or the nations that make up the bulk of the western world, are in the evening of their power because of the sins of their people. Rest assured, America is not going away, until she has fulfilled the prophecy of Revelation 13:11-17. In fact, as she declines, she will feel the need to exercise her power more, and well enact measures and laws to oppress the people and will enlist spiritualism to do miracles to convince the world that she is still a major power.
So let’s examine a little more deeply the fall of Rome and the reasons for it. First is the fall of the family.
History shows that the enduring nature of any nation depends on the strength of its families. The family is the solid rock on which the foundation of a country’s superstructure is erected. Rome in its heyday was affluent and had the mightiest army on earth, but by that time it had lost its families to a large extent. Divorce was rampant. Licentiousness dominated Roman society.
Today, strong marriages are scarce. Many people aren’t even marrying at all. And same sex marriage is now federally mandated in America and redefining the very definition of this fundamental institution. Four in ten children are born out of wedlock. Many more grow up in neglectful homes. Disintegration of marriage is rampant. Marriage is not seen as a permanent institution “Till death do us part.” The decline of the family in society is clearly having the same devastating effect on us that it had on ancient Rome.
In early Rome, children were taught that it is virtuous to have an honorable character, sterling morals, irreproachable values, lofty goals, self-control and loyalty. Phillip Van Ness Myers wrote in his book “Rome: It’s rise and fall”
“First, at the bottom as it were of Roman society and forming its ultimate unit, was the family… the most important feature or element of this family group was the authority of the father.” Rome was built on stable families led by the father, who was its nucleus. He led his children as an example of the virtues they were to develop.
America started out that way too. Strong stable families were the bedrock of early America. And the family, led by the father, was an enterprise that cooperated together. The virtues that the children learned, were hard work, honesty, loyalty and respect for authority. Myers continues to describe the father-led families.
“It would be difficult to overestimate the influence of this group upon the history and destiny of Rome. It was the cradle of at least some of those splendid virtues of the early Romans that contributed so much to the strength and greatness of Rome, and that helped to give her dominion of the world…
“The exercise of the parental authority in the family taught the Roman how to command as well as how to obey – how to exercise authority with wisdom, moderation and justice.”
Today, with so many broken homes, so many fatherless children, is it any wonder that there is so little obedience and respect, a disdain for hard work, disloyalty and deception. Families should stick together and cultivate love if they want to continue having the benefits of a productive society. Listen to this from Matthew 19:4-6. These verses take on a new meaning in this context. Jesus was giving the formula for a successful society and nation as well as the family.
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Families should hang on tightly. The Roman Republic grew to great power when families were intact and the fathers fed and educated their own children, even though they didn’t have a biblical basis for the family model. It undergirded society and gave it a strength that led to wealth and power. The American Republic had a strong basis and foundation in the family just as the Roman Republic did. But it was even stronger because of the biblical foundation that the people valued and upheld. But the Romans as today’s America became less committed to the family when they were in the height of power. A new marriage morality built around divorce and licentiousness was one of the contributing factors to the long slow decline of the nation and empire. And today, like the Roman Republic, America has gone so far as to disrespect the marriage institution, providing a legal basis for alternatives and even perversions.
Will Durant wrote, “It began the transformation of Roman life and morals by hurting agriculture and helping trade; by taking men from the countryside and teaching them the violence of battle and the promiscuity of the camp… It was a pivotal event for almost every phase of Roman history.”
As marriage became less and less respected various deviations became acceptable like homosexuality and prostitution. Motherhood also fell out of favor and women became devalued and sexualized. This caused a desire for independence which resulted in feminism. Children began to be viewed as a burden. Cesar Augustus saw the trend and it alarmed him. How can the Commonwealth be preserved if we neither marry nor produce children? he asked the Senate. Tacitus wrote, “Childlessness prevailed.” Abortion and even infanticide were widely practiced. Fathers became complacent and indulged their children to the point that they were bleeding themselves financially to gratify the expensive whims of their youngsters. In turn their offspring became a “generation of idlers and wastrels.”
Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Height of the Empire, Carcopino, Jerome, page 79.
Daily Life in Ancient Rome by Jérôme Carcopino
Do you think we suffer from the same things today? Does any of this sound familiar?
Second, Rome established a welfare state over time that grew and grew until it eventually crashed the economy. The early Roman Republic was built on the self-sufficiency of the individual. One of the most important lessons we can learn from Rome is that people who forfeit their virtuous character for government handouts will not keep their liberties. Government that is by the people and for the people is under the control of the people. And the people are free. But if government begins to hand out goodies it inevitably grows in power over that people and enslaves them.
During the height of the republic, Rome would occasionally distribute subsidized grain to its poorer classes. During the many wars of the Roman Republic many families lost their father for a time to the military campaign. So families became poor and sold their land to wealthy senators who were rich and powerful. The senators in turn distributed grain to keep their political standing. And they kept buying farms and distributing grain. The government largesse got bigger and bigger, that eventually the welfare state became an institutionalized element of the government, paving the way for a dictator. By the time of Julius Caesar, 1/3 of the city of Rome’s population was on the dole. A series of emperors based their political power on the huge handouts they made to the people who had become addicted to them. And Rome gradually transitioned from a Republic to an empire.
Listen to this quote from Henry Haskell’s book The New Deal in Old Rome: How Government in the Ancient World Tried to Deal with Modern Problems.
“Less than a century after the Republic had faded into the autocracy of the empire, the people had lost all taste for democratic institutions… On the death of an emperor the Senate debated the question of restoring the Republic. But the commons preferred the rule of an extravagant despot who would continue the dole and furnish them free [stuff]. The mob outside clamored for ‘one ruler’ of the world.”
People became dependent on the government. When the people gave up their self-reliance and enterprise the Roman Republic transitioned to the Roman Empire with big government largess and the bloated political class. The absence of self-sufficiency caused the Roman Empire to fall into decay and ruin. And it is doing the same thing today. America was once populated with a free and independent people. They were self-reliant and independent. But like Rome, America is now a welfare state with a large dependent population. The result is that it is decaying from within. Rotting at its core.
By the way, along with this, the emperor Nero reduced the amount of silver in the coins so he could mint more coins with less silver. Thus, he debased the currency and made many people poor through hyperinflation. Successive emperors continued the practice until the Roman coin was a bronze coin with a veneer of thin silver.
Listen to this quote from Michael Rostovtzeff in his book A History of the Ancient World: Rome.
“To crown all these calamities, the emperors in their need for money issued a vast quantity of coin. Not possessing enough of the precious metals for these issues, they alloyed the gold with silver, the silver with copper, and the copper with lead, thus debasing the coinage and ruining in the end men who had once been rich. This measure cut at the root of trade and industry. The government mint in the third century became a vast manufactory of base coin … It is no wonder that a social and economic crisis of extreme severity was brought about by these conditions.”
All this resulted in increasing taxes until they became so heavy that many people gave up and abandoned their lands in order to avoid the taxes. It was easier to became dependent on government entitlements. Increasingly, tax riots then afflicted Rome. It is important to note that the Roman Catholic Church advocates that governments increasingly hand out money to the poor. Thus slowly returning the nation to the conditions of the medieval system and bankrupting the nation.
Listen to what the prophet Amos says in chapter 5 verses 11 and 12.
“Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.”
Third: Excessive and unsustainable military spending.
The Bible prophesied that Rome would become great with a powerful and formidable military. Let’s read Daniel 7:7.
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”
By the end of the reign of Caesar Augustus in A.D. 14 the Roman army had 250,000 men, consisting of 25 legions and 250 militias. At that time, they were paid 225 denarii a year. This pay remained consistent until A.D. 81 when Emperor Domitian raised the yearly salary to 300 denarii. Subsequent emperors raised the wages regularly to an estimated 650 denarii eventually. This nearly doubled the number of legions over time, swelling them from 33 under Severus to 64 under Constantine.
The United States is doing the same thing. Over the last 60 years America’s military budget ranged from $100 billion to $300 billion. But since the year 2000 it has increased to over $770 billion. Listen to this from Scientific American.
“By the Department of Defense’s own accounting, taxpayers spent $13.34 trillion on the U.S. military from 2000 through fiscal year 2019 in inflation-adjusted 2020 dollars. Add to that another $3.18 trillion for the Veterans Administration, and the yearly average comes to a whopping $826 billion.”
It’s Time to Rein in Inflated Military Budgets
That’s a lot of money to support the military and its services to keep it running. That’s more than any other nation on earth! But the United States has not won a single war during this time. The Bible prophecies what happens to nations that become proud. In Leviticus 26:19, 20 we read,
“And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.”
Do you think America will bankrupt itself by increasing military spending as well as other types of spending? Rome’s bloated military budget caused inefficiency and demoralization among the ranks of soldiers. The emperors had to essentially bribe the soldiers and pamper them. Listen to this from field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s book A History of Warfare.
“To maintain his power, every emperor in the 3rd century had to bribe and pamper the soldiers… In the 60 years following the death of Commodus, no less than 21 emperors rose and fell. It was a period of anarchy and misery, during which the army terrorized the civil life of the empire while becoming demoralized and inefficient, and the security of the frontiers was lost forever. A disastrous inflation was largely caused by the continual increases in pay which the emperors had to give the army if they were to keep their thrones.”
Behind the military was the pretorian guards. These were the personal bodyguards of the emperor. And they managed the ascension to power. Therefore, they were in position to give the empire to the highest bidder. And whoever offered them the greatest financial incentives became emperor.
Rome was plagued by politics, and the political leadership became weak and insipid. The Bible prophecies that this will happen to nations who are once great. Let’s read Isaiah 3:1-5.
“For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.”
Fourth: The insatiable demand for pleasure and leisure.
William Stearns Davis wrote that the Pax Romana (or the long period of Roman peace), “Made possible the greatest luxury, the most active commercial life the world ever saw.”
This fueled entertainments of every kind. As the public craving for entertainment and amusement surpassed any earlier empire and is perhaps matched only in the modern age. The Romans were once a society built on ambition, industry, virtue, discipline and duty. But they became obsessed with amusement, and the decline and fall of the “eternal city began.”
The carelessness, excessive self-indulgence, self-seeking and hedonism, while the greatest problems demanded the greatest effort and sacrifice, put Rome on the trail of decline and assured that it would fall sooner or later. The decadent society was the precursor to doom.
Rome’s affluence was suicidal. Entertainment was cheap. And there was plenty of it. Will Durant wrote the following.
“Recitations, lectures, concerts, mimes, plays, athletic contests, prize fights, horse races, chariot races, mortal combats of men with men or beasts, not-quite-sham naval battles on artificial lakes–never was a city more bountifully amused.”
The Story of Civilization, vol 3, Caesar and Christ.
Edward Gibbon wrote of the voluminous holidays in Rome which were dedicated to games, plays and other amusements in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
“From the morning to the evening, careless of the sun or the rain, the spectators, who sometimes amounted to the number of 400,000 [the capacity of Rome’s Circus Maximus], remained in eager attention; their eyes fixed on the horses and charioteers, their minds agitated with the hope and fear for the success of the colors which they espoused; and the happiness of Rome appeared to hang of the event of a race.”
The Romans were fanatics for games. And likewise western societies have all manner of sports today, from football to soccer, from basketball to cricket, we are crazed about games and huge numbers of us indulge ourselves to watch them. For example, the NFL game between Dallas and New York on Thanksgiving Day was watched by 138 million viewers. That’s 12 million more than the previous record set in 2016. It was the most watched NFL game in history.
Young people are obsessed with entertainment. Netflix has 213 million subscribers, Amazon Prime has 175 million, Disney+ has 118 million, and other services have an additional share. People consume lifetimes of entertainment every day. Video games now can have spectators and consumers spent $44 billion in gaming software in 2021.
Roman appetite for increasing violence led to much enthusiasm for the gladiators. And many public entertainments included wild animals killing men and women who were condemned to death for various offences, including for being Christians. But even more cruel and sadistic means of execution awaited the condemned. Rodney Stark in his book How the West Won, wrote, “Besides being fed to wild animals, people were executed in the arenas in a variety of sadistic ways–flogging, burning, skinning, impaling, dismemberment and even crucifixion.”
But these amusements had more impact than just entertaining the people. They influenced the public morals. Will Durant wrote, “The games of the circus and the amphitheater absorb the interest and coarsened the taste of the public.”
The luxury, self-indulgence, and extravagance led to the spread of immorality, perversion and the lust for sex and violence. Phillip van Ness Myers in his book Rome: It’s Rise and Fall wrote, “Almost from the beginning the Roman stage was gross and immoral. It was one of the main agencies to which must be attributed the undermining of the originally sound moral life of Roman society.”
The same today, with Hollywood the violence is notorious, the simulated brutality is everywhere on the “silver screen.” And people want to see it up close and in spectacular detail and realism. So, the film screen is presented that way. Video games that tend to include violence involve almost 100% of youth and many adults as well. Many of them are nothing short of the gladiators that kill each other with ultraviolent and grizzly acts of mayhem and murder. They learn nothing but contempt for human life and dignity.
When affluence dominates a society, its people sacrifice their moral character and social and societal corruption, rot and decline sets in. Maybe it’s God’s way of dealing with a nation or empire when it has gone to extremes in extravagance and immorality. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, God has to remove them from humanity so their poison doesn’t spread beyond their own borders.
America’s addiction to entertainment, violence and immorality is one of the factors that is threatening America and western societies, they will do the unthinkable. They will call evil good and good evil. And most Americans and for that matter most people living in western societies can’t be bothered to try and fix it.
America’s decline is partly due to the fixation with entertainment, including violence and sex. We’re living at the end of time and the following scripture is especially pertinent. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
Friends, the glory days of America are over. America and the rest of the western world is on a death spiral inflicting wounds on herself and decaying at the core. Many people don’t notice it and think that America can get back to normal and that the good old times can continue. But they can’t. In fact, America has become complacent and people in power especially don’t have the character required to make it right again. And the majority of the people don’t care because they are submerged in addictions and escapism.
Your character can be different. It can be a light and strength to the community around you so that when the Holy Spirit is poured out in the latter rain you will be in a position to lead many of them to the Savior. If you let Christ remodel your character, he will make it so attractive and pure that people will be astonished and will want to know how you got it. And you can tell them that a relationship with Christ is the only solution to escape the coming maelstrom.
Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we see the decline in the decay happening around us in every area. While many people are cynical and most people don’t care as long as they are fed, clothed, have a roof over their heads, and are entertained, You are preparing your people to arise and shine at a time of great darkness. Please, sanctify our characters and make us ready to give the last warning message under the power of the latter reign. Forgive our sins and wash us in the blood of the lamb that we may be made right with heaven and be ready for the cataclysmic events that are about to befall this world. Send Your Holy Spirit to be with us today and every day, we pray, in Jesus name, amen.