“The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:18, NIV 1984).
My Musings – Besides being comprised of the various people groups that made up the Roman Empire of history, what other characteristics could possibly link the United States to ancient Babylon and/or the old Roman Empire? Power, prosperity, pollution of morals, persecution and pride all characteristics of the “great harlot’s” influence and activities on a worldwide scale. Consider the following.
Power – The United States abandoned its isolationist policies and began to emerge as a world power following its entry into World War I. It came into its own as a one of the world’s reigning superpowers after World War II. It has since (collapse of the Soviet Union) emerged as the world’s largest military power, the one with the most combat experience and highest levels of total spending and investment in modernization, and the one with the strongest strategic (confederation of) partners. It does, however, face growing competition from China, particularly in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean (kings of the East?). Interestingly, military overspending has been attributed as one of the reasons that led to the fall of the Roman empire.
Prosperity – Besides freedom of religion, the chance for a more prosperous life drew many immigrants to the New World, leading to its being known as the land of opportunity. Until recently (and since 1872 when it overtook the United Kingdom), the United States has held the title of world’s largest economy. Not until 2015, according to the International Monetary Fund, was it knocked off the top spot by China (although the United States has since regained its top spot).
Polluted Morals – A study of the signs leading up to and the social mores that characterize the time of the great tribulation cannot help but make one wonder how the declining morals in the United States in the late 20th and early 21st century might fit into the narrative of the end times.
Once upon a time, the characterization of the United States as principally a Christian nation would have been largely unchallenged. The was certainly the case with its earliest settlers who fled religious persecution in the “Old World.” In 1892 the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, in The Church of the Holy Trinity versus the United States, unanimously decided that America was indeed a Christian Nation. They wrote, “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise, and in this sense, and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.” And later in the same document, they wrote, “These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”
That was will over 100 years ago. As of late, the American public has become much more tolerant on moral issues that were historically viewed as absolute Christian virtues. In a recent poll, a record-high 50% of Americans rate the overall state of moral values in the U.S. as “poor,” and another 37% say it is “only fair.” Just 1% think the state of moral values is “excellent” and 12% “good.” Although negative views of the nation’s moral values have been the norm throughout Gallup’s 20-year trend, the current poor rating is the highest on record by one percentage point.
At the same time, American’s views on what is and is not morally acceptable has changed dramatically from Biblical absolutes to current social relativism. For example, Americans’ views that each of the following is morally acceptable has increased significantly over the past two decades: sex between an unmarried man and woman, having a baby outside of marriage, sex between teenagers, and gay or lesbian relations. And while just 23% of Americans say that polygamy is morally acceptable, that’s up from 7% in 2003.
This may be due to a significant generation gap in how Americans view morality. More than 6 in 10 of those older than 45 say right and wrong do not change. For those 35 and younger, fewer than 4 in 10 make that claim. We are rapidly shifting from a world where right and wrong didn’t change to a world where right and wrong changes with the culture.
As a result, fewer people now think of the United States as a Christian nation than did so when George W. Bush was president, and that religion is losing influence in American society. Many conservative Christians believe they have lost the battles over issues such as abortion, school prayer and even same-sex marriage, and that the country has now entered a post-Christian phase. The country’s leading citizen, President Barack Obama, stated during a joint news conference with Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul on April 6, 2009: “One of the great strengths of the United States is, although as I mention we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation, or a Muslim nation, we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”
Of course, every nation is “bound by ideals and a set of values.” The problem is, they rarely are aligned with God’s ideals and values.
Persecution of Believers – Some might legitimately question whether Christians are being persecuted in the United States. If persecution means one must be burned alive inside churches like Christians in Nigeria, then they are not. If persecution only applies to those who are beheaded with a dull-edge sword like Christians in Syria, then again, the answer is no. If persecution must be so severe that it rises to the level of acts like the crucifixion of Christians that are occurring in Pakistan and elsewhere, then the answer is still no. Yet there is a subtler form of persecution of Christians that is occurring in America. It includes the mild mocking by the media and others of those claiming to be “born again” such as Jimmy Carter’s claim when he ran for President in 1976.
But how does one go from “mild persecution” to life-threatening persecution? It happens in stages.
Stage One: Stereotyping the targeted group– To stereotype is to take a negative quality or observation of a limited number within a group and generalize it to describe the whole group. For example, Bible-believing Christians are often caricatured in the media as “Bible thumpers,” simpletons, haters of science, hypocrites, self-righteous, old-fashioned, and backwards.
Stage Two: Vilifying the targeted group for alleged crimes or misconduct – As the stereotyping grows in intensity Christians who do not conform to the “cultural revolution” are described as close-minded, harmful to human dignity and freedom, intolerant, hateful, bigoted, unfair, homophobic, reactionary, exclusive, mean and basically bad people.
Stage Three: Marginalizing the targeted group’s role in society – Having popularized the false premise that the Church and the Christian faith are very bad and even harmful to human dignity and freedom, the critics proceed in the next stage to relegate the role of the Church to the margins of society. They will perhaps let Christians have their hymns, etc. within the four walls of the church, but it becomes increasingly unacceptable and intolerable that anyone should mention God, pray publicly, or in any way bring their Christian faith to bear on matters of public policy.
Stage Four: Criminalizing the targeted group or its works – Efforts to criminalize certain aspects of Christian beliefs are increasing in today’s culture and signals the continued erosion of religious liberty in America. An increasing amount of litigation is being directed against the Church and Christians for daring to live out their faith.
Stage Five: Outright Persecution of Targeted Group – If current trends continue, Christians, especially religious leaders, may not be far from facing heavy fines and/or incarceration. Already in Canada and in parts of Europe, clergy have been arrested and charged with “hate crimes” for preaching certain Christian beliefs and doctrine.
One might argue that stages one through four is pretty much in place in America. One may wish to “whistle past the graveyard,” but it is looking more and more likely that we are well positioned for stage five.
Pride – In his second inaugural address, Bill Clinton stated his belief that “America stands alone as the world’s indispensable nation.” In his memoir of the Clinton presidency, The Clinton Wars, political journalist Sidney Blumenthal elaborated on what the phrase was intended to represent: “Only the United States had the power to guarantee global security: without our presence or support, multilateral endeavors would fail.” Madeleine Albright, then secretary of state, began using the phrase often, and most prominently in February 1998, while defending the policy of coercive diplomacy against Iraq over its limited cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors when, during an interview on the Today Show, she said: “If we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us.”
President Barack Obama emphasized this point repeatedly, and most expansively in May 2014 while giving a commencement address to West Point cadets: “When a typhoon hits the Philippines or schoolgirls are kidnapped in Nigeria or masked men occupy a building in Ukraine, it is America that the world looks to for help. So, the United States is and remains the one indispensable nation. That has been true for the century past, and it will be true for the century to come.”
There was a time when the United States attributed its “most favored nation” status to the blessings of Almighty God. But if we truly believe, as a nation, that we are indispensable because we are America, and not because God has ordained a prominent place in His Story to be used by Him, then we are in grave peril.
It happened to ancient Babylon. Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon became the fabled city of luxury and splendor (sound familiar) with which its name is commonly associated. The splendor of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, however, did not last. Nebuchadnezzar’s son reigned only two years before being overthrown and subsequent leaders experienced severe challenges. As Babylon weakened, its Persian neighbors to the east grew stronger. In 539 BC the Persian ruler Cyrus II (the Great) entered and took Babylon without a fight. This ended Babylon’s dominant role in Near Eastern politics.
“O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him…but when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this…you praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore, he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin. This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:18-28. NIV 1984).
My Advice – For years, as signs of the end times increased, and the world dominance of the United States also increased, Bible scholars have pondered this “mystery.” How could a nation as prominent as the United States be missing from the prophecies concerning the end of the world? There are at least three possible explanations:
It Declines or Falls – Like all world powers throughout History, including Babylon and Rome, the power, splendor and influence of the United States declines to such an extent (or falls) that it is no longer a main actor in the final act of mankind.
Devastated by Tribulation Judgments – The United States is so devastated during the judgments of the rapture and the tribulation that it is no longer able to play a major part in the final act of mankind’s story.
It Is Mystery Babylon – The United States does have a very prominent part to play in the last act of mankind’s story, because it is in fact the woman John saw.
Whether or not the United States is indeed the woman that John saw, it is difficult to deny, despite its humble beginnings, that it is becoming more and more like ancient Babylon and Rome. If weighed on the scales, will we be found wanting? Are our days being numbered and being brought to an end? Or will we “remember the height from which [we] have fallen! Repent and do the things [we] did at first?” (Revelation 2:5, NIV 1984).
If you are a citizen of the United States, be very careful of misplaced pride in its military power and economic dominance. Stay humble as individual citizens, faithful to God’s moral absolutes. Individuals can become a remnant. Remnants can become a movement. And movements can become a culture.
Resources:
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 612). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30483762.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell.
Wilson, J. L. (2009). Fresh Start Devotionals. Fresno, CA: Willow City Press.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-emergence-superpower
https://news.gallup.com/poll/393659/record-high-americans-rate-moral-values-poor.aspx
http://undergod.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001353
http://blog.adw.org/2014/09/the-five-stages-of-religious-persecution/ By: Msgr. Charles Pope and Johnette Benkovic, of Women of Grace EWTN.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/06/the-mythoftheindispensablenation.
Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 248). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Osborne, W. R. (2012, 2013, 2014). Babylon. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Browning, D. C., Jr. (2003). Babylon. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 159). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
The Brew Is A Musing 