Micah 7:1-6 "…. I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the
gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the
early figs that I crave. The faithful have been swept from the land; not one
upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each
other with nets. Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire- they all
conspire together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse
than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen
sound the alarm. Now is the time of your confusion. Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips. For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises
up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law- a man's
enemies are the members of his own household."
Good men. Righteous men that fear God are scarce in this
passage, just as today. On the whole the presence of God has disappeared
causing confusion both in Israel and America. In the passage above, "The
first ripe fruit." What is really found. "There is no cluster to
eat" or no cluster of grapes is found. The picture of a good man is the
opposite. The good man is merciful, actively good and benevolent to others. The
good man is a positive influence. He upholds justice, checks corruptions, and
testifies to God. When merciful men die or turn bad, uprightness leaves and
cruelty appears in the land. When good leaves, immorality arrives. As it was in
Micah’s time…so it is now. Corruption is prevalent in all levels of the society
thus the foundations of morality are destroyed. Down is up and up is down. Good
is evil and evil is good.
In the Book of Daniel we see mention of Babylon as the first
in a line of empires that would impact the world from the time of the fall of
Jerusalem to the end of the age in Revelation. Daniel found himself at the seat
of the empire dealing with a succession of rulers beginning with
Nebuchadnezzar. While explaining the king's dream, the prophet says that God
"removes kings and raises up kings" (Daniel 2:21). Leap forward
thousands of years we see the mention of Babylon again. It is important to understand
this future Babylon is not literally Babylon but carries within it the ‘spirit’
of Babylon.
Revelation 18:9-10 Then the kings of the earth who committed
sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight
of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. In fear of her torment,
they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the
mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
This ‘Babylonian’ system, will be a combination of religion and politics (social justice and democracy). It will control the world for a brief but significant time prior to the return of Christ. The world will be lulled into a false sense of security by this system that will come together in the guise of safety. While this system will impact the entire world, there are signs it will be weak in its foundation. Its very size will make it a complex system overbearing system. Many nations, ethnicities, cultures and languages will be in play. We see America. We see a nation that is currently ununified at even the most basic level. We cannot even meet together in the middle to have rational, peaceful conversation. We are at a crossroads.
Fundamental communication between two halves
of the most powerful nation in the world is nearly impossible because of
ideological incompatibility exacerbated by politically driven media propaganda.
This discord is aided by technology we didn’t even have 20 years ago. Things
are accelerating. Knowledge is increasing. Technology not fully understood by
those who use it. Not understanding its real power. We are literally tying
together a massive network of unregulated rebellion, sedition and chaos. A
network that can even have anonymous third-party actors (Russia, China) seeking
to bring both sides down via false information.
Nefarious elements will be able to propagate lies quicker
and more efficiently. The lies and untruths will outpace the truth. No one will
know what truth is because society has abandoned God, the only absolute measure
of truth. All this will inevitably foment more violent discord and animus. It
will be an unstable mixture that will quickly unravel. We’ve already begun to
see exactly that volatile scenario unfold.
Furthermore…
Revelation 18:8 "Therefore her plagues will come in one
day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire,
for strong is the Lord God who judges her... For in one hour your judgment has
come"
Consider recent events in the US and world economy and how
they went from boom to bust when (1) governments intervened to purposely bring
the economy to a halt through a supposed ‘plague’. The (2) Americans
subsequently defaulted on loans. Thousands upon thousands of businesses went
belly-up. The global economy is still trying to recover but we see just how
fast empire can be brought to its knees. We see just how fast localized
discord/distortion can lead to universalized lawless revolt. It is an object
lesson in how quickly even small events can turn the world upside down in a
demonic Butterfly Effect.
We have now witnessed nearly four months of unchecked civil
unrest due to leaders completely abdicating their roles and not doing their
jobs. As corruption and immorality is shown in Micah 7, we also see the leaders
failing to lead while simultaneously building their petty kingdoms on the backs
of the suffering of the poor in Amos 5.
Amos 5:7-13 There are those who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground. He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who
turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters
of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land, the Lord is his name.
With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city
to ruin. There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and
detest the one who tells the truth. You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose
a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will
not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink
their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor
of justice in the courts.
I believe this describes the current situation in the United
States succinctly. It’s of course written in the Book of Amos, a minor prophet
of the Old Testament. Amos who was writing in approximately 750 BC making Amos
likely the first prophetic book of the Bible to be written. A prophet warning
of the inevitably of what was to come if a nation did not change their ways and
turn back to God. Just as I do to you now. It is ironic that Amos’ major themes
were of social justice and divine judgment. The Northern Kingdom of Israel who
would, ironically be overrun but Assyria who itself would be taken over by none
other than the Babylonians. A nation acting in the ‘spirit’ of Babylon would,
because of its sin of immorality and violence succumb to Babylon. Just as we
see today in the United States.
All of this to say this…
Anyone that believes such a technically dependent and
inherently unstructured and violent mass of people can continue to subsist
without correction are sadly deceiving themselves. Too often we try to predict
the future to no avail. We needn’t look to the future (Revelation) to try to
figure out what happens next. We need to turn to the past to see where we are
heading. The very same past that many seek to outrun, rewrite or erase
completely. The clearest picture of where we are going to end up is to see the
patterns of behavior and thought we are reenacting now as related to past
events. The events like those of Northern Israel and Babylon. In looking back
to those events, we can also see where those events led long dead empires.
America is the ‘spirit’ of Northern Israel and Babylon so we should not be
surprised if we end in the same manner. The Bible is clear, there is nothing
new under the sun. History can and will repeat in exactly the same manner as it
has before.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been is what will be, and what has
been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Empires behave like all complex adaptive systems allowed by
God. They rise to power and function in apparent equilibrium for some
indeterminate period. Then, unlike how they slowly rose to power, they corrupt
and abruptly collapse under the weight. The weight of their own corruption which in itself
is God’s justice judging the injustices within that Empire.
The key to our future survival requires we look to the past.
No comments:
Post a Comment