Moving Forward Requires Going Backward

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.