History and how it operates tends to fall into two forms, there is cyclical view, which claims that history and nations go through a circle of rise, golden age, decline, destruction or rebirth. In this view we are "doomed to repeat history," to an extent, because its hardwired in our world. The Linear view of history and nations states that we are headed to final cataclysmic event, the end of the world or end of human history. Most would say that Bible affirms the linear view, that we are headed to the End of This World (Revelation 21, 2 Peter 3:10) and The Second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, in Scripture the Lord does affirm the cyclical nature of history, when he says, "nations will rise, and nations will fall," (Job 12:23) and King Solomon, "for everything there is a season, a time to live, a time to die, a time to destroy and a time to build up." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3). This has lead to hybridization of the the cyclical and linear view, that nations and history goes through circles but like the clover leaves or round-abouts, they lead back to the linear line heading to the Lord's Return and the end of this world.
Framing history in these ways is instructive, for it gives you the tool to examine the times you live in. It is clear we do go through rise, decline, fall or reform/rebirth. Europe rose under Rome, then fell into divided kingdoms of the Middle Ages, with some Kings like Charlemagne having golden ages with Carolingian Empire, but ultimately it was not till The Reformation and The Renaissance of the Arts that Europe rose up once more to a golden age, and then one could argue World War I and II was the decline, and at the moment Europe is poised on either a fall or rebirth. And yet this has not stopped the linear path or road we are taking to the end, even Metropolitan Kirill said, "we are heading to the end of human history." (Moscow Times). There is an apocalyptic incense in the air, a eschatological fever that has grabbed not only our churches, but the world with doomsday preppers and people viewing the events in this world as cataclysmic, particularly with Climate Change panic, which is in the Bible by the way, "The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him." (Revelation 16:8).
Augustine of Hippo, the famous theologian who I have reservations about, I have already stated in his Confessions he got deceived by a spirit of light which violates any spirit that does not confess Jesus (1 John 4:1-3) and that Satan disguises himself as angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). However, his assertions about how nations in history rise and fall does have merit,"..them according to his purposes by curbing their lawlessness and granting them success.When His (God's) purpose for a nation ends, he withholds his preserving mercies, allowing them to voluntarily devolve into exploitation and selfishness, and then justly condemns and destroys them." (Invitation to Church History, Volume I: World, John D. Hannah, Prologue, pg 30). I must say that I see this pattern in the West, particularly in The United States & Europe, that it is a nation that has entered into unbridled self love and selfishness to the point that I believe the Judgement is coming. Do not forget the apostle's words, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17). That while there are many brothers and sisters in Christ in both Europe and America, that does not mean God will hold back the reckoning. We have allowed abortion to destroy the innocent, we have allowed 4B Movement and entertainment substitutes (porn, sex bots, etc) to lead us astray from "being fruitful and multiply," and we have allowed antichrist sympathies to become strong in cinema, television, and our institutions such as academia. I fear The West: Europe and US is the towns the Lord shall rebuke, "Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11: 20-24). We in the West have seen Christ do incredible things! The Reformation, The First Great Awakening, The Second Great Awakening, Azusa Street, The Jesus Revolution, Evangelicalism, and more; and yet we have allowed our civilizations to collapse into the great ungodliness of Mammonism (love of money, especially in churches), Molech worship (killing babies, fetuses), Asheroth worship (Marian cults, and Radical Femenism), and we have outdone Sodom and Gomorrah, we have people changing genders via sex change operations; our Western Civilization is literally fufilling the words of the apostle Paul, "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents," (Romans 1:29-30), and the same apostle via auspices of the Holy Spirit wrote it shall be thus again in these end of days, "You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred." (2 Timothy 3:1-2).
Make no mistake in the cycle the West is in decline and about to fall if they do not repent and turn back to Jesus Christ, "Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart," (Acts 8:22) and "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14). Notice it says "turn from your wicked ways," that is the true form of repentance, to turn from, not just make a petition and claim you are sorry to God, it means a reversal, a change from the wickedness to the ways of the Lord. We cannot expect if we make more invocations that the sword of judgement will be stayed. We have to change, to have a true revival and reform of our behaviors. This is are moment, we have one last chance of rebirth, to be phoenix and rise from ashes, or the West will be destroyed in God's wrath. Remember God is patient, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (turn from sin)" (2 {2 Peter 3:9) and, "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4), however as the Prophet Jeremiah told the King of Israel, "there was a time you could have mended your way, and God spare you, that time has passed, Babylon is coming to take you into captivity." (Jeremiah, Chapters 34 through 52) There comes a point where The Lord will not withhold the penalty for our lawelessness, a moment when The Shofars will blow and the Lion of Judah will march His angels of destruction against the nations that once called on His Name. Do not forget, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17). We the saints shall be caught up in it, though we have the Blessed Blood of Christ that shelters us from His wrath, "Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God" (Romans 5:9), though that does not give us a license to keep sinning, ",Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil," (1 John 3:8) and " What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:1-4, 11-14). For Christ will discipline his Church all over the world, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." (Hebrews 12:6).
I think it is very possible, though I am no prophet in this, that we may see Western Civilization, Europe and America fall as Rome did, and in the collapse, The Beast (Revelation, Chapter Thirteen) shall rise and become the false light of the world, that we Christians shall know is not the light. This is the linear historical path we are on, The End awaits, and yet the cycle is happening at the same time, as our nations decline and are poised to fall or reform, the result depending on if they keep the wickedness and champion it, or turn from it and back to The Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God in Three Persons who is the One True God. Make no mistake, we are on a linear path to the End, to the Judgement of All Humans, and the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Kingdom that awaits is not The West, it is The Kingdom of God, and a New Heaven and New Earth. Amen.
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