Today we see more clearly than ever the decline of the nation dubbed "the world's last beacon of hope and freedom." Suddenly the nation and the world see the hammer and chisel of financial neglect poised for a mighty blow which would threaten to crumble the very foundation laid by the Founding Fathers.
Yet an even more long-lasting threat plagues the nation: the systematic decline of the Western nations in righteousness and power. The date in the past when this downfall began is hard to place, however, because at no time has all of the West been at its peak. In fact, one can almost see a sort of sinusoidal motion [to use a mathematical term] in history in the West from east to west. As one nation rises, another declines; as one nation reaches its peak, another begins to rise to take its place. For example, as England rose in 1588 after the defeat of Spain's armada, Spain declined. As England reached its pinnacle of power, the United States began to rise. As the United States became the most powerful nation on earth, the continent of Asia (especially China) began to rise. Not only has power traveled thus, but the light of God has also generally done so and is doing so as it disappears almost completely in Europe, fades in North America, and brightens in Asia. Just based on this pattern, who seems to be next in line for world power? The oil-rich, fierce Middle Eastern nations.
The words of the Old Testament prophets can often seem archaic at best, with words of impending doom on nations that had ceased to exist before Christ walked the earth; but, as the West as a whole slips into the darkness from which it came, one can almost hear those words of the prophets echoing down through history with one simple yet profound statement: "What happened to Israel, to Judah, to Egypt, to Babylon, is about to happen to you."
Nevertheless, by now means should we slip into the error of fatalism, nor should we wish that we could have been placed elsewhere on the "sinusoid of history." Rather, we should pray that God would not forsake this nation and cast it into another Dark Age but would mercifully renew this nation's light of truth and freedom to the world, and that we would be His lights no matter how dark the spiritual twilight of the West may become. Let us not cower as darkness rises in this land and, with it, persecution--now indirect but becoming more blatant year by year. Let us face the darkness with the godly defiance of the Christians in Roman times and rejoice as the light of the gospel reaches another land formerly in the darkness. For the day swiftly approaches when the gospel will finish its march around the world--whether east to west or otherwise--to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and the last of the elect will be gathered into the fold. Then God's purpose for this world will be complete, and the Light of God will ascend to heaven with all His children, leaving the world and the wicked for the final, everlasting judgment and destruction.
