Tuesday, November 25, 2014

How the United States of America is Like First-Century Israel in the Bible

The White House
Public Domain Images
As I wrote my previous post, "Lawlessness" in Bible Prophecy: Are We Seeing It Now?, it occurred to me how much we, here in the United States, are like that first-century crowd  in Israel who witnessed the first coming of Jesus.

So many people in our day see the problems facing our world and the devastation that is coming. In the United States we see the wrong-doing and the wrong choices being made and forced upon us by those in leadership in our nation. (Tweet that!)

We know that the United States of America is not too big to fail. (Tweet that!)

We are desperate for solutions. We know the solutions--moving back towards the one true God of the Bible, His way of doing things, and honoring Him in our nation--and yet we are helpless to carry out any such ideas because most of those in leadership insist on going their own way, on not listening to the people, on forcing wrong policies on us. We do have some good people in leadership, but they are too few, even when they band together, to overcome the majority who are taking us in the wrong direction.

As so what do we do? We look forward to the next election. We hope that the next election will remove more of those who are leading our country in the wrong direction and will put into places of leadership and power more people who will lead us in a right direction.

But we have been trying to correct the course our country is on for several elections now, and while we may make progress, it has not yet been enough to make a difference in the direction our nation is moving in between those elections.

Our elections of our political leaders are too few and too far in between, while meanwhile decisions are being made every week or every day that take us farther down the wrong path.

We are looking for a political solution to our problems.

This is exactly what the first-century people in Israel were doing the first time Jesus came. They expected Jesus to be a political leader who would deliver them from the occupying forces of Rome and their Roman oppressors.

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. (John 6:15, ESV)

Don't get me wrong. Please! I am so very grateful for the hard work of those who run for office and campaign so hard to win in order to become our leaders who will turn this country back toward the right course.

I am also so very grateful for those conservative commentators who work so hard to education the people and make a difference in our county.

I believe history will honor men like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity for their extraordinary efforts to make a positive difference in the United States of America.

However, as I watch them and listen, and as I watch our elections, I am reminded of their past campaigns such as Sean Hannity's "Defeat Obama Express" and Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos." And yet despite all their efforts, President Obama still won the election. Again.

So what does this say? To me it says we will not find a political solution.

So what are we to think about these men and their efforts? I believe these conservative commentators are doing a remarkable job that must be done. (And these are only two examples of many men and women who are doing similar work.) They are talking about what is wrong with our nation, and because of them in the end there will be no excuse for anyone not knowing what was going on, what was wrong, and what could have been done to make it right. (Tweet that!) In a very real sense, they are doing God's work.

But at the same time, I don't believe there will be a political solution to the problems facing America. I don't believe we will be able to wait for enough elections to replace those leading us in a wrong direction with those who would lead is in a right direction.

I believe it's all too little and too late. I believe we're already over the cliff; it's just going to take us a while to hit the bottom. Yes, I'm pretty pessimistic about the future of the United States of America.

That's probably why political commentators don't talk about Bible prophecy. That's probably also why I wouldn't make a good talk show host. (Tweet that!)

To those who are doing such work, whether in political commentary or in running for office, please keep on. Keep working. Don't ever give up. We need you. I need you. Keep on doing good. Keep on calling out wrong, promoting right, and defining the difference. (Tweet that!)

In the end, we need to know that everything that possibly could be done to redirect our nation onto a right path, right in God's sight, has been done. That's important. (Tweet that!)

But in the end, the Bible prophecies will be fulfilled. So whether that comes sooner or later, whatever happens in or to the United States of America, the ultimate answer is not in politics but in individuals and national leaders looking to and following the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Please join me on Saturday when we will switch gears for the Advent Season and find hope for ourselves, for America, and for our world in the prophecies of God found in the Bible that have already been fulfilled in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Tweet that!)

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