Human beings are born with a spiritual need–a “compartment” that is like a vacuum.  When it finds itself empty it demands to be filled.  And it always is.  The same is true for nations, which are obviously filled with human beings.  Two facts are evident to the one who studies human nature as it relates to the spiritual realm, as it always does.  A common rule of thumb is that: “As goes the spiritual, so goes everything else.”  This is true on every level, from the individual, to the group, to the nation, to entire segments of the world.  In the nations that comprise Western (Christian) civilization individual mind-sets unite unofficially into a singular character that determines the spiritual direction the nation will take.  A look at the mind-set governing the nations that call themselves “Christian” tells us where we are spiritually and where we are going.  So how did we get where we are spiritually?

A French historian once visited the young upstart nation that called itself America.  Afte traveling throughout the country Alexis DeTogueville made an important statement about her.  He wrote that he understood what made this young nation so successful.  Everywhere he went there were churches.  He concluded that it was the spiritual that made everything else work in what would eventually become the most powerful, most successful country the world has ever produced.

That was then; this is now.  It is true that church buildings can still be found “on every street.”  But that is the only resemblance to what the French visitor had seen during his visit to the New World.  Like the ancient nation whose descendants came to the New World and created what was meant to be God’s  “light of the world,’ America’s light has gone out.  This series will reveal what extinguished that Godly light.

The spiritual (moral) direction taken by each nation determines the physical, economic, social, etc. condition the nation finds itself in at any point in time.  Read Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.  Those nations which are labeled “Christian” claim to use God’s Holy Bible as their rules of engagement that govern the conduct of their citizens’ everyday lives.  Among the things all nations’ individuals deal with there are physical, psychological, emotional, social, economic, security, etc. concerns which one must address on a continual basis.  Ironically, the need that is most important is the need that draws the least attention.  One gets hungry several times a day and must meet that need several time each day.  Liquid intake is an even more important concern that must be addressed.  Human companionship is always important.  We are constantly in need of a medium of exchange.  Travel, comfort, recreation, education, etc. are common concerns for every citizen.

These types of concerns are continuously vying for the attention of the human beings in which they reside and, to a significant degree, control.  For many people, drugs are a constant factor.  Just watch a smoker when he/she is forced to do without nicotine for an extended period of time.  The same is true for alcoholic abusers.  Watch the extent to which a hard drug user will go to meet his overpowering cravings.  Having grown up in a family of smokers I am well versed in what nicotine addicts will go through to get their current craving “fixed.”  My wife and I are friends with a couple whose male component is a true addict.  I do not allow smoking in my home, car, etc. so he goes outside to get his 20 or more daily “fixes.”  On one occasion we were camping out and this couple came to visit us for a few hours.  When his addiction reared its head he had no choice but to go outside to satisfy it.  It just so happened that it was raining heavily.  I can still see him standing under a tree, rain pouring down on him, sucking on his dope stick.  He had an urgent need that had to be filled.  To a less urgent degree, the same can be said about food and drink, etc.

But there is an even more urgent need that craves to be met by those of the human race, but is routinely ignored, if it is noticed at all.  Each of us has a craving for the spiritual, even if we do not know it.  Recall that Adam and Eve had such a need and there were two entities prepared to fill it–God and the Serpent (Satan, the devil).  Throughout the history of the human race the same story has been played out repeatedly.  We are told in the Book of Revelation that that same God and the same Serpent will be around to supply what is needed just before Jesus returns.  At that time the world’s masses will turn to the Serpent (Revelation 17:12-13) to meet their spiritual needs.  In that God’s Very Elect will have been taken to their place of safety, everyone else on earth will be having their spiritual “compartment” filled by the devil himself.

How will this global condition have come about?  Let us examine what the Holy Scriptures tell us about the past, the present and the immediate future so that we can answer that question.  Look around at what is happening within so-called “Christian nations.”  Since the early 1800’s the United States of America has been the unquestioned leader of those nations on all levels.  Therefore we will look at her present condition with an eye to her past in order to see what has led her to her present condition.  That will tell us what her future will look like.  America is featured in a well-known passage which will serve as the focus of our discussion–Matthew 12:43-45.  But before turning there a short history lesson is in order.

Many of the people living in what is called Western Civilization are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel).  Having come into being in the Middle East, how did the nation known as Israel come to reside in such places as America, the British Isles, Sweden, Norway, Germany, etc.  To answer that question read Who and Where is Israel Today?  Key word–Where.  The following is a brief summary of that series.

The children of Israel were raised up by the Lord to be His light to the Gentile (heathen) world.  However, Israel proved to be a failure and, after 13 Godly bailouts, the Lord sent her into military defeat, enslavement and eventual dispersal throughout the entire world.  The various tribes settled in various areas, assimilated with the people of those areas and became part of what they eventually became–nations–some of which are listed above.  Being of high intellect and ability, the Israelites soon came to dominate those nations politically, socially, economically, etc.  Due to the evangelism of the original apostles in those areas as directed by Jesus in Matthew 10:6 and 24:14, Christianity came to be the preferred religion those nations.  As stated, some of those Israelites came to the New World and established what became known as the United States of America.  Over time many Israelites began to immigrate to America from all over the world.  She soon became the second nation God established to be His light to the heathen world.  In spite of her illustrious beginning, America followed in her ancestors’ spiritual footsteps by casting off God’s Word and creating her own version of Truth.  The moral, social, political, economic wreck she has become is a replica of the ancient nation of Israel.  Everything ancient Israel did that caused her eventual destruction her descendants have done, and so much more.  This begs the question: EXACTLY HOW DID THE UNITED STATES GO FROM GOD’S PENTHOUSE TO SATAN’S OUTHOUSE?  Matthew 12:43-45 will tell us.  L.J.