But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. Luke 11:17
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." - Abraham Lincoln -
The fall of the American nation is at hand, and it will come more quickly, more suddenly than anyone could have imagined. I believe the demise of the great American experiment is near its end . . . and for two powerful reasons:
We are a divided people with divided hearts and divided minds. Abraham Lincoln said of the nation in the midst of the strife to end slavery:
"In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."
Lincoln believed that when the civil war ended, there would be no middle ground . . . no compromise . . . slavery would be either abolished or ensconced as a national reality. Lincoln knew that the future of the nation rested upon the resolution of this issue. He was of the opinion that the nation would not cease to exist, but that it would either resolve the issue of the sin of slavery or it would abide in perpetuity as a nation who would merchandise human flesh. These two could not exist together.
Slavery did not end with the civil war and the oppression of people of color did not cease, but the direction of the nation was turned toward the ending of that oppression. But let's be honest; at this point in our history the divide between the “races” is greater –– not less. The sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of men . . . white men . . . who died on the field of battle to end the oppression of black men would appear to have ultimately been in vain.
The noble dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. has essentially been thrown into the waste bin, and the sacrifice of this great man . . . a black man . . . has been co-opted by those who have chosen the path of violence over the way of peace. They invoke his name, but not his dream.
We are divided over color. We are divided over sexuality. We are divided over faith. We are divided over immigration, identity politics, and political ideology. We are divided over a virus and the proper response to it. We have signs that declare, “Hate has no Home Here,” and yet clearly, hate has found a nesting place in our hearts as the vitriol that spews from the mouths of men on all sides gives clear evidence. In the words of Lincoln, “It will become all one thing or all the other.” There is little likelihood that we will move toward any center in the matters that divide us. On all sides, the goal is victory . . . absolute victory. In the words of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, “by any means."
It is not that I believe we should compromise with evil, or be willing to settle for less than a return to principles that we find in the Holy Scriptures. It is simply that I believe the division in the collective heart of America is so great that it will never, ever come into agreement––on anything.
Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” If we take even a moment to unpack this ominous warning the picture becomes alarmingly clear: EVERY KINGDOM divided against itself is laid waste. No nation can survive without unity of vision and a clear moral compass to guide it. America has neither. A HOUSE DIVIDED will fall. No if’s, ands, or buts –– a divided household cannot stand. It will fall.
The second powerful reason I believe the fall of America is at hand is the wrath of God. The nation has forgotten God. He has been pushed to the side in favor of the god of humanism, man. We fail to acknowledge that it was God who raised this nation up. The principles of the Holy Scriptures which were the basis of our government and legal system are being replaced with human wisdom, and our government declares that the “will of God is not a matter of concern” to us. I do not simply speak of the “left” here as many, too many, on the right side of the aisle have also abandoned reverence for God in favor of a trust in politics.
Deuteronomy 8 paints a powerful picture of the nation that is blessed by God with wealth, freedom, and safety but forgets that He is the source of their peace. I recommend that you read the entire chapter, but here is the conclusion of the matter:
“And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.” (8:20-21)
This past week I attended a family camp in Vermont with which I have been associated for more than forty years. There was a powerful, powerful move of the Holy Spirit among our young people––teenagers and young adults. Each night, the altar in our old tabernacle was filled with children, teens, and young adults weeping in repentance for sin, crying out to God to be filled with His abiding presence, and shouting His praises at the top of their lungs as they laughed and cried and danced before the living God.
As I stood outside the Tabernacle observing what God was doing in our youth the Lord spoke to me. It was just a whisper, “I am not raising up a generation that will prevent the fall of the nation. I am raising up a generation that can survive the fall of the nation.”
“I am raising up a generation that can survive the fall of the nation.”
I am not sure our once great nation will survive the wrath of God, but I am convinced that out of her ashes will arise a new generation that God has reserved for himself . . . a remnant that will glorify His Name and celebrate His Greatness; a generation that will do warfare with the minions of evil that seek to enslave men in their sin –– and win.
“There is an army rising up that will break every chain!”
(Break Every Chain, William Regan)
Our nation needs to repent of having forgotten our God. The founding Fathers were godly men.