Sunday Message: Holy nations

Rev 3:14  "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 

Rev 3:15  "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 

Rev 3:16  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 

Rev 3:17  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 

I've been re-reading a book on the 1848 revolutions in Europe, and not for the first time, a certain thought has struck me.  You see, in those days Poland was not a nation; their kingdom had been divided, like Babylon of old, between the Prussians, Russians, and Austrians.  Two years before, the Ruthenian (think Ukrainian) peasants of Galicia (Austrian Poland) had risen up bloodily against the Polish nobles- the landed rich- who claimed their serfdom.  Now, as the liberal revolution sought to make a parliament of all the peoples under the Hapsburg banner, Ukrainian delegates stared across the room at Polish nobles with undisguised hatred.

Only a couple hundred years before, Poland prided itself as being the defender of the Catholic faith in eastern Europe, surrounded as they were by the Protestants of Germany and Bohemia and the Orthodox of Russia and the other Slavs.  A 'holy nation' of sorts.  But this 'holy nation', like so many others before, did not treat OTHERS with any kind of holiness;  they lost their strength, and the Great Powers divided it up.

 ...but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 

Dan 5:24  "Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 

Dan 5:25  And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. 

Dan 5:26  This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 

Dan 5:27  TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 

Dan 5:28  PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." 

Another historical area that has fascinated me was the fall of Constantinople, the Holy city of the Byzantines, the last vestige of Rome's empire, to the Turks in 1453.  A city that was supposed to be the heart of the True Faith (to Orthodox minds), but known for scandals, and labyrinthine plots to obtain power.  A city where Patriarchs were excommunicated based on the 'faith' of the seated emperor.  I remember reading of the several 'supernatural' signs that occurred in the weeks before the final siege; one in particular.  A parade was held with the Ikon of the Virgin Mary in the lead, to beg the Mother of God for mercy and miraculous intervention.  Halfway through the procession, it fell from the wagon it rode in and crashed to the street below.

Or how about the "Holy Roman Empire", a medieval collection of German states under an "Emperor" elected by the states.    The Pope was to bless each coronation, and it would be the defender od Rome against Lombards, Saracens, etc.  Except that most elections became disputed; the Pope would excommunicate, the Emperor would bring his army into Italy, a new Pope (or antiPope, as the case may be) was installed.  Even when Henry IV went to Canossa to beg absolution from Pope Gregory in 1077, the peace was short lived, as within 7 years Henry besieged Rome 3 times.  In the end, "Holy Roman Emperor" became just a title on the Archduke of Austria's resume, and in 1804 Napoleon did away with it altogether- and no one cared.

Or what about "Holy Russia", the term that became popular in the 16th century for the bastion of Orthodoxy after the fall of Constantinople?  Certainly this 'holiness' had a cancer that finally burst out in 1917 to produce the most un-holy state the world ever saw.

Point being, God listens when a nation declares itself 'holy'; and woe to them who depart that way.  So when we declare the United States a Christian nation, we put ourselves under a judgment.  200+ years down the road, we have a nation where the tares are begging that the wheat be burned up, too wrapped in evil and selfishness to realize that if the wheat goes, the tares do as well.  And the 'wheat'?  Well, a lot of them have forgotten that being Christian means being 'like Christ'; and the only ones Christ ever insulted were the Pharisees, who had a form of religion fueled by self-righteousness.

I often hear preachers mention that the United States is not mentioned in prophecy;  and if you know me, I say it is.  I could be wrong, but let's just say I'm not.  We pride ourselves (or used to) on our Founding Fathers putting everything they did for us in God's hands.  Now, are we closer to that, or to this....

Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their cargo any more; 

Rev 18:12  the cargo of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every ivory vessel, and every vessel of very precious wood, and of bronze, and of iron, and of marble, 

Rev 18:13  and cinnamon, and incenses, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.