May 1, 2009
Dear Friend,
I have three questions. Where in the world are we? How did we get here? What comes next? I only know of two places to turn for answers: History and the Bible. By now, we should know that history runs in cycles, and the Bible says it will be so. Prophecy in the Bible is written in what teachers call type and antitype. The word type comes from the Greek and refers to the die that is used to strike an image into metal or a clay tablet. The die is the type, the impressed image, the antitype. What happened in the past is the key to the future, as it shapes repeated images yet to be seen.
In the past 150 years, we have seen cycles of economic boom, followed by a bust, followed by hard times, followed by war in one form or another. One theorist of these cycles thinks that each cycle runs for about 60 years. Maybe it depends on how long it takes us to forget. We have a generation now that doesn’t recall the Jimmy Carter years, and they have never experienced a real recession. And I don’t have the impression that much history is being taught these days. If, indeed, those who don’t remember the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat them, it seems we are in for some tough sledding.
So, here we sit, teetering on the brink, wondering if a real 12 year depression lies ahead (as it did in 1929), and if it is likely that it will take a war to bring us out of it, as it did before. This time, the cycle started with greater extremes than we have seen before, and one wonders if the extremes will carry forward. In this past boom, more wealth was created and more people were brought out of poverty than at any time in history. It is easy to forget this in all the lamenting about the plight of the poor. Will the cycle end, as before, with a war?
Does the Bible give us any idea of why this happens again and again? Yes, it does. I recommend you read Deuteronomy, chapter 28. Many people make a fundamental error in reading this: They assume it is merely the old covenant and it has only to do with God and Israel. Actually, it is a formula which describes what will happen in any nation depending on how they conduct their affairs; it is a classic if/then statement: "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NIV).
This is not complicated. God handed down a moral code from Mt. Sinai. He went further and laid out a religious code to keep people mindful of the moral code. The whole idea of religious assembly is to keep people mindful. So, what are the conditions of this formula? The first condition is: "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands." And the result? "The LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth."
The blessings that follow are a type. The life we have lived in this country since our founding was, for a while, the antitype of what happens to a moral people. But then there follows in Deuteronomy what happens when we forget:
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee" (Deuteronomy 28:15 KJV).
There follows a staggering litany of what can and will go wrong for the nation that forsakes the Divine Law. It is a picture, in many ways, of where we stand right now. Yet we have not found the bottom. Will this cycle end in war as before?
This is the subject of a new program titled, Will It Take a War? I fear that it will, and this time the war may be terribly destructive. The program takes a hard look at biblical prophecy and the times just ahead of us. I’ll be happy to send you a free advance CD if you call or write by June 30, 2009 so you won’t be caught unaware and unprepared. If you prefer to just listen or download the program now, please click here.
Watching and praying,
Ronald L. Dart