“THE SIX STAGES OF ALL GREAT & GODLY EMPIRES-Explained Biblically”
What happens when a great and godly generation passes away on a younger, undisciplined and godless generation takes over?
In the infamous book, “The Fourth Turning”, the answer is given in great detail within the framework that difficult times raises up strong people which produce good times, which produce a lazy undisciplined people who usher in tough times. I recommend everyone read that book. Today, I am going to show you through the biblical Book of Judges, the six basic stages that Israel went through and that all nations proclaiming the God of the Universe as their God go through from a spiritual, biblical and freedom perspective. And this is especially true of the present state of the United States-so let’s get started.
NOTE BENE: The United States and Europe are not Israel, but God's ways are consistent and I believe accurately portrayed in today's episode in application.
The United States has gone from being the best cheese on the block to Swiss cheese-riddled with holes to the point of being hollowed out-held up by a mere framework of Christians who are hanging on as the remnant and by many who are intellectually wanting in light of having a faith driven primarily by emotion. While God has both intellect and emotion and has bestowed that upon his created beings-namely the human race, we are called, as those made in His image, to toughen up and do the mission He has called each of us to and stop crying in our apathy. We ought to reduce or our complaining about what we have lost and start doing the mission on the ground level. It’s ok to feel scared, lonely and worried about the future-but that must be kept in check as we muster the courage in God’s strength the do the mission He has called us to. Isn’t that the purpose of life?
The book of Judges provides us with a sixth turning if I can call it that and in today’s episode, I will share where I see the United States and where I see Europe in terms of which stage. Let’s go into today’s lesson with the understanding that all nations rise and fall as great civilizations. The good news is that once a nation falls, it can being to heal and return as something new but different-but not what it was prior. Today, I am going to summarize this in five short verses (and then beyond)-starting in Judges 2:8-12. Let’s jump in by reading Judges 2.
JUDGES 2:8-12 - “And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance of Timnath…And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who DID NOT KNOW the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.They went after other gods, from among the gods of the poles who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger” (Judges 2:8-12).
You can read the passage for yourself and perhaps break down the stages yourself. For now, I am going break this passage down into six parts-showing your the stages that Israel repeated time and time again in their rise and fall, based on their obedience to blessing, and then forgetting God and disobedience which led to their fall and being taken over or invaded by foreigners until they repented and returned to the Lord once again. Let’s jump right in.
- STAGE ONE: CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP DIES/PASSES AWAY: “And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years” (vss. 8-10). It’s typical for civilizations and great (and small) nations to place their full faith in their leadership. But when that nation get’s comfortable and fails to remain sharp and disciplined in living a godly life, seeking God’s word and ways, they eventually forget God and become detached in relationship with Him. We saw this for example with President Ronald Reagan in America and Margaret Thatcher in the UK.
- STAGE TWO: THE REST OF THE GENERATION PASSES AWAY: (“And all that generation also were gathered to their father” (vs.10). Like America seeing it’s leader Ronald Reagan who spoke about America as the city being a light upon a hill for the rest of the world, after his death, naturally many godly leaders grew old and passed away after him until a generation of godly leaders were gone. This seems to be a short time ago in America and in Europe.
- STAGE THREE: THE NEW, YOUNGER GENERATION TAKES OVER NATIONAL AND CULTURAL LEADERSHIP: “And there arose another generation after them…” (vs.10a). What does “another generation mean? It often means a generation who had an easier life filled with pleasure, recreation and lack of difficulties as compared to their parents generation. As a result, they often lose their edge theologically and with regard to their resolve to stand strong on God’s ways which more often than not-not popular with secular world characters and leadership who have other ideas for the direction of the world. As a result, they get away from God which leads to stage four.
- STAGE FOUR: BUT THAT GENERATION TURNS THEIR BACK ON THE LORD-THE TRUE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE: (vs.10b) “…And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel” (vs.10). This is the stage I believe America is in today more so than even Europe who I believe is in stage five. America has been and is turning their back on the God of the Universe in record numbers. I compare the American church American culture in general (but not all churches of course) like Swiss cheese in that the church is still strong in part, but is being hollowed out with tunnels of emptiness and secularism. Don’t forget that like Swiss Cheese, when something is hallowed out, I’m not reformable because it simply does not exist. Emptiness is nothingness. That doesn’t mean the remnant cannot cry out to God and return to His Word and Ways, which is the last stagnate-only that the emptiness is just that, empty. And nothing exists in a vacuum, so that emptiness is filled with secularism which is always very temporary, Islam, which is very long term, or socialism and communism, which is secularism. This leads us to stage five.
- STAGE FIVE: THE NEW GENERATION REAP WHAT THEY SOW IN THAT THEY ABANDONED THE LORD THE GOD OF THEIR FATHERS: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the poles who were around them, and bowed down to them" (vss.11-12a). This is where Europe has been for some time and where the United States is heading and in some areas already is. We are starting to increasingly sow what we have reaped after abandoning the Lord the God of our fathers, especially to the degree we have done that over the past few decades. And this leads us to the sixth and final stage.
- STAGE SIX: FINALLY, THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE PROVOKE THE ANGER AND JUDGEMENT OF THE LORD WHO ABANDONS THE POEPLE AND NATION-ALLOWING THEM TO BE PLUNDERED BY THEIR ENEMIES TO THE POINT OF GREAT DISTRESS: “And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord…So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and He gave them over to the plunders, who plundered them. And He sold them into the hand of their enemies, so that they could no longer withstand THEIR ENEMIES. WHENEVER THEY MARCHED OUT, THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS AGAINST THEM FOR HARM, AS THE LORD HAD WARNED, AND AS THE LORD HAD SWORN TO THEM. AND THEY WERE IN TERRIBLE STRESS” (vss. 12b-15).
Stage Six is where the United States is today. My sense is that Europe has began to already turn from stage six back to God and His ways to some degree if not a much greater degree. As for the United States, we have a bit to go in that we are just feeling God’s hand of blessing withdrawn from our country, allowing us to be PLUNDERED by our enemies. This is evident in China’s flooding the United States with Fentanyl, killing 100,000 young people a year. The boarder ending with 10-Million migrants, many of which are from China, Africa and many Muslim countries, and none of which are educated, skilled in most cases, often with ill intent and no resources to live. Many of those non-Americans are being hired by police departments and into the military in exchange for U.S. Citizenship. I won’t go any further because you get the point. “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies…” (Judges 2:14).
OUR HOPE-WE ARE CLOSE TO A NEW TURNING
“But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenya’s, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirt of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He want out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-Tisha Thais king of Mesopotamiainto his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushn00rishatham. So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenya’s died” (Judges 3:9-11). And upon Othniel’s death, they went back to stage one. BUT, the good news is that God delivered Israel’s and He can deliver us today if we are as a nation, people and individuals obedient to and return to Him!
CONCLUSION
The good news is that once a nation falls, it can repent and ask God for healing, and return as something new but different than it was prior. So this is what happens when a great, godly generation passes on and leaves the kingdom-land to the next generation. They often get sucked up into false god’s and secularism due to their leaning on the leader God provided them as opposed to God himself. In the infamous book, “The Fourth Turning”, which in its first printing (1997) by William Strauss and Neil Howe opens with a single page with a Bible verse in the King James, which I show in the ESV which says: "That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away" (Ecclesistes 3:15).
I recommend reading “The Fourth Turning” in its newly released form which was published around July of 2023. Today, we learned through the Book of Judges, the six basic stages of all great and godly nations that rise to power and then fall, due to their forgetting the true God of the universe and then what they can do to eventually return to prosperity through obedience to God, invoking His blessing and provision. Folks, this is where the United States, Europe, and much of the West is today. I hope you will study the Book of Judges for yourself and think about what this means in your own God given personal mission as history beings to move along in this new age. Please be encouraged that the only constant is change, and God is in control. As such, we have a purpose in this lifetime beyond a comfortable, affluent and recreation filled life. We are here to glory God and do the work He has called us to, despite the circumstances. To me, that’s exciting if we keep our perspective Christ and biblically centered. So, let’s get out there and do the mission and enjoy the ride He has called us to.
