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Neither Trump nor Clinton Can Arrest America's Decline
by Dr. Henderson Ward I am reluctant to enter the political commentary arena because as a Christian, and one who is not affiliated to any political party anywhere, I rarely vote, and when I do, it is always to do with the issues, and I always think of what is the best for my country and cast my vote accordingly. Sometimes the person who I vote for in my constituency is not someone I favour, but because I want the party he represents to win the election, and become the government, I give him or her the nod. This throws up some strange paradoxes because at times the person who I did not vote for is the person I like and respect, and the person I voted for not only do I dislike, but does not care to meet, and hopes he or she never visits my home. Ever. The truth is that in politics, as in life generally, there are so many convolutions and enigmas that contradictions, paradoxes and ironies are not the exceptions but the standard. Your preferred candidate, in any election, has as many negatives as positives, and deep in your heart you know this to be true, but you nevertheless vote for the person of your choice. All of this is fine, for eventually you give it your best shot, and you hope for the best. I can tell you now who will become the next President of the United States if the contest is between Clinton and Trump, but I will not do so because I do not want any of my readers (am I a coward?) to be filled with the spirit of vexatiousness and become anti because of my prediction. What I want my readers to do is to follow the logic of what I am saying with an open mind, and perhaps shed their preconceived bias. But maybe I am asking too much. I am reminded, and humbled, by what happened just over four years ago when Mick Romney ran against President Barack Obama in 2012. In an article I published here on October 16th, 2012 on faithwriters.com (the article was captioned America Will Make The Right Choice For The Wrong Reason, and you can access it here http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=152997) I got some hostile private comments from someone who thought that I was not favouring Romney whom he wanted to win. The truth is that I was looking at the election objectively, not preferring one candidate over the other, but assessing who will win based on certain criteria. Here is how I concluded the article: America has a big decision to make and will do the right thing because inherent in their psyche is the notion that he who does the heavy-lifting should not be the one to go hungry when the refreshments are served. America will re-elect President Obama in November not because they relish a rosy future with him at the helm leading them into much prosperity but because they fear a Romney presidency will take them back to the dark days of 2008. In America fear always trump optimism. Mark my words! Yes, I said that in October 2012, "In America fear always trump optimism" and examining American history up to the present I have no reason to change my view. If you really want to know who will win the next election, and become the next President of the United States, then do a careful analysis and answer this one question. Whose administration will be scarier, Clinton's or Trump's? I guarantee you that the candidate whose administration is perceived as the scarier will lose the election. Let me confess that to me it does not matter who becomes the next President of the United States, whether it is Clinton, Trump or someone else; the trajectory of America's decline has been set, and it would take a miracle for its destiny to be altered. The United States is in the grip of unalterable forces that determine the trajectory of decline once a nation, or civilisation, defies God. No nation on earth can defy God, meaning disobey his laws, resist his pleadings, and expect to prosper, except in the short term, and even that kind of prosperity is questionable because it portends what it cannot deliver. The United States of America is the quintessential example of a world overdosing on materialism, a world enthralled to wealth, celebrity, and privilege, and worshiping nothing but money; what the Bible correctly calls filthy lucre. Everything that stands in the way of these unholy, soul-destroying passions are targeted for repression or destruction. And because this world is still subject to God, and God determines outcomes, then certain consequences inevitably follow in accordance with God's pronouncements. Here are three things (let's call them the three inevitables) that MUST happen, and history has shown HAVE ALWAYS happened, based on God's pronouncements. 1. A sin-loving dominant nation or empire will crumble and fall. The Scripture says, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34) All sins are not equal, and the truth is that some sins are minor, but some sins in particular, like idolatry, blasphemy and lack of compassion, are found to be crucial factors in all collapsed, failed nations or empires. 2. Pride, both personal and national, leads to arrogance, overreaching and ultimately destruction. The Scripture says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18) Notice, for example, how America proudly refers to itself as the "indispensible nation" and "the leader of the free world", symbolic of the hubris shown by Nebuchadnezzar when he pompously said, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built..." (Daniel 4:30) not realizing that he was on the brink of ruin and a catastrophic fall. 3. No nation or empire built on injustice will endure. The Scripture says, "Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy." (Psalm 82:3) and those who don't are warned, "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled." (Amos 3:11) and also, "Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth..." (Amos 9:8) When I asserted that America is in decline and no president, be it Clinton, Trump or whoever, can change its course, I am not looking just at America, but at the history of the mightiest nations and empires that ever existed, how they conducted themselves, how they fell, and the core reasons for their collapse. The four mightiest empires in history were not agreed to by a consensus of academics, or produced by some research group of scholars, but were declared by prophetic insight given by God to Daniel way back in time, i.e., about 600BC. God showed Daniel in a vision the four world empires that would appear, and dominate the world, unlike any other. Super-powers like the Soviet Union, and the United States of America, were not mentioned because they were not on par with the four that are indicated. The relevant verses are as follows: "Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." (Daniel 2:27-28) Daniel proceeded to describe the huge, human-like image that Nebuchadnezzar (who reigned for approximately 43 years, 605-562 BC) saw in the dream, and various parts of the image represented dominant empires during people's remaining time on earth. (Ref Daniel 2:26-45) We know from history that following Daniel's interpretation everything prophesied took place exactly as Daniel stated. Following that prophecy this is what happened: 1. The Babylonian Empire that lasted 70 years, fell as predicted (in 539 BC). 2. The Medio-Persian Empire took over and fell as predicted (in 333BC). 3. The Greek Empire took over and fell as predicted (in 133BC). 4. The Roman Empire took over and disintegrated as predicted (in AD 476) although a piece of it continued in the East until it fell in AD1453. Each and every one of these four world empires crashed and burned exactly as predicted. The facts are compelling, and show that each of these empires chose a path of defiance to the Almighty God and, in accordance with His sovereign will, triggered the three inevitables mentioned earlier. No nation, however powerful and dominant, can run counter to Almighty God, disregard His counsels, and dishonour Him, and not suffer the three inevitables. And the United States of America is no exception. It would be time-consuming to regurgitate the many ills afflicting America, but just think of this. America is a modern, developed country that has 5% of the world's population and 22% of the world's prison population, a rich country that has the most billionaires, plutocrats and mega rich and yet there are millions homeless and millions go to bed hungry, a place where unarmed minorities are shot and killed by the police every day, a country so paranoid and ill at ease with itself that bearing arms is a constitutional right, and a place where millions hail as a hero a man who wants to take America back to the days of segregation, or Jim Crow, or slavery, or the the wanton slaughter of native Indians, or at any rate back to the dreadful past. Here in my native country of Barbados, not a single person goes to bed hungry, except by choice, you can walk anywhere at any time, day or night, without fear of being molested, we have virtually no illiterates (except the mentally subnormal), in the last fifty years two or so unarmed civilians were killed by the police (one was killed accidentally and the other was an escaped, convicted felon) and we are a poor, undeveloped country. The Bible says, " To whom much is given, much is required" (Luke 12:48) and it cannot have escaped anyone's notice that America has been given loads. When America crashes and burn, as on its present trajectory, it surely will, then let all believers pray that, like the phoenix rising from the ashes, America will emerge humbled, cleansed and spiritually and morally strong to play its part in developing humanity. Enough said. Books by this author you may wish to read. THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (e-book) Volume 1 Five tough facts to be faced http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YX5NSI STAND UP TO THE DEVIL (e-book) Volume 1 You must first identify him http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BQVLSS BASTARD: A STORY OF REDEMPTION(e-book fiction) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OF3SD6 ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GOD'S CLOCK (Hard copy) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002X78D16 ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GOD'S CLOCK (e-book) http://tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60799-630-9 Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017 Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |