Fall of Rome

Fall of Rome

Romulus Augustulus was the last Roman ruler of the West. In 476 he was deposed by the barbarian leader Odoacer. The Roman Empire was at an end, and the barbarian kingdoms of the Middle Ages took its place. Rome was eventually reduced to rubble, with its treasures carried off to various European castles by those who plundered Rome. The city that once ruled the world was brought to shame.

Daniel, prophet of the living God, predicted the fall of Rome long before it happened.  Daniel made this prophecy, speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: “You are this head of gold.  But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.  And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. ------And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.  Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold--the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." Dan 2:38-45

Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus, king of Rome. And it was the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ which was set up at that time, and which destroyed the Roman Empire. Jesus Christ turned the hearts of the people away from greed and idolatry to service and sacrifice. People who worked with their hands to help others blessed the world.

Selfishness is the heart of paganism.  The major focus of paganism is what can I get. Rome provided free bread and free entertainment to its citizens, while taxing and making slaves of people all over the world to support their wanton behavior. Collecting money and promoting trade were the key issues for Rome.

Today many of our citizens have a narrow focus on “what I want” and “what I need.” Since the poor vastly outnumber the rich, if people only think selfishly, they can accomplish their desire to have government take from the rich and distribute to the poor (and bureaucrats). But what will happen next? In every society where mob rule has been exercised without Christian moral restraint, chaos has resulted, with famine and pestilence. The communist revolutions in Russia and China are two examples.

Do we really want mob rule in our nation? The majority often travel the wrong path, especially when the  leaders encourage selfishness and immorality. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  (Matt 7:13-14)

Our nation needs to repent of selfishness and evil desires. The citizens of Rome enjoyed free bread and free entertainment. They were given to sexual immorality and homosexuality.  Rome fell. It has been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat history. Our nation will decline and fall if we continue on the path of selfishness and immorality. Democracy works well only when the majority of citizens support truth and integrity. Corruption brings destruction. It always has. It always will.