Revelations 9-11

(September 5, 2015)

                Sometimes I think we see the flow of history as universally positive.  We went (in our minds) from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution to the iPad.  Next year, to many, the march of progress will continue on (after all, there will be a newer model iPad).  We think that things are getting better and better all the time.

                Ideas like this are among the dangers of a poor educational system.  History is replete with advances and decays.  During the Dark Ages, we took a rather large step backwards (except for the monasteries – which continued advancing).  But even if human knowledge continues to advance, the key question is human morality, and I dare say few of us can claim it is going in the right direction.

                The reason I say this is because the destruction that we read has been prophesied of in these chapters is coming.  If we believe that the future will be roses and buttercups, we are in for a disappointment.  Optimism is fine (we know the Lord will win), but so is realism – and we know that things will get worse before the Lord carries His Kingdom triumphant to present to His Father.