MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
UPHARSIN and the
USA
By Jason Lovelace
Key Scriptures:
“And this is the writing that
was written. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This
is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath
numbered thy kingdom…”
– Daniel 5.25-26
“And it shall come to pass, if
thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy
God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I
command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee
on high above all nations of the earth: And all these
blessings shall on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed
thou shalt be…”
– Deuteronomy 28.1-3
“And all the people of the
earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the
Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.”
– Deuteronomy 28.10
“And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse them that curse thee…”
– Genesis 12.3
In the year 1775, thirteen
colonies of the British Crown in North America revolted in
rebellion against the United Kingdom of Great Britain,
declaring themselves Free and Independent on July 4th,
1776. Despite the impossible odds against
these thirteen colonies, they, as a united front, defeated
the then-greatest power on the face of the Earth to win
their independence. Through eight long years of war,
bloodshed, and trial, the nation known as The United States
of America came into being, and, by 1789, had drafted and
ratified a Constitution. This Grand Republic
was the first of its kind: a nation of the people, by
the people, and for the people, with no state church, no
king, and freedom and equality available to all who dared
venture there. For the first one hundred and eighty
years, this nation, the
United States of America,
grew from a fledgling, backwater nation to the greatest
power in the world and in history.
“Nothing in Particular or
Important Happening Today”
King George III is alleged to
have written the sentence in his diary on July 4th,
1776, and really, with good reason. At this time in
history,
Great Britain
was the world power. Her navy sailed in every part of the
globe, and was unmatched in its power. Her red-coated
army was respected – if not feared – throughout the known
world. Just the mention of British Soldiers coming to
fight was enough to cause even the most stouthearted tremble
with fear. This Army and Navy had won the Seven Years’
War in Europe, and the French and Indian War in the
Americas, bringing vast
swaths of land and territory under the control of the
British Crown. British trade and her maritime economic
might were the envy of the world, with merchant vessels
sailing as far to the East as
India and China, South to
Argentina
and Africa, North to Russia,
and West to the
Americas. Her
colonial might was unequalled, with the Union Jack flying in
nearly every part of the globe, even at this time before the
great expansion in the Victorian Age. British
Explorers, such as Captain James Cook, had charted and
mapped hundreds of Islands in the Atlantic,
Caribbean, Indian, Pacific, and even Artic and
Antarctic waters. Further, Christian Missionaries were also
already shipping far and wide throughout the globe, bringing
to Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who’d never heard.
Because of this,
Great Britain was at this
time (and would continue to be for the next
century-and-a-half) the greatest power on the face of the
earth. As such, it seemed not only foolhardy, but
totally unthinkable that any British Colony in the world
would even dream of rebellion or revolt. Yet,
Revolution is exactly what happened. In 1775 – after
years of enduring “taxation without proper representation”
in parliament – in response to the news and announcement
that British Soldiers from Boston were setting out to
destroy a munitions dump in Concord, Massachusetts, colonial
Minutemen banded together to resist. Despite a
tactical defeat at Lexington,
and the British destroying the munitions, the Minutemen
fought back, harrying the British Soldiers in their eventual
withdrawal from Concord
back to Boston.
By the end of the first week of hostilities, the British
found themselves bottled up by land in Boston, and under effectual siege by the
Colonists. Within a year, the thirteen American
Colonies had declared their Independence (July 4th,
1776), and, despite coming within a hair’s breadth of final
defeat on numerous occasions, won their independence in 1783
with not a little help from other European powers.
One Nation, Under God
How was such a thing possible?
How was it even thinkable that the men who led the
Revolution were even able to raise arms against Great Britain,
let alone defeat her Army and overcome her Navy? The
truth may be found in who these men were. All of the
signatories of the Declaration of Independence were members
of their respective local churches. Each of the
Founding Fathers – including the oft-accused “Deist” Thomas
Jefferson – not only recognized God’s aid in helping found
the
United States of America,
but also were believers that without him, the US of A could
not and would not last for long. From the Declaration
of Independence, to the Federalist Papers, to the
Constitution of the United
States of America, the Hand of God can
be seen throughout the founding documents for the
United States. The
leaders themselves spoke of not only the need for God to be
included in the daily lives and plans of the nation, but to
be the Central Focal Point to which all things were to be
determined. For the first one hundred and eighty five
years of the existence of the United States of America,
God was welcomed into each and every facet of US Life.
Prayer, Biblical and Moral Truth, and the preeminence of God
were taught in the earliest of public schools, the Bible
often being the only book in many a school house through out
the early period of United States’ History. Schools of
High Learning such as Harvard University, Yale, Columbia,
William and Mary, and many, many others not only taught on
the central authority of the Word of God, on the omnipotence
of God Himself, and on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, they
also produced many and fine leaders, scholars, teachers,
missionaries, pastors, evangelists, government
representatives and leaders, and many more noteworthy areas
of public life in the US. For the first one hundred
and eighty years of the US of A, Godly men and women worked
and strove for what was good and right in the country.
For one hundred and eighty years, we, the United States of America,
truly were one nation under God.
“Blessed Thou Shalt Be…”
Is it merely coincidence, or
something far, far greater, that in the first one hundred
and eighty years of its existence, the
United States of America
grew, expanded, and gained international prestige? No
other nation in the history of the world; no other national
venture before or since has risen to the heights that the
United States’ has since
her founding in 1776. It is interesting to note than
in the intervening years between the end of the American
Revolution in 1783 and the turn of the 20th
century that the USA was involved in only one international
war which lasted longer than a couple of years, that being
the Anglo-American War of 1812. In fact, every
conflict that followed lasted a combined four years (The
Mexican War of 1847, and the Spanish-American War of 1898).
In fact, the only war in the US in the entirety of the 19th
century that lasted longer than three years, and was of any
significance, was the US War Between the States (also known
as the U.S. Civil War) from April 12th, 1861, to
April 9th, 1865. Further, US Trade
literally exploded in the 19th century, making
the
United States
a very rich and prosperous nation, producing millionaires
such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and John
Pierpont Morgan. Inventors and innovators, such as
Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Orville and Wilbur
Wright, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, and many
others helped to enlighten and expand American thinking and
way of life, enriching the nation and its people with
conveniences which would last for decades. US
Agriculture became such that not only were American Farms
feeding the entirety of the
US
population, but also the populations of other nations
through humanitarian aid. Further, the Church expanded
and grew, with the Gospel being preached in every corner of
the USA, from the wild, wild Western frontier towns to the
high society upper crust districts in the east, and from the
warm, near-tropical states of the South to the cities and
towns of the frigid Northwest. Missionaries were also
being sent out in droves, with American Christian Missionary
organizations sending workers out into far reach places as
South America, Africa, and Asia.
In the 19th Century, the United States was the second-most active
Missionary sending nation after
Great Britain. Again,
because of this, the USA was blessed.
“The Lord Thy God Will Set
Thee on High Above All Nations of the Earth”
By the end of the 19th
century, the United States of
America
was the second-most powerful nation on the face of the Earth
– second only to Great Britain.
Militarily, only Great Britain
could dare challenge the United States.
Economically, the United
States was rising fast, and though Great Britain
was initially the most powerful economically, that would
soon change. As such, no nation on the face of the
Earth wanted a fight with the
USA.
Spain
had fought a war with America
in 1898, and such was the might of the American Military –
especially the United States’
Navy – that the war was over within nine months, the Spanish
Atlantic and Pacific Fleets resting at the bottoms of both
Oceans respectively, the Spanish economy in a shambles, and
much of her International Power and Prestige diminished.
Though not the colonial strength of
France and Britain, the United States did – by the beginning
of the 20th century – possess of protectorates
and territories far-flung from her shores. Even at
this early date, the Lord God was blessing the United States
with prestige and power. Why? Precisely because
the United States – unlike most of the nations of
Europe and Asia – possessed
deep-rooted faith in Jesus Christ and in God. We
elected Presidents and Government officials who – though may
not having great or deep faith – respected God and his laws,
and his written word. By the opening of World War One
in June, 1914, the US Military was second only to that of Great Britain in size and strength.
President Theodore Roosevelt’s Naval Expansion programs had
made the US Navy as strong as any other that roamed the
seas. It is interesting to note that both sides in
World War One – the Central Powers and the Allies – actively
sought the participation of the United States. When a German
U-boat sank the Lusitania, German Diplomats bent over
backwards to keep the US from entering the war on the side
of the Allies, and Great Britain did the same to try and get
the US to enter. When
Germany
planned to return to unrestricted submarine warfare, both
Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the Commanding Generals of the
German Army, advised the German Government against it as it
would bring in the United States in against them.
The same effect was true of World War Two, as well.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th,
1941, the German High Command, Diplomatic Corps, and Foreign
Ministry all urged Hitler not to declare against the United States.
In Japan
prior to the attack on Pearl,
most of the highest ranking military leaders opined to the
Emperor and Government that fighting a war against the
United States would be
dangerous and a mistake. These fears were rightly felt
and expressed as the entrance of the United States into both
World Wars spelt defeat for the Central Powers and Axis
Powers respectively (catastrophically so in the latter war).
The US Economy by the end of the Second World War was
greater than all other world economies combined, and this
economy – horribly depressed up to 1938 and `39 – by the end
of the Second World War had supplied all the other Allied
powers with not only weapons and munitions, but also basic
supplies such as vehicles, food, water, fuel, and material
for clothing and shoes. The Soviet Union alone received more than fifteen million
pairs of boots, thousands of miles of railroad track,
hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks, and necessary
material for the building of highways, all with which the
Soviets were able to drive back the German invader. By
the end of World War Two, the United States was a
superpower: her military was the largest in the world, her
economy the greatest and most prosperous in history, her
might the strongest, her influence growing and expanding.
The Kernel of That Strength
Though many people may point to
this or that reason for America’s growth; in the face of
many experts that claim time, place, or situation; and
despite the allegations of agnostics to deny his rightful
place, the reason for the success and astronomical growth of
the United States – from fledgling, foundering thirteen
colonies of the British Crown to Superpower Super giant
sitting atop the world – is precisely because of the place
that people placed God: First and Number One. As
The United States was faithful to God, so God was faithful
to us. By the end of World War Two, such names as D.
L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Charles Finney, Cotton Mather,
Jonathan Edwards, and others had been ingrained into the
American psyche because of what these men preached and
taught during their times of ministry. We as a nation
went to church on Sunday, attended Bible Studies, gathered
for prayer meetings, held drives for Sunday School, sent out
and supported foreign missionaries and missions, welcomed
God, his son Jesus Christ, his written Word, and prayer time
into the public school system. We as a society tithed
to the church, sent offerings to help the poor, destitute,
and hurting, even to those nations that plotted against us
for our destruction and meant us harm. Our early forms
of home entertainment, such as radio and early television
broadcasts, were rife with family-values, traditional
ideals, and – at the very least – respect for God.
Movies and television programs of this era in US History
forwent using God’s name in vain and actually positively
portrayed people going to church for worship.
Businesses and enterprises were closed on Sunday out of
respect for the Sabbath and Sabbath rest. Music and
literature cast God and his followers in a positive light,
revealing them to be good, honest people. It is
because we as a society respected and upheld God, offering
anyone who came to our shores the freedom to worship and
pursue his or her own faith freely that God upheld the United States of America.
Because we trusted in God, trusted in him to carry us
through the hard times, and placed men and women who
believed in his goodness and respected him and his name that
God elevated the United States of America
to the position that she has held for decades: that of
Superpower.
(Re) Enter Israel
From its earliest conception and
founding in and prior to 1948, the United States of America was, and
has continued to be, a friend, supporter, and ally of the
Nation of Israel. When
Israel
declared her independence in 1948, the United states was the first to
recognize her government. When her Arab neighbors
launched an all-out assault to wipe her off of the face of
the earth immediately following this announcement, the USA sent arms, munitions, supplies,
and aid to the Israelis. When she was denounced time
and time again in the United Nations, the United states
stood by her side. When her Arab neighbors assaulted
her again in and again 1956, 1967, 1972, 1981, and in recent
years, the United States time and time again rendered aid,
abetted her defense, and stood up against those who called
down Israel in the United Nations. Because of this
aid, help, and alliance, the
United States
has been blessed by God since
Israel’s re-foundation and
reformation. Not only have we given the Israelis food,
weapons, aid, technical advice, and supplies, we have also
prayed for her prosperity, and allied ourselves with their
through treaty after treaty. Though this has often
drawn the ire and the hate of the Arab world and the
condemnation of the rest of International Society, God has
blessed the United States because of our
proximity in relations and our blessing the children of
Abraham. It is in great part because of this
friendship with Israel
that the United States of
America
was able to overcome the old Soviet
Union, and triumph gloriously over communism, by
winning the Cold War.
Killing The Goose the Laid the
Golden Egg
Just as the old story goes, where
a family decides to eat the goose that had been laying
golden eggs, giving them aid and prosperity, the
United states, as well,
made the decision to show
God the door with regards to his place in society. In
1962, a landmark case allowed an atheist mother to begin to
have God excluded and excused from Public School across the
nation. Because of this one woman and her desire to be
an atheist, and keep her son as an atheist, the Supreme
Court of the United States of America edicted a landmark
decision that would have repercussions that continue to this
day.
The Bottom Line – The United States Has Had a Glorious
Status Because of God
We, the United States of America,
have been the greatest society, nation, and people that has
ever existed in history. Through our people and their
innovations, the
United States has brought
comfort and convenience to the world. Because and
through American Generosity, the destitute, poor, wretched,
and even entire nations have benefited wonderfully.
The sole reason for this international influence is because
for the first one hundred and eighty years of our history,
the United States of America gave God
his rightful place. In recent days, the US has declined,
most glaringly in our military presence and economic
strength. However, if we as a society will hearken
back to the reason for our explosive growth, massive
expansion, and towering influence, we can, and will, again,
have such power and strength as we have ever known. As
the Bible declares time and time again, we, as a society,
must repent and turn back to God in whole hearted faith.
The United States has been great because the United States’
people have been good, and we have been good because we have
kept our focus on God.
Conclusion – It’s NEVER Too
Late
Even in the face of mounting
problems, massive economic trials, military challenges, and
un-Godly initiatives, we as a society can still repent and
turn back to God. If we will, collectively and
individually, return to God, he will return to us. His
word promises in 2nd Chronicles that if his
people will call on his name, he will turn and save us.
God has blessed the
USA. If we want to
continue to experience his blessings, we must return to him.
It’s not too late.
Prayer –
Father, you have blessed the
USA
because in our history, we trusted in you, revered you, and,
at the very least, gave you grudging respect. Help us,
Father, to return to you, so that you will heal our land.
We bless thee, we praise thee, and we pray thee all these
things in the Precious Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Verse of the Day:
“And the Lord shall make
thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above
only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken
unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which
I command thee this day, to observe and do them…”
– Deuteronomy 28.13