The Coming Ruin
Several weeks ago, I had the distinct honor of interviewing one of my heroines of the faith for the “Significant Women” podcast. Her name is Bodie Thoene – perhaps you have read some of her books.
The link to my podcast with Bodie is here: The Depth of His Love with Bodie Thoene
Bodie, and her husband, Brock, are prolific writers; their books are researched thoroughly, and their writing is at once engaging, educational and captivating.
I highly recommend her series “The Zion Covenant”. Here is a link to the first book in that series: Vienna Prelude by Brock & Bodie Thoene
When I asked Bodie if she would write a blog for me, she was happy to do so, and I know that her words will touch you deeply. As you read Bodie’s thoughts, please pray for America, for our leaders and for our citizens. We need Jesus. We are in desperate need of a revival…
Brock and I spent much of 12 years in England teaching and writing. We have seen the ruins and the restorations of great cathedrals and mighty castles.
In the town of St. Alban are the ruins of a once bustling Roman town called Verulamium. The flint and stone of its buildings was used to build the existing cathedral. You can still see Roman stone in the church’s central tower.
England is littered with ruins of glorious structures and cities from Roman times. When you visit the Roman baths in Bath, it’s incredible to think what it must have been like.
We have always wondered, when the Roman Empire collapsed, then deteriorated and abandoned England around 380 AD, why didn’t the remaining people simply move into the elaborate and beautiful buildings?
Instead, the villas and theaters and great halls decayed. The folks who were left behind lived in wooden shacks while the great cities of Roman England collapsed and fell to the ground. Education, government and culture vanished. People moved away from cities such as London and just tried to survive.
The violent dark ages with its ignorance, filth and poverty existed in England for hundreds of years. Meanwhile, the monks in Ireland opened schools and copied books by hand. They sent out missionaries around the world. The Irish did, indeed, save civilization.
Why does this matter?
Dear friends, after a day of prayer, I understood clearly what is happening right here in America.
We saw a news report about the violent antisemitic chaos in America’s universities. We recently looked at the news from San Francisco, which was once such a beautiful and elegant city.
Nordstrom, the beautiful department store, in the heart of San Francisco, is closing. I remember Christmas as a college student, visiting the Nordstrom center with my mom. It was so beautiful.
Whole Foods is also boarded up - following so many other businesses. BOARDED UP!
San Francisco is a dangerous, dystopian nightmare.
Drugged out, lawless zombies live on the streets in the ruins of a once prosperous and beautiful city. But this is happening not only in San Francisco. So many of the great cities of America are collapsing now. Law-abiding folks are escaping to red states.
The following Medieval poem called, The Ruin, is something I teach in my English literature class with Beowulf. Tolkien quoted it in Lord of the Rings. It was written by some unknown someone in the 9th century. He stumbled across haunted ruins of Roman Britain. I post only a portion here. It’s enough. This is the future of America unless we truly turn to Christ. I pray it is not too late.
The Ruin
These wall-stones are wondrous —
calamities crumpled them, these city-sites crashed, the work of giants
corrupted. The roofs have rushed to earth, towers in ruins.
Ice at the joints has unroofed the barred-gates, sheared
the scarred storm-walls have disappeared—
the years have gnawed them from beneath. A grave-grip holds
the master-crafters, decrepit and departed, in the ground’s harsh
grasp, until one hundred generations of human-nations have
trod past. Subsequently this wall, lichen-grey and rust-stained,
often experiencing one kingdom after another,
standing still under storms, high and wide—it failed.
Our forefathers called America the shining city on a hill. Is the light out? Is the work of our giants decaying? History is our great teacher. Perhaps Jesus will come soon. If not? We are either going to rekindle the living light of Christ, or we are doomed to pass into obscurity like the Romans.