Are Doomed to Repeat It (Page 1 of 13)

Introduction

People today have an opinion on everything.
Anything from the topical to the end time prophesies.
Interesting to see how some philosophers of the past saw things.
One example: Edmund Burke.
Edmund Burke was an 18th century Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher, who served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party.
Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals in the 19th century, and since the 20th century he has generally been viewed as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism.
He is known for many insightful quotations. Many have used his quotes, reconstituted them and reintroduced them for their own purpose.
Some you may recognize. Think of these in light of conditions today (to see how timeless they are).
On the subject of political power:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Similarly – “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

“It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.”

“The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.”

“Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.”

“By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation.”

Concerning liberty:

“The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.”

“Among a people generally corrupt… liberty cannot long exist.”

“Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice… neither, in my opinion, is safe.”

Concerning personal conduct:

“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises… for never intending to go beyond promise… it costs nothing.”

“Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.”

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing… because he could do only a little.”

“Our patience will achieve more than our force.”

“It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do.”

“He that struggles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.”

Others of interest (religion):

“To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.”

“Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation.”

But the quote I want to focus on is this: “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it”.
Rephrased more recently by George Santayana: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

How Man Sees His Abilities

History has shown that human beings are creatures of habit.
Things that have been done previously, especially those with disastrous results, tend to be done again… and again… and again.

People keep building houses close to the water, all over the world, and are killed by typhoons or hurricanes. But the survivors move back as soon as the winds die down.

Wars are rarely over “by Christmas”.

If you try to conquer Afghanistan, you will spend a lot of money and accomplish very little. How did it work out for Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and most recently, the United States?

Never invade Russia with winter approaching. Napoleon marched his French troops all the way to Moscow, only to eventually see almost all of his troops die from frostbite, hypothermia and starvation. A little over a century later, Hitler repeated the same folly.

How many times have we seen men, and sometimes women, repeat the failures of the past?
Mighty nations have come and gone, yet the vision of many is to unify the masses.
The question becomes; 1) at what costs, 2) by what standards, and 3) by what means?
By seeking information from your Bible, and an examination of secular history, we see that the Bible outlines many of these empires.

Nimrod’s initial attempt.

Assyria.

Babylon.

Medo-Persia.

Greek.

Roman, with 7 revivals (Holy Roman Empire):

Justinian.

Charlemagne.

Otto the Great

Charles V.

Napoleon.

Mussolini/Hitler.

One more yet to come!

If you study your Bible you can see where that one final revival of the Roman System will occur, and in the near future.
But why would it, or even should it, succeed when all the other have failed?

Man’s Refusal to See Their God

There is a common thread among all of these empires.
They lacked a true, working relationship with their Creator.
They certainly don’t manage the expectations of God.
There’s little adherence to God’s law. Why?
There’s a natural resistance to God. Romans 8:5-8:

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Along with this natural antagonism toward God, there is a basic, fundamental flaw in the mindset of most men and women. Psalms 111:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
What does that type of attitude lead to? James 4:1-3:

1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Ancient Israel

What about God’s people Israel, the apple of God’s eye?
Have you noticed that they didn’t do much better?
What pattern do we see? Almost immediately after being freed from Egypt, they complained. Exodus 16:1-3:

1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.

2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Right from the start, they failed to progress toward the pattern of success (as God defines it).
They wandered in the desert for 40 years. Joshua 5:6: For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed.
Why? Because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 outlines God’s promises of blessings and curses: If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then…
So, we can see, they had adequate instruction.
But, the pattern of failure continued…
After Ancient Israel crossed the Jordan and had great success establishing the nation there, they still did not learn.
The book of Judges shows that Ancient Israel did not learn their lesson. Judges 3:1, 4-7:

1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan

4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

7 So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.

The last verse in the book of Judges (21:25) sums it up: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
What is the major reason why they failed? The same reason the non-Israelites failed! They did not have the Holy Spirit to guide them!
We see that a number of individualsof the Bible had consistent and faithful lives:

Samuel.

Joseph.

Esther.

Job (even with his self righteousness).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel.

John the Baptist.

And of course, Jesus Christ.

We also see others that were less consistent and obedient:

Adam and Eve.

David.

Saul.

Solomon.

Samson.

Moses.

Abraham.

Aaron.

Eli.

Lot.

Isaac.

Jacob.

The other 11 sons of Israel.

Most of the kings of Israel and Judah (some not at all).

Toward the End Time – Fatal Assumptions

How about us today (modern Israel)?
Modern Israel is repeating the same basic mistakes that Ancient Israel made.
We have the highest standard of living ever. Why?
We think we did it ourselves.
We think that appeasing our enemies will solve the problem.
Anyone remember Hitler and Mussolini?
We’re doing it again withradical Islam, Iran, North Korea and most recently, Russia.
We will fall again – big time! Just like others before us. Only for us, it is a unique part of God’s plan for mankind.
What are some of the basic flaws that we have? The same as other great nations and empires:

Ancient Greece: Started out solid. Became corrupt, decadent and it fell.

Ancient Rome: Stared out solid. Became corrupt, decadent and it fell.

United States of America: Became the strongest, most influential nation the world has ever seen, is becoming more and more corrupt, decadent...

History has demonstrated the average life expectancy of the great civilizations down through time is approximately 200 years.
Great Britain and America have both gone beyond that 200 year standard, but is time running out?
Nearly all the great civilizations of the world have passed through this series of graduating stages; from birth to decline, and ultimately to their total demise, througha pattern of 10 basic steps:

From Bondage to Spiritual Faith.
From Spiritual Faith to Great Courage.
From Great Courage to Liberty.
From Liberty to Abundance.
From Abundance to Excess and Selfishness.
From Selfishness to Complacency.
From Complacency to Apathy.
From Apathy to (Sexual) Moral Decay.
From (Sexual) Moral Decay to Dependence.
Finally, from Dependence to Bondage.

What Can We Do Individually?

Unless we as a nation have a Nineveh-like attitude of repentance, the fate of our nation is set – FAILURE!
Individually, we need to examine our approach (think Paul’s comments about himself).Romans 7:19-20:

19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

We all fail sometimes. James 3:2: For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
We need to get back up when we fail. Proverbs 24:16: For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again.
God helps and upholds us. Psalm 145:14: The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.

Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us that there is nothing new under the Sun.
The mindset of mankind is to repeat the pattern of failure. Proverbs 26:11: As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Even though we stumble, we have God to help up get back on track. Psalms 37:23-24:

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way.

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.

We as warned not to mimic the past. I Corinthians 10:1-11:

1Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,

2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

3 all ate the same spiritual food,

4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.

7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;

9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;

10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

We have examples from our predecessors; learn from them and don’t allow it to go to your head.

11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed… lest he fall.

God was with Joshua when he had a tremendous job to fulfill; conquer the Promised Land.Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
God will be with you also, so that you don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.How? James 4:10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
One thing I would disagree with that Edmund Burke said: “You can never plan the future by the past.”
Paul’s secret of success was not to dwell on the past. Philippians 3:13-14:

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Don’t make the same mistakes of the past, but follow the hope that is in Jesus Christ:Romans 8:16-20, 23-25:

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.