Generations before, the nomadic ancestors of this kingdom's citizens had left their famine-plagued land in search of food and while they did survive the famine, they soon found themselves enslaved to another of the earth's great nations.

Four hundred years passed before there arose a leader, who with the assistance of some strange, miraculous events, led these people back to their homeland. Over the succeeding centuries, this kingdom had its ups and downs as its leaders and citizens vacillated between serving the God who had freed them and ignoring what He told them to do.

The kingdom reached a golden age in its history as two leaders—a dedicated father succeeded by a wise son—brought the nation into such prominence and wealth that the leaders of the world began flowing to the kingdom with bountiful gifts. The visiting dignitaries had heard the reports, but they wanted to see the wisdom of this nation's king for themselves and to observe its citizens enjoying their freedoms and prosperity.

The land of opportunity

This kingdom was truly the land of opportunity. Unemployment was practically non-existent as everyone either had a business or worked on one of the massive building projects taking place within the land. The economy was so robust that it was said that silver and gold had become as common as stones in the capital city.

When the administration of the government changed, a political fight over national service and taxes split the kingdom. As a harbinger of things to come, this event marked the beginning of a prolonged decline in power for both kingdoms.

Citizens of both nations began turning away from the God who had blessed them. The religious leaders began extolling multiculturalism and told the people that they were free to serve any god they wished. And the people gladly switched to alternative forms of worship that were like the other nations around them. These new forms of worship seemed more appealing and fun.

But their preoccupation with their personal freedoms to live and worship as they pleased soon led to disaster. The booming economy came to a halt. Their prosperity turned out to be just another economic bubble that had now burst. They cried out for God to save them, not realizing that their sins had separated them from the One who could truly intervene and restore their prosperity. God looked the other way and before long, both nations fell and their citizens were led away into captivity.

Fulfilling a promise

Centuries passed before God decided to give these peoples another opportunity to rule themselves. After they had multiplied and become as numerous as the stars in the heavens and as the grains of sand on a sea shore, God gave these people self-rule in multiple nations. Their nations once again became the most prominent in the world.

The reason God gave these peoples another opportunity wasn't because they had truly returned to Him; it was because He was honoring a promise He had made long ago. To one of these peoples' earliest ancestors, God had promised that He would bless this man's descendants in the end time.

And just like their forefathers millennia before, these people have enjoyed unprecedented freedoms and prosperity. As the envy of many nations, these peoples today have once again been squandering their opportunity to obey the One that has provided all their blessings and thereby secure their future.

Many of these people claim to worship the God of the Bible, but they do so on their terms. They devise their own days of worship and they determine for themselves what is acceptable to God, acting as if God doesn't have a say in these matters.

Sadly, this is another case of irrational thinking in which people do the same things that had previously led to ruin, all the while hoping vainly for a different result. The handwriting on the wall says that these modern nations will once again go through severe punishment for their poor choices.