A people founded on Judeo-Christian principles like the United States of America will at the beginning prosper as reflected for example by the existence of a large, well-off middle class. There will be freedoms, like the freedom to pursue happiness. There will be freedom to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. There will freedom to believe the gospel or to reject the gospel. But when Church and State become one, as in the heyday of Roman Catholicism in Europe centuries ago (and equivalently as in some countries today ruled by Sharia Law), the overall prosperity of the people will not endure.
Given human nature which prioritizes what can be seen and touched, the Church in countries with a Judeo-Christian foundation will eventually—and inevitably—become institutionalized as we have seen already happen in every such country. The Church with its church buildings on every street corner will become embedded in the culture. It may appear to prosper outwardly in terms of numbers and wealth. But it will have become the Church of Laodicea.
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:14-21)
Today out of his love for his people in America, the Lord is rebuking and disciplining us through what is now happening in our nation and culture. He calls us to be earnest and to repent. While a few will indeed repent, based on what Revelation reveals for these last days most of us will not. There is not going to be a great nation-wide revival in America which will bring the Church back to the Lord or which will “save America.” Some of us, of course, have indeed heard the voice of the Lord and opened the door. The Lord has come in and revealed himself to us very intimately. We are set on fire by His Spirit and obey the Lord with all our heart.
But we are like solitary voices in the wilderness calling God’s people to repent to prepare the way for Second Coming of the Messiah. Did God’s people the nation of Israel repent at the preaching of the John the Baptist before His First Coming? No. Did the entire nation of Israel accept the Messiah who came after John? No. Observe the spiritual state of Israel today. Only the “remnant” will be saved.
In the same way there will not be a widespread turning back to Jesus Christ in America before the great and terrible Day of the Lord.
Not that we will no longer share the gospel in America—for there is yet the remnant to be reaped—but let us also lift our eyes elsewhere—to where the harvest is very white indeed.
What happened in “pagan” China in past years with a culture not based on Judeo-Christian values?
Communist China is officially atheistic, denying the existence of the God of the Scriptures altogether. She persecutes followers of Jesus Christ. Before the advent of communism China’s beliefs centered around a mix of Taoism, Buddhism and the worship of deceased ancestors. But according to some today, China has more believers than any other nation on earth. Is it possible that Communism which denies the existence of the realm of the spirit unwittingly created a great spiritual vacuum and subsequent spiritual thirst in the Chinese—facilitating the rapid spread of the gospel in China in past years prior to the persecution under President Xi Jinping?
By contrast in America today—with churches on every street corner in some areas—we have long taken “Christianity” for granted and some have even begun to despise it. (It may be true that “familiarity breeds contempt.”) Thus nations based on Judeo-Christian values, as much as we rightly treasure these values, are not meant to last forever. The values are meant to facilitate the harvest, and once the harvest is past they have accomplished their purpose and their job is done. Only when the new heavens and new earth appear will there be a “Judeo-Christian nation” which will last and prosper forever.
From what we can see it appears that during these last days something similar might be happening in the very pagan nation of India with its strong Hindu beliefs originating some 3,000 years ago.