Revelation 18 and the GAE: A Word of Hope

It can be easy to despair over the future. John's Apocalypse brings us a word of hope, pulling back the curtain to show us the grand spiritual war going on behind the veil.

We in the west carry around within us and our culture a number of very powerful myths. We have a positive vision of the values of enlightenment liberalism, of human freedom, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, natural rights, the power of science and technology, market capitalism, free speech, religious freedom, even the right to bear arms and more. For many of us, we understand this as growing up from within a Christian society, that these ideas have a Christian origin, and thus find their true meaning as understood through the lens of Christian teaching and practice. Where this finds its boldest expression is in America. After all, many of the colonists saw the new world as a place where they could practice their faith in peace. America was supposed to be the light on the hill, a beacon to the rest of the world. It is the home of the Manifest Destiny. As America spread, so too was the Christian faith. God was with the American project. The Declaration, the Constitution, the Ci…