Why Great Civilizations Fall — And Why Israel Endures

Why Great Civilizations Die — And Why Israel Survived

The Covenant that God gave to Israel, including the sacrificial system, is the only secret ingredient that has kept the nation of Israel from extinction. If we look at history and ask why great civilizations have passed, we will find that every great civilization died because of the same ingredients. The civilizations became top-heavy — the elite, nobility, rich, and powerful became too many. A second reason that civilizations died is that their problems became too complex. The last generations forgot their history and the story of their origins, causing a disconnect between the present and the past. In short, they became postmodern — with the present being the most important topic of interest. They gave up their memory of and celebration of the past, and because of this they couldn't map their path to their future.

The Mayans ruled for 3,500 years between 2600 BCE and 900 CE. Their population was approximately 15 million. They were great potters, farmers, architects, artists, and weavers. They had an extraordinary calendar system tracking the movements of the stars. They had a unique form of writing, advanced mathematics, and a network of reservoirs, canals, and dams. Suddenly, for unknown reasons, in the middle of the eighth century most of the Mayan nation disappeared. The Mayans were masters at offering sacrifices — they even offered human sacrifices on a vast scale. They were unable to deal with their problems rationally and they centered their attention on placating their gods by offering more sacrifices.

Israel also had two centuries of terrible crises under Roman rule between Pompey's conquest of the land of Israel in 63 BCE and the fall of the Bar Kochba rebellion in 135 CE. Much bigger and stronger nations disappeared under Roman occupation. But based on the words of the prophets, even before the Great Rebellion against Rome and the destruction of the Second Temple, Jews were expecting a major disaster — and because of the prophecies they didn't fall apart.

What the Rabbis Did After the Temple Was Destroyed

After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Jewish people transformed the sacrificial system into one that included the giving of charity and performing acts of kindness — gamlei Chasidim. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai comforted Rabbi Joshua, who wondered how Israel would atone for its sins without sacrifices, with the words:

Torah study also took over much of the burden and became as important as sacrifices. The Rabbis took the interpretation of Malachi 1:11 — "In every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering" — as a reference for scholars to study the laws of sacrifice as a replacement for the Temple sacrificial cult: "One who recites the order of sacrifices is as if he had brought them." Hosea himself implied that words could take the place of sacrifice:

And the Psalm says:

The Rabbis also said following the destruction of the Temple:

The balance that the Torah and the prophets give us is of such great importance — this power of the word of God has given us the strength to survive past the great ancient empires of history.

Sacrifice Now — The Call to the Church Today

Our civilization is being challenged by some of the same issues that we faced before in our history. The first thing that happens in a collapsing civilization is a breakdown of reason and logic, and gridlock in the various systems. The society falls into irrationality and can no longer deal with the facts — people take refuge in fake religious consolations. I pray sincerely for all Christian leaders to take stock and repent and return to the basic biblical values and stop looking at the church as their private cow to be milked.

One was also asking what the prophecies and promises of God say about where Israel is going. The prophet Daniel, more than 400 years before the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem, prophesied its destruction and the end of the sacrificial system, and the death of the Messiah:

But that is not the end of the story. The direction of history is clear. All of the promises of God are in the process of fulfillment of the words of the prophets:

It is a time of opportunity to rise up to the occasion and to show the spirit and light of Messiah so that the world will know that we are disciples of Yeshua. Sacrifice now!