Dr. Dan Hayden •

Conservatives are mad. Christians are disappointed and discouraged. And most everyone is wondering—what’s next in the precipitous decline of the American way of life.

I am often asked if America is in biblical, end-times prophecy. The short answer is, no. When speaking on prophetic topics, I have an entire session titled “America in the Rearview Mirror.” It appears that America may no longer be what it once was—and that is sad. But the signs of our demise have been with us for some time.

While it is instructive to analyze the “whys” or “wherefores” of this national tragedy, the more pressing issue for us as believers in Christ is, “How shall we then live?” As America presses on with its socialist agenda toward becoming the next Greece, and the moral fabric of our society erodes into antichrist, we as Christians have a decision to make. We can choose to love our enemies into the kingdom and seek to be a positive influence in the midst of the wreckage, or we can hate and condemn the godless culture around us.

The early church faced an antichrist world in its day and prospered while enduring persecution and martyrdom. The persecuted church in Russia, China, Iran, Africa, and beyond has done the same in our day. So, be encouraged! Christianity is not over in America; it is simply entering a new stage in its development.

Dear Christian friend, resolve to continue being all that Christ would have you to be in these days. The power of the Gospel has always been more clearly seen through the church’s pain than it ever was through the confusing fog of affluence.