Many years ago, an historical analysis was written and has been republished and retold by various political figures. It is often referred to as from the pen of Alexander Tyler while our 13 colonies were still a part of Great Britain. President Reagan and others have used this analysis with slight variations. Whoever actually penned the original words is of less importance than the truth contained in the wording.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy is always followed by a dictatorship.”

The average age for the world’s civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequences:

• From bondage to spiritual faith
• From spiritual faith to great courage
• From courage to liberty
• From liberty to abundance
• From abundance to selfishness
• From selfishness to complacency
• From complacency to apathy
• From apathy to dependency
• From dependency back to bondage

It is the contention that all nations follow the same pattern, and that a democracy follows it most directly. If this is true and if I read the history of the United States of America with discernment, we are living on borrowed time.

May I remind you that God is not excited about democracy. He is really into theocracy. It is quite natural to think of a church or nation like ours as a democracy because we have the freedom to vote our convictions or our feelings. However, when those same people earnestly seek God’s face for direction, and cast their vote in accordance with His revealed will, then you have a theocracy, and then you have the blessing and the guidance of God.