{"id":96452,"date":"2025-12-03T16:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T00:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/?p=96452"},"modified":"2025-12-03T11:07:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T19:07:31","slug":"there-are-similarities-between-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-ancient-roman-empire-and-the-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wcg-news\/there-are-similarities-between-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-ancient-roman-empire-and-the-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"There are similarities between the decline and fall of the ancient Roman Empire and the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nOld Worldwide Church of God booklet<\/em><\/p>\n

COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n

Are the USA and its British-descended allies a modern version of Rome that is declining?<\/p>\n

A reader sent me a link to the following:<\/p>\n

\n

The USA, The Fall of Rome, and Almighty God\u2019s Judgment<\/h2>\n

This article will look at three causes of the Roman Empire\u2019s collapse, and see the extent to which its defects can be applied to the decline of the USA as the leading world power.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n

Invasions By Barbarian Tribes<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 In 410, the Visigoths successfully sacked the city of Rome. The Romans rightly referred to the invaders as barbarians because they lacked the learning, skills, and organizational foundations of Rome. Further, at that point, the barbarians were pagan \u2013 they worshipped a\u00a0pantheon of gods<\/a>\u00a0such as Woden, Thor, Frigg, and Balder\u2013 whereas Rome had already accepted Christianity as its official religion.<\/p>\n

In the USA we now see a collapse at the Southern border.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n

Division of the Roman Empire into East and West.<\/u>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>We are facing so much polarization as a country that many articles are being written about the likelihood of our being engaged in\u00a0another civil war<\/a>.\u00a0 However, the Roman Empire did not collapse by having a civil war.\u00a0 The Western part fell to invasions by various German tribes.\u00a0 The Eastern, largely Greek-speaking, portion of the Roman Empire continued for centuries after the collapse of the Western portion fell in the 5th<\/sup> century. …<\/p>\n

America\u2019s collapse, though likely, will not come through civil war, but through a weakening brought about by internal dissensions, corruption, incompetence, and immorality.\u00a0 In today\u2019s America the forces of disunity seem to be making headway over the forces of unity. …<\/p>\n

Trump arrogantly calls his individual opponents names and ridicules their mannerisms, but the Democrats have undemocratically called those who question their authority and their ideas deplorables, fascists, racists, intolerant, mean, narrow-minded, etc. when their ideas are not in agreement with theirs.\u00a0 Which is worse \u2014 calling one\u2019s opponents and celebrities names or calling the citizens names?<\/p>\n

Both Democrats and many MAGA Republicans are generally on board with homosexual marriage and Trump himself\u00a0supports transexuals using bathrooms of the other sex<\/a>\u00a0in his hotels.\u00a0 Where is the outcry against drag queens in schools and libraries?\u00a0 How vulgar, unseemly and completely offensive to any decent citizen to see a trans person rubbing his naked implanted breasts on the White House lawn and not being arrested or at least removed. That individual, named Rose Montoya, has merely been told he will not be invited back to the White House, but arrest on charges of public lewdness should also have been applied.<\/p>\n

Like Rome by the end of the 4th<\/sup>\u00a0century and into the 5th<\/sup> century, the USA is in decline.\u00a0 We can expect a collapse of our dominant role in the near future. Our society is divided beyond repair. …<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Judgment of Rome and the USA<\/u><\/strong>. \u00a0The fall of Babylon depicted in the Book of Revelation Chapter 18 is the prophetic revelation of the fall of Rome. …<\/p>\n

No matter how many people keep taking their selfies, no matter how many people are still marrying and enjoying themselves at parties, athletic events, and nightclubs, no matter how many cool people shake their booties at Super Bowl events, no matter how many seemingly sincere people there are, the USA is I believe under judgment.\u00a0 What applied to Rome in terms of historical issues has some similarities and some differences, but the USA has betrayed God\u2019s law and even in some ways its betrayal is greater than that of Rome since the USA was founded by Protestant Christians who understood the significance of God\u2019s Word and the importance of the Word of God in daily life. …<\/p>\n

Biblical Christianity was already being distorted and twisted by Rome even though it had been made the \u201cofficial\u201d religion by Constantine in 327.\u00a0 The purity of the Gospel was already being changed by the lust for power and the greed of Rome. …<\/p>\n

The glory of Rome with its great architecture, literature, engineering, laws, and sophisticated rhetoric all were drowned in a sea of pain as they were overrun by the pagan Germanic tribes.\u00a0 This will happen to the USA which has fundamentally rejected the moral foundation of its Biblical Christian roots, although there are still many who practice and adhere to Scriptural values. 07\/23\/23 https:\/\/new.americanprophet.org\/the-usa-the-fall-of-rome-and-almighty-gods-judgment\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, there are parallels to Rome. Yes, the USA is becoming more and more divided. Yes, more migrants are coming in. Yes, there is massive moral decline. And yes, the declining USA will one day be no more.<\/p>\n

And like Rome, it will fall to a Germanically-led power (see Germany in Biblical and Roman Catholic Prophecy<\/a> and\/or also see the free online book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?)<\/a><\/p>\n

Doug Casey posted the following:<\/p>\n

\n

Decline of Empire: Parallels Between the U.S. and Rome<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There are some similarities between the U.S. and Rome. \u2026<\/p>\n

Rome reached its peak of military power around the year 107, when Trajan completed the conquest of Dacia (the territory of modern Romania). With Dacia, the empire peaked in size, but I\u2019d argue it was already past its peak by almost every other measure.<\/p>\n

The U.S. reached its peak relative to the world, and in some ways its absolute peak, as early as the 1950s. In 1950 this country produced 50% of the world\u2019s GNP and 80% of its vehicles. Now it\u2019s about 21% of world GNP and 5% of its vehicles. It owned two-thirds of the world\u2019s gold reserves; now it holds one-fourth. It was, by a huge margin, the world\u2019s biggest creditor, whereas now it\u2019s the biggest debtor by a huge margin. \u2026<\/p>\n

Like America, Rome was founded by refugees\u2014from Troy, at least in myth. Like America, it was ruled by kings in its early history. Later, Romans became self-governing, with several Assemblies and a Senate. Later still, power devolved to the executive, which was likely not an accident.<\/p>\n

U.S. founders modeled the country on Rome, all the way down to the architecture of government buildings, the use of the eagle as the national bird, the use of Latin mottos, and the unfortunate use of the fasces\u2014the axe surrounded by rods\u2014as a symbol of state power. Publius, the pseudonymous author of The Federalist Papers<\/em>, took his name from one of Rome\u2019s first consuls. As it was in Rome, military prowess is at the center of the national identity of the U.S. When you adopt a model in earnest, you grow to resemble it. \u2026<\/p>\n

So why did Rome fall? In 1985, a German named Demandt assembled 210 reasons. I find some of them silly\u2014like racial degeneration, homosexuality, and excessive freedom. Most are redundant. Some are just common sense\u2014like bankruptcy, loss of moral fiber, and corruption. \u2026<\/p>\n

Republican Rome fell in 31 BCE with the accession of Augustus and the start of what\u2019s called the Principate. It almost disintegrated in the 50 years of the mid-3rd<\/sup> century, a time of constant civil war, the start of serious barbarian incursions, and the destruction of Rome\u2019s silver currency, the denarius. \u2026 beginning with the Principate period, Rome underwent an accelerating trend toward absolutism, centralization, totalitarianism, and bureaucracy. I think we can argue America entered its Principate with the accession of Roosevelt in 1933; since then, the president has reigned supreme over the Congress, as Augustus did over the Senate. Pretenses fell off increasingly over time in Rome, just as they have in the U.S. \u2026<\/p>\n

One additional political parallel with the U.S.: up to Trajan in 100 AD, all the emperors were culturally Roman from old, noble families. After that, few were. The U.S. now has had its first Kenyan president \u2026 https:\/\/internationalman.com\/articles\/decline-of-empire-parallels-between-the-us-and-rome-part-i\/<\/a> accessed 01\/05\/23<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There will be many denials, but the USA will fall like ancient civilizations.<\/p>\n

Decades ago, the old Worldwide Church of God put out various publications about similarities between ancient Rome and the USA and UK:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

The FIVE MAJOR CAUSES for the collapse of the Roman Empire are rife in modern America and Britain. Tragically, modern man has not learned from historical mistakes. Millions today believe America is too big, too powerful, and too wealthy to suffer a similar fate. But the cold facts present a bleak warning \u2014 a warning we simply must not ignore!<\/p>\n

\u201cHo, ho!\u201d they laughed at the warnings of Seneca. \u201cRome fall? Never!\u201d<\/p>\n

To Roman citizens living in the glitter of empire \u2014 enjoying an explosive frenzy of building, with huge cities, bejeweled with rising marble columns, with paved, pleasant tree-lined avenues and rushing fountains; seeing the victory parades through triumphal arches of yet additional conquests; hearing of the exploits of this or that great general \u2014 Rome was impregnable. She was the world \u2014 and the world was Rome.<\/p>\n

To speculate for one brief moment that all this could soon collapse \u2014 that the ravages of wars, taxation, mounting crime, race riots, subversion from within, political assassinations, natural disasters and public apathy would one day bring Rome to utter collapse and ruin, was not only unimaginable to them \u2014 it was folly to the heights of idiocy.<\/p>\n

And to millions of American and British people today \u2014 the thought that America and Britain could suffer a similar fate \u2014 though with more modern consequences \u2014 seems equally ludicrous.<\/p>\n

But Rome fell. \u2026<\/p>\n

The Five Major Causes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The five major causes for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire deduced from the writings of Edward Gibbon and noted historians of the Roman world are these: (1) The BREAKDOWN OF THE FAMILY and the rapid increase of DIVORCE. (2) The spiraling rise of TAXES and EXTRAVAGANT SPENDING. (3) The MOUNTING CRAZE FOR PLEASURE and the brutalization of sports. (4) The mounting production of ARMAMENTS to fight ever-increasing threats of enemy attacks. (5) The DECAY OF RELIGION into myriad and confusing forms, leaving the people without a uniform guide. (Armstrong GT, Hogberg G. The MODERN ROMANS \u2013 PART I. Plain Truth, August 1969)<\/p>\n

Writes historian William Stearns Davis in his book, The Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome, pages 163, 164, 167:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an almost unavoidable corollary of the huge Roman fortunes, went the accumulation of huge debts\u2026 Even men of grave and respectable habits caught the mania of their age, that of living beyond their incomes\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe typical Roman of birth and fashion [the upper class \u2014 like average Americans today], may then be imagined as regularly in debt, and frequently on the brink of ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mania of Our Age, Too<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total debt in the United States, both public and private, stands at an astronomical 1.6 trillion dollars!<\/p>\n

This enormous sum is double what it was only ten years ago. Armstrong GT, Hogberg G. The MODERN ROMANS \u2013 PART II. Plain Truth, September 1969)<\/p>\n

IF the dollar is devalued, INFLATION will almost surely result \u2014 and eventual economic COLLAPSE for the United States.<\/p>\n

Those of you who truly BELIEVE the prophecies of your Bible KNOW such economic collapse is prophesied to happen! (Armstrong HW. Co-worker Letter, March 26, 1968)<\/p>\n

Rome collapsed under the crushing twin burdens of confiscatory taxation and creeping inflation. The steady deterioration of Rome\u2019s currency was symptomatic of the increasingly serious financial situation of the empire.<\/p>\n

But note this: What \u201caverage\u201d pleasure-oriented Roman, living for the day, ever dreamed his proud nation would someday collapse into ignominy and be remembered only in the past tense in the pages of history?<\/p>\n

There were those who warned the Romans of the inevitable end of their ways. Rome had its prophets, its seers, its political satirists. But their combined \u201cjeremiad\u201d fell on deaf ears. Romans, as a whole, would not listen.<\/p>\n

And Rome fell.<\/p>\n

Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians, South Africans \u2014 as a whole \u2014 are not listening to the veritable torrent of shouts and warnings trumpeted by leaders in all aspects of national life.<\/p>\n

Will our nations also fall? (The Modern Romans. Ambassador College, 1975)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The total official debt of the US government is over USD $38 trillion now. This massive debt cannot continue indefinitely\u2013and as we are seeing interest rates rise this will further stress the USA\u2019s finances until it is too late (cf. Habakkuk 2:6-8).<\/p>\n

Debt is a consequence of sin and is a curse:<\/p>\n

43 The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him<\/strong>; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. 45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed\u202647 \u201cBecause you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies<\/strong>, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand<\/strong>, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave<\/strong> you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you<\/strong>. 52 They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you (Deuteronomy 28:43-45,47-52).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Increased acceptance of and participation in sin and greed is the real structural cause of what will lead to the end of the USA. Abortion, pornography, sexual immorality, a disdain for scripture, etc. are major problems that are leading to bad political and other decisions.<\/p>\n

This will not end well for the USA or its Anglo-Saxon descended allies (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 8:24-25; 11:39).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

That said, the civilization that defeats the USA and its British-descended allies will be defeated and collapse as well.<\/p>\n

But the GOOD NEWS is that it will be replaced by the millennial Kingdom of God once Jesus returns.<\/p>\n

Some items of possibly related interest may include:<\/em><\/p>\n

When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?<\/a> Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the \u201cbeginning of sorrows\u201d? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000?
\nIs God Calling You?<\/a> This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU?<\/a> and Predestination and Your Selection<\/a>. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?<\/a>
\nChristian Repentance<\/a> Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance<\/a> and Real Christian Repentance<\/a>.<\/span>
\nZephaniah\u2019s \u2018Gather Together\u2019 Prophecy<\/a> Is it safe to be \u2018independent\u2019 or in a non-Philadelphin Church of God? What did God inspire Zephaniah to write?
\nThere is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra<\/a> This article discusses a biblical \u2018place of safety\u2019 and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject\u2013thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture<\/a> theory. There is also a video on the subject: Might Petra be the Place of Safety?<\/a> Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. \u00bfPuede ser Petra?<\/a>
\nIs There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected?<\/a> What does the Bible really teach? Does the Church flee or is it taken up just prior to the great tribulation? Who really is left behind<\/em>? There is also a YouTube video with information Did Jesus Teach a Pre-tribulation Rapture?<\/a>
\nGermany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History<\/a>\u00a0Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled\u00a0Germany’s Biblical Origins.<\/a><\/span>
\nGermany in Biblical and Roman Catholic Prophecy<\/a>\u00a0Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language:\u00a0Alemania en la profec\u00eda b\u00edblic<\/a>. Here are links to two English language sermon videos\u00a0Germany in Bible Prophecy<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Rise of the Germanic Beast Power of Prophecy<\/a>. Here is one in the Spanish language:\u00a0Alemania en profec\u00eda Biblica<\/a>.
\nLost Tribes and Prophecies:\u00a0What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?<\/a>\u00a0Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons:\u00a0Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA<\/a>;\u00a0Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications<\/a>;\u00a011 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes<\/a>;\u00a0Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty<\/a>;\u00a0Gentile European Beast<\/a>;\u00a0Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies<\/a>;\u00a0Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0When Will the End of the Age Come?<\/a>;\u00a0\u00a0Rise of the Prophesied King of the North<\/a>;\u00a0Christian Persecution from the Beast<\/a>;\u00a0WWIII and the Coming New World Order<\/a>; and\u00a0Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God<\/a>.
\nThe Gospel of the Kingdom of God<\/a> This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. It is available in over 1000 languages at ccog.org<\/a>. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons: \u00a0The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!<\/a>,\u00a0The World\u2019s False Gospel<\/a>,\u00a0The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments<\/a>, and\u00a0The Kingdom of God is the Solution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Old Worldwide Church of God booklet COGwriter Are the USA and its British-descended allies a modern version of Rome that is declining? A reader sent me a link to the following: The USA, The Fall of Rome, and Almighty God\u2019s Judgment This article will look at three causes of the Roman Empire\u2019s collapse, and see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prophecy","category-wcg-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96452"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98448,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96452\/revisions\/98448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}