Is History Repeating Itself...Again?

I have a question; does the spiritual condition of the nation reflect the spiritual condition of the church?

In the Book of Joel, the prophet, we see God first warning the people of Israel, then telling them how to avoid the penalties of their behavior before practically begging them to come to true repentance so He can heal and restore their land. He calls first on the church leaders.

“Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar.. ” And, “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly, summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:13, 14, 2:17)

“Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning” (2:12)

It was not just an outward, ritualistic show the Lord wanted, but genuine repentance: “Rend your heart and not your garments” (2:13)

Priority of repentance is given first to the priests and the religious leaders. Then, they were instructed to call the rest of the people, from the oldest to the youngest,

“Bring together elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber” (2:16).

The prophet’s call is, “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill” (2:1), where Zion is a symbol of the people of God who take the lead. The spiritual condition of the nation at any given time in history was the barometer of the spiritual condition of Zion.

Paul writes,

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew (Christian); if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written, 'God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles (non-Christians) because of you (Romans 2:17-24)

The Scripture puts the responsibility on the people of God.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

If the land is in broken condition, it is not because the heathen are acting as heathen, but because the church is not acting as the church. It is written...