Isaiah 46:1-11 - Homiletics

The effect of God's temporal judgments upon nations on the religious history of the world.

In the ancient world, where religions had no revealed or historic basis, but had been evolved by degrees from the thought or imagination of each people, the fate of a religion depended greatly upon the course of secular history, and the success or failure that attended upon the arms of the nation professing it. As no people could have a rational, or, consequently, a firm belief in a system based upon imagination, each was ready to adopt any other which seemed to prove its superiority by triumphs and victories. The downfall of an empire involved, for the most part, the downfall of the system which its rulers had made the state religion; or, if not its absolute downfall, its depression and gradual decay. When God raised up a conquering power, he gave an impetus to its religious system, which was either imposed by force upon conquered tribes, or, in many cases, voluntarily accepted by them. The gross and sensuous idolatry of Assyria and Babylon had obtained almost exclusive possession of Western Asia through the conquests of the Assyrians and Babylonians between the twelfth century b.c. and the sixth. When Cyrus captured Babylon and shattered the Babylonian empire, this idolatry received its death-blow. The subject nations either reverted to their ancient creeds or adopted the belief of the new conquerors. Zoroas-triauism became the predominant religion of civilized Asia. In Babylon itself and its neighbourhood a small knot of believers clung to the old superstition; but, generally speaking, it was discredited, and had to make way for the dualism of Persia. Dualism suffered in its turn when the Persian empire was overthrown by Alexander the Great, and continued under a cloud during the Parthian period, at the close of which it once more reasserted itself under Artaxerxes, son of Babek, who brought the Parthian empire to an end. Military success, similarly, established Mohammedanism as the religion of Syria and Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, Upper India, Turkestan, Turkey, and North Africa, even Christianity suffering when God's judgments fell on the effete and debased Byzantine empire. The only religion that has been but slightly affected by military success and failure is the religion of Christ. Originally spreading, like leaven, silently and gradually, without any help from conquerors or from the secular arm, till, having become the religion of the mass of his subjects, it was adopted as the state religion by Constantine; it resisted the great influx of the barbarians into the Roman empire; and, instead of disappearing before Teutonic and Scandinavian heathenism, converted its conquerors. Unarmed missionaries spread it through Central and Northern Europe, through Georgia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia, and again into Abyssinia and the African desert, in America alone was it propagated by the sword. Gradually progressive in almost every quarter, once only and in one quarter has it retrograded through a Divine judgment. The followers of the Arabian prophet were allowed to sweep it from the greater part of the East, from Egypt and from Northern Africa, for a time from part of Spain; but this judgment, provoked by immorality, coldness, and heresies of various kinds, was not a final judgment—already, in all the regions temporarily lost to it, the religion of the cross has recovered a footing, and is gaining ground. Propagandism by the sword has now ceased; but everywhere the course of secular history is so ordered that Christianity comes more and more to the front. Islam is dying out; Brahminism is shaken to its basis; Buddhism has well-nigh spent itself. The religion on which God has set, and is each year more clearly setting, the seal of success is Christianity.