It is the scripture that gives us the capacity to anticipate without fear. It is the unfailing word of God that tells us about our age and its needs, describes the future, and analyzes the past. We can't make sense of the flow of history from beginning to end unless we have this Word of God. In another sense, history is cyclical. The same problems come up again and again.
Empires rise and fall for the same reasons as before.
Oppressive regimes are replaced by anarchy, which is replaced again by repression, which is replaced again by anarchy. I had the horrible experience this last Christmas of having my children tell me that I am just like my father when it comes to telling corny jokes. I used to groan and shake my head when my father told them. Yet history has repeated itself again. History is cyclical.