The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1943-02-11
SPIR 1T u AL
DEF E N S E
"A GREAT NATION"

in its way. Great was the wealth
of it. Great was the capitol of 1t
BABYLON. Great was the organi-
cation of their government. Great
was the might of their army. The
people of this kingdom said, eve
are the greatest nation in the
world" They felt secure. They
thought nothing could interfere
with their man-made greatness.
Their soldiers trained and drilled,
their newest inventions of war
were praised, the walls of their
cities were strong, their fortress
ses they thought, were invinci-
BILE.
BUT, another nation called the
Assyrians, conquered the Baby
lonian Empire. The idea of an
invincible Baylor was smashed.
The people wept because the
greatness of Baylor fell to the
| ground.
The Assyrians then boosted of
their greatness. They founded
many cities They conquered
many nations around them. They
were noted for the fierceness of
their soldiers-they were real
''Blitzkriegers."
BUT, the Chaldaean Empire
eclipsed the greatness Of Assyria
and soon the Assyrian Empire
lost it's mythical greatness. As
syria was conquered by the Chal-
daeans. ACKNOWLEDGMENT became
the famous king of the Chaldae-
ans but when this great king died
the greatness of the Chaldaean
Empire died.
BUT, the Medo-Persian Empire
rose to greatness and conquered
the Chaldaeans and no longer did
the Chaldaeans brag of their
greatness. All! the boast of the
Chaldaeans had fallen to the
ground, and the Medo-Persians
began to burst with the pride of
their race.
BUT, the greatness of the
Greek Empire of Macedonia then
rose to it's zenith. Alexander. the
Great, then became the greatest
general and king the world had
ever known He is recognized as a
genius among the greatest mill
tary leaders of the world. He
was equal to Hitler in his plot
ting and organization. Alexander
the Great was the great king of
Macedonia. It is said of him,
He wept because there were no
other kingdoms to conquer"
BUT, the great western power,
the Roman Empire, rose to pow
err and the Macedonia Empire
fell. Their idea of greatness was
spoiled. They lost their pride
for a greater nation had conquer
ed them. The Roman Empire
then in turn became the greatest
nation in the world. Rome brag-
ged that they ruled the whole of
the world, and they did.
BUT. Great Rome fell. She
became rotten within. Her WINE,
her DEBAUCHERY, her LAZI-
NESS, her POLITICAL DISHON-
ESTY, her appeasement of the
LABORER, by shows and gifts
and favors destroyed the very
soul of Rome. So rotten was
Rome in her greatness that the
Barbarians from the north came
down and picked the Empire to
pieces like the dogs pick the de-
cayed body of a dead animal.
have told you the story of
nations who called themselves
GREAT Man is like the child
that sits on the floor and builds
his BLOCK houses, glories in
them, they get knocked down, he
cries, and his dream of greatness
is over. So is the story of the ma
tons of the world
Today, the people of America
are praising OUR WAY OF LIFE,
our great Democracy, our great
production. our great resources,
on great armies, our great Navy.
So did Babylon and the boast
comes down through the ages
through nation after nation and
now it is our turn to boast. Will
our boasting be turned to moth
ing as those boasts of the past?
I am persuaded, if I can under
stand history just little, that
the man-made greatness will fall
in time. What then will make a
great nation?
The answer is this, BLESSED is
the nation whose God is the
ILord"-Ps. 1912. If a nation
builds upon the Rock of Ages,
they will stand. Two men built
houses, one on sand, the other on
rock. The house built on rock
stood the test. So will the nation
that builds on the Rock of Ages.
The nation is great who recopniz-
es the power of God, that nation