The spectacle of the United States turning 250 and hosting the World Cup brings to mind ancient Rome. Civilizations do not simply rise and fall. They either remain faithful to their mission or rot from within and hand the future to someone else. Greece gave the world philosophy. Rome gave it law and power. Britain carried Greek tools into the modern age. America inherited Rome’s burden.
The United States is Rome’s successor in both symbolism and substance. It has a Senate, an eagle, Latin mottos and global reach. But it also inherits two flaws that brought ancient Rome down.
Rome did not collapse in one dramatic blow. It weakened itself slowly. Barbarian tribes were admitted legally into Roman territory as settlers. Over time, they formed autonomous regions in much of the empire, living by their own customs rather than Roman law. For the Roman elites, this was expedient. No one thought about what would happen in a hundred years.
As imperial authority weakened and corruption spread, the territory effectively governed by Rome steadily contracted. Barbarians were not invaders; they were immigrants. Sound familiar?
Rome also decayed from within. In its early years, it honored generals, statesmen, philosophers and civic virtue. Public life mattered. Duty mattered. Sacrifice mattered. But as decline set in, spectacle took over. Gladiators (modern sports stars) and sophisticated concubines called hetaeras (TikTok celebrities) became idols to the youth.
That is not ancient history. It is modern America. But the root of the problem is deeper than vanity. It is not the abandonment of Godly virtues; it is their distortion: a shortcut to the Kingdom of Heaven that turns into a Highway to Hell.
Woke ideology celebrates compassion, which is one of the greatest virtues. However, empathy without the wisdom to discern what is the true cause of suffering leads to tragedy. The true cause of Gen Z’s favorite rainbow of “sufferings” is not “occupation,” “capitalism” or “privilege,” but the victims’ and their fans’ own horrendous ignorance and deep psychological complexes. Usually, this manifests in a civilizational Oedipus complex, a rebellion against the father-figure of God and His laws, which are personified by America’s supposedly oppressive “power structure” and God’s witness, Israel.
To avoid collapse, the American Rome needs to teach its youth wisdom. How? After all, U.S. schools teach the opposite. Enter Israel, the resurrected Judea.
For 2,000 years, the Jewish people preserved not political power, but Divine wisdom. That was the hard-earned core of Jewish survival. It is why so many people still look (increasingly so) towards Jerusalem. The prophet’s vision and the mission of Israel remain alive: “Out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
The world does not turn to Israel because of our high-tech and military prowess, even if our strength and ability to defend ourselves are admirable and vital. The world, from Argentinian President Javier Milei to Korean Christians, turns to Israel because it senses that Israel holds the keys to something the world desperately needs: a guide to a perplexed humanity, to wisdom and to knowledge of God and of humans’ part in His grand design.
That is the real relationship between the new Rome and the new Judea. The Creator raised up American Rome so it would fulfill its great mission: to be the guardian and guarantor of biblical morality throughout the world and help Israel fulfill the biblical prophecies and become the true center of global unity—unity in knowing God’s name, the Divine purpose of creation.
In the history of Rome and America, one can trace a stubborn Divine design. There must be a superpower capable of defending and advancing the fundamental laws of the Creator through politics and economics. America is not “Israel’s puppet,” as the Tucker Carlsons of the world scream. However, ideally, for the sake of the American people and the whole world, the new Rome should be the material chariot for the spiritual charioteer: Israel.
The latter, of course, needs to discern the new “word of God from Jerusalem.” We haven’t done it yet. At least, we have started acknowledging that we must.
The first time, this grand design began to unfold in the friendship between the ancient Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Judea. But senseless hatred between the Jews and boundless greed among the Romans transformed Rome into the destroyer of the Temple.
The Almighty did not abandon his plan and gave us a second chance. He resurrected Israel and raised ancient Rome again in the form of the United States.
We both have to fulfill our missions this time. Israel must generate the light of wisdom. America must carry that torch.
