The Bible offers us God’s reflection over centuries, cultures and empires on our political ways and miseries, especially through the prophets through to Jesus. It is time to revisit prophecy, away from the recent selection by some Christians in the States of an idiot as Superman. Prophecy addresses the big sweep of human political fallibility. With a bit of cultural transposition it gives us views of where we are. It truly locates us again in humble, law-abiding living and politics before God.

In the US we are watching the partial downfall of a superpower, or as Toynbee would call it, a civilisation. It is not necessary or automatic, but the centre is rotten and our responses before God need radial rethinking which the prophets help us to do.

Here, in brief, are some of the woven Biblical messages from the prophets which it is not difficult to relocate to the world situation today.

1. The Centre demands praise, even worship, as Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar and Caesar were to be falsely worshipped. But God will have them in derision. Carrying these false idols about is burdensome..
2. The Centre collects wealth from the economic colonies through patterns of enslavement and taxation. They become centres of useless luxury and self-obsession centred on entertaining trivia, sexual predation and performance. But God will free the slaves and the centre, without repentance, will collapse in its own inefficiency.
3. The Centre will become a source of oppression and destruction, even when it believes it is the world’s saviour. This lack of self-awareness will be its undoing, unless it looks to God and humbles itself.
4. The Centre will become a law unto itself and believe it has the right to overrule God’s laws for humankind. It believes that might is right, when precisely, might is wrong and swords should be ploughshares.
5. The Centre that has preyed on others will find a bird of prey from a far off lands who will fulfil God’s purposes in judgement. Trump is the opposite of “Cyrus”. Judgement is coming down the track from other places.
6. God is sovereign over all nations and the basic laws for the good of all humanity must rule in all states and nations. You do not kill, steal, lie, misrepresent, covet or close down neighbour love. There is no exceptionalism.
7. Fighting and war bring intrigue, power battles, domination and destruction. Those who take the sword perish by the sword, and that is an urgent warning..
8. The judgement for imperial arrogance and super-powerdom is often war and destruction. Can the Mighty not see that their might destroys them?
9. There will be false prophets who will often say what the ruler wants them to say, so they can have their place in the system, and people will go after them. They get “peace” wrong and compromise the truth.
10. The captives carried to Babylon, or the slaves transported to the US, will become the prophets- political commentators and even Presidents of their new homes.
11. Like Nebuchadnezzar the self-worshipping ruler will become mad until he faces the real eating grass humility of his place before God. “Is not this the great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power and the glory of my majesty?” Well, No. You have been blessed by God and extorted from others. You claim credit for what is not yours.
12. The little people, the small nations, have their problems too. The failed self-righteousness of the self asserting great must not be transferred by antithesis to the little peoples.  They, too, must reform before God.
13. Restoration is always possible. It involves repentance and the end of self-rightness. We were wrong, we must love enemies, focus on justice for all, die to selfishness, banish false idols and open up to God for what is good and blessed.
14. Then there is the gentle Kingdom of God which deconstructs the destruction of the mighty and self-worshipping, and insists on bringing down the mighty from their thrones. Jesus gently and firmly insists on the Government of God and demotes all other would-be rulers. To him the little people of all the nations will flock. His Kingdom is one where the first are last and the last first. His burden is light. He gives us peace and requires we love our enemies. He sees the destruction of the citadels of power. He heals the sick and raises children in status. He loves and deconstructs self-righteousness and self-rightness. His kingdom testifies truth and the power of service.

Becoming renewed students or disciples of the Christ requires a lot of rethinking, especially in the States and its poodle, the UK.

The big picture of prophecy, often read too tightly, puts world politics down in its place as we wrestle with the failures of modernist arrogance.