full brunt of the ravaging consequences of their sin. Many great nations have risen and fallen throughout human history. In each case, the nation had no expectation of its impending demise. Indeed, those who lived in these nations probably believed that their nation could never fall. “Anthropology tells us that many of the fallen civilizations in history also thought they were superior to their neighbors and forebears. Few of their citizens could have imagined their society would suddenly collapse.”4