It is as Augustine says in his "City of God" that the only cause for the perishing of Rome was that she chose to have guardians that could also perish. Is this not the same for Jerusalem in the days of our Lord? She chose not the Lord to save her, and thus because she trusted in herself and her righteousness – she likewise perished (AD 70). In the same way, what is our country entrusting herself to? Do we not see the influence of pagan idolatry raising one again its ugly head? God has been banished like a naughty schoolboy, but He shall take His vengeance because He is a consuming fire. Great nations perish unless their people (like ancient Nineveh) repent. May we learn this lesson well as Augustine understood it.