Brough's Fort & Castle

These ditches and bumps are all that is left of the Roman fort called Verteris in Cumbria. It once held a garrison of some 500 men and represented the most powerful empire in the world. Now it is a field of sheep. In medieval times, feudal lords used the site to construct a fortress of stone, Brough Castle. Today, it is a romantic ruin, with large sections of wall fallen into the nearby fields. Gone are the knights and barons; now it is the paying tourist who patrols its walls.

The strongholds of the ancients are all fallen; the forts of the middle ages are crumbling. Rest assured, our own defences shall one day lie ruinous. We in the West think ourselves secure, with our military prowess and advanced technology. But destruction shall come upon as it did our predecessors. Look up ‘feel secure’ in an online Bible concordance, and the references are usually negative:

Proverbs 14:16: The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hot-headed and yet feels secure.

Isaiah 32:10: In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come.

Amos 6:1: Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

They who sit behind their defensive ditches and thick walls are not secure, but

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)