How do you measure a nation’s military power? Number of personnel? Number of tanks? Combined explosive power of its missiles? There’s no single easily measurable number that does the job.

At first glance, the number that comes closest is defense budget—which is why so many rely on it.

The United States is by far the No. 1 defense spender in the world. It spends roughly three times more than China does—No. 2 in the world. It spends over nine times more than Russia. In fact, it spends more than the next 12 biggest military spenders combined. The exact figures change depending on which spending estimates you use, but the general picture remains the same.

The conclusion: America is super-dominant and safe from any competitor.

However, there are a lot of flaws in this analysis. Measuring what is spent doesn’t measure how well it is spent. There are plenty of historical examples of more expensive weapons systems defeated by newer technology or tactics.

In an article posted yesterday, Breaking Defense crunched some numbers and pointed to another major flaw: America pays its personnel much more than Russia or China. Take into account these higher staff costs and compare what each nation spends on weapons and training, then China may actually be spending more than the United States.

Their interest was sparked by comments Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley made to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense last week. He was asked why Russia appeared to be able to do so much more with a defense budget so much smaller than America’s.

“We’re the best paid military in the world by a long shot,” he said. “The cost of Russian soldiers or Chinese soldiers is a tiny fraction.

“I think you’ll find that Chinese and Russian investments, modernization, new weapons systems, etc, their [research and development]—which is all government-owned and also is much cheaper—I think you’d find a much closer comparison,” concluded Milley.

To get an accurate comparison, Breaking Defense first compared defense budgets using Purchasing Power Parity (ppp). One problem in comparing defense budgets arises from foreign exchange rates. China frames its defense budget in yuan; the U.S., in dollars. How do you compare? The simple way is to use “market exchange rate”—roughly the exchange rate you’d get if you exchanged yuan for dollars at a money changer. Work out what China’s defense budget would be in dollars using the exchange rate and you’re done.

But this doesn’t take into account that stuff is cheaper in China and Russia. For example, a Big Mac costs an average $5.30 in the U.S. Exchange your currency for yuan or rubles, and you can buy that Big Mac for an equivalent of $3.20 in China or $2.30 in Russia. In the same way, China’s defense spending goes much further because it’s spending most of its money on cheaper Chinese goods.

ppp tries to take this into account. Compare defense budgets at ppp and you get a very different picture. Now, Russia’s defense budget is only four times smaller than the U.S.’s. China’s is only 30 percent behind.

Next, take into account that 42 percent of America’s defense budget is spent on pay and benefits. We don’t know exactly how much Russia and China spend, but it is a lot smaller than that. If China spends 18 percent or less of its budget on personnel, then its actual defense spending on weapons, training, etc is higher than America’s.

A couple of years ago I wrote a much longer article detailing the massive waste in America’s military spending. Take a look beyond the surface figures of U.S. military spending and America’s power looks less super-dominant. Billions, if not trillions, are lost through waste, corruption and purchases designed to favor congressional districts.

The Bible talks about the state modern America is in. Hosea 5:12 says, “Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.” In Bible prophecy, Ephraim refers to Britain, but note that America is also included in the context of this prophecy.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained:

The word rottenness should read “like a worm” or “like maggots infesting open wounds.” There’s something very rotten spiritually about these three nations that they need to see, and it goes right to the bones—it’s that deep. Americans, Britons and Jews have rejected God and His law and lived their own way. Our nations are sick! …

In Hosea 5:12, God compares Himself as a “moth” to them. If you have a nice suit in the closet and you leave it there for a long time and don’t check it, sometimes moths will eat away its lining and fabric. The suit will still look good—until you take it out of the closet and put it on—then it falls apart.

God is saying that we had better look beyond the surface or else we won’t see our deadly serious problems for what they are!

This applies to many levels of British and American society. At a quick glance, the economy looks great. Look deeper and you see it is founded on debt. There is rottenness in society, in education, in families. And it applies to the military too.

The Bible is clear that America still has some genuine military power. In Leviticus 26:19, God tells His sinning people, “I will break the pride of your power.” But there is also rottenness underneath—America’s military power is not as great as it looks on the surface.

Why such rot everywhere in Britain and America? Why are these nations much less secure than they look on the surface? Britain, America and Israel all have a history with God, yet we have turned from Him. To learn more about this history, and what God says will happen next, read our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.