Returning to One’s Homeland
As we approach the climax of the ages, and God begins to establish His Kingdom on earth in a visible manner, the subject of national identity and sovereignty will assume vital importance. The Scriptures declare unambiguously that God favours the establishment of nations, each with its own identity, customs, and manners, even though the “Kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” The United Kingdom of Christ is a spiritual foundation stone, but it will contain all the varieties of national characteristics. Even as each human being is unique in God’s creation, so also each nation in the Kingdom will be unique. Furthermore, each nation will be self-governing, not ruled by other nations. Each nation will need to look to the Lord as Spiritual Head over all nations, even the Lord Christ Himself.
The clearest Scripture to teach this principle is found in Isaiah 13, where the prophet is told to declare the “Burden of Babylon”. The downfall of the Babylonian system, the spiritual principle which governs this present world, is given in remarkable detail, and taken up later by Jeremiah (50 & 51), and of course brought to a climax in Revelation 17 & 18. It is all connected with “The Day of the Lord”, when “Man’s Day” of unrighteous government will be progressively replaced by the “Kingdom of the Heavens.” And we are told that during these days of great shaking, “every man shall turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.” (Isaiah 13:14) This is repeated almost identically in Jeremiah 50:16 and 51:9. Something is about to happen in this world which will reverse the tendency of man to migrate into territories foreign to his own way of life and customs. None of man’s philosophies can achieve this goal. It will be a sovereign result of the divine intervention connected with the Day of the Lord. There will be no coercion, no mass expulsions or fleeing of refugees as we have witnessed of recent times from Syria and Iraq, accompanied by much heartache. It will come about spontaneously and naturally. People will want to “go back home” to their own countries.
The only exceptions to this will be those minorities who have a strong desire to remain where they are, and adopt the ways and customs of the nation they have lived in and loved. An example of this principle is beautifully described in the Bible in the case of Ruth, who said to her mother-in-law, “Where you go I will go, where you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (1:16)
The above is quoted from my Prophetic Telegraph of September 1992, which may be read on my Website. I had been doing an extensive study of the nations of the world, to find dates of independence. In brief, these were the results.
From Spain and Portugal, 25 nations between 1811 & 1839.
From France, 24 nations mostly between 1920 and 1977.
From the Netherlands, 6 nations from 1815 to 1975.
From various countries, 11 nations between 1903 and 1955
And from Britain, 59 nations between 1901 and 1973.
Hence the Empires of the world were crumbling, and these 125 nations had gained their independence. But in 1957 a reversed tendency began with the formation of the Common Market, which has developed into a conglomeration of some 27 nation states known as the European Union. This was the work of the Antichrist, whereas the former process was the work of the Lord, bringing about independence. See what has happened recently in Britain’s cry for independence from the E.U. Much anger was shown by many people. Why? Because of a Satanic plot to bring about World Government under the Antichrist. And yes, the Kingdom of God will be World Government, but national identities will remain with national overlordship.
Finally, the parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-43. “When the Son of Man shall have come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and ALL THE NATIONS shall be gathered before Him.” A clear indication of God’s national requirements.
One is reminded of our Lord’s words in the Olivet discourse, “Behold the fig tree and all the trees, when they now shoot forth you see and know of your own selves that summer is near at hand. So likewise, when you see these things come to pass, know that the Kingdom of God is near at hand.” (Luke 21:29-30) The fig tree was the national symbol of Israel, which began to “bud” in 1947, but “all the trees” would signify the rest of the world’s nations, and as we have seen 125 nations began to “bud” between 1811 and 1973, with the greatest preponderance in the post WW2 years.
Know therefore that the Kingdom of God is near.
