God and the Nations by Morris Henry M

Author:Morris, Henry M. [Morris, Henry M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science, RELIGION / Religion &#38
ISBN: 9781614582205
Publisher: Master Books
Published: 2003-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter VIII

The Nations Today

As noted previously, God is now visiting “the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14), thereby creating a new nation, the Church, composed of people from every human nation on earth who have trusted Christ for salvation and been “born again.” That “nation” does not have a capital or a king here on earth, Vatican City and its pope notwithstanding.

“For our conversation is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). The word translated “conversation” in this verse is the Greek politeuma, which actually means “citizenship.” That is, while we may be citizens of the United States or some other nation here in this world, we are also citizens of the heavenly kingdom, which is none other than “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11).

This kingdom is actually called “an holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), and while Christians are frequently exhorted to be good citizens of our particular nation here on earth “for the Lord’s sake” (e.g., 1 Pet. 2:13–17), our primary allegiance is to God (Acts 5:29) and we are, in effect, “ambassadors for Christ” here on earth (2 Cor. 5:20). When we trusted Christ for our salvation, God “translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13), so that is where our home really is, now and forever.

Thus, there are now three special “nations” in particular here on the earth — “the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32) — that is: the Jewish people as a whole, including the actual nation of Israel plus all the Jews still scattered around the world; secondly, all the Gentile nations viewed as a group; and thirdly, the born-again Christians from every nation.

That does not imply, however, that the established earthly nations — England, Egypt, China, etc. — are no longer of interest to God as nations. Remember that God “hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” in every case for the individual nations, having made “all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26).

Many nations of the past no longer exist as anything but small remnant populations, having failed in their God-given opportunities and passed their appointed times — nations such as the great Babylonian empire, the Aztec empire, the Mayans, the Incas, the Scythians, the Hittites, and many others. But there are now perhaps 200 viable nations as such functioning today, some of the greatest being the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Germany, India, Japan, and several others. These are all still under active observation by God in terms of their faithfulness in seeking Him and in accomplishing His primeval dominion mandate.

The Ongoing Dominion Mandate

Although most and probably all the world’s present nations are no longer even aware of it, the fact remains that God’s primeval dominion mandate has never been withdrawn, and thus is still in effect. As discussed in chapter II, it was given originally to Adam and Eve, then confirmed and expanded to Noah after the great Flood.

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