Let us take a look at the two people groups of a nation, and how they will influence, even determine, the destiny of a nation and the nations round about.
Genesis 17:4-5
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations [“goy”]. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations [“goy”].”
Romans 4:16-18
For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS [“ethnos”] HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.”
The words “goy” and “ethnos”, often translated as “nations” in the Bible, speak of people groups bound by certain cohesive socio-cultural expressions, rather than nations defined by political boundaries as we know it today. A people group may spread across multiple national boundaries (like Jews or Han Chinese), while a nation may make up of multiple people groups who are co-existing, whether heterogeneously or homogeneously, within a national boundary (like Israel or USA).
According to the flesh, ABRAM was the father of one people group with one ethnicity called Jews; while, according to God’s promise, ABRAHAM was the father of one people group with many ethnicities, including Abram’s, called the ekklesia, the called-out ones of Christ.
According to God’s salvific promise, God does not see the earth as comprising ABRAM’S people group and the rest of the world; rather, God sees it as comprising ABRAHAM’S people group and the rest of the world.
Accordingly, God sees the earth as having two people groups – a people group in Eden and a people group outside Eden; a people group who partake of the tree of life and a people group who partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; a people group in the ark and a people group in the floodwater; a people group of the promise and a people group outside the promise; a people group of the new “second Adam” creation and a people group of the old “first Adam” self; a people group of sons of the Father of truth and a people group of sons of the father of lies; a people group of the godly and a people group of the ungodly; a people group of the Spirit and a people group of the flesh; a people group of holy sanctification and a people group of perversity; a people group of sheep and a people group of goats; a people group of wheat and a people group of tares; a people group of obedient servants of the Master and a people group of disobedient servants of the Master; a people group who walks in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and a people group who walks in the course of this world; a people group of allegiant subjects of the Kingdom of light and a people group of idolatrous subjects of the kingdom of darkness; a people group of the pure and spotless bride of Christ and a people group of the harlotry of Babylon; and, to the end, a people group of the resurrection life in the new heaven and new earth, and a people group of the second death in the lake of fire.
Therefore, “be saved from this perverse generation.” (Acts 2:40)
To which people group do you belong, or will you belong?
Post-Script:
God may work through a political nation, like USA, Nigeria, or Singapore, etc., as a sub-layer of the two people groups, to accomplish His purpose that will determine the destinies of the two people groups within the nation or its surrounding nations. Yet, the primary focus of God in any nation is the boundless increase of His government and of peace through the ekklesia as the “oikonomia” or steward of His Kingdom of light, whether it is in the social, economic, or political domains. This is true of Sodom (if there were ten righteous men), Nineveh (if the people repented before God), or Israel (if the people receive Jesus as their Messiah).
In short, the destiny of a nation lies in the ekklesia, the set-apart people of Christ, in that nation rather than politicians. If God judges a nation, then it is because of the collective lacking of the ekklesia in discipling the two people groups of the nation.
After all, if a people is covered in darkness, it is because of a lack of light; if a nation rots, it is because of a lack of saltiness in the preserving salt; and if a society is not leavened by kingdom values, it is because of a lack of activated yeast permeating the society.
Therefore, with the ekklesia being the light of the world, salt of the earth, and leaven of societies (Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 13:33), the buck of the destinies of nations stop at the people group called the ekklesia; for in the ekklesia, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).
Post Post-Script:
If we think deeper about it, the power of illumination is dependent more so on the power of the light source than on the size of the darkness. An 18W lamp will illuminate a dark room; four floodlights will illuminate a dark football stadium; and a sun will illuminate the dark solar system. Thus, even if darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the people, the power to illuminate a nation is primarily dependent on the power of the light source called the ekklesia.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
So, if you say that God will judge a nation because of its darkness and evil, then I will ask you concerning the brightness of the light and the righteousness of the righteous in the nation.
Therefore, the ekklesia should not get overly preoccupied and polemic with the darkness, rot, and hardness within a nation. Rather, the ekklesia should focus with theological clarity and intellectual honesty on the divine quality, operational dynamics, and permeating power of the light, salt, and leaven in the midst of the other people group co-existing within the shared social, economic, and political boundaries.
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