Part 1
"God's Plan for the Nations"
Gen. 11.1-9; 12.1-3; Acts 2.1-12; Rev. 7.9-10
Power is the ability to get your way. It might be through persuasion, influence, threat, intimidation, coercion, or deception. Power is at work everywhere in the world! Is there anyone free from the effects of power? But the will or interests of people conflict and not everyone can have their way at the same time. From one perspective everyone wants the same kinds of things, such as security, food, or shelter. But there are some interests that people have that we must question morally. The ability to get your way enables you to determine your own future. Generally speaking, people don’t want their future to be determined by someone else. We want the control of self-determination. This desire for power or self-determination was behind the first temptation of man in the Garden and is at the root of all sin against God’s authority. Rather than trust God we want to take matters into our own hands.
God gave man dominion over the earth. In this dominion man was made in God’s image. But Satan also has power and dominion in the earth. Ultimately, the earth belongs to God and we are God’s stewards who must give an account to Him. We are not free and independent to do as we want. Men live on the earth, but God lives in heaven. God rules the world from heaven. There are also angels, principalities and powers in heavenly places who also exercise some power over the world of men. Jesus has entered heaven and is now ruling the world. The Bible is constantly showing us that heaven is the main place and the superior power or control room for the earth. Nothing is ever really out of control.
The will of God reigns supreme. Can men successfully resist God’s will? It appears that men can FOR A TIME. But then the judgment comes and God has the last word. What about “free will?” It depends on what you mean by “free.” Man is free to resist God. But he is not free to escape from God and the consequences of this rebellion. God is present and active, not distant and passive. He is not the clockmaker god of Deism. He is not like the capricious, petty gods of the pagans. God cares about the world. Common grace is experienced by all men. God upholds His creation, gives life and breath and everything else. This is all because of God’s own nature, not man’s goodness.
God holds men responsible for their choices and actions. Most men fail to acknowledge and thank God for His good gifts. Men can know something about God, but mankind has purposefully rejected that knowledge and worshiped idols. Man suppresses the truth about God.
God is driven by His eternal purpose. The world is a stage on which God is working the drama of redemption, with spiritual powers watching it unfold. God’s purpose does not depend on what men do but on His own will. God is not just reacting to human need or even to human rebellion. There are events in Scripture which caused the eternal purpose of God to move forward significantly. We must assume that all events recorded in Scripture fit into the overarching purpose of God and do not have a life of their own but only take on their real significance in the context of the larger story or purpose. The Bible contains a gradual unfolding of God’s purpose or PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. The purpose of God required extensive preparation without which it would be difficult if not impossible to understand what God is doing. The purpose of God is continuing to advance toward a destination or goal that will be realized so that everyone can see and acknowledge God’s work thereby giving glory to God. We must be able to identify these key events if we want to understand the MEGA-NARRATIVE of Scripture. This helps us to avoid the misuse of Scripture for private agendas. This also helps us to see the consistency and unity of God’s revelation.
We should be able to see that what often looks like chaos in the world is actually being managed by a purposeful God. The nations do not exist according to their own will but according to the will of God. The nations did not simply evolve on their own but were provided for by God for His own purpose. God’s management of the nations of the world involves both His wrath and His mercy, resulting in the revelation of His person and His purpose. God will be glorified among the nations!
Babel: The Alienation and Scattering of the Nations
The evolutionary theory has infiltrated every part of modern thought. The Biblical doctrine of sin is a direct challenge to the modern mindset. Modern, secular thought fails to consider the spiritual or inner life of man. Man is a biological machine with no higher purpose than to survive and flourish according to his own appetites. Morality in this context is simply a means to the end of forming the kind of society men envision. There is no higher goal or purpose other than what men think they want. The Bible teaches that sin corrupts the heart of men rendering their thoughts and desires corrupt as well. Human life is bent in the wrong direction. To keep moving, or evolving, in the wrong direction is not progress. This is why the Bible never places hope for the world in men.
Sin is more than breaking a commandment. Sin was in the world before God gave the Law. Sin is alienation or man living apart from any thought of God. Anything becomes warped, bent, or twisted when God is not the goal. Man’s ambition is to be his own god and to dethrone the authority of God, to throw off the fetters of God’s very existence. This was also the sin of Satan and caused his fall and expulsion from heaven. This same spirit of rebellion has infected the world of men, who are actually in agreement with Satan and under his dominion.
The plans of the men at Babel may not seem to be overtly wicked. What is really going on is a conspiracy against God. God is being removed from the mind and actions of men. All of the plans of men have a spiritual or moral dimension. It is dangerous to separate spiritual and moral issues from everyday life. All plans that are made without God are wicked, not because of the content of the plans necessarily, but because we are living apart from God. This alienation is the result of a deliberate ignorance of God. There is nothing innocent about this agenda. There is knowledge about God available to men. But for moral reasons men reject this knowledge. The knowledge of God is a constraint the world does not want. If you don’t like the umpire’s call, then why not just remove the ump from the game entirely? Men are held accountable by God, which assumes that there is some kind of knowledge available to men. Men cannot successfully escape from God. But men often assume that they can.
The major sin of Babel seems to be pride and the desire for men to exalt himself rather than glorifying God. Pride may be the root of all other sins. Pride must always be seen as a wrong view of self that comes from being alienated from God. The person who knows and acknowledges God can never be proud because in His light we see ourselves accurately. To glorify God means to defer to or advance His person, will and purpose. If God were a piece of music, then to glorify Him would be to play that tune as loudly and as accurately as possible! But man would rather play his own tune. If God is God, then He deserves and has the right to be glorified. Man has no such inherent rights but can only derive his worth and dignity from the Creator. There is a glory that comes from God that we should seek. But men do not seek this glory. We usually seek glory from other men rather than from God.
The men at Babel were in no way concerned with the will of God but were only interested in their agenda. The will of God was for man to fill the earth and subdue it, not to stay in one place. The will of God had been revealed and they were ignoring it. We should never defy the revealed will of God. If we do not know the will of God, then it is our responsibility to seek His will. Those who seek will find! Those who never find are not really seeking.
The word “Babel” and “Babylon” become a Biblical shorthand for opposition against God and a man-centered agenda. This is the spirit of the World. Babel or Babylon is the City of Man. In Babylon man is on the throne and is the center of all things. But God is creating His own city or community of people. We are either citizens of Babylon or citizens of Zion! Babylon and Zion are growing together in the same world now, but eventually a separation will be made. Until that time the people of God in the world must separate themselves spiritually and morally and come out of Babylon. If the Church marries the world and is unfaithful to God, then her married name becomes Babylon.
The tower may have seemed impressive to men, but it is so insignificant that God had to come down to see it! Man is not really a challenge to God. The Bible is calling us up higher to see things from a better perspective. Don’t be overly impressed by men. Fear God!
Man’s fall and wickedness is so great because he is made in the image of God. Monkeys don’t build towers or bombs. God knew that the unity of mankind in a state of alienation would not be the proper environment for His purpose to be worked out. Even if the world were to perfectly unite it would be wicked if not on God’s agenda. God is managing the world so that His purpose can advance. It is like a man who has a garden. The point is to grow his vegetables. The Garden is not for the weeds to grow!
God introduced a principle of confusion and disharmony among the people, which in turn would produce rivalry and mistrust. God is not the author of confusion. Whatever God produces does not result in chaos. But Babel was something man was doing that God judged. As long as the nations are struggling with each other they cannot unite against God’s people in the world. Man is not free to do whatever he wants. Man will not be allowed to successfully challenge the sovereignty of God. Just as the governments of the world constrain their citizens, God governs or constrains the nations. God is the one who actually raises up nations and their rulers. This is why it is expedient to submit ourselves to authority, even wicked governments.
The scattering of these nations reminds us of Adam being driven out of the Garden. Sin scatters and drives us out, alienating us from God. The principle of sin and death, which entered the world through Adam, continues to be at work in the human race. Mankind has a kind of collective memory of Eden, always trying to get back to paradise or the perfect world. There are many utopian visions among men, but these have never been realized. The way back to Eden and the Tree of Life was blocked in this world.
ABRAHAM: THE PROMISE OF GOD’S BLESSING FOR THE NATIONS
God’s focus narrows as His purpose moves forward. Blessings through one man is a shadow of Christ. Abraham is a conduit. We must be connected to the approved conduit to be blessed by God. The blessing for the world was not just the nation of Israel. Israel would bring the blessing into the world, which is Christ. God let the other nations go but did not completely forget or neglect them. However, He did not recognize them as being a part of His purpose. God made no covenant with any other nation. No nation can claim to have exclusive rights to the blessing of God.
Abram is called to be physically separate from other nations. God was making a distinction between the people associated with His plan and those who are not. Even though we live in an earthly nation, this is not our primary identity or association. We are not called to be physically separate, but we are called to be holy. God will make Himself known in the earth through His people. Therefore, His people must accurately represent God among all the false gods of the nations. Idolatry is ubiquitous. God will not share His glory with false gods but will prove the worthlessness of idols and His superiority through helping His people. Abram’s separation was actually for the benefit of the nations. The separation was the means to an end, not an end of itself. God needed to be able to use Abram in the world so he had to be separate from the world. Abram and his descendants would be priests. Priests are holy so they can intercede and bring people to God. Abram was an alien and stranger in the world. Abram lived in a tent and had no city even though the land of Canaan actually belonged to him. This is a picture of the people of God in the midst of the world. The promise to Abram concerning the land will only be fulfilled ultimately in the world to come, which belongs to Abraham and all his children. This world is not under our dominion. But the world to come will be!
The nations at Babel wanted to make their own way in the world apart from God and His will. Abram is trusting God’s way and entrusting his life to God’s care. Faith is more than believing God exists. Faith is trusting God’s word and believing that He is good. The only way to have a relationship with God is through faith. The nations were disobedient to God. Abram is consistently obedient. Obedience is the fruit of faith. Obedience is not always easy and may not seem to be the best way. The nations took what they wanted for themselves. Abram received what he had from the hands of God. Greed and ambition define the spirit of the World. The original temptation was for man to take for himself rather than rely on God. This is a spirit of independence or self-sufficiency. It is living as if we don’t really need God. The nations worked to accomplish their objectives. Abraham did not work, but trusted God to fulfill His promise. The purpose of God will not advance through human works and effort but through the faithfulness of God. Faith rests in the promise of God and relies on Divine power.
The nations at Babel were cursed, not blessed. They were scattered, alienated. They had to make their own way in a world that was not in their favor. All the odds were against the nations. They would struggle to survive, as the original curse of God predicted. Abram is blessed by God’s presence and attention. God is working for Abram and not against Him. God’s favor is on Abram. Abraham was called God’s friend! It is a serious matter to make oneself an enemy of God! But the World has done exactly that! No one deserves God’s favor, but God does bestow it according to His own gracious character and will. Abram was blessed with everything necessary for life in the world. He did not have to worry or run after material things. The world labors and strives for the wrong things: creation over Creator, gifts over Giver. If we have God then we have everything else. To have all the world’s goods without God is to have nothing.
Abram would have God’s protection in a dangerous world. His security was in God who was His shield. One of the biggest concern of the nations is security or safety. Nothing in this world is actually secure. Money can fly away. The strength of an army can fail. God is a strong tower for those who trust Him. It is wrong to trust any other source.
PENTECOST: THE GATHERING OF THE NATIONS
God’s presence at Babel was for a curse. God’s presence at Pentecost was for a blessing. The blessing of Abraham included the indwelling Spirit. Christ has overcome the alienation making God’s presence a blessing rather than a curse. The world has been reconciled to God through Christ!
God caused confusion and division at Babel. God caused understanding and unity at Pentecost. When it is God’s work there is unity and understanding. The unifying factors are the Spirit and the Gospel. Confusion and division is a work of the Flesh. No work of God can be done in this environment.
God scattered at Babel. God gathered at Pentecost. The gathering at Pentecost was just the first-fruits of a greater harvest from the nations. It is God’s objective to reconcile people to Himself. This must be our objective too!
God’s agenda or purpose would be advanced through the declaration of a message to every nation. The message concerns what God has done. It is a message of good news and is for all the nations. Like Abram we are given a word from God that we must believe. The blessing of Abraham is appropriated through faith. Even Gentiles who believe can be children of Abraham! God wants to bless people, not curse them. The Gospel is the announcement of the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. Christ is the Seed of Abraham. All blessings are in and through Him. The Promise is both exclusive and inclusive.
The Church is the people God is calling out of the nations. God has always wanted a People for His Name. Jew and Gentile made into a single Body. The Church is a holy nation in the midst of many nations. We are to be Salt and Light. There will be tension with the world! The Church is to represent God among the nations. People come to know God through His people. This includes both privilege and responsibility.
Salvation: The Glory of the Nations
The children of Abraham will indeed be numerous! The people of God often seem like the minority. But we will not be at the end! Right now the children of Abraham are mixed in with the children of the Wicked One, like tares among wheat. This multitude had come through the tribulation of a world in rebellion against God! Our time in the world will be like sailing through a stormy sea. The World does not love the people of God because the world hates God.
Salvation is a big project that will be successful in spite of all opposition. It requires the power and wisdom of God for us to overcome the Dragon, the Beasts, and the Prostitute that John saw in the book of Revelation. There are Powers in the world that look impressive, including the spiritual powers of darkness, but we know where the real Power is. God will get all the glory for salvation because it is His work, not man’s. All the work of men, that was not done for the glory of God, will be blown away like dust. The only work that will stand is the work of God.
What looked like a hopeless mess at Babel will end up glorifying God! There are aspects of God not previously revealed that will be seen by heavenly personalities in the salvation of men. Evil cannot triumph over God. He will have the last word. Since all the nations were rebellious against God we can only trace salvation back to God’s mercy and grace. No one will be able to boast before God. The dark backdrop of the sin of the nations will make God’s grace shine even brighter.
In the book of Revelation, at the end of the Bible, the corrupt City of Man is judged and falls. The only thing left to emerge from the ashes of human history will be the New Jerusalem. Everyone is a member of the City of Man or the City of God: two parallel societies developing together throughout history but in different directions. The City of Man cannot be saved. We must be saved from out of it like Lot out of Sodom.
Just as many are included in this City of God, some will be excluded as well. A great separation is coming! If we are rejected by the City of Man we will be at home in the City of God. If we are at home in this City of Man we will be rejected by the City of God. Anything not compatible with God will have to be removed. In the World to Come there will be only one nation left. This will be a nation prepared to be in the presence of God to serve Him forever. All of the nations of men pass away because nothing opposed to the Kingdom of God can stand.
God has a plan for the nations of the world! Even though the nations rebelled against God He never completely deserted them. At Babel the nations rebelled and were judged and scattered by God. God then called Abram and separated him from other nations. Out of Abraham God created His own nation. Through that nation came the Savior who would bless all the nations. At Pentecost God reversed the curse of Babel. In the end there will be a great multitude of the saved from out of every nation!
