Preface: In past times, the United States has been called a Christian nation or a nation under God. Although these designations have been debated over the years, there is no doubt that we are a client nation to God, at the time that I write this (2010, revised 2021). Insofar as I know, the term client nation is original with R. B. Thieme, Jr., and refers to a nation wherein is a significant number of maturing believers (sometimes this can be a number of believers and a spiritual Atlas). The gospel and the Word of God are taught, protected, and disseminated, even to foreign lands. A great example of this is General Douglas MacArthur calling for Bibles and missionaries for Japan. Unfortunately, in our most recent military actions, the powers that be have shortsightedly discouraged and even outlawed evangelism and the dissemination of Christian doctrine by believing soldiers.
The 2021 revisions include references to the 2020 US election; and double hyper-links between the definition of terms and the text (that is, you can go back and forth between the definition below and the first place that term or phrase occurs in the text of this study).
I must admit that I did not expect there to be so many terms related to this doctrine. |
The Church-age believer has, in the Church-age, his very own portfolio of invisible assets, the unique availability of divine power, and the fantastic privileges related to being a member of the Royal Family of God. Included with this are clearly defined problem-solving devices. In other words, beyond gnosis (knowledge) there is the most fantastic system of solving one's own problems from thinking with the mind of Christ. Accomplishing this requires us to put Bible doctrine first in our life. These problem solving devices are: 1. Rebound; 2. The Filling of the Holy Spirit; 3. Faith-Rest; 4. Grace Orientation; 5. Doctrinal Orientation; 6. A Personal Sense of Destiny; 7. Personal Love for God the Father; 8. Impersonal Unconditional Love for all Mankind; 9. Contentment and Perfect Happiness with God; 10. Occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ. For more information, see: R. B. Thieme, Jr., Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries, and All Aboard God’s Train (Bible doctrine for children). |
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All divine grace is administered through the essence of God. Consequently, all blessing or discipline from God to us must be filtered through His justice. As goes the justice of God, so goes blessing or cursing to us. The first adjustment to the justice of God is faith in Jesus Christ. After we have believed in Jesus Christ, we move toward spiritual maturity by studying His Word (ideally speaking). Reaching spiritual maturity is maximum adjustment to the justice of God. Rebound (naming one’s sins to God) is a temporal adjustment to the justice of God. |
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This is the period of time in history where God works through believers in nation Israel. God also worked through the Abraham and those descended from him until nation Israel was established. See the Three Dispensations: The Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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This is an understanding of the legitimate authorities in life, both civil and spiritual. Lacking such orientation can make a person’s life quite difficult. Doctrine of Authority (Maranatha Church) (Westbank Bible Church) (Lake Erie Bible Church Word Doc) (PDF). See Authority, God's Chain of Command (Grace Notes HTML) (PDF). |
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Bible doctrine is the information found in the Old and New Testaments which God wants all believers to know. We live in the Church Age, where there is no additional Scripture being written; and therefore, there is no direct teaching by God to man. All that we need to know is found within the pages of the Bible. |
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Friends and relatives and associates of a spiritually mature believer receive some overflow of blessing from that believer. People in the same geographical area of a mature of maturing believer receive blessings through their association. Blessing by Association (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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This is the love between one man and one woman. This is also called right man/right woman. (Category #1 love is loving God; category #2 love is love between 1 man and 1 woman; and category #3 love is friendship.) |
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The period of time in history where God works through the body of believers, also known as the church. This age began on the Day of Pentecost, following our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, and continues today. See the Three Dispensations: The Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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Client-Nation, is a national entity in which a certain number of spiritually mature Christians (the salt of the earth) have formed a pivot sufficient to sustain the nation and through which God specifically protects this nation so that believers can fulfill the divine mandates of evangelism, communication and custodianship of Bible doctrine, providing a haven for Jews, and sending missionaries abroad. The United States is a client-nation to God. A client nation must have freedom: Freedom to seek God, freedom to use one’s own volition and self-determination to succeed or fail, freedom from anarchy and tyranny, freedom for evangelism, freedom for believers to hear Bible teaching without government interference and, therefore, to grow spiritually, and freedom to send missionaries to other nations. |
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The term "cosmic system" refers to Satan's plan and process for controlling the world, and his attempt, using his organization of fallen angels, to counteract the plan of God in all respects. The Cosmic System (Grace Notes) (Grace Bible Church of Baytown); Cosmic System 1 & 2 (Grace Fellowship Church) (Word of Truth Ministries) |
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God has ordained five divine institutions by which the human race is preserved and perpetuated as an extension of the prehistoric angelic conflict: (1) the human soul, (2) work, (3) marriage, (4) family, and (5) nationalism (which, for a short time in human history, could be better classified as government). |
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This is a church where the primary thrust of the church is the teaching of the Word of God, verse-by-verse and book by book. A believer attending such a church for a month or two should fully understand the gospel and rebound. It should not take much longer than that, before the believer recognizes the importance of Bible doctrine; and be on his way to having a good grasp of the plan of God. I should think that a 45 minute teaching session would be the bare minimum; and that, at least 3x a week (with provisions for getting teaching in some way on the other days of the week). |
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These are also known as the five stages of national discipline. A national entity which is a client nation to God is under both God’s protection and His discipline (much like the individual believer). As a nation moves further and further from God, God may impose disciplinary measures on that nation, which include economic disaster, illness, civil unrest, military defeat, and even invasion which may include a slavery or dispersion of the people. These cycles are found in Lev. 26. Although these warnings are designed for Israel, all client nations to God may face similar downward historical trends. |
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The fifth cycle of discipline (the fifth stage of national discipline) involves complete loss of personal and national sovereignty, the destruction of the family and the nation. Offerings to God are unacceptable. Nations which have undergone this destruction have experienced slavery, cannibalism, and the assimilation of its surviving citizens into other cultures. |
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When Jesus Christ was born up until the cross, His resurrection and ascension. |
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We store information about God and the plan of God in the human spirit. Only the believer has a functioning human spirit. See the Doctrine of the Human Spirit (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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In the person of Jesus Christ since His physical birth [incarnation], there are two natures, undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. These two natures—human and divine—remain distinct and are inseparably united without mixture or loss of identity, without loss or transfer of attributes. This means that the Lord Jesus Christ is just as much God as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit and at the same time He is also just as much human as you and I. He is undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. This union is known as the hypostatic union. For more information: Got questions? on the Hypostatic Union; Theopedia on the Hypostatic Union; VersebyVerse.org: the Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union and Kenosis; Robert R. McLaughlin on the Doctrine of Hypo static Union. |
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During the dispensation of the hypostatic union, the doctrine of kenosis tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes in compliance with the Father's plan for the Incarnation and the First Advent. This means that Jesus Christ did not use the attributes of His divine nature to benefit Himself, to provide for Himself, to glorify Himself, or to act independently of the plan of God for the Church-age by any compromise of the spiritual life. For further reference: (Robert McLaughlin) (Charles Clough) (Josef Cherreguine) (Herman Mattox) (Joe Griffin) |
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Laws of Divine Establishment are principles ordained by God for the blessing, perpetuation, protection, orderly function, and stability of the human race during the angelic conflict. God gave them to believer and unbeliever equally, namely v olition, marriage, family, and government. See the Laws of Divine Establishment (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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Maladjustment to the justice of God is (1) the unbeliever rejecting God’s offer of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone; or (2) the believer rejecting God’s grace method of spiritual growth (rebound and GAP). See the Doctrine of Adjustment to the Justice of God. Also see (Cherreguine’s Doctrine of Reversionism) |
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The Millennium is the dispensation of the 1000 year reign of Christ over the earth, following the Great Tribulation, where all unbelievers will be removed from the earth (which is known as the Baptism of Fire). (Grace Bible Church of Baytown: Millennial Facts, Millennial Life) (Grace Fellowship Church on the Millennium) (Maranatha Church on the Doctrine of the Millennium) (Spokane Bible Church Brief Summary of the Millennium) |
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Whenever a believer sins, that takes him out of fellowship with God. He must name this sins to God in order to be restored to fellowship (if it is an unknown sin, whenever he names his known sins to God, the unknown sins will be forgiven as well—1John 1:9). |
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Believers in a national entity who grow to spiritual maturity and act as the preservative of a nation (Gen. 18:23–32 Matt. 5:13–14). |
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Positional sanctification means that we are set apart to God from the moment that we believe in Jesus Christ. We may be good or bad Christians, but we are always in Christ. |
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During the Age of Israel, only those descended from Aaron were priests. Priests represent man before God (whereas, a prophet represents God to man). In the Church Age, every believer is a priest and there is no specialized priesthood. Every priest-believer can represent himself directly to God. |
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In the Old Testament, priests, in general, represented man before God. They offered animal sacrifices on our behalf. The Levitical priesthood is actually a reference to Aaron and his descendants, all of whom were potentially priests under the dispensation of Israel. Aaronic priests had specific duties, outlined in the Law of Moses; but, essentially, they represented man to God, through animal sacrifices; and they taught the Law of God to the people. The High Priest is a type of Christ. See the Priesthoods of God and of Man: (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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The rapture marks the time when all remaining believers on the earth are taken up to meet Jesus Christ in the air. This event marks the end of the Church Age. The rapture is also called the exit-resurrection. (Rapture @ Grace Bible Church); (Pre-Tribulation Rapture @ Grace Bible Church); (Rapture @ Got Questions); (Rapture @ Theopedia). |
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The act of naming one’s sins to God. A sin takes you out of fellowship and naming your sin or sins to God puts you back into fellowship (1John 1:9). |
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The believer reverts back to his sinful habits as an unbeliever with great regularity. Reversionism can also describe the unbeliever who once embraced the laws of divine establishment and now rejects it. (Reversionism—Ken Reed) (Reversionism—Jim Rickard) (Reversionism—divine viewpoint) |
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The concept that God has provided for almost all people out there the perfect partner (of the opposite gender, of course). This relationship is the basis for much of our enjoyment of life, for believers and unbelievers alike. (Doctrine of RM/RW) (Doctrine of Marriage) |
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Those in the Church Age who have believed in Christ Jesus are considered to be royal family of God. We are not simply members of the family of God, but of the royal family; which means we are closely associated the Christ’s royalty (because we are in Christ). See the Royal Family Honor Code (McLaughlin; McLaughlin2); Baptism of the Spirit and the Royal Family (Grace Notes); and the Royal Family of God (Joe Wall—p. 74). |
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All believers are members of the family of God. Because Jesus Christ is royalty (descended from David), we are also royalty. All believers in the Church Age are also priests, making us royal priests. The function of the priest in the Old Testament was to represent man before God. In the New Testament, we have direct access to God. We pray directly to God; we confess our sins directly to God. We do not need a human priest between us and God because we are in Christ, our High Priest. See Stan Simonton or Rev. P. G. Matthew, who gives an historical perspective on how this doctrine was confused by the Catholic Church. |
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Scar tissue of the soul, also known as hardness of the heart, is the result of prolonged residence and function inside the cosmic system. It begins with negative volition towards doctrine and continues to build upon itself, as long as a person is negative. See (Bible News) (Robert R. McLaughlin) (Makarios) (Grace Notes) |
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When Jesus Christ returns to the earth to establish His kingdom, which will occur 7 years after the rapture. |
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The sin nature is that part of man, passed down from father to his children, which is in rebellion to God. In the Church Age, we are either controlled by the sin nature or by the Holy Spirit. The sin nature has an area of weakness and an area of strength, as well as a lust pattern. The Doctrine of the Sin Nature (Grace Notes); Doctrine of the Old Sin Nature (Buddy Dano); Old Sin Nature (James Allen) (Michael Lemmon) (L. G. Merritt) (The origin of the old sin nature—McLaughlin) (Doctrine of the Old Sin Nature—Makarios—Word document) (Sin Nature) |
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These are believers who get sucked into the cosmic vortex (which is the thinking of Satan as over against the thinking of God). A great modern example of this are the civil rights protestors of the 50's and 60's, many of whom began as strong, Bible-believing Christians, but ended up as political and social activists. They achieved their political ends and lost their spiritual impact. A more up-to-date example would be those who have truly exercise faith in Jesus Christ, but then have gotten caught up in political or social action or attend a church which teaches liberation theology (or any other anti-Biblical organization). |
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Often, during a time of national crisis, God promotes one man who, for all intents and purposes, carries his nation on his shoulders. God protects and even prospers a nation based upon the spiritual Atlas of that day. We have historical examples of Israel under Moses, Joshua and David (among many others) and Rome under Paul. In the Church Age, there can be many people who function as spiritual Atlases in any given period of time. |
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Spiritual advance is another way to describe growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2Peter 3:18). We grow by keeping short accounts with God insofar as our sinning goes (that is, we often name our sins to God as per 1John 1:9); and by exposing ourselves regularly (daily) to accurate teaching of the Word of God by a well-qualified pastor-teacher, hearing and believing the spiritual principles being taught. See Basic Themes of the Bible; aka The Fundamental Themes of Scripture (HTML) (PDF) (WPD); Living the Christian Life (HTML) (PDF) (WPD); and Christian Mechanics (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
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There are 3 classifications of spiritual death: (1) The unbeliever is said to be spiritually blind or in spiritual death; he does not understand the things of the Spirit; these things are foolish to him. (2) The believer out of fellowship is said to be spiritually dead. This means that he is temporally dead; he is not acting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is operationally dead (that is, the believer is not producing divine good). (3) On the cross, when bearing our sins, Jesus suffered spiritual death; that is, God poured our sins upon Him and judged those sins. We understand by the context which of these is being referred to. |
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Total depravity means that man has no ability to impress, please, or gain the favor of God. Apart from the cross of Jesus Christ, we have no path to God. The uncrossable barriers between us and God include: (1) the imputation of Adam’s sin; (2) the sin nature, which every person has; and (3) the commission of personal sins while we are alive. |
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Between the rapture and the Second Advent, there will be 7 years of the most difficult time those on earth have ever faced. The Tribulation will begin with unbelievers only, and the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will have been removed, which allows for concentrated evil. |
Many of these terms were coined by R. B. Thieme Jr. during his 50+ year ministry at Berachah Church. |
Some of these definitions may have been taken from http://www.bibledoctrinechurch.org/?subpages/GLOSSARY.shtml http://www.bigrick.org/pubs/terms.pdf http://www.gbible.org/_files/pdf/Doctrine_of_The_Divine_Decree.pdf |
Although I will attribute the sources for most of this doctrine at the end, this came primarily from Robert McLaughlin’s website. However, it agrees word-for-word with Moosemose’s posting of this doctrine at www.Yedda.com and I believe that Moosemose formulates his answers (this is a question and answer site) from his Berachah Church notes (under R. B. Thieme, Jr.), which notes appear to be taken word-for-word. So, Much of McLaughlin’s work appears to be taken word-for-word from Bob’s teaching. I have an email out to Moosemose (who posts at Yedda, Yahoo!Answers and Answerbag) to verify this. The upshot of this is, I am pretty certain that the bulk of the credit for this doctrine goes to R. B. Thieme, Jr. It does seem quite clear to me, from time to time, when we hear McLaughlin’s voice, as his personality is quite different from Bob’s. So, if you have heard both men speak, you can almost on your own, look at McLaughlin’s doctrine of the client nation and determine what is taken from Bob’s notes directly and what is supplementary material. |
What you will find below is, this doctrine taken directly from McLaughlin’s and (presumably) Bob’s notes, with some additions, new applications and some reorganization. |
God works through individuals and He works through corporate entities. Too often, various teachers emphasizes one of those over and against the other. God works through corporate entities like marriages, families, prayer groups, churches, sports teams, military units, businesses, and national entities. In fact, corporate entities are so important that Jesus promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matt. 16:20). This is why we are urged not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25). The Bible spends a lot of time on individual spiritual growth, but it also spends a lot of time dealing with marriage and family as well. When two believers are married, they function as a corporate witness. Local churches have a corporate witness. It would be foolish to think that God is not involved with national entities, particularly after He works through the nation Israel over a period of 1400 years. Therefore, even though this is an obvious thing, that God works through national entities, I am not aware of any theologian specifically dealing with this concept until R. B. Thieme, Jr. (apart from the earlier designation of Christian nation, which terminology never really explained the concept and which doctrine, insofar as I know, was never fully developed). |
The Doctrine of the Client Nation by R. B. Thieme, Jr. Robert McLaughlin and Kukis |
Acknowledgment: It needs to be pointed out from the very beginning, that this is a doctrine developed originally by R. B. Thieme, Jr. I am unaware of any theologian before him laying out the principles of the client nation so clearly previous to him. How much McLaughlin developed on his own and how much came from studying under Bob, I don’t know. There are times when there is a change of tone or vocabulary, and I would assume that is the additional material supplied directly from McLaughlin or from me. |
Much of this doctrine came directly from notes taken in Thieme’s class or from McLaughlin’s website. There has been some reorganization and points have been modified and appended. More text from the Bible has been added, as well as up-to-date applications of this doctrine. Source websites will be listed at the end of this doctrine. |
Introduction: One great area of confusion is, at some point in our lives, we give some thought to our nation and our place in our nation beyond what we have been indoctrinated to believe, and we ask ourselves, is this right? Is this the way our nation ought to be? Shouldn’t I be doing something to help fix this mess? Sometimes, this is the result of indoctrination and sometimes this is the result of listening to Bible doctrine. In any case, one of the most important doctrines for the believer to understand is the doctrine of the client nation. What is our relationship to God? What is our relationship to the nation in which we find ourselves? What is our nation’s relatonship to God? What should we support and what should be oppose? If things look bad, what should be be doing? How far do we take our actions? Ideally speaking, once you understand the concept of the client nation and your own relationship to the nation in which you find yourself, these questions will be easy to answer for yourself.
The general concept of a client nation ought to be obvious. If one has a knowledge of history and a knowledge of various nations, then it should be clear that all nations are not equivalent. When former President Barrack Obama, was asked about American exceptionalism, he indicated that this was not unlike British believing in British exceptionalism or the Greeks extolling Greek exceptionalism. The former president said this because he has not the slightest clue as to what American exceptionalism is. To him, it was much like a person taking pride in one’s own nation and one’s own people (the implication of all that is, he sees himself as a little above all that, taking in the big world picture).
However, American exceptionalism exists, it is objective in nature. For instance, there is not a lot of difference in per capita income between the United States and, say, Qatar or the U.A.E. or Kuwait (I specifically chose nations where the contrast would be dramatic); yet, if given the choice, far more people would want to move to the United States than to Qatar or the U.A.E. or Kuwait. Why is that? The difference is, the United States is greatly blessed by God and these other countries are, at best, partially blessed by Him (God is not anti-Arab, and when an Arabic state allows some freedom of religion within its borders, God blesses that freedom). The reason we are greatly blessed as a nation, is that we are a client nation to God, which will be explained and defined below.
1) A client nation is a national entity under the patronage of God, assigned the responsibility for the formation, preservation, communication, and fulfillment of the canon of Scripture. R. B. Thieme, Jr. originally called this a priest nation, which is nearly an equivalent term. (1) Before Israel became a nation, custodianship of the word of God involved divine revelation from God, in addition to the Scriptures which existed at that time. We can only theorize as to how Scripture was written and preserved prior to this, as the book of Genesis and probably the Book of Job had to exist prior to the formation of client nation Israel. In any case, since Israel has become a nation, it is involved in the authorship, custodianship and dissemination of the written Word of God. It continued in this mission until around a.d. 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and killed the Jews who rebelled against Rome. For those who are considering an armed rebellion against the United States of America, that very fact ought to give you pause. (2) Additional custodianship was assigned to Israel in the formation of the New Testament, since all but two writers were Jews (Luke and the writer of Hebrews, whom I believe may have been a gentile). (3) During the time of the formation of the New Testament, the client nation changed from Judea to the Roman Empire, in a.d. 70. The completion of the canon of Scripture, which was the book of Revelation and possibly the book of John, was accomplished in the new client nation of Rome. One must bear in mind that Rome was not particularly well-disposed toward this new Christian movement. 2) Scriptural confirmation of the concept of the client nation include Ex 19:4-6 Deut 7:6 26:18-19 (1) God speaks to Moses, and Moses was to say these things to the newly formed Israel: “You have seen what I did to Egypt; and I bore you on wings of eagles and brought you to Me. And now if listening you will listen to My voice, and will keep My covenant, you will become a special treasure to Me above all the nations, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall become a kingdom of priests for Me, a nation that is set-apart [from other nations]. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (Exodus 19:4–6). I would assume that this is where R. B. Thieme, Jr. got the term priest nation. (2) Moses spoke the following words to the children of Israel before they were to enter into the land: “For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. Jehovah your God has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all the people on the face of the earth. Jehovah did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because Jehovah loved you, and because He kept the oath which He swore to your fathers, Jehovah has caused you to go out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Because of this, know that Jehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commands, to a thousand generations; and repaying to his face those that hate Him, to destroy him; He will not delay, He will repay him who hates Him, to his face. And you will keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances which I am commanding you today, to do them. And it will be, because you hear judgments, and keep and do them, even Jehovah your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your oxen and the wealth of your flock, in the land which He has sworn to your fathers, to give it to you. You will be blessed above all people; there will not be a barren man or a barren woman among you, nor among your livestock. And Jehovah will turn aside every sickness from you; and He will not put on you any of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you have known, but He will put them on all who hate you. And you will destroy all the peoples whom Jehovah your God is giving to you. And your eye will have no pity on them; and you will not serve their gods; for it will be a snare to you. If you will say in your heart, These nations are more plentiful than I; how can I throw them out? You will not be afraid of them; remembering you will remember that which Jehovah your God has done to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt, the great trials which your eyes have seen, and the miracles, and the wonders and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm with which Jehovah your God has brought you out. So Jehovah your God will do to all the peoples of whose face you are afraid. And Jehovah your God will send the hornets among them, until the ones who are left perish, even those who hide themselves from your face. You will not tremble before them, for Jehovah your God is among you, a mighty and fearful God. And Jehovah your God will clear out those nations before you by little and little. You may not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon you. And Jehovah your God will deliver them up before you, and destroy them with a great destruction until they are exterminated. And He will give their kings into your hand; and you will destroy their name from under the heavens. No man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. You will burn the carved images of their gods with fire; and you will not lust after the silver and gold on them, nor will you take it to yourself, that you not be snared by it; for it is an abomination to Jehovah. And you will not bring an abomination into your house, that you not be a cursed thing like it. You will utterly detest it, and you will utterly hate it; for it is a cursed thing.” (Deut. 7:6–26). From this passage, we not only derive the concept of the client nation, but some of the responsibilities of the client nation. Although God did give Israel a political and legal system to function under—which was changed when Saul became king—this is not the exact legal and political system that every nation should be under. (3) In what appears to be a public prayer before the children of Israel, Moses said, “[Jehovah,] Look down from Your holy habitation, from Heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land which You have given to us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. Today Jehovah your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You [Israel] will take heed to do them with all your heart, and with all your soul. You [Israel] have today declared Jehovah to be your God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes and His commands, and His judgments, and to pay attention to His voice. And Jehovah has declared you today to be His people, a special treasure as He has spoken to you, and to keep all His commands. And He will make you high above all nations that He has made, in praise, and in name, and in glory; and that you may be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as He has spoken.” (Deut. 26:15–19). This public prayer essentially establishes a covenant between God and the newly-formed client nation Israel. 3) There are two categories of client nations to God in human history: the five Jewish client nations of the Old Testament with a specialized priesthood and the Gentile client nations which come about during the dispensation of the Church, during which there is a universal priesthood. The Gentile client nation category follows exactly the same pattern as Israel with some dramatic differences related to the uniqueness of the Church Age. 4) A client nation is essentially a synonym for a priest nation. The name "priest nation" is used for Israel because it had a specialized priesthood. The term "client nation" is used for any Gentile nation because there is a universal priesthood. (1) In Roman history, a client was someone dependent on another family. In the Church Age, believers depend completely on God directly and do not need a specialized priest. So instead of calling a Gentile nation a priest nation as such, the believers in the Church Age are a holy priesthood and a royal family of God, 1Peter 2:4b–5 reads: [You, believers in Jesus Christ] having been rejected by men, but chosen by God, [are] precious. Furthermore, you [believers], as living stones, are being built a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (2) Rom. 9:25–26 As He says also in Hosea, "I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ And it shall be, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there they will be called, ‘Sons of the Living God.’” (Hosea 2:23). The context of this passage is Paul explaining to the Romans who and what Israel is. (3) We, as royal family, as a family of priests are Christ’s house. He is the builder of that house as the High Priest. Heb. 3:1-6 For this reason, royal family of God, called to be partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, being faithful to Him who appointed Him, as also Moses was [faithful] in all his house (Num. 12:7). For He was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as the one having built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone; but He who built all things is God. And truly Moses was faithful in all his house as a ministering servant, for a testimony of the things having been spoken; but Christ as Son over His house, whose house we are, if truly we hold fast the boldness and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. (4) Israel was always called a holy (set-apart) nation. The Church is called a holy priesthood. Why? Because in the Age of Israel, there was a specialized priesthood and in the Church Age, every believer is a priest. (5) As goes the pivot (core group of mature believers in a client nation), so goes the nation. The book of Judges is essentially a study of this phenomenon. See also Gen. 18:20–33 where Abram bargains with God regarding the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He tries to determine at what point will God preserve those cities. Abram got God down to 10 righteous people in these cities, which God was agreed would be enough to preserve these cities. Abram stopped bargaining, because, at that time, he figured that this would be the number of people in Lot’s family who had believed in the Revealed God (he was wrong, by the way). God did destroy those cities, but rescued Lot and his two daughters. (6) Decisions from leadership are important and impact the freedom of the citizens. However, these decisions do not ultimately decide the fate or prosperity of the nation. Your spiritual life directly impacts your nation, either for weakness and discipline, or strength and prosperity. (7) It is very difficult for some believers to understand that their relationship to God and their family’s relationship to God is more important than the politicians that we elect to office. In the 2020 election, Biden was declared president, despite a huge set of problems in the electoral process. This has been very difficult for many people to deal with—including believers—because the other side cheated and won by cheating. Our function as believers in the United States does not change, simply because there was fraud which occurred. We do not suddenly become revolutionaries; we don’t set ourselves on fire; we don’t have a festival of screaming to the sky. Our function and place in the United States remains unchanged. We remain loyal, peaceful and patriotic citizens. So there is no misunderstanding, we can certainly pray for a correction; and if we have some influence, we can exercise that influence to petition for some kind of change; but what happened does not change our place as believers in client nation USA. (8) And, to state it clearly, revolution against one’s own ruling powers is not an option for believers. Revolution is evil. See the Doctrine of Revolution (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). (9) The United States has come to be the greatest nation in the world because of a large pivot of maturing believers. As a result, there are more people, believers and unbelievers, whose thinking lines up with divine establishment. Therefore, these results in a greater army and a better, more honest government (you may scoff at this, but you ought to compare our government to others throughout the world). Furthermore, the military preserves our freedoms, keeping us safe from external enemies; and the police protect us internally. Now, even when a significant portion of the population has gone off the deep end, with respect to establishment thinking (which has certainly occurred in this country), God will still preserve the nation, although there may be times of cleansing from time to time. (10) Jesus Christ tested and proved the prototype spiritual life. God does not want sacrifices and offerings; He wants the specific function of the spiritual life. The sacrifice of the Church Age priest is the four spiritual mechanics of the spiritual life: i Filling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was always filled with the Spirit. We are restored to the filling of the Holy Spirit by using the rebound technique (naming our sins to God, as per 1John 1:9). ii Metabolization of Bible doctrine (we continue to listen to the accurate teaching of Bible doctrine through a qualified pastor-teacher). So that there is no misunderstanding, you do not do this on your own. Spiritual growth takes place in the local church under a well-qualified pastor-teacher. iii Deployment of the 10 problem solving devices. iv Execution of the pre-designed plan of God for our individual lives. (11) Matt 10:38-39: "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.” (12) Christ laid aside His perfect deity in order to submit to the Father’s plan (the doctrine of Kenosis). We are asked to set aside an imperfect human life, in order to operate in the og; which is a much more that is a reasonable thing to do. (13) As Christians we belong to an elect race. The idea of an elect race comes from the Greek phrase in 2 Cor 5:17 kaine ktisis, which means, “a brand new spiritual species.” (14) 2Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things [e.g., the complete and undisputed control of the old sin nature] passed away; behold, new things have come [the human spirit, among other things designed for our spiritual advance]. (15) Just as a fish is only comfortable in water, you will only swim in this life if you stay in the waters of the Word and the pre-determined plan of God. That is the place designed by God for the believer. (16) The royal priesthood is related to positional sanctification; for our Lord is a king-priest from the line of David in the order of Melchizedek. We are in Christ and share His priesthood. Believers in Christ are royal family of God, and this is the key to the formation and preservation of Gentile client nations in the Church Age. (17) God’s disposition towards any nation depends upon the number of believers in that nation; and the number of believers in that nation who are advancing spiritually. Positive volition towards the four spiritual mechanics (above) determines the size of the pivot in the client-nation and therefore the prosperity or discipline of the nation. (18) There is also blessing by association in a client nation, which can be quite profound. A believer who is maturing in the plan of God receives blessing from God, and that blessing overflows to his family, friends, school, company, business, city, county, state and nation. The more believers who are maturing means the more blessing which overflows. In the United States, we have enjoyed a tremendous amount of blessing. We have material blessings, spiritual blessings, protection from war, freedom blessings, etc. There is no place on earth like the United States, which is why millions of people would like to move here. 5) A client nation to God is a nation under divine protection, because it has a large pivot of mature believers. These mature believers have blessing by association to those around them and historical blessing to their nation. 6) A client nation is destroyed by the reversionistic believers (believers who revert to their old, unbelieving ways) who "spin-off" from the pivot of mature believers by their rejection of Bible doctrine. As the pivot shrinks, the nation loses its client nation status with God and potentially undergoes the five cycles of discipline. Only a remnant of positive believers had impact through the spiritual life of Israel in the Old Testament. |
2. The most important client nation is Israel; therefore, Israel is the key to all client nations and our understanding of the client nation is found in the history of Israel as a priest nation. |
1) God directs and controls historical activity on the basis of client nations. Obviously, God allows for personal and corporate volition in His plan. A client nation is responsible to do five things... (1) It must evangelize its own population at home. (2) It must communicate Bible doctrine to the believers in the nation. (3) It is responsible for the custodianship of Bible doctrine. (4) It provides a haven for the Jews. (5) It is responsible to send out missionaries to evangelize other nations. (6) Because there is a difference between the priest nation Israel and Gentile client nation, there will be some modification of this concept in the Church Age. (7) So that there is no confusion, none of these things require government action. That is, the Constitution of a client nation does not have to include any of these in it. The government of a national entity and the function of the pivot of that national entity can be and should be completely separate. (8) The problem is, when the government has laws, regulations and policies which seek to curtail any of the above. During our time in Afghanistan and Iraq, our soldiers were strongly discouraged from sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whereas, some regulations might have been appropriate (a soldier cannot share the gospel when on duty); their off-duty personal evangelism should not have been curtailed in any way. (9) One of the reasons that God greatly blessed the British Empire is, they spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the globe. This was a great thing. 2) There were five (and maybe six) Jewish client nations in the Old Testament. (1) The theocratic kingdom (when Israel had no king, and God ruled over Israel directly), from the Exodus until the prophet Samuel (1441-1020 b.c.). The theocratic kingdom ended when the Jews said, “We want to be like other nations and select a king.” Exodus 11–40 Leviticus–Ruth 1Sam. 1–9 (2) The United Kingdom from King Saul to death of King Solomon. 1020-926 b.c.. 1Sam. 9–1Kings 11 1Chron. 10–2Chron. 9 (3) The Northern Kingdom from Jeroboam to Hoshea (926-721 b.c.). In 721 B.C. the fifth cycle of discipline was administered by the Assyrians under Sargon II. i Hoshea, the last king, looked to Egypt for help from the Assyrians but it never came. ii Principle: don’t go to the world for help. iii The siege by Sargon II took three years, which gave time for Israel to repent (change their minds about their relationship to God), but they did not and were destroyed. iv Negative volition towards God’s word and God’s plan are always the reason for the loss of client nation status. (4) The Southern Kingdom from Rehoboam to Zedekiah (926-586 b.c.). The fifth cycle of discipline was administered by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. i The Southern Kingdom and Jerusalem were completely destroyed by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar and all except the most poor were taken into captivity to Babylon. ii Between 586-516 b.c., the Southern Kingdom spent 70 years in captivity and the Northern Kingdom was under Chaldean rule and there was no client nation in operation. Jews outside of the client nation filled in the gap to Gentile nations as they had been responsible before to do so. No Gentile client nation exists in the Old Testament, only Jewish client nations. Chaldea and the Persian Empire were not client nations. iii After the 70 years a remnant were allowed to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city; Ezra, Nehemiah. (5) Then Judah became a client nation again from b.c. 516 until 70 a.d. i In 458 b.c., after the fifth Jewish client nation was operational, we have the return of Ezra. The entire Old Testament canon was discovered and Ezra led a great revival back to Bible doctrine. ii In 445 b.c., Nehemiah returned with a group of people to rebuild the walls and to organize the military to defend this client nation. (6) At some point later in history, the northern kingdom may have been considered a client nation. I say this because Jesus spend most of His public ministry teaching the Jews who lived in the Galilee area (which is the northern kingdom). 3) Although God was the head of nation Israel and therefore He was the True King of Israel, Gentile client nations are not so directed. That is, the policy of a client nation has to be careful not to interfere with the church. For instance, when MacArthur called for missionaries to be brought into South Korea or Japan, this was the right and proper thing to do. Had this been restricted to, say, only Baptist churches, then the nation would be overstepping its authority. So, we will find out historically that nation-building apart from missionaries and the Word of God will be futile (as Iraq and Afghanistan will turned against the United States within a decade or two—I write this in 2010 and 2021). 4) A client nation must always respect the volition of the believer. Therefore, it is appropriate for the armed forces, for instance, to provide a variety of chaplains; however, there can be no mandatory attendance by military personnel to religious services. |
1) God has ordained five divine institutions by which the human race is preserved and perpetuated as an extension of the prehistoric angelic conflict: the function of our individual souls, the necessity of work, marriage between 1 man and 1 woman, family (1 man + 1 woman + children), and nationalism (or government). 2) Each divine institution has a system of authority and volition. 3) The latter 3 function as corporate witnesses before God in Satan’s appeal trial. 4) Although there are several corporate witnesses (which can be churches, schools, a prayer group, some organization), there are 5 divine institutions, found in almost every dispensation, designed to protect the freedom of the human soul, the first divine institution. 5) Divine institution #5, nationalism, has undergone a minor change early on in human history. |
4. The First Divine Institution—the Human Soul—and the client nation. |
1) The first divine institution is the free function of the human soul. The direction a client nation takes is dependent upon the volition of the souls of its citizens. If they are negative toward the Word of God, the nation can fall into successive cycles of discipline even to the point of being destroyed as a nation. 2) Our proper authority is God. Adam without sin had direct contact with God, and God’s mandates were clear and simple. Gen. 2:16–17 The Lord God gave the man this command. The Lord God said, “You may eat from any tree in the garden. But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree you will die!” 3) From the very beginning, Adam had the mental ability to understand the one negative mandate of God, and on his conscience, there was written one clear negative: “Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” 4) Both the man and the woman chose to disobey this one mandate—the woman because she was deceived and the man, who knew exactly what he was doing. The end result was judgment upon them and all mankind, as well as the immediate acquisition of a sin nature and a mortal body for each of them. Neither was excused from their sin even though their defiance of God’s authority differed in the nature of their sin. 5) Fallen man’s ultimate authority is God. However, only In a few instances, is there direct contact between man and God, and man is, from his own volition, to obey God. Enoch and Moses are examples of people who had frequent direct contact with God and were, from time to time, under His direct authority. 6) In most instances, we face a myriad of authorities in our lives. (1) The authority of God is revealed in the Word of God, properly interpreted and relative to the correct dispensation. So, in the Age of Israel, it was right and proper to offer up animal sacrifices to God. In the Church Age, we are forbidden to offer up animal sacrifices to God. Lev. 1–7 Heb. 7:27 9:6–28 10:1–18 (2) Ideally speaking, we understand our proper place in this world through the authority of the church. Heb. 13:13, 17 (3) However, there is no authorization in the church, whether in a client nation or not, for certain members of the church to enforce morality on the other members. The pastor or assistant pastor or deacons are not to follow you around, telling you what to do. No cult leader is to gather you together on a farm and tell you what you can and cannot do. If anything, this violates the volition of a soul. Related to this, there is authorization for separation, which usually involves believers, and separating from believers who are leading you astray or are exercising enough sway over you to keep you away from Bible doctrine (e.g., a believer who has returned to using drugs and tempts you with them). (4) Inside of our soul is a conscience, and on that conscience are to be written correct norms and standards which help us to determine what is right and wrong. Even unbelievers and heathen have a conscience, which is a system of inner authority. Rom. 1:18–20 For God's wrath is revealed from Heaven on all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, holding the truth in unrighteousness, because that which can be known about God is clearly revealed within them, for God revealed it to them. For the unseen things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, both His eternal power and Godhead, for them to be without excuse. i This is the rule we are speaking of; the hardcore criminal personality is an exception to this. However, even criminals have some concept of right and wrong, even though this may not be entirely in line with God’s mandates (for instance, most criminals look down upon child molesters and condemn their activities as sin). ii However, the gist of this verse—and it is universal with all those who have developed a conscience—that God has revealed enough of Himself so that all men are without excuse. (5) There is the authority of the governments under which we find ourselves. Rom. 13:1–2 Let every soul be subject to higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, but the existing authorities have been ordained by God. So that the one resisting authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and the ones opposing will receive judgment to themselves. (6) There are a number of institutions which we choose to participate in and some which we are mandated to participate in. Martial arts classes, private and public schools, homeowner’s associations, government agencies, branches of the armed forces, etc. Some of these, we may choose to become a part of and others (a dance class or a private music teacher), we may not want to be a part of them, but we end up under their authority simply through normal day to day living (our job, the neighborhood homeowner’s association). Other institutions are a part of every person’s life (the police). All of these institutions have a system of authority, and we are under that system of authority, as long as it does not conflict with our obedience to God (Acts 5:29). 7) Freedom and authority are always balanced and bound together. (1) God has given us life experiences—e.g., the raising of children—to illustrate this. (2) You constantly monitor your children to give them the proper balance between authority and freedom. (3) You do not follow them around like an omnipresent drill sergeant and direct their every move, from age 0 on up. (4) Nor do you just let them be free to do whatever they want to do. (5) Even the most insane parents (I refer you to the television show Wife Swap—no longer on the air) exercise either some modicum of discipline as well as allow some semblance of volition. (6) Parents ought to raise their children so that, generally speaking, their children will make the right choices as they grow and become adults. (7) This requires a balance of freedom and authority. 8) The choices we make in life determine the life we lead. 9) We can make choices which increase our options and choices which limit our options. We make choices both for and against God. 10) Adam and the woman used their volition to accept the redemption solution. 11) Individual non-meritorious volition (free-will choice) in the form of faith in Jesus Christ is the same redemption solution. The most important choice a person can make is to believe in Jesus Christ. This must always be a free will choice. No one can be born a Christian and no system of authority can make a person into a Christian. If you are a believer, quite obviously you exercised your volition as well to believe in Jesus Christ. 12) The second most important decision we can make is to daily take in doctrine, to learn about God, the plan of God and our place in it. 13) We are born with the freedom to accept or reject God; we are born with the freedom to accept or reject His Word. 14) The soul has the mentality to understand divine mandates, but God has allowed us volition, which may use to override His authority. 15) If we reject God, He will reject us. Witness the horrendous living conditions in any communist or socialist government, which are anti-God systems of government. These nations reflect a wide scale rejection of Jesus Christ a swell as a rejection of the laws of divine establishment. 16) A government is a reflection of the souls of its citizens. The amount of positive or negative volition toward the gospel and toward Bible doctrine determine the direction of a nation. 17) A client nation will have a significant number of believers with a significant subset of them who are growing spiritually. Their thinking and actions within the nation will determine whether or not that nation is a client nation to God. 18) If we reject His Word (negative volition toward Bible doctrine), God will reject us. Hosea 4:6–9 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest [nation] to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of My people; they are greedy for their iniquity. And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 19) Satan attacks the souls of believers and unbelievers both. (1) Satan pushes nations where freedom is curtailed, particularly with regards to God. (2) Satan encourages sinfulness, which is using the volition of the soul to make wrong choices. (3) For the unbeliever, Satan turns him away from the gospel and the laws of divine establishment. (4) For the believer, Satan turns him against the laws of divine establishment and Bible doctrine. (5) One of Satan’s attacks is Islam, a system where really insane Muslims routinely target only slightly less-insane Muslims, sometimes killing them in their place of worship for not being Muslim enough (or not being the right brand of Islam). It should be clear that this violates the balance between personal volition and exterior authority. |
5. The Second Divine Institution, work, and the client nation. |
1) Before and after the fall, man was designed to work. Before the fall, God made man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food. The tree of life also was in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. And from there it was divided and became four heads. And Jehovah God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Gen. 2:8–10, 15). 2) After man sinned, God gave Adam ground that was more difficult to work and He warned man that he would work hard in order to eat. “The ground is cursed for your sake. In pain shall you eat of it all the days of your life. It shall also bring forth thorns and thistles to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken.” (Gen. 3:17b–19a). 3) Although the earliest professions were farmer and rancher (Cain and Abel), early man quickly developed a number of vocations: builder (Gen. 4:17), musician (Gen. 4:21) and metal-worker (Gen. 4:22). Early man also engaged in criminal activity, even before this activity was clearly defined (Gen. 4:23–24). At the very beginning, as far back as Gen. 4, man is closely associated with his vocation. It is not unusual to find a man’s profession named in a genealogy. 4) Work is an integral part of man’s existence. Even though man works hard, he will also receive personal satisfaction from his work. Eccles. 9:9 speaks of two things which are to bring enjoyment in life: a man’s right woman and his labor. Since this passage refers to him as under the sun, this refers to believers and unbelievers alike. 5) God expected even the poor to work. God told the farmers in early Israel not to harvest everything in the field, but to leave portions of the field unharvested. This was so that the poor of the land and immigrants could come through and harvest this themselves. There was no food bank, no free slabs of cheese. If the poor needed food, they had to work for it at the orchards and farms, where not everything was harvested. Lev. 19:9–10 23:22 Deut. 24:19–21 Ruth 2:2, 15 6) Nowhere in the Bible is there some sort of welfare system recommended where a man or a woman sits at home and receives a check. Instead, hard word is presented as honorable. Prov. 6:6–12 10:5 7) However, the poor were not to be ignored or abandoned. “If there is among you a poor man of one of your brothers inside any of your gates in your land which Jehovah your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother. But you shall open your hand wide to him, and shall surely lend him enough for his need, that which he lacks. For the poor shall never cease out of the land. Therefore, I command you saying, You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor, and to your needy, in your land.” (Deut. 15:7–8, 11). 8) There was a national fund for the poor, which amounted to 10% every third year, which averages out to 3⅓% per year. “When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.” (Deut. 26:12). 9) This takes into consideration that there is a small segment of society that is unable to work or limited in their ability to work. In most cases, family members take up the slack. We are left with perhaps less than 1% of the population that is unable to work and therefore needs some assistance. (1) The idea that the United States provides food stamps to 1 out of 6 people is absolutely ridiculous. There are not that many people who require assistance. (2) The same thing is true of getting a government check. In the United States, nearly half the population resides in a household that receives some form of government aid. 10) This means that, in any nation, the poor ought to be supported by family, by charity and by the government. Those who are unable to contribute should not be killed or simply allowed to die. 11) Hard work is always presented as admirable; and laziness is spoken of as a personal failing. Prov. 24:30–34 Eccles. 5:18–20 Eph. 4:28 12) Ideally speaking, if you work hard at your job, there are going to be times that you gain some satisfaction from this; and you tend to appreciate your time of rest even more. Eccles. 9:9 13) When a person pursues a vocation which is his passion, that person often receives a great deal of satisfaction from their work. 14) I personally have known people who do not work, who collect a check from the government even though they are perfectly capable of working. These people tend to be unhappy, unfocused, angry and even a little nutty. Work is so fundamental to man’s existence that, apart from it, man’s soul goes awry. 15) Even Paul writes to the Thessalonians and tells them, if they don’t work, then they should not eat. The implication here is, Paul is speaking of those who are able to work. 2Thess. 3:10 16) When the people of a nation are working, that nation is prosperous and productive. Also, the people are more focused and happy. 17) Satan has attacked the concept of work with the welfare state, section 8 housing, and food assistance programs. One of the things which has stuck in my mind, over the years, is a mother and daughter who rented a house from me, and section 8 paid the rent for them. Every morning, their job was to get up, sit on the couch, break open the smokes, and watch tv. Now, you might think that, having no job, their house would be clean and their kids well taken care of. Not a chance. The kids ran around unsupervised and the house was one of the filthiest houses I had ever been in. Furthermore, these were unhappy people. I found huge piles of beer cans all over after they moved out—about two garbage cans full. That does not represent all of the beer that they drank; just all the beer that they drank and did not feel like putting the cans into any sort of garbage container. 18) Satan also attacks the divine institution of work with unfair business owners and with unions. Although the owner of a business gets to call the shots because he owns the business and has made all of the investments, his choices are important. If he exploits his workforce, there can be a backlash of union activity, which completely distorts the system of authority (however, the owner of the company chose to distort his own authority first). There have been a number of companies which have been successful and part of their strategy has been to treat their workforce with dignity and respect (Coors, HEB, Whole Foods, Starbuck’s, and Wal-Mart quickly come to mind). (1) Union leaders have figured out that, they can organize public employees—even when these employees are well remunerated—and demand pretty much anything, as there is very little personal integrity when it comes to the management of public works (that is, they do not care what costs they incur; they simply ask the taxpayers to pay more money). (2) So you see how these institutions are distorted. Bad employers caused unions to spring up, which, in turn, moved into the public sector, where salary and benefits were almost unlimited, even though there was no indication that the problems the unions originally fought to correct even existed in any form in the public sector. 19) Fundamental to any person’s mental and emotion health; as well as fundamental to the nation in which he lives, is work. This was one of the reasons that President Trump was/is so popular; he also believed in hard work and did everything possible so that work was available for those who wanted it. |
6. The Third Divine Institution, Marriage, and the client nation. |
1) Marriage, the third divine institution, mixes freedom, authority, privacy and responsibility. 2) Monogamy, a permanent relationship between one man and one woman, is ordained of God to remind mankind that He has from the beginning a design called right man-right woman, Gen. 1:26:27 5:1-2 2:18-25 1 Cor 7:2-4. 3) Marriage is the most basic and fundamental organization in the human race. Even the unbeliever, whose life is a total failure, can have great temporary happiness by marrying the right woman, Eccl. 9:9 4) A lifetime commitment between one man and one woman is a natural way to order society; and the resulting marriage provides an excellent framework for the raising of children. 5) Under the authority of the laws of divine establishment, the right man-right woman relationship becomes the normal, legitimate expression of category two love, 1Cor 7:9 1Tim. 5:14 Eph. 5:22, 23, 28, 33 Heb. 13:4. Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 6) The husband has authority and responsibility for his wife, and the wife has volition, which, in marriage, she has, at least at one point in time, given over to her husband. The husband has all the authority; there are no exceptions or rationalizations. Violations of a principle do not change the principle. 7) This does not mean that the husband runs his marriage like a drill sergeant (although that is not an impossible relationship). 8) Marriage is the basis for stability in society and for the formation of civilization. 9) The laws of divine establishment are designed to protect freedom and to preserve the human race; marriage both protects and preserves the human race. 10) Marriage is a relationship analogous to our relationship with God. God has the authority and He has taken upon Himself the responsibility for us. As believers, we may accept or reject His authority, which affects the nature of the relationship. 11) The married couple is a corporate witness before God. In a marriage, it is not to anyone’s benefit for a couple to pretend that they have a Donna Reed/Father Knows Best kind of marriage; but, through the doctrine in the souls, they should actually have a good marriage. 12) The prayers of a married couple can be dynamic and powerful. Matt. 18:20 13) In marriage, the exercise of the woman’s volition affects the nature of the relationship. However, the man must be aggressive in his expression of love, as God is toward us. Nations where marriages are crumbling are subject to discipline from God. 14) Nations in which marriages are crumbling are destroyed from within. One example of this is crime; a criminal is much more likely to have come from a single-parent home than from a nuclear family. 15) Marriage is one of the greatest areas of mistakes in life because of emotion. You have to be rational in both response and function. 16) One of the keys to marriage is two growing believers making spiritual decisions in unison. In such a marriage, the two believers function as a corporate unit, and stand as witnesses before God. 17) It is the stability of marriage—this applies to both believers and unbelievers—that allows for consistency in a client nation. Security (or lack thereof) in the marriage has a ripple effect on society. Marriage also has an effect on any nation, whether it is a client nation to God or not. 18) The man with a wife and/or children is very likely to be protective of them and of their freedom and happiness. Such a man is often willing to die to preserve those things. 19) Satan, society and unbelievers attack marriage: (1) Satan attacks marriages from within, to try to destroy them. (2) Marriage is presented by society as a 50-50 proposition with no clear line of authority (as has happened in the era of the woman’s movement). (3) Satan and society attack the marriage unit with substitutes, usually attempting to exploit the sexual drive: promiscuity, sexual perversions, homosexuality, lesbianism, distortions of marriage (homosexual unions, polygamy, living together), sex education. |
7. The Fourth Divine Institution, Family, and the client nation. |
1) The family provides the framework for maintaining order in the society. Children are taught establishment and biblical norms and standards, the clarity of absolute rights and wrongs, and authority orientation. 2) Because we are born into this world as completely helpless, God has designed the family as the proper unit within which to raise a child and to protect the mother. Ideally speaking, this requires the child’s biological parents. 3) At birth, we are born with a sin nature, with Adam’s imputed sin, and, soon into our lives, we commit personal sin. 4) Condemnation from God occurs immediately at birth. Therefore, our personal sins do not condemn us and are free to be imputed to our Lord on the cross. 5) With regards to family, the ideal is 1 male and 1 female believer, married, growing spiritually, and raising up children. Part of our growing process is learning from both the male and female of the species, whether we are male or female children. 6) This provides protection for the souls and bodies of the children as well as guidance. The idea is to take this helpless thing and raise them so that they are able to make their own decisions as a grownup. 7) Again, the ideal is to expose them to doctrine and to the gospel, and this is best done within the family. Christian parents must also evangelize and provide pre-doctrinal training for their children, Deut. 6:6-9 7:9. 8) The laws of divine establishment give freedom to exercise our positive volition toward doctrine so that we can develop the capacity for these blessings. 9) God has provided certain divine laws, such as the authority of parents, to protect, care, nourish, provide, train, and discipline children to prepare them for life. 10) Parental authority is the way of preparing children for a normal life. Permissiveness destroys this. 11) The highest expression of parental love is to teach through the forms of discipline. 12) Parents must teach poise, objectivity, respect for police, patriotism, and willingness to serve to protect freedom. 13) When parents do not fulfill their responsibility and children do not "honor" their parents, the nation suffers from insecurity, instability, and eventual loss of liberty. National disintegration begins in the family. 14) This brings about internal decay in the client nation and in any nation. 15) In demanding security from government an insecure generation becomes an entitlement generation. 16) When one generation fails to teach norms and standards, virtues and values, and authority orientation to its children, they become dysfunctional adults and their children continue the process of national decline. 17) Statistics are mistakenly used to show that there are a disproportionate number of African Americans caught up on the wrong side of the law (as well as being more likely to use and/or sell drugs, to engage in underage drinking; to become pregnant out of wedlock). Even though this is true, it is not the color of a person’s skin which is the determining factor—it is the family unit, or the lack thereof. That is, if we examine crime statistics of the children of both Black and White nuclear families, there are no appreciable differences. The key for these negative factors in the lives of children is single motherhood, not race. The United States is a client nation to God, but it still makes a lot of stupid decisions. One corporate decision the United States has made is to encourage single motherhood among Blacks (when you subsidize something, you get more of it; when you tax it, you get less of it). We subsidize single black mothers in this nation, and the result is criminality on the part of their children. This is a good example of a client nation making a lousy corporate decision. 18) Satanic attacks upon the family unit: (1) Just as before, Satan attacks the divine institution of the family with substitutes: single-mother households, gay-parent households, pre-school, public education (which attempts to undermine the authority of the home). As I write this, we have a school board in Montana which wants to introduce homosexuality and homosexual positions to grade school children, teaching it to be equivalent to heterosexual activity. (2) Satan also attacks with broken families, setting children against the parents or parents against their children. (3) Abortion is a result of a lack of natural affection. (4) Rom. 1:22–32 describes a number of areas where our negative volition and Satanic attacks overlap: Professing to be wise, they became foolish and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into a likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things [any sort of idolatry]. Because of this, God gave them up to impurity in the lusts of their hearts, their bodies to be dishonored among themselves, who changed the truth of God into the lie, and worshiped and served the created thing [any sort of creature worship, including that of Satan] more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Because of this, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, for even their females changed the natural use to that contrary to nature [lesbianism]. And likewise, the males also forsaking the natural use of the female burned in their lust toward one another [homosexuality], males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving back within themselves the reward which was fitting for their error. And even as they did not think fit to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right, having been filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, iniquity, covetousness, malice, being full of envy [this includes this idea that we deserve this or that], murder, quarrels, deceit, evil habits, becoming whisperers, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, proud, braggarts, devisers of evil things, disobedient to parents [attack on the family], without discernment, covenant breakers [people who do not honor the contracts which they sign], without natural affection [including a natural love toward one’s own children], unforgiving, unmerciful, who knowing the righteous order of God, that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also approve those practicing them. Such things are actually glorified. Have you ever heard of gay pride week? |
8. The Fifth Divine Institution—Human Government and Nationalism—and the client nation. |
1) The divine institution of national governments helps to preserve the freedom of peoples of the earth. It is God’s plan for there to be many nations. When a nation is negative toward the plan of God, it is isolated from other national entities. When there is a lot of positive volition within a nation, that nation protects the freedom of its citizens. 2) This is made clear when God judges the Tower of Babel, the first United Nations building, where the descendants of Noah were divided by language in order to get them to spread out over the earth. God’s plan for when the people began to spread out was to form many nations, which had different languages and would develop different cultures. Gen. 11:1–9 3) A national entity protects human volition and allows for man to be evangelized. Acts 17:26–27a “And God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.” 4) Divine institutions balance volition and authority. Rom.13:1–7 tells us the importance of the authority of the national entity (and other authorities within the entity): Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 5) As a minor point, early on after the flood, there were probably groups of people who established some sort of human government, although calling them a nation may not have been accurate. Whether these things began as customs and become more complex as the group got larger, we do not know. In any case, larger numbers of people required some form of organization, some sort of judicial system and some sort of law enforcement, and thus, government was born. 6) The divine institution of government quickly evolved into the divine institution of nationalism. Gen. 10:5, 20, 32 7) Nationalism also contains evil. Evil may grow and expand within a nation, but nationalism, for the most part, constrains this evil geographically. Nationalism similarly protects other sovereign nations from importing evil from another nation. (1) Throughout the world, there are now, in 2010, dozens of evil Islamic organizations which are looking to expand their influence. (2) Although these groups may be partially sponsored by this or that nation, they often move outside of the boundaries of that nation. (3) However, other national entities can keep these groups out, if they so choose. 8) To perpetuate the human race and bring history to its logical conclusion, God has designed the nation to protect the freedom and rights of the people within this nation and to protect the other people on this planet. (1) This does not mean that all nations are free. (2) Under the concept, a people get the government that they deserve, some governments are going to be oppressive, intrusive and over-bearing. (3) However, there will be freedom in some nations, which is often where the gospel and Bible doctrine spring from. (4) On the other hand, historically speaking, the gospel of Christ Jesus and the growth of the church sometimes occurs under great pressure (for instance, during the era of the 1st century, when Rome persecuted the Christians. (5) Furthermore, people from the outside will be drawn to a client nation and to its customs and culture (often, what they are expressing is positive volition toward the gospel). This is why some foreigners move to the United States and become Christians as well as that nation’s greatest patriots. They had positive volition to begin with and they have a point of reference by which to judge the United States (using the U.S. as an example of a client nation). (6) Some of the very worst citizens in the United States come as a result of negative volition to the Word of God, outer influences, and virtually no knowledge of history or other nations. 9) Negative volition and scar tissue of the soul explains why some of those who live in a client nation actually think poorly of their own nation and its history. Not only are their souls blinded, but they have nothing which they can compare their life to (apart from, at best, some trips to foreign countries). Their souls have sucked in false thinking and anti-establishment thinking. 10) Good government can be easily corrupted when people look to government rather than to God to solve their problems. (1) Absolute power in the hands of insecure and incompetent rulers, whose power lust feeds on an insecure generation demanding something for nothing, results in a nation selling its heritage of freedom for a mess a pottage. (2) In demanding security from government an insecure generation becomes an entitlement generation. (3) Insecure politicians offer some form of socialism that is always divorced from establishment principles found in the infallible Word of God. (4) If you seek security in anything other than God then you are a weak dysfunctional adult. (5) The government’s job is to protect freedom, not direct it. (6) We have begun to see a loss of freedom in the United States with the 2020 election. What I mean is, the vote was distorted enough to possibly change the presidency and the Senate and possibly even the House. The solution is not political, however; the solution is spiritual. i This does not preclude voting or even electioneering by individual Christians (not in church, however). ii This does not even preclude a believer running for political office. iii This does not preclude fixing our voting system. iv However, our actions must remain lawful; and our faith must remain in God. v I can guarantee you that millions more people prayed for Donald Trump to be elected than Joe Biden. I can also guarantee you that, by far, the Christian vote went to Trump. But, it is also clear that a considerable number of Christians were placing their faith in a man (Donald Trump) rather than in the will of God. Like it or not, the will of God was for Joe Biden to be placed into power. This does not mean that he is a better man or has a better plan or that there is something wrong with Donald Trump. vi If you reacted in 2020 by being disgusted by politics and you vow never to vote again; or if you reacted by vowing to do everything to elect the right candidates to office; then that is the wrong reaction of the believer. vii The correct reaction is, I need to increase my intake of Bible doctrine so that I can better understand and appreciate the events taking place in the United States. viii A fraudulent election is not the first crisis that the United States has faced. 11) Good decisions of national leadership result in greater options for greater decisions. Bad decisions destroy freedom options and enslave the nation. 12) God’s view of internationalism is first made known by His judgment of the original ‘united nations’ at the tower of Babel, where the human race was then divided into nations. 13) The formation of the Jewish nation set up the perfect standard of what a national entity should be. The Biblical proof that nationalism is authorized by God is found in Gen. 10:5 Deut. 32:8 Acts 17:26-28. (1) Interior protection of freedom is provided through a proper system of law enforcement, jurisprudence, and a system of law whereby a person is innocent until proved guilty. (2) The exterior protection of freedom comes through a strong, well-prepared military. (3) A government of whatever category must protect the freedoms and rights of its citizens without interfering with those rights by the illegal use of power. (4) An economy must be based on free enterprise and capitalism. Labor has no right to dictate the policy of management. (5) There must be a system of common law which prohibits crime and thereby protects the freedom, rights, life, and property of individuals. (6) However, nation Israel was first designed as a theocracy. God is not presiding over any theocracy today; God has no plans for developing a theocratic nation in the near future (apart from, of course, the Millennium). 14) Satan is always on the attack against nationalism: Satan attacks with internationalism, which includes, but not limited to, the United Nations, communist movements (true communism, in theory, is a worldwide movement), Islamic terrorist groups, the so-called Green movement, and attempts by members of our own Supreme Court to appeal to or apply international laws or standards. 15) The United States as a client nation having religious freedom will be covered as a separate point later on in this study. |
9. The Interaction of the Divine Institutions and the client nation. |
1) The client nation is on an upward Spiral: (1) Individual souls are making the decision to believe in Jesus Christ and many of choosing to learn about Him through His Word. (2) People get educated, they learn practical skills and trades, and they work within the client nation, making that nation strong and prosperous. (3) As these people grow older, they marry, following the Biblical principles of marriage. The marriages function as one unit moving forward spiritually. (4) These people have children, and the children learn Who Jesus is, in the home; and, after believing, they learn Bible doctrine. (5) These children grow up, make a lot of good decisions which impacts the nation favorably. (6) The nation and its leadership reflect its people. (7) God blesses a nation. As an example, I am certain that we were protected here in the United States from war around 1980 through a variety of circumstances, which God directed. (8) God promotes great leaders in a client nation with a good corporate witness. 2) The client nation is on a downward spiral: (1) Individuals choose against believing in Jesus Christ; and those who do believe, reject His Word. Various surveys and polling have revealed that the percentage of believers in the United States is going down. Based upon my own knowledge of things, the percentage of those who attend doctrinal churches is going down. (2) People reject work and opt for government support instead. (3) People reject the concept of authority in life. (4) Not surprisingly, when a nation is on a downward spiral, people make lousy decisions when it comes to marriage or having families. Many have children out of wedlock, many engage in perverted behavior, and, as a result, many look to government to bail them out of the mess they got themselves into. (5) Unstable marriages and broken families increase the number of bad decisions made by children coming out of such a home, decreasing future options. (6) These bad decisions compound and work against a client nation. (7) Politicians arise proposing to solve these problems, all of which go back to the volition of the individual souls and then percolate up in society in lousy marriages and families. (8) When a nation turns away from God, it must turn toward something or someone; in most cases, they turn toward political leaders. (9) This explains that almost messianic qualities which were imputed to Barrack Obama by people throughout the United States (he was the president when I first wrote this). (10) He was seen by many as a rock star, a god, a messianic figure. If you Google “Obama, halo” under images, you can see how the media made that a subliminal message to the public. Obama turned out to be an unbelievably inexperienced politician. 3) All divine institutions are either moving forward or they are moving backward, and they do so in unison. 4) Therefore, we ought to expect bad personal choices, lousy marriages, broken families and a poorly administered, intrusive and oppressive government to go hand-in-hand. 5) Similarly, as individual souls in a society begin to make good choices (they believe in Jesus Christ, they pursue knowledge of Him through the Word), this positively impacts marriages, families and nations. 6) President George W. Bush provides us with an excellent illustration of a nation in flux, if not on a downward spiral. : (1) Despite all of the lies about Bush’s intelligence, President Bush read a lot of history books, and certainly understood, to some degree, the unique place in history of the United States. He was far more well-read than President Obama, and with a much better perspective. (2) President Bush, when we were attacked on 9/11, knew that he could not simply sit back and treat this as a law enforcement matter, but he took our nation on the offensive against entities which sought our destruction. (3) President Bush recognized the importance of nation building which took place in the past—in South Korea, in Japan and in Germany—and how our choice to build up these nations was a good thing which had positive results for decades to come. (4) Therefore, the President invaded both Afghanistan and later Iraq, with the intention of freeing the people and building up these nations into our allies. So far, so good. (5) At this point, our president went off the rails. There was a spiritual component which was a the most important ingredient of building up South Korea, Germany and Japan. (6) When ruling over Japan in an interim government, MacArthur, a devout Episcopalian, said to a visiting group of evangelicals that "Japan is a spiritual vacuum. If you do not fill it with Christianity, it will be filled with Communism. Send me 1,000 missionaries." He also asked U.S. missionary societies to send "Bibles, Bibles and more Bibles." (7) MacArthur knew who to go to. He did not tell Eisenhower, “Send us a whole bunch of missionaries and Bibles.” He spoke to the proper spiritual organizations, and this changed the lives of millions of Japanese. (8) Today, South Korea is known for its Christian missionaries, who evangelize much of Asia. Today, there is a marvelous difference between North and South Korea—one is prosperous and growing; and the other is filled with starving people. (9) In order for us to succeed in the Middle East (meaning that we work hand-in-hand with a nation as an ally for the next several decades), there has to be a spiritual component. If the Middle East is not evangelized—if freedom of religion is not allowed—we are wasting our time there. (10) Essentially what President Bush did was a right thing in a wrong way, which approach President Obama is continuing today (I wrote this short section in the year of our Lord 2010). |
10. Negative Volition to Bible doctrine destroys a client nation. |
1) Apostasy in a client nation is always a cancer. If it continues long enough and spreads, that client nation will fall under the various stages of discipline. In every case of Jewish apostasy in a Jewish client nation status both the clergy and the politicians of Israel are indicted along with the negative volition of the people. When the any of the nations Israel went down, it was a result of great negative volition among the people; which resulted in Israel being removed from the land under the fifth cycle of discipline. (1) Jer 6:13-14 "For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for profit, furthermore from the prophet even to the priest everyone manufactures lies. In fact they allege to solve problems of My people, saying, `Peace, peace,' when there is no peace." (2) Ezek 13:10-16 "It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, `Peace!' when there is no peace. Now when anyone builds a wall [the political lies of politicians], behold, they cover it with whitewash [the false solution to the problems of the client nation]; so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, O hailstones, will fall; and a violent wind [fifth cycle of discipline] will break out. Listen, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, `Where is the plaster with which you have plastered it?' Therefore, thus says the Lord God, `I will cause a violent wind to break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath. So I shall tear down the wall [the political lies] which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation is laid bare; furthermore when it falls, you will be destroyed with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Therefore I will spend My wrath against the wall and against those who have plastered it with whitewash; then I will say to you, `The wall is gone along with its plasterers, along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and saw visions of peace for her where there is no peace,' declares the Lord God." 2) Mankind always has been and always will be the product of their own volition, not their environment. When we blame our environment we are operating in arrogance and self-deception. 3) Good decisions of national leadership result in greater options for greater decisions. Bad decisions destroy freedom options and enslave the nation, so that the client nation status is destroyed from within in the first three cycles of discipline. A nation that is not prepared for war is not prepared for peace. 4) Mankind always has been and always will be the product of their own volition, not their environment. We blame environment, which comes from our arrogance. 5) The doctrine of man's sin nature and total depravity plus the function of Satan's cosmic system requires that people in a client nation periodically will have to make great sacrifices for freedom. 6) Political solutions are useless without spiritual solutions. What makes political solutions great is the invisible hero-ship of a pivot of mature believers. Political solutions are temporal; spiritual solutions are eternal. Political solutions relate to the power of man; spiritual solutions relate to the power of God. Political solutions are often erroneous and destructive to a nation, while spiritual solutions offer hope to a nation and eternal life to individuals in that nation. Political solutions are mortal and subject to corruption; spiritual solutions are eternal and compatible with the immortality of the soul. Political solutions grope in darkness of spiritual death, but spiritual solutions live in the light of eternity and the fantastic divine revelation in time. Political solutions are related to the first birth of mankind and his spiritual death; spiritual solutions are related to regeneration through faith in Christ—the second birth of mankind and his eternal relationship with God. Spiritual solutions never include violence or coercion, but a change in the soul through Bible doctrine. 7) Due to man’s sin nature and his total depravity plus the function of Satan’s cosmic system, freedom will always be under attack. People in the client nation will periodically have to make great sacrifices for freedom. 8) Political solutions are useless without spiritual solutions. What makes political solutions great is the invisible hero-ship of a pivot of mature believers. 9) Spiritual solutions never include violence or coercion, but a change in the soul through Bible doctrine. 10) Power and influence is not about bossing other people around or getting your way. With great power and influence comes great responsibility. The more power and influence that you have, the more people each decision that you make affects. 11) Political solutions are related to the first birth of mankind and his spiritual death; spiritual solutions are related to regeneration through faith in Christ-the second birth of mankind and his eternal relationship with God. 12) Political solutions treat the symptom; spiritual solutions treat the problem. 13) The greatest system of government cannot be imposed on a hard-hearted people. People who are without truth will reject this system, despite all of the evidence. The best example of this is the United States today. President Obama is going about instituting fundamental changes in our governmental system, giving tremendous power to the federal government, and he is supported by 40% or more of the people in this. He is dismantling the greatest government and greatest system in the world for some personal vision, and a significant number of people support him in this. 14) This explains why so many nations are communistic, socialistic or Muslim—it is the choice of the people. 15) Incidentally, the Bible never supports a particular type of government. Paul, in his epistles, never lays out a system of government towards which we should strive. He lived under a very oppressive Roman government, yet proclaimed obedience to the higher authorities, as they are from God (Rom. 13:1–7). 16) People who focus only on their lives and on their nation become self-righteous, arrogant, legalistic, and reversionistic and are destroyed for lack of Bible doctrine. Hosea 4:1-7 8:7 17) There is no doubt that the United States has enjoyed great freedom and prosperity over the years. To this point in human history, we are the greatest nation which has ever existed. This is completely attributed to God’s grace. This great blessing which we have had in the past may not continue into the future in the same way. The key is not political action, but evangelization and spiritual growth. Although the history books claim that the United States has gone through two spiritual awakenings, I believe that we have enjoyed three. The last one occurred during the life and ministry of Billy Graham. Millions of people were saved by his message of Jesus Christ. At a time when there were only 3 different television stations, there were periods of time when Graham’s crusades could be seen live on prime time on one of those stations. I believe that one of the outgrowths of this tremendous period of evangelization was R. B. Thieme, Jr.’s church, where consistent attendance there was very much like attending a seminary. As evangelization slows and as the teaching of Bible doctrine is reduced, it is inevitable that our nation will go in a negative direction (we will have less freedom and less blessing). I think that God signaled to the believer, with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, that, “You could have this.” How could we have a president like Donald Trump again (or have him again as our president)? The key is not through political action; it is through spiritual growth. 18) Jesus Christ controls history and He knows where positive volition will be in each generation. He makes sure that the current client nation goes to that area of the world with missionary activity. Ignorance of Bible doctrine destroyed the Jewish client nations, and the same ignorance of doctrine destroys the Gentile client nations. Scar tissue of soul of those in a nation has the same effect, Eph. 4:18 ...being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;.. 2Cor. 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test? |
1) Peter, a Jewish Apostle, recognized that God had turned to the Gentiles, and wrote: For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His Own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1Peter 2:6–10; Isa. 28:16 Psalm 118:22 Isa. 8:14 Ex. 19:5–6). 2) The first Gentile client nation was the Roman Empire, starting in a.d. 70. (1) When the Roman Empire reached its peak with a large pivot, there was the golden age of the Antonine Caesars, a.d. 96 - 192. The historian Gibbon called this period the “golden age of humanity.” (2) The period of the Antonine Caesars was a time of dictatorship, and yet a time of the most fantastic blessing. This proves that the issue is not the type of government, but the pivot of believers. (3) Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240 AD) once said of the changes which occurred in Rome: We [Christians] are but of yesterday, and yet we have filled all the places that belong to you — cities, islands, forts, towns, exchanges; the military camps themselves, tribes, town councils, the palace, the senate, the market-place; we have left you nothing but your temples. (From Your Dictionary; accessed February 11, 2021) 3) When the Roman Empire fell in a.d. 476, God had already used the Goths as His client nation during the fourth century. 4) Scotland and Ireland were client nations during the fifth and sixth centuries. This appears to have been kicked off by the evangelist we call Saint Patrick. 5) The Franks were a client nation during the eighth and ninth centuries; the Vikings were during the tenth century. 6) Germany under Luther, and Switzerland under Calvin were client nations during the sixteenth century. 7) Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus, and the Huguenots during the seventeenth century were client nations. 8) Brandenberg-Prussia under the Hohenzollerns were a client nation during the eighteenth century. 9) England was a client nation during the reign of Victoria in the nineteenth century. As an empire, Great Britain expanded its influence over the entire globe. According to the maps I have seen, perhaps a fifth of the world was under British rule during the height of its empire. Why? Because wherever they went, they took the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. 10) The United States of America has been a client nation from 1776 until the present. Although we have not been an empire building nation, you can see our extensive influence by noticing where our military bases are throughout the world. 11) All we have to do is follow the positive volition or the blessings bestowed upon a nation by God, and it will be clear in any generation which nation functions as a client nation to God. 12) Jesus Christ, who controls history, knows where positive volition will be in each generation. And He makes sure that the current client nation goes to that area of the world with missionary activity. This insures that Gentile nations will continue as client nations until the Rapture. 13) Ignorance of Bible doctrine destroyed the Jewish client nations, and the same ignorance of doctrine destroys the Gentile client nations. Scar tissue of soul has had the same effect. 2Cor 13:5 Eph 4:18-19 |
1) The pivot is the remnant of mature believers who have reached maximum adjustment to the justice of God by their positive attitude toward Bible doctrine. 2) The size of the pivot in historical disaster determines the outcome of that disaster. If there is a large pivot, the nation is delivered from historical disaster. It there is a small pivot, then only the pivot is delivered, while the nation is destroyed. 3) The spin-off is the reversionistic believers. The larger the spin-off, the greater the disaster and destruction of the nation. 4) When judgment falls on a nation, the pivot is still secure because of their adjustment to the justice of God. If a mature believer dies during historical disaster, it was just his time to go home, not a matter of discipline. 5) The principle of deliverance depending upon the size of the pivot is derived from the fact that mature believers are a blessing by association and have historical impact. 6) While the pivot is secure, the spinoff is destroyed in the disaster. 7) Therefore historical disaster separates those adjusted to the justice of God from those who are maladjusted (or, maladjusted to the justice of God). Since the spinoff is always composed of those who are maladjusted, they are disciplined and destroyed by the historical disaster. 8) It is possible to be a mature believer in a client nation which is experiencing historical disaster as an element of divine discipline. God takes care of His Own. The mature believer does not need to worry during times of historical disaster; or during times of national disintegration. |
1) In Luke 21:20-24 (“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has drawn near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the fields enter into her. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that has been written. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing a baby in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath among this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”), Jesus Christ warns the Jews of the removal of Judea as a client nation. Mature believers are to know from the intake of Bible doctrine that Judea will be destroyed. By practical application of this passage the pivot was delivered. Someone always gets hurt in historical disaster: when Judea was destroyed, 1,100,000 were killed and 97,000 taken captive. 2) In the meantime, we have the "times of the Gentiles," which began in a.d. 70 and continues until the Second Advent. 3) The "times of the Gentiles" refers to the fact that from a.d. 70 until the Rapture, Tribulation and Second Advent, only Gentile nations will be client nations to God. 4) In the Tribulation only individual Jews will be evangelists, but there will be no Jewish client nation. 5) The times of the Gentiles is equivalent to the Church Age. (Sometimes, the epoch prior to the Jewish Age is call the Age of the Gentiles.) 6) When the fifth cycle of discipline came to the Jews in a.d. 70, it ended the function of any Jewish nation as a priest nation until the Second Advent of Christ. No Jewish client nation will exist during the times of the Gentiles. 7) Throughout the Church Age, there will be only Gentile client nations to God. 8) Gentile client nations should have a maximum number of mature believers for a pivot, maximum evangelism within their own nation, maximum missionary activity to other nations, and they are to provide a haven for the Jews. 9) The client nation is characterized by being pro-Semitic. No Gentile nation can be a client nation to God without providing a haven for the Jews during the "times of the Gentiles." Anti-Semitism automatically eliminates any nation from being a client nation to God. |
1 C. I. Scofield, Scofield Notes from the Scofield King James’ Bible; from e-Sword, Rev. 7:14. |
1) As described in the previous point, a client nation is not to become too proactive in the realm of welfare. 2) The intent by some is for welfare to provide a safety net for the helpless. This when taken to the extreme (and we are way past extreme in the United States) is just as evil as neglecting the poor and the helpless. At the present time, I have run into 4–5 people who live on social security. Now, you may think, big deal; but these are people in their 30's and early 40's who are healthy and reasonably intelligent living on the government dole—they have figured out a way to game the system where the government pays for them to live. Again, let me repeat, this is social security, those funds which are supposedly in a lockbox and designed to assist those in retirement age. These examples that I am aware of have (1) never paid into social security and (2) are completely capable of working. I should add to this, their benefits are, for the most part, greater than my mother’s benefits, for a system that she paid into. 3) However, for the more devious, welfare is designed to make more and more people dependent upon government, which is to turn them away from God and from hard work. One political party in this nation does that in order to gain political power. 4) Anything which turns people away from God—including mass dependence upon the government—is evil. 5) The line our government crossed was going too far into the realm of welfare. There is some welfare prescribed in the Bible, but it is limited. (1) In the Old Testament, the corners of fields were not to be harvested, so that the poor and the widows could come through and harvest what remained. However, note that this involved work. (2) The New Testament has the mandate that we must work for our sustenance. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread (2Thess. 3:10–12). |
22. The United States as a client nation and its related history: |
1) The United States is one of the few nations to get this completely right. Governments are instituted among men in order to preserve the freedom of the human soul. 2) This preservation of freedom by government is found at the very beginning of the Declaration of the United States: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. So, we understood that government was not our mother, father or nanny, but that government was designed to preserve and protect these rights. From there, the Declaration of Independence proclaims that England no longer guarantees any of our rights, but has compromised them in many ways, there are therein enumerated. 3) The heritage of the United States is based upon freedom—particularly, religious freedom. 4) Even more important is the spiritual heritage of our forefathers, which spiritual heritage some dishonest and agenda-driven historians have sought to hide and distort. 5) Religious freedom is not the same as freedom from religion nor is it equivalent to a wall between church and state, which concept has been taken and distorted by those who are opposed to religion. 6) Our First Amendment is quite specific (and the very first words in the constitution read): Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Congress specifically can make no law with respect to the establishment of religion nor can it make any law which would prohibit the free exercise of any religion. One may understand the concept of the freedom of religion by examining the Virginia Declaration of rights, section 16: That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other. There is a listing of the references to God in all 50 state constitutions (mostly in the preambles), which indicates no state sponsored freedom from religion at any time in the history of the United States (notice the dates): http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/god-constitutions.htm. 7) In a review of nearly 15,000 items written by our founding fathers, the Bible was the most quoted of any source material. George Washington and successive U.S. Presidents have been sworn into office placing their hands on the very book that is now unwelcome in many public schools. (1) “The Bible is worth more than all other books which have ever been printed” — Patrick Henry (2) "It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." Patrick Henry on a [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses. (3) This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed." from the Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry. (4) At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. Many believe that he discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22: "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us." (5) "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible." George Washington. (6) "What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ." George Washington in a speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779. (7) Nelly Custis-Lewis (Washington's adopted daughter): “Is it necessary that any one should [ask], ‘Did General Washington avow himself to be a believer in Christianity?’ As well may we question his patriotism, his heroic devotion to his country. His mottos were, ‘Deeds, not Words;’ and, ‘For God and my Country.’ ” (8) "I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen." - John Adams in a December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson. (9) "Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity. and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system." Samuel Adams on October 4, 1790. (10) "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." Source: October 12, 1816. The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, ed., (New York: Burt Franklin, 1970), Vol. IV, p. 393. The term Providence is generally a reference to an active Christian God in the lives of Americans. (11) Thomas Jefferson: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus." (12) "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We've staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." James Madison 1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia. (13) "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?" John Quincey Adams in 1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts. (14) " God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel" Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 from the original manuscript of this speech. (15) In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach "the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern." In 1787 when Franklin helped found Benjamin Franklin University, it was dedicated as "a nursery of religion and learning, built on Christ, the Cornerstone." (16) On July 12, 1804 at his death, Alexander Hamilton said, "I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me." (17) “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” — The Bill of Rights. 8) Most presidents after the founding also understood the importance of the Bible: (1) “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man” - Abraham Lincoln. (2) "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education." - Theodore Roosevelt. (3) "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country." - Calvin Coolidge, 1923 (4) “We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the republic.” — Franklin Roosevelt. (5) “Year of the Bible” (1983): Whereas the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a distinctive and blessed nation and people; Whereas deeply held religious convictions springing from the Holy Scriptures led to the early settlement of our Nation; Whereas Biblical teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration of Independence and the constitution of the United States; Whereas many of our great national leaders—among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson—paid tribute to the surpassing influence of the Bible in our country’s development, as the words of President Jackson that the Bible is “the rock on which our Republic rests”; Whereas the history of our Nation clearly illustrates the value of voluntarily applying the teachings of the Scriptures in the lives of individuals, families, and societies; Whereas this Nation now faces great challenges that will test this Nation as it has never been tested before; and Whereas that renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized and requested to designate 1983 as a national “Year of the Bible” in recognition of both the formative influence the Bible has been for our Nation, and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. 9) Various public institutions bear witness to our Christian heritage: (1) Liberty Bell Inscription: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10). (2) Proposals for the seal of the United States of America i "Moses lifting his wand and dividing the Red Sea" -Ben Franklin. ii "The children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night." --Thomas Jefferson. iii On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams "to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America." Franklin's proposal adapted the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. Jefferson first recommended the "Children of Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by night. . . ." He then embraced Franklin's proposal and rewrote it. Jefferson's revision of Franklin's proposal was presented by the committee to Congress on August 20, 1776. iv Another popular proposal to the Great Seal of the United States was: " Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God"; with Pharoah's army drowning in the Red Sea (3) The three branches of the U.S. Government: Judicial, Legislative, Executive. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He may have discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22: "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." (4) Snopes, being a very liberal fact finding website, downplays the connection between the United States, its monuments and Christianity. They write the following: The representations of Moses described above both present him in a context in which he is depicted as one of several historical exemplars of lawgivers, not as a religious figure. (This is why, for example, the Supreme Court of the United States in 2003 rejected appeals to overturn a decision ordering the removal of a monument to the Ten Commandments from an Alabama courthouse: they ruled that the monument did not present the Ten Commandments in a context other than as quotations of Biblical verse and was therefore deemed an unconstitutional state endorsement of religion.) The depiction referred to here is a sculpture entitled "Justice the Guardian of Liberty" by Hermon A. McNeil, which appears on the eastern pediment of the Supreme Court building. (The eastern pediment is the back of the Supreme Court building, so this sculpture is not something one would see "walking up the steps to the building which houses the Supreme Court." The front entrance is on the western side.) The sculpture was intended to be a symbolic representation of three of the Eastern civilizations from which our laws were derived, personified by the figures of three great lawgivers: Moses, Confucius, and Solon (surrounded by several allegorical figures representing a variety of legal themes): McNeil described the symbolism of his work thusly: Law as an element of civilization was normally and naturally derived or inherited in this country from former civilizations. The "Eastern Pediment" of the Supreme Court Building suggests therefore the treatment of such fundamental laws and precepts as are derived from the East. Moses, Confucius and Solon are chosen as representing three great civilizations and form the central group of this Pediment. The two other lawgiver figures (Confucius and Solon) are not "facing [the] one in the middle" (i.e., Moses) as claimed above - all three of the lawgivers are depicted in full frontal views, facing forward. (The allegorical figures who flank the three lawgivers are indeed facing towards the middle, but they are looking in the direction of all three men, not just Moses.) The two tablets Moses holds in his arms are blank, without inscription.. The impression given is, Moses is just some guy among many other guys (maybe in the top 3), and he is holding up some tablets, but, we really don’t know what they are. That is not the case. First of all this is an entryway into the building (perhaps not the entrance); it is a huge structure, and Moses is front and center, seated (the others are not), and yet he is higher above all the others depicted. If you examine the photo above, it ought to be clear that Moses is (1) preeminent of all the figures there and (2) he is not just holding some miscellaneous tablets on his lap. Certainly, some email forwards with this sort of thing in them tend toward exaggeration. However, Snopes intentionally downplays our close connection with Judeo-Christian traditions. 10) Ideally speaking (and this is certainly not often the case), even the leaders of the client nation should recognize the part that God plays in the destiny of their nation, which recognition can be stated in public proclamations and public prayers, which may include the name of Jesus Christ. When this occurs, a nation is taking a corporate stand for the Word of God and for Jesus Christ. FDR, for all of his faults, recognized the importance of the word of God. A 1941 speech includes these quotations: “Yes, even our right of worship would be threatened. The Nazi world does not recognize any God except Hitler; for the Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God. What place has religion which preaches the dignity of the human being, the majesty of the human soul, in a world where moral standards are measured by treachery and bribery and fifth columnists? Will our children, too, wander off, goosestepping in search of new gods?” And “We are placing our armed forces in strategic military position. We will not hesitate to use our armed forces to repel attack. We reassert our abiding faith in the vitality of our constitutional Republic as a perpetual home of freedom, of tolerance, and of devotion to the word of God.” One speech which I saw Roosevelt make (on a historic DVD), he talked about the United States of America, where the Word of God is taught. I may not have the quote exactly right, but I am certain of the sentiment. Roosevelt is also quoted as saying: “"We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic.” “Since becoming President, I have come to know that the finest of Americans we have abroad today are the missionaries of the cross. I am humiliated that I am not finding this out until this late day the worth of foreign missions and the nobility of the missionaries.” “The young must be taught, and they must be taught truly if spring waters of democracy are to be kept untainted. The influence of the Scriptures in the early days of the Republic is plainly revealed in the writing and thinking of the men who made the nation possible.... They found in the Scriptures that which shaped their course and determined their action.” “I feel that a comprehensive study of the Bible is a liberal education for anyone. Nearly all of the great men of our country have been well versed in the teachings of the Bible.” “We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic. Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.” I chose to take several quotations from FDR because, even though his accomplishments as a president are controversial, he understood the importance of the Word of God, and how closely our nation was wed to it. This is one of the reasons we won WWII. On the other hand, this does not mean that Roosevelt understood the free enterprise principles found in the Word of God (which requires a more solid understanding of Bible doctrine). 11) In a sermon by The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel: Whatever you might think of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, however you might agree or disagree with their political and social goals, it's clear that when confronted with the powers of darkness enslaving the souls of men, when faced with an evil that would have, could have exterminated every Jewish man, woman and child on the earth; when challenged to fight against evil to set the peoples of the world free, or turn away and ignore the march of fascism, violence and terror, they saw themselves as Christian soldiers, marching to war against the foe-strengthened in their resolve, to fight, not necessarily against men, but against the powers of darkness that would enslave the peoples of the world. 12) Most conservatives and many Christians look back at the presidency of FDR with no little suspicion, as one of the worst presidents in our nation’s history, since he prolonged the depression by his continued tinkering with the economy (his modern-day counterpart, President Barrack Obama, is doing the same thing). However, we continued as a client nation to God under a president who understood enough about our unique status to petition God regularly and publically in prayer. |
23. Plots and movements against the United States as a client nation to God. |
1) It is not difficult to find a myriad of plots to destroy the United States, the greatest client nation to God. 2) One of the greatest plans to destroy the United States came from Russia, which involved destroying the United States from the inside by attacking its culture as well as having many specific political and international goals. These 45 goals of the communists are found here: http://famguardian.org/Subjects/Communism/Communism/45GoalsOf%20Communism.htm These 45 points were read into the Congressional record by A. S. Herlong, Jr. of Florida in the House of Representatives January 10, 1963. 3) The Russian plot involved many and varied attacks against the divine institutions, including these: (1) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. (2) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. (3) Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." (4) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." (5) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. (6) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. (7) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 4) The Communist plot against the United States has spawned, sponsored or inspired dozens of other attacks against the United States, including the homosexual agenda, the Green Movement and Healthcare legislation. 5) Just as the Jew and the nation Israel will be under attack throughout human history, so will any client nation to God. This is why there appears to be a constant attack against the United States, whether by radical Muslims, dedicated Communists, or far left Democrats within our nation (this explains why the Democrats and too many Republicans are making every attempt possible to spend the United States into ruin). 6) We have foolishly taken the Bible out of the public schools (which is much more important than prayer in the public schools): (1) If the Bible is “just a book,” it should not be uniquely excluded. (2) If the Bible is more than “just a book,” it is to our folly to exclude it. |
1) Moses made a prophet gesture in relationship to Israel as God's covenant people. This gesture may be classified as the doctrine of the fading glory in contrast to the spiritual life of the Church Age which may be classified as the doctrine of the unfading glory. 2) Exodus 34:29-35 reads Now it came to pass when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in his hands that Moses did not know that the skin of his face was shining because he had been talking with Him. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. So Moses called to them. Then Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; then Moses spoke to them. And afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. Now whenever Moses went in face-to-face with the Lord to speak with Him, he took off the veil until he came out, and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what had been commanded, the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him. (1) Moses put on the veil after speaking God's word to the people so that Israel could not see the fading glory of the Mosaic Law. Moses understood that Israel must hear the message and not associate the message with the fact that the Mosaic Law is a system of fading glory. Israel was not to understand at that time that all five of the Jewish client nations to God would sooner or later fail because of rejection of Bible doctrine. As soon as Moses entered the tabernacle he removed the veil and kept it off until he was finished listening to the Lord and speaking to the people of Israel. (2) The prophetic gesture of Moses provides the historical background and interpretation for the unfading glory of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. The unique spiritual life of the Church Age believer is an unfading glory. There is no fading glory in the spiritual life of the Church Age. If the spiritual life is rejected, there is a veil over the soul called scar tissue of the soul. People do not do what the word of God says because there is a veil over their soul. 3) 2Cor 3:13-18 reads: And not as Moses, who kept on putting a veil over his face to prevent the sons of Israel from gazing at his face while the radiance was fading away, but their thinking was hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is only removed by Christ. For until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil covers their heart; but whenever it [the Jewish heart] has turned face-to-face with the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Spirit is the Lord [deity of the Holy Spirit]; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom [spiritual freedom]. But we all, with an unveiled face looking into a mirror to produce a reflection--the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory [the prototype spiritual life] to glory [the operational spiritual life], as it were from the Spirit of the Lord. (1) When Moses pulled down the veil over his face, the Jews pulled a veil down over their hearts. The phrase "their thinking was hardened" means they rejected his teaching and had scar tissue of the soul. They were free to succeed or fail. They chose to fail. Is there a veil over your heart when you hear doctrine taught? To the extent that you neglect doctrine you are presumptuous. If you think that the learning of the world is more important than doctrine, you are presumptuous. The same thing that happened to the Jews in their client nation is happening to believers in client nation USA--their thinking is hardened. (2) There could be no Gentile client nations until the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that any born-again Jew could be part of a client nation that is not Israel. The full measure of the Gentiles does not exclude the Jew at all. (3) They had fading glory. You have unfading glory. You have greater responsibility than anyone in the five Jewish client nations to God. You have a spiritual life that has an unfading glory. If God severely disciplined the Jews who had a spiritual life with fading glory, what will he do to us if we reject a spiritual life with unfading glory? (4) We are face-to-face with the Lord when we hear the teaching of the word of God contained in the New Testament canon. The unveiled face belongs to the positive believer who is consistent in the function of the four spiritual mechanics. (5) Metabolized doctrine in your soul creates a mirror into which you can look and see what you are really like, Jam 1:23-25. This allows you to evaluate yourself without any help from anyone else. There is another reflection which is seen in the mirror of Bible doctrine--the reflection of the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union, the glory of the Lord. You have the opportunity of having the unveiled soul with all of its glory, becoming of member of the pivot of mature believers in the client nation, and so preserving the client nation. |
1) Most of the time, when we read the word hope in Scripture, it actually means confidence. 2) You cannot buy hope. Hope is not for sale. 3) You cannot legislate hope; for hope is the monopoly of God and demands relationship with God. 4) Therefore, government cannot give you hope; for hope is a confident relationship with God. 5) Hence, hope is for Gentile client nations to God of the Church Age and that hope always depends on believers executing the unique spiritual life which has impact on the nation through blessing by association. 6) As goes the spiritual life of the believer so goes the blessing of God for the client nation. 7) In recognition of the doctrine, "as goes the believer, so goes the client nation," hope becomes a technical monopoly of the royal priesthood. 8) Only those believers who execute the unique spiritual life of the dispensation of the Church constitute both blessing and deliverance to the client nation to God in any given generation. 9) Therefore, hope in the client nation is related to the pivot of mature believers who execute the spiritual life of the Church to become a vehicle of blessing by association. |
1) Mankind does not have the power to maintain peace on earth so there must be wars and rumors of wars (Matt. 24:6-7) and a client nation maintains freedom through military victory. 2) The supreme court of heaven can punish Israel without any help. Antisemitism is a guarantee for destroying a national entity. God does not need any help in His discipline of Israel. Antisemitism is Satanic, Rev 12. Antisemitism results in liability to personal and national discipline from the supreme court of heaven. God promised Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:3). God does not need anyone’s help in disciplining Israel, therefore antisemitism is Satanic and will destroy an individual and a nation. 3) All failure of client nations to God includes both the spiritual and establishment principles. Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:1-6). The failure of believers to execute God's plan and purpose results in a shrinking pivot of mature believers and the rejection of establishment principles. 4) The failure of believers to execute God’s plan results in a shrinking pivot which in turn results in the rejection of divine establishment principles. 5) The Fantasy Notion. Politicians seeking power with utopian plans destroy a national entity. The utopian concept came into history in 1516, when Sir Thomas Moore wrote a book called Utopia, a state of political and social perfection. Utopianism involves the dreams and schemes of an imaginary, divorced from reality status of political and social perfection. Hence, utopianism is the Satanic concept of the millennium brought on by the work of mankind rather than by the work of God. This is the warning of Ezek. 13:10-16: Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the coating with which you smeared it?' Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD. Utopianism not only rejects the biblical eschatology of the millennium but ignores the total depravity of mankind and the need for regeneration and establishment principles delineated in the Scripture. 6) Political or social utopia accepts the premise that the problem with man is the system in which he lives; change the system, and that will improve man’s lot in life. However, man’s true problem is the sin nature and his negative volition. (1) The United States is perhaps the greatest nation in human history when it comes to personal freedom and great blessing. (2) Regardless, there are millions of people in the United States who hate this country, its history, and want to replace our government with some other kind of government. 7) Politicians seek power through false utopian plans that destroy a nation. Utopianism is a fantasy, it is imaginary, it ignores the total depravity of man, and it is satanic. Utopian socialism is an economic system based on the premise that if capital voluntarily surrendered its ownership of means of production to the state and the workers, unemployment and poverty would be abolished. This is tantamount to redistribution of wealth and is totally disastrous. The Bible does not teach any such things. The word of God teaches that you must always have capitalism and free enterprise. Capitalism is the only economic system that creates prosperity. 8) It is important to recognize that some people suffer from power lust. Therefore, many people over the years have supported this or that political system, not because they necessarily believed in that system, but because that system provided them power. No communist leader believes that he is equal to those over whom he rules. He is a part of the elite, the ruling class, and, for that reason, has much greater privileges and freedom than the hoi polloi. 9) It is this great lust for power which causes politicians to say one thing but believe something entirely different. Similarly, politicians will say obscure things, which can be interpreted in many ways, rather than clearly stating their own position. 10) God has ordained nationalism in the human race to protect it from self-destruction. Acts 17:24-27 reads: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods of time and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [with the result] that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us.” 11) The word of God teaches that ideally you must have capitalism and free enterprise. Capitalism is the only economic system that creates prosperity. However, the key to capitalism and free enterprise is not prosperity, but freedom. A nation where there is free enterprise is a nation where man has the greatest freedom. 12) The self-determination of the soul is fundamental to the plan of God; therefore, a nation where there is freedom to express faith in Jesus Christ is ideal. A nation where the ability to express faith in Christ is impeded is against God. 13) Jesus Christ controls history through: (1) His divine essence. (2) The supreme court of heaven. (3) The pivot of mature believers. (4) The wrath of man that praises Him, Psalm 76:10. (5) The preservation of Israel. (6) God controls history through the preservation of planet earth during the course of human history. He not only created the universe (Heb 1:10), but He holds the universe together by the word of His power (Heb 1:3). By the control of history, Jesus Christ provides freedom for the function of human volition. (7) The second Advent of Jesus Christ terminates the last and greatest world war of history. 14) Our place in this nation is not being out there advocating political change (although some believers will become politicians, writers, newscasters, etc.). Our function in this nation is first and foremost to grow spiritually and then apply these spiritual principles to our lives. 15) There is no greater thing that we can do for our nation, as individual believers, than to grow spiritually, to exploit our portfolio of spiritual assets, and to pray for the nation in which we find ourselves. 16) The end result is, our nation will be stronger because of great blessing and protection from God, and in part because of the daily influence which we have. |
Other nations are blessed because of the existence of the client nation; and the people in that client nation are blessed because they live in that client nation, despite their own personal shortcomings. |
Much of this was taken from: http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6433 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6434 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6435 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6436 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6437 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6438 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6439 http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=tvw&tid=6440 all accessed July 8, 2010 and edited into an outline form (it was partially in outline form to begin with). This was further supplemented and formatted throughout July 2010. Also credit: http://yedda.com/questions/Thought_America_Today_Work_Wthic_D_8624276941513 accessed July 8, 2010. These are notes, from what I can gather, taken in R. B. Thieme, Jr.’s Bible class. Also some points came from: http://kukis.org/Doctrines/divineestablishment.pdf Many of the Founding Father quotations came from: http://www.eadshome.com/QuotesoftheFounders.htm http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/capital.asp was used for verification, but they make every effort to downplay the importance of Christian symbolism (for instance, in one situation, they point out that the two tablets held by Moses have nothing inscribed on them, implying that they might be anything; that the 3 famous lawgivers Moses, Confucius and Solon and treated equally—they are not, Moses is front and center; etc.). |
Other Resources: A young person’s doctrine of the client nation: http://allaboardgodstrain.org/files/pdf/A_Client_Nation.pdf Ron Adema on Citizen of a Client Nation http://www.doctrinalstudies.com/pdf/D081021.pdf Doctrine of Divine Establishment and The Nation (from the West Bank Bible Church) http://www.westbankbiblechurch.com/02FebMar08AudioFiles/Divine%20Est.%20&%20Nation080217.pdf A doctrinal examination of our founders (Dave’s Message): |
I quote from other Bible teachers now and again for two reasons: (1) if they have plowed the field already, I do not necessarily need to go back and re-plow it. (2) If you the reader do not belong to a particular church, reading through this material ought to help you to make a decision on whether or not you ought to attend McLaughlin’s church (or, whomever I have quoted). |
There is one doctrinal teacher—or formerly doctrinal teacher—who rejects the doctrine of the client nation. The first few points of his opinion put me off, but I include it here (this is Word document, so it will open up Word, WordPerfect or whatever your default program is): http://jimbrettell.org/papers/06clnntn.doc (I did not quote from it in this covering of the client nation). |
What follows below is not new, but an abbreviated doctrine of what you have already read.
Insofar as I know, the Doctrine of the Client Nation is original with R. B. Thieme, Jr. Prior to that, we had the nebulous concept of a Christian Nation. The doctrine below is an abbreviated version of the Doctrine of the Client Nation, coming partially from R. B. Thieme’s notes and, in large part, from Robert McLaughlin’s notes. This doctrine is 16–17 pages long; the original doctrine is about 45 pages long, with much more detail and many more applications (particularly to the present day). |
1. General concept: it ought to be obvious, if one has a knowledge of history and a knowledge of various nations, that nations are not equal. When our President, Barrack Obama, was asked about American exceptionalism, he indicated that this was not unlike British believing in British exceptionalism or the Greeks extolling Greek exceptionalism. The president said this because he has not the slightest clue as to what American exceptionalism is. To him, it was much like a person taking pride in one’s own nation and one’s own people (the implication of all that is, he sees himself as a little above all that, taking in the big world picture). However, American exceptionalism exists, it is objective in nature. For instance, there is not a lot of difference in per capita income between the United States and, say, Qatar or the U.A.E. or Kuwait (I specifically chose nations where the contrast would be dramatic); yet, if given the choice, far more people would want to move to the United States than to any of the other countries. The difference is, the United States is greatly blessed by God and these other countries are, at best, partially blessed by Him (God is not anti-Arab, and when an Arabic state allows some freedom of religion within its borders, God blesses that). The reason we are greatly blessed as a nation, is that we are a client nation to God, which will be explained and defined below. 2. Definition of a client nation: A client nation is a national entity under the patronage of God, assigned the responsibility for the formation, preservation, communication, and fulfillment of the canon of Scripture. R. B. Thieme, Jr. originally called this a priest nation, which is nearly an equivalent term. 3. Scriptural confirmation for the concept of a client nation to God: 1) God speaking to Moses: “You have seen what I did to Egypt; and I bore you on wings of eagles and brought you to Me. And now if listening you will listen to My voice, and will keep My covenant, you will become a special treasure to Me above all the nations, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall become a kingdom of priests for Me, a nation that is set-apart [from other nations]. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (Ex. 19:4–6). 2) Moses speaking to the people: “For you are a people set apart to Jehovah your God. Jehovah your God has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all the people on the face of the earth. Jehovah did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because Jehovah loved you, and because He kept the oath which He swore to your fathers, Jehovah has caused you to go out with His power, and He purchased you from the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Because of this, know that Jehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commands, to a thousand generations; and repaying to his face those that hate Him, to destroy him; He will not delay, He will repay him who hates Him, to his face. And you will keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances which I am commanding you today, to do them. And it will be, because you hear judgments, and keep and do them, even Jehovah your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your oxen and the wealth of your flock, in the land which He has sworn to your fathers, to give it to you. You will be blessed above all people; there will not be a barren man or a barren woman among you, nor among your livestock. And Jehovah will turn aside every sickness from you; and He will not put on you any of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you have known, but He will put them on all who hate you.” (Deut. 7:6–15). 3) In what appears to be a public prayer before the children of Israel, Moses said, “Look down from Your holy habitation, from Heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land which You have given to us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. Today Jehovah your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You [Israel] will take heed to do them with all your heart, and with all your soul. You [Israel] have today declared Jehovah to be your God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes and His commands, and His judgments, and to pay attention to His voice. And Jehovah has declared you today to be His people, a special treasure as He has spoken to you, and to keep all His commands. And He will make you high above all nations that He has made, in praise, and in name, and in glory; and that you may be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as He has spoken.” (Deut. 26:15–19). This public prayer essentially establishes a covenant between God and the newly-formed client nation Israel. 4) In Roman history, a client was someone dependent on another family. In the Church Age, believers depend completely on God directly and do not need a specialized priest. So instead of calling a Gentile nation a priest nation as such, the believers in the Church Age are a holy priesthood and a royal family of God, 1Peter 2:4b–5 reads: [You, believers in Jesus Christ] having been rejected by men, but chosen by God, [are] precious. Furthermore, you [believers], as living stones, are being built a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 5) Rom. 9:25–26 As He says also in Hosea, "I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ And it shall be, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there they will be called, ‘Sons of the Living God.’” (Hosea 2:23). The context of this passage is Paul explaining to the Romans who and what Israel is. 4. During the Age of Israel, there were 5 Jewish client nations, and since the Church Age began, a couple dozen Gentile client nations. 5. As goes the pivot (core group of mature believers in a client nation), so goes the nation. The book of Judges is essentially a study of this phenomenon. The United States has come to be the greatest in the world because of a large pivot of maturing believers. As a result, there are more people, believers and unbelievers, whose thinking lines up with divine establishment. Therefore, these results in a greater army and a better, more honest government (you may scoff, but you ought to compare our government to others throughout the world). 6. In the 11 years between writing and assembling this doctrine originally, and the circumstances today, there are three very notable things regarding the United States: (1) the number of people who believe in Jesus has decreased; (2) the number of mature believers has decreased; and (3) the quality of life in America has decreased as well. We have had two dramatic events, which have impacted the country negatively: (1) the COVID crisis and (2) an election which is thought to be fraudulent by at least a third of the population of the United States. When it comes to divine discipline, these are really minor events compared to what God is able to do. 7. God directs and controls historical activity on the basis of client nations. Obviously, God allows for personal and corporate volition in His plan. A client nation is responsible to do five things... 1) It must evangelize its own population at home. 2) It must communicate Bible doctrine to the believers in the nation. 3) It is responsible for the custodianship of Bible doctrine. 4) It provides a haven for the Jews. 5) It is responsible to send out missionaries to evangelize other nations. 6) Because there is a difference between the priest nation Israel and Gentile client nation, there will be some modification of this concept in the Church Age. 8. There were five Jewish client nations in the Old Testament: 1) The theocratic kingdom (when Israel had no king, and God ruled over Israel directly), from the Exodus until the prophet Samuel (1441-1020 b.c.). 1Sam. 1–9 2) The United Kingdom from Saul to death of Solomon. 1020-926 b.c.. 1Sam. 9–1Kings 11 1Chron. 10–2Chron. 9 3) The Northern Kingdom from Jeroboam to Hoshea (926-721 b.c.). In 721 B.C. the fifth cycle of discipline was administered by the Assyrians under Sargon II. 4) The Southern Kingdom from Rehoboam to Zedekiah (926-586 b.c.). The fifth cycle of discipline was administered by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. 5) Then Judah became a client nation again from b.c. 516 until 70 a.d. 6) Given that Jesus had an extensive ministry to the Galilee area, we might reasonably assume that this was a Jewish client nation as well. 9. The First Divine Institution—the Human Soul—and the client nation. 1) Each divine institution has a system of authority and volition. 2) Although there are a handful of people who received their marching orders directly from God, the majority of people are under a myriad of authorities: (1) The authority of God is revealed in the Word of God, properly interpreted and relative to the correct dispensation. (2) Ideally speaking, we understand our proper place in this world through the authority of the church (Heb. 13:13, 17). However, there is no authorization in the church, whether in a client nation or not, for members of the church to enforce morality. The pastor or assistant pastor or deacons are not to follow you around, telling you what to do. No cult leader is to gather you together on a farm and tell you what you can and cannot do. This violates the volition of a soul. (3) Inside of our soul is a conscience, and on that conscience are to be written correct norms and standards which help us to determine what is right and wrong. Even unbelievers and heathen have a conscience, which is a system of inner authority. Rom. 1:18–20 For God's wrath is revealed from Heaven on all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, holding the truth in unrighteousness, because the thing known of God is clearly known within them, for God revealed it to them. For the unseen things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, both His eternal power and Godhead, for them to be without excuse. (4) There is the authority of the governments under which we find ourselves. Rom. 13:1–2 Let every soul be subject to higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, but the existing authorities have been ordained by God. So that the one resisting authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and the ones opposing will receive judgment to themselves. (5) There are a number of institutions which we choose to participate in and some which we are mandated to participate in. Martial arts classes, private and public schools, homeowner’s associations, government agencies, branches of the armed forces, etc. Some of these, we may choose to become a part of and others (a dance class or a private music teacher), we may not want to be a part of them, but we end up under their authority simply through normal day to day living (our job, the neighborhood homeowner’s association). Other institutions are a part of every person’s life (the police). All of these institutions have a system of authority, and we are under that system of authority, as long as it does not conflict with our obedience to God (Acts 5:29). 3) Freedom and authority are always balanced and bound together. 4) Obviously, the most important choice a person can make is to believe in Jesus Christ. This must always be a free will choice. No one can be born a Christian and no system of authority can make a person into a Christian. 5) The second most important decision we can make is to daily take in doctrine, to learn about God, the plan of God and our place in it. 10. The Second Divine Institution, Work and the client nation. 1) Work is a part of human existence both before and after the fall. Gen. 2:8–10, 15 3:17b–19a 2) Man began having vocations from the earliest times; Cain was a farmer and Abel was a rancher. 3) A man’s woman and his work are the things which bring him the most pleasure in life, apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eccles. 9:9 4) Those who work hard are extolled in the Bible; those who are lazy are spoken of harshly in the Bible. Prov. 24:30–34 Eccles. 5:18–20 Eph. 4:28 5) Although there was money set aside for the poor, this amounted to 3.3% of the yearly income. 6) In order to eat, the destitute was expected to work. Leviticus 19:9–10 23:22 Deut. 24:19–21 Ruth 2:2, 15 7) Paul, when writing to the Thessalonians said, “If a man does not work, then neither should he eat.” 2Thess. 3:10 8) It stands to reason that, when people work hard in a nation, those people have high levels of personal satisfaction and the country is productive. 9) Large numbers of people who live on welfare and food stamps bring a nation down. 10) Increased numbers of people on the government dole is a sign of a nation in decline. 11. The Third Divine institution, Marriage, and the client nation. 1) Marriage, the second divine institution, mixes freedom, authority and responsibility. 2) Monogamy, a permanent relationship between one man and one woman, is ordained of God to remind mankind that He has from the beginning a design called right man-right woman, Gen. 1:26:27 5:1-2 2:18-25 1 Cor 7:2-4. 3) Marriage is the most basic and fundamental organization in the human race. Even the unbeliever, whose life is a total failure, can have great temporary happiness by marrying the right woman, Eccl. 9:9 4) Under the authority of the laws of divine establishment, the right man-right woman relationship becomes the normal, legitimate expression of category two love, 1Cor 7:9 1Tim. 5:14 Eph. 5:22, 23, 28, 33 Heb. 13:4. Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5) The husband has authority and responsibility for his wife, and the wife has volition, which, in marriage, she has, at least at one point in time, given over to her husband. The husband has all the authority; there are no exceptions or rationalizations. Violations of a principle do not change the principle. 6) Marriage is the basis for stability in society and for the formation of civilization. 7) Marriage is a relationship analogous to our relationship with God. God has the authority and He has taken upon Himself the responsibility for us. As believers, we accept or reject His authority, which affects the nature of the relationship. 8) The married couple is a corporate witness before God. In a marriage, it is not to anyone’s benefit for a couple to pretend that they have a Donna Reed/Father Knows Best kind of marriage; but, through the doctrine in the souls, they should actually have a good (or, even a great) marriage. 9) Nations in which marriages are crumbling are destroyed from within. 10) One of the keys to marriage is two growing believers making spiritual decisions in unison. In such a marriage, the two believers function as a corporate unit, and stand as witnesses before God. 11) It is the stability of marriage—in believers and unbelievers—that allows for consistency in a client nation. Security (or lack thereof) in the marriage has a ripple effect on society. Marriage also has an effect on any nation, whether it is a client nation to God or not. 12) Satan, society and unbelievers attack marriage: (1) Satan attacks marriages from within, to try to destroy them. (2) Marriage is presented by society as a 50-50 proposition with no clear line of authority (as has happened in the era of the woman’s movement). (3) Satan and society attack the marriage unit with substitutes, usually attempting to exploit the sexual drive: promiscuity, sexual perversions, homosexuality, lesbianism, distortions of marriage (homosexual unions, polygamy, living together), sex education. 12. The Fourth Divine Institution, Family, and the client nation. 1) The family provides the framework for maintaining order in the society. Children are taught establishment and biblical norms and standards, the clarity of absolute rights and wrongs, and authority orientation. Because we are born into this world as completely helpless, God has designed the family as the proper unit within which to raise a child. Ideally speaking, this requires the child’s biological parents. 2) At birth, we are born with a sin nature, with Adam’s imputed sin, and, soon into our lives, we commit personal sin. Condemnation from God occurs immediately at birth. Therefore, we stand condemned ever before we commit our first personal sin. 3) With regards to family, the ideal is 1 male and 1 female believer, married, growing spiritually, and raising up children. Part of our growing process is learning from both the male and female of the species, whether we are male or female children. This provides protection for the souls and bodies of the children as well as guidance. The idea is to take this helpless thing and raise them so that they are able to make their own decisions as a grownup. 4) The ideal is to expose them to doctrine and to the gospel, and this is best done within the family. Christian parents must also evangelize and provide pre-doctrinal training for their children, Deut. 6:6-9 7:9. 5) Parental authority is the way of preparing children for a normal life. Permissiveness destroys this. The highest expression of parental love is to teach through the forms of discipline. Parents must teach poise, objectivity, respect for police, patriotism, and willingness to serve to protect freedom. 6) Failure to properly raise one’s children brings about internal decay in the client nation and in any nation. When one generation fails to teach norms and standards, virtues and values, and authority orientation to its children, they become dysfunctional adults and their children continue the process of national decline. 7) Statistics are incorrectly used to show that there are a disproportionate number of African Americans caught up on the wrong side of the law (as well as being more likely to use and/or sell drugs, to engage in underage drinking; to become pregnant out of wedlock). Even though this is true, it is not the color of a person’s skin which is the determining factor—it is the family unit, or the lack thereof. That is, if we examine crime statistics of the children of both Black and White nuclear families, there are no appreciable differences. The key for these negative factors in the lives of children is single motherhood, not race. The United States is a client nation to God, but it still makes a lot of stupid decisions. One corporate decision the United States has made is to encourage single motherhood among Blacks (when you subsidize something, you get more of it; when you tax it, you get less of it). We subsidize single black mothers in this nation, and the result is criminality on the part of their children. This is a good example of a client nation making a lousy corporate decision. 8) Satanic attacks upon the family unit: (1) Just as before, Satan attacks the divine institution of the family with substitutes: single-mother households, gay-parent households, pre-school, public education (which attempts to undermine the authority of the home). As I write this in 2010, we have a school board in Montana which wants to introduce homosexuality and homosexual positions to grade school children, teaching it to be equivalent to heterosexual activity (I don’t see why the educational system there is teaching anyone in grade school about any kind of sex). (2) Satan also attacks with broken families, setting children against the parents or parents against their children. (3) Abortion is a result of a lack of natural affection. (4) Rom. 1:22–32 describes a number of areas where our negative volition and Satanic attacks overlap: Professing to be wise, they became foolish and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into a likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things [any sort of idolatry]. Because of this, God gave them up to impurity in the lusts of their hearts, their bodies to be dishonored among themselves, who changed the truth of God into the lie, and worshiped and served the created thing [any sort of creature worship, including that of Satan] more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Because of this, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, for even their females changed the natural use to that contrary to nature [lesbianism]. And likewise, the males also forsaking the natural use of the female burned in their lust toward one another [homosexuality], males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving back within themselves the reward which was fitting for their error. And even as they did not think fit to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right, having been filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, iniquity, covetousness, malice, being full of envy [this includes this idea that we deserve this or that], murder, quarrels, deceit, evil habits, becoming whisperers, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, proud, braggarts, devisers of evil things, disobedient to parents [attack on the family], without discernment, covenant breakers [people who do not honor the contracts which they sign], without natural affection [including a natural love toward one’s own children], unforgiving, unmerciful, who knowing the righteous order of God, that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also approve those practicing them. Such things are actually glorified. Have you ever heard of gay pride week? 13. The Fifth Divine Institution—Human Government and Nationalism—and the client nation. 1) The divine institution of national governments helps to preserve the freedom of peoples of the earth. It is God’s plan for there to be many nations. When a nation is negative toward the plan of God, it is isolated from other national entities. When there is a lot of positive volition within a nation, that nation protects the freedom of its citizens. 2) This is made clear when God judges the Tower of Babel, the first United Nations building, where the descendants of Noah were divided by language in order to get them to spread out over the earth. We also find this in Acts 17:26–27a “And God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.” Rom.13:1–7 tells us the importance of the authority of the national entity (and other authorities within the entity): Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 3) As a minor point, early on after the flood, there were probably groups of people who established some sort of human government, although calling them a nation may not have been accurate. Whether these things began as customs and become more complex as the group got larger, we do not know. In any case, larger numbers of people required some form of organization, some sort of judicial system and some sort of enforcement, and thus, was government born. In any case, the divine institution of government quickly evolved into the divine institution of nationalism. Gen. 10:5, 20, 32 4) Nationalism contains evil. Evil may grow and expand within a nation, but nationalism, for the most part, constrains this evil geographically. Nationalism similarly protects other sovereign nations from importing evil from another nation. 5) To perpetuate the human race and bring history to its logical conclusion, God has designed the nation to protect the freedom and rights of the people within this nation and to protect the other people on this planet. This does not mean that all nations are free. Under the concept, a people get the government that they deserve, some governments are going to be oppressive, intrusive and over-bearing. However, there will be freedom in some nations, which is often where the gospel and Bible doctrine spring from. Furthermore, people from the outside will be drawn to a client nation and to its customs and culture (although what they are expressing is positive volition toward the gospel). This is why some foreigners move to the United States and become Christians and the nations greatest patriots. They had positive volition to begin with and they have a point of reference by which to judge the United States (using the U.S. as an example of a client nation). Good government can be easily corrupted when people look to government rather than to God to solve their problems. 6) Negative volition and scar tissue of the soul explains why some of those who live in a client nation actually think poorly of their own nation and its history. Not only are their souls blinded, but they have nothing which they can compare their life to (apart from, at best, some trips to foreign countries). 7) Good decisions of national leadership result in greater options for greater decisions. Bad decisions destroy freedom options and enslave the nation. 8) Satan is always on the attack against nationalism: Satan attacks with internationalism, which includes, but is not limited to, the United Nations, communist movements (true communism, in theory, is a worldwide movement), Islamic terrorist groups, the so-called Green movement, and attempts by members of our own Supreme Court to appeal to or apply international laws or standards. 14. The Interaction of the Divine Institutions and the client nation with the client nation on an upward Spiral: 1) Individual souls are making the decision to believe in Jesus Christ and many of choosing to learn about Him through His Word. 2) As these people grow older, they marry, following the Biblical principles of marriage. The marriages function as one unit moving forward spiritually. 3) These people have children, and the children learn Who Jesus is, in the home; and, after believing, they learn Bible doctrine. 4) These children grow up, make a lot of good decisions which impacts the nation favorably. 5) The nation and its leadership reflect its people. 6) God blesses a nation. As an example, I am certain that we were protected here in the United States from war around 1980 through a variety of circumstances, which God directed. 7) God promotes great leaders in a client nation with a good corporate witness. 15. The divine institution as related to a client nation is on a downward spiral: 1) Individuals choose against believing in Jesus Christ; and those who do believe, reject His Word. 2) As a result, these people make lousy decisions when it comes to getting married or having families. Many have children out of wedlock, many engage in perverted behavior, and, as a result, many look to government to bail them out of the mess they got themselves into. 3) Unstable marriages and broken families increase the number of bad decisions made by children coming out of such a home, decreasing future options. 4) These bad decisions compound and work against a client nation. 5) Politicians arise proposing to solve these problems, all of which go back to the volition of the individual souls and then percolate up in society in lousy marriages and families. 6) When a nation turns away from God, it must turn toward something or someone; in most cases, they turn toward political leaders. 7) This explains that almost messianic qualities which were imputed to Barrack Obama by people throughout the United States (he is our current president as I write this). 8) He was seen by many as a rock star, a god, a messianic figure—far more than the unbelievably inexperienced politician which he turned out to be. 16. President George W. Bush provides us with an excellent illustration of a nation in flux, if not on a downward spiral. 1) Despite all of the lies about Bush’s intelligence, President Bush read a lot of history books, and certainly understands, to some degree, the unique place in history of the United States. He was far more well-read than President Obama, and with a much better perspective. 2) President Bush, when we were attacked on 9/11, knew that he could not simply sit back and treat this as a law enforcement matter, but he went on the offensive. 3) President Bush recognized the importance of nation building which took place in the past—in South Korea, in Japan and in Germany—and how our choice to build up these nations was a good thing which had positive results for decades to come. 4) Therefore, the President invaded both Afghanistan and later Iraq, with the intention of freeing the people and building up these nations into our allies. So far, so good. 5) At this point, our president went off the rails. There was a spiritual component which was a the most important ingredient of building up South Korea, Germany and Japan. 6) When ruling over Japan in an interim government, MacArthur, a devout Episcopalian, said to a visiting group of evangelicals that "Japan is a spiritual vacuum. If you do not fill it with Christianity, it will be filled with Communism. Send me 1,000 missionaries." He also asked U.S. missionary societies to send "Bibles, Bibles and more Bibles." MacArthur knew who to go to. He did not tell Eisenhower, “Send us a whole bunch of missionaries and Bibles.” He spoke to the proper spiritual organizations, and this changed the lives of millions of Japanese. 7) Today, South Korea is known for its Christian missionaries. 8) In order for us to succeed in the Middle East (meaning that we work hand-in-hand with a nation as an ally for the next several decades), there has to be a spiritual component. If the Middle East is not evangelized—if freedom of religion is not allowed—we are wasting our time there. 9) Essentially what President Bush did was a right thing in a wrong way, which approach President Obama is continuing today (I write this in 2010). Since our objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq were murky, President Trump began to draw down our troops there. A nation needs clear objectives and a client nation should never discourage evangelization (as ours did). 17. Negative Volition to Bible doctrine destroys a client nation. Jer 6:13-14 "For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for profit, furthermore from the prophet even to the priest everyone manufactures lies. In fact they allege to solve problems of My people, saying, `Peace, peace,' when there is no peace." Ezek 13:10-16 "It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, `Peace!' when there is no peace. Now when anyone builds a wall [the political lies of politicians], behold, they cover it with whitewash [the false solution to the problems of the client nation]; so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, O hailstones, will fall; and a violent wind [fifth cycle of discipline] will break out. Listen, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, `Where is the plaster with which you have plastered it?' Therefore, thus says the Lord God, `I will cause a violent wind to break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath. So I shall tear down the wall [the political lies] which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation is laid bare; furthermore when it falls, you will be destroyed with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Therefore I will spend My wrath against the wall and against those who have plastered it with whitewash; then I will say to you, `The wall is gone along with its plasterers, along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and saw visions of peace for her where there is no peace,' declares the Lord God." 18. Political decisions and political solutions will not save a client nation: 1) Due to man’s sin nature and his total depravity plus the function of Satan’s cosmic system, freedom will always be under attack. People in the client nation will periodically have to make great sacrifices for freedom. 2) Political solutions are useless without spiritual solutions. What makes political solutions great is the invisible heroship of a pivot of mature believers. 3) Spiritual solutions never include violence or coercion, but a change in the soul through Bible doctrine. 4) Political solutions are related to the first birth of mankind and his spiritual death; spiritual solutions are related to regeneration through faith in Christ-the second birth of mankind and his eternal relationship with God. 5) Political solutions treat the symptom; spiritual solutions treat the problem. 6) The problem is not with the system, but with the people in the system. Changing the system can occasionally have some good effects (as Trump did when he revamped the VA); but more important is the spiritual state of those working at the VA and those serviced by the VA. 19. Gentile client nations throughout history: 1) Peter, a Jewish Apostle, recognized that God had turned to the Gentiles, and wrote: For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His Own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1Peter 2:6–10; Isa. 28:16 Psalm 118:22 Isa. 8:14 Ex. 19:5–6). Therefore, the first Gentile client nation was the Roman Empire, starting in a.d. 70. When the Roman Empire reached its peak with a large pivot, there was the golden age of the Antonine Caesars, a.d. 96 - 192. The historian Gibbon called this period the “golden age of humanity.” The period of the Antonine Caesars was a time of dictatorship, and yet a time of the most fantastic blessing. This proves that the issue is not the type of government, but the pivot of believers. 2) When the Roman Empire fell in a.d. 476, God had already used the Goths as His client nation during the fourth century. 3) Scotland and Ireland were client nations during the fifth and sixth centuries. This appears to have been kicked off by the evangelist we call Saint Patrick. 4) The Franks were a client nation during the eighth and ninth centuries; the Vikings were during the tenth century. 5) Germany under Luther, and Switzerland under Calvin were client nations during the sixteenth century. 6) Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus, and the Huguenots during the seventeenth century were client nations. 7) Brandenberg-Prussia under the Hohenzollerns were a client nation during the eighteenth century. 8) England was a client nation during the reign of Victoria in the nineteenth century. 9) The United States of America has been a client nation from 1776 until the present. 10) All we have to do is follow the positive volition or the blessings bestowed upon a nation by God, and it will be clear in any generation which nation functions as a client nation to God. 11) Jesus Christ, who controls history, knows where positive volition will be in each generation. And He makes sure that the current client nation goes to that area of the world with missionary activity. This insures that Gentile nations will continue as client nations until the Rapture. 20. During the Tribulation, 144,000 Jews will function as evangelists (Rev. 7:4 14:1–3). There is no client nation during the Tribulation, much like the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity, 21. The pivot and the client nation: 1) The pivot is the remnant of mature believers who have reached maximum adjustment to the justice of God by their positive attitude toward Bible doctrine. 2) The size of the pivot in historical disaster determines the outcome of that disaster. If there is a large pivot, the nation is delivered from historical disaster. It there is a small pivot, then only the pivot is delivered, while the nation is destroyed. 3) The spin-off is the reversionistic believers. The larger the spin-off, the greater the disaster and destruction of the nation. 4) When judgment falls on a nation, the pivot is still secure because of their adjustment to the justice of God. If a mature believer dies during historical disaster, it was just his time to go home, not a matter of discipline. 5) The principle of deliverance depending upon the size of the pivot is derived from the fact that mature believers are a blessing by association and have historical impact. 6) While the pivot is secure, the spinoff is destroyed in the disaster. 7) Therefore historical disaster separates those adjusted to the justice of God from those who are maladjusted. Since the spinoff is always composed of those who are maladjusted, they are disciplined and destroyed by the historical disaster. 8) It is possible to be a mature believer in a client nation which is experiencing historical disaster as an element of divine discipline. God takes care of His Own. The mature believer does not need to worry during times of historical disaster; or during times of national disintegration. 22. The “Times of the Gentiles” begins at the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 and runs until the second advent of Jesus Christ. Luke 21:20-24 23. The “Fullness of the Gentiles” runs from a.d. 70 until the rapture, which ends the Church Age. Rom. 11:25 24. During the Tribulation only individual Jews will be evangelists, there will be no Jewish client nation. There will be no Gentile client nation during the Tribulation since all Church Age believers—Jews and Gentiles—have been taken to heaven before this period of great historical disaster. During the tribulation, there will be a Jewish nation, but it will not be a client nation. There will be a great evangelistic thrust by 144,000 Jews, who are spread about throughout the earth; and the return of Moses and Elijah. But Israel is not restored as a client nation until the Second Advent. When the Rapture occurs, the earth is left with no pivot, no believers, and no client nation. That is why angels, Moses, and Elijah, in addition to the 144,000 Jews are used during the tribulation for the evangelization of the world. Rev. 11–18 25. The Jewish client nation versus the Gentile client nation: When Israel was a client nation, the canon of Scripture was still being written. Therefore, there was direct contact from God to various people in the client nation Israel (in any of the 5 or 6 client nations previously discussed). God spoke directly to kings and sometimes He communicated to them through prophets. The same was true of the people themselves; they heard the Word of God sometimes spoken directly by a prophet. Throughout most of the Church Age, there is no canon of Scripture being written (outside of a couple dozen books written between a.d. 45–100). God does not speak directly to kings, prime ministers or presidents. Prophets, with a fresh message from God, are no longer dispatched to the capitol city to straighten out civil authority. However, this does not preclude world leaders attending church, being involved in Bible study or meeting with religious leaders. 26. It is very important to note that the Bible does not specify an ideal form of government for a Gentile client nation. Through the list of historical client nations, it ought to be clear that nearly any form of government—apart from communism or Islamic control—is legitimate for a client nation. 27. Distortions of a client nation: 1) Liberation Theology, which began in the 70's, quoted a few Biblical passages out of context and taught that socialism and the welfare state was the correct model for a Christian nation. 2) They point to passages in the Law where farmers were to leave their fields partially un-harvested, so that the poor could come in and harvest the remainder for themselves. 3) And they quote 2 passages in the book of Acts: And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:43–47). And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet (Acts 4:31–35). 4) Our Lord has been crucified just 2 months previous, and the Jewish religious structure were on the warpath to wipe out Christianity. The Roman government was not supportive of this new movement, and they persecuted the Christians as well. The government and the religious hierarchy were so antagonistic toward believers in Jesus Christ, that one risked his life and fortune to publically proclaim Jesus Christ. Under extreme circumstances, such action is called for. 5) However, becoming a believer did not mean that you were required to relinquish private property ownership. Acts 5:1–6 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. . The key here is, this was all voluntary. The problem here with Ananas is not that he held back from giving all that he owned, but that he acted as if that is what he did. He did this for show and not with the proper motivation. Private ownership of land here and the ability to take your profits and do with them what you want are clearly presented as legitimate. 6) These incidents in Acts reflect special circumstances, which are dramatic and oppressive persecution for all believers. 7) The New Testament mandate is clear: we must work for our sustenance. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, who do not work, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread (2Thess. 3:10–12). 8) There is a balance and a national entity—particularly a client nation—has a responsibility toward its helpless. In any national entity, somewhere between 1 and 5% of the population is helpless or near to helpless. There are steps a government ought to take to feed its poor and helpless. But there is a balance. 10% of the population is not unable to work; 10% of the population is not helpless. Furthermore, in Israel, people still worked hard for the food that they received. It is not a good thing that the biggest problem with our poor is, they are overweight, for the most part. 28. The Welfare State and client nation United States 1) As described in the previous point, a client nation is not to become too proactive in the realm of welfare. 2) The intent by some is for welfare to provide a safety net for the helpless. This when taken to the extreme (and we are way past extreme in the United States) is just as evil as neglecting the poor and the helpless. At the present time, I have run into 4–5 people who live on social security. Now, you may think, big deal; but these are people in their 30's and early 40's who are healthy and reasonably intelligent living on the government dole—they have figured out a way to game the system where the government pays for them to live. Again, let me repeat, this is social security, those funds which are supposedly in a lockbox and designed to assist those in retirement age. 3) However, for the more devious, welfare is designed to make more and more people dependent upon government, which is to turn them away from God and from hard work. One political party in this nation does that in order to gain political power. 4) Anything which turns people away from God—including mass dependence upon the government—is evil. 5) The line our government crossed was going too far into the realm of welfare. There is some welfare prescribed in the Bible, but it is limited. (1) In the Old Testament, the corners of fields were not to be harvested, so that the poor and the widows could come through and harvest what remained. However, note that this involved work. (2) The New Testament has the mandate that we must work for our sustenance. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread (2Thess. 3:10–12). 29. The Separation of Church and State, and client nation United States 1) Our founding fathers envisioned a separation of church and state, but not in the sense that, there would be no positive interaction between church and state. The founding fathers were very specific: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... 2) Most of the founders were believers in Jesus Christ, as their writings and public statements demonstrated. However, they did not want this or that branch of Christianity favored over some other branch of Christianity. Therefore, there is no federally-sponsored denomination. 3) However, the founding fathers saw no contradiction between the first amendment and the public display of the Ten Commandments, of the citing of Bible verses on interior and exterior walls of federal buildings. 4) The Ten Commandments are a part of Judaism, Catholicism and every stripe of Protestantism; therefore, a monument of some sort with the Ten Commandments is not establishing any particular religion. Even Islam recognizes some version of the Old Testament. 5) The Ten Commandments are a symbol of law; and specifically, of God’s law. God, as our Creator, is fundamental to the establishment of the United States. Our reason for separating from England was, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, among those, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Displaying the Ten Commandments as a symbol of law, even though this symbol comes form the Bible, is no different from our Declaration of Independence. We would never strike the preamble of the Declaration of Independence because it references a Creator-God. Removing the Ten Commandments from a court building because they violate the separation of church and state is similarly bogus. 6) Therefore, apart from an amendment to the constitution, Christian symbols and Bible verses are not in conflict with the first amendment. We know this simply because our forefathers both ratified the constitution while simultaneously building federal structures displaying the Word of God on them. 7) We know that faith in the Christian God was part and parcel of founding fathers, as we find God referred to in the Declaration of Independence, as the basis for our split with England. 8) Nearly all of our founding fathers believed the Bible and Christian principles to be essential to the maintenance of our government and our nation, although none of them would force Christianity upon anyone or any form of Christianity on anyone (which is the essence of freedom). 9) Requiring the removal of the Ten Commandments from a courtroom or Bible verses from the wall of a state or federal building is not the prerogative of the court. Congress can pass an amendment to modify the first amendment, but it cannot pass a simple majority law to modify the first amendment. An honest court, which historically holds to the principles of our founding fathers and to the original documents, would find it outside their realm of authority to prohibit any such thing. 10) The function of Sharia law on any subset of our population, on the other hand, violates the 1st Amendment, and in essence establishes a religion because it subjects citizens of the United States to the laws of a particular religion. 11) On the other hand, government sponsored religious activities (e.g., faith-based initiatives) are not in keeping with the separation between church and state. Government should not partner with any religious group (or with any business group, for that matter). As long as these entities are functioning within the law, government ought not support them or impede them. (1) It should be clear that a government union with business is a bad idea. FNMA and FHLMC, which are part government and part private entities, were the cause (or one of the main causes) of the great recession of 2008 and forward. (2) It is government ineptness which has managed to keep the depression going throughout 2009 and 2010 (and likely through 2011 and 2012). (3) Similarly, government should not have seized GM and then made decisions as to how to run that business—particularly since most people in government have not the slightest clue how to run a business. I recall the newspaper headlines, that GM had paid back their governmental obligations and early. It turns out that GM took from one federal program (TARP), and paid off the original loans the government gave them. Only in the warped thinking of a governmental bureaucrat is that paying back a loan. 12) The concept of our founders was a separation of powers; checks and balances upon powers; and to allow businesses and churches to function as separate entities from the government. 30. The United States as a client nation and its related history. 1) The United States is one of the few nations to get this completely right. Governments are instituted among men in order to preserve the freedom of the human soul. 2) This preservation of freedom by government is found at the very beginning of the Declaration of the United States: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. So, we understood that government was not our mother, father or nanny, but that government was designed to preserve and protect these rights. From there, the Declaration of Independence proclaims that England no longer guarantees any of our rights, but has compromised them in many ways, there are therein enumerated. 3) The heritage of the United States is based upon freedom—particularly, religious freedom. 4) Even more important is the spiritual heritage of our forefathers, which spiritual heritage some dishonest and agenda-driven historians have sought to hide and distort. 5) Religious freedom is not the same as freedom from religion nor is it equivalent to a wall between church and state, which concept has been taken and distorted by those who are opposed to religion. 6) Our First Amendment is quite specific (and the very first words in the constitution read): Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Congress specifically can make no law with respect to the establishment of religion nor can it make any law which would prohibit the free exercise of any religion. One may understand the concept of the freedom of religion by examining the Virginia Declaration of rights, section 16: That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other. There is a listing of the references to God in all 50 state constitutions (mostly in the preambles), which indicates no state sponsored freedom from religion at any time in the history of the United States (notice the dates): http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/god-constitutions.htm. 7) In a review of nearly 15,000 items written by our founding fathers, the Bible was the most quoted of any source material. George Washington and successive U.S. Presidents have been sworn into office placing their hands on the very book that is now unwelcome in many public schools. (1) “The Bible is worth more than all other books which have ever been printed” — Patrick Henry (2) "It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." Patrick Henry on a [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses. (3) This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed." from the Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry. (4) At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22: "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us." (5) "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible." George Washington. (6) "What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ." George Washington in a speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779. (7) "I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen." - John Adams in a December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson. (8) " Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity. and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system." Samuel Adams on October 4, 1790. (9) "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." Source: October 12, 1816. The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, ed., (New York: Burt Franklin, 1970), Vol. IV, p. 393. (10) Thomas Jefferson: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus." (11) "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We've staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity.to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." James Madison 1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia. (12) "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?" John Quincey Adams in 1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts. 8) Most presidents after the founding also understood the importance of the Bible: (1) “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man” - Abraham Lincoln. (2) "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education." - Theodore Roosevelt. (3) "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country." - Calvin Coolidge, 1923 (4) “We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the republic.” — Franklin Roosevelt. 9) Various public institutions bear witness to our Christian heritage: (1) Liberty Bell Inscription: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10). (2) Proposals for the seal of the United States of America i "Moses lifting his wand and dividing the Red Sea" -Ben Franklin. ii "The children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night." --Thomas Jefferson. iii On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams "to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America." Franklin's proposal adapted the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. Jefferson first recommended the "Children of Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by night. . . ." He then embraced Franklin's proposal and rewrote it. Jefferson's revision of Franklin's proposal was presented by the committee to Congress on August 20, 1776. iv Another popular proposal to the Great Seal of the United States was: " Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God"; with Pharoah's army drowning in the Red Sea (3) The three branches of the U.S. Government: Judicial, Legislative, Executive. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22: "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." (4) What we see in this photograph is an entryway into the Supreme Court building (perhaps not the entrance); it is a huge structure, and Moses is front and center, seated (the others are not), and yet he is higher above all the others depicted. If you examine the photo above, it ought to be clear that Moses is (1) preeminent of all the figures there and (2) he is holding the Ten Commandments on his lap. 10) Ideally speaking (and this is certainly not often the case), even the leaders of the client nation should recognize the part that God plays in the destiny of their nation, which recognition can be stated in public proclamations and public prayers, which may include the name of Jesus Christ. When this occurs, a nation is taking a corporate stand for the Word of God and for Jesus Christ. FDR, for all of his faults, recognized the importance of the word of God. A 1941 speech includes these quotations: “Yes, even our right of worship would be threatened. The Nazi world does not recognize any God except Hitler; for the Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God. What place has religion which preaches the dignity of the human being, the majesty of the human soul, in a world where moral standards are measured by treachery and bribery and fifth columnists? Will our children, too, wander off, goosestepping in search of new gods?” And “We are placing our armed forces in strategic military position. We will not hesitate to use our armed forces to repel attack. We reassert our abiding faith in the vitality of our constitutional Republic as a perpetual home of freedom, of tolerance, and of devotion to the word of God.” One speech which I saw Roosevelt make (on a historic DVD), he talked about the United States of America, where the Word of God is taught. I may not have the quote exactly right, but I am certain of the sentiment. Roosevelt is also quoted as saying: “"We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic.” 31. Plots and movements against the United States as a client nation 1) It is not difficult to find a myriad of plots to destroy the United States, the greatest client nation to God. 2) One of the greatest plans to destroy the United States came from Russia, which involved destroying the United States from the inside by attacking its culture as well as having many specific political and international goals. These 45 goals of the communists are found here: http://famguardian.org/Subjects/Communism/Communism/45GoalsOf%20Communism.htm These 45 points were read into the Congressional record by A. S. Herlong, Jr. of Florida in the House of Representatives January 10, 1963. 3) The Russian plot involved many and varied attacks against the divine institutions, including these: (1) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. (2) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. (3) Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." (4) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." (5) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. (6) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. (7) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 4) The Communist plot against the United States has spawned, sponsored or inspired dozens of other attacks against the United States, including the homosexual agenda, the Green Movement and Healthcare legislation. 5) Just as the Jew and the nation Israel will be under attack throughout human history, so will any client nation to God. This is why there appears to be a constant attack against the United States, whether by radical Muslims, dedicated Communists, or far left Democrats within our nation (this explains why the 2010 Democrats are making every attempt possible to spend the United States into ruin). 6) We have foolishly taken the Bible out of the public schools (which is much more important than prayer in the public schools): (1) If the Bible is “just a book,” it should not be uniquely excluded. (2) If the Bible is more than “just a book,” it is to our folly to exclude it. 32. Concluding Principles 1) Mankind does not have the power to maintain peace on earth so there must be wars and rumors of wars (Matt. 24:6-7) and a client nation maintains freedom through military victory. 2) The supreme court of heaven can punish Israel without any help. Anti-Semitism is a guarantee for destroying a national entity. God does not need any help in His discipline of Israel. Anti-Semitism is Satanic (Rev 12). Anti-Semitism results in liability to personal and national discipline from the supreme court of heaven. God promised Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:3). God does not need anyone’s help in disciplining Israel, therefore anti-Semitism is Satanic and will destroy an individual and a nation. 3) All failure of client nations to God includes both the spiritual and establishment principles. Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:1-6). The failure of believers to execute God's plan and purpose results in a shrinking pivot of mature believers and the rejection of establishment principles. 4) The failure of believers to execute God’s plan results in a shrinking pivot which in turn results in the rejection of divine establishment principles. 5) The Fantasy Notion. Politicians seeking power with utopian plans destroy a national entity. The utopian concept came into history in 1516, when Sir Thomas Moore wrote a book called Utopia, a state of political and social perfection. Utopianism involves the dreams and schemes of an imaginary, divorced from reality status of political and social perfection. Hence, utopianism is the Satanic concept of the millennium brought on by the work of mankind rather than by the work of God. This is the warning of Ezek. 13:10-16: Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the coating with which you smeared it?' Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD. Utopianism not only rejects the biblical eschatology of the millennium but ignores the total depravity of mankind and the need for regeneration and establishment principles delineated in the Scripture. 6) Politicians seek power through false utopian plans that destroy a nation. Utopianism is a fantasy, it is imaginary, it ignores the total depravity of man, and it is satanic. Utopian socialism is an economic system based on the premise that if capital voluntarily surrendered its ownership of means of production to the state and the workers, unemployment and poverty would be abolished. This is tantamount to redistribution of wealth and is totally disastrous. The Bible does not teach any such things. The word of God teaches that you must always have capitalism and free enterprize. Capitalism is the only economic system that creates prosperity. 7) It is important to recognize that some people suffer from power lust. Therefore, many people over the years have supported this or that political system, not because they necessarily believed in that system, but because that system provided them power. No communist leader believes that he is equal to those over whom he rules. He is a part of the elite, the ruling class, and, for that reason, has much greater privileges and freedom than the hoi polloi. 8) It is this great lust for power which causes politicians to say one thing but believe something entirely different. Similarly, politicians will say obscure things, which can be interpreted in many ways, rather than clearly stating their own position. 9) God has ordained nationalism in the human race to protect it from self-destruction. Acts 17:24-27 reads: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods of time and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [with the result] that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us.” 10) The word of God teaches that ideally you must have capitalism and free enterprise. Capitalism is the only economic system that creates prosperity. However, the key to capitalism and free enterprise is not prosperity, but freedom. A nation where there is free enterprise is a nation where man has the greatest freedom. 11) The self-determination of the soul is fundamental to the plan of God; therefore, a nation where there is freedom to express faith in Jesus Christ is ideal. A nation where the ability to express faith in Christ is impeded is against God. 12) Jesus Christ controls history through: (1) His divine essence. (2) The supreme court of heaven. (3) The pivot of mature believers. (4) The wrath of man that praises Him, Psalm 76:10. (5) The preservation of Israel. (6) God controls history through the preservation of planet earth during the course of human history. He not only created the universe (Heb 1:10), but He holds the universe together by the word of His power (Heb 1:3). By the control of history, Jesus Christ provides freedom for the function of human volition. (7) The second Advent of Jesus Christ terminates the last and greatest world war of history. 13) Our place in this nation is not being out there advocating political change (although some believers will become politicians, writers, newscasters, etc.). Our function in this nation is first and foremost to grow spiritually and then apply these spiritual principles to our lives. 14) There is no greater thing that we can do for our nation, as individual believers, than to grow spiritually, to exploit our portfolio of spiritual assets, and to pray for the nation in which we find ourselves. 15) The end result is, our nation will be stronger because of great blessing and protection from God, and in part because of the daily influence which we have. |
The complete doctrine may be found here: the Doctrine of the Client Nation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |