Nations Brought Down

Therefore Your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to You the forces of the Gentiles and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve You shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted. (Is 60:11-12).

Remember that these Servant songs are not addressed to the city of Jerusalem under the Old Covenant, but are addressed to Jesus who rules over New Jerusalem. He is the Servant of the Lord whom the Spirit is addressing through Isaiah. Down through the centuries this text has been fulfilled over and over again and will be until the Lord returns and hands this kingdom to the Father.

“For the nation and kingdom that will not serve You shall perish…” The Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Mongols, Hitler and Communism all perished as world rulers. Every nation or ideology that rises up against the King of kings will in God’s time be put down and wasted. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

Today one third of the world’s population claims to be Christian, twice as many as any other religion. Kings and millions in many nations have turned to Christ in different epochs through the ages. We do not see a negative future. We see China, the Middle East, Europe and India opening wide to the gospel. We see renewal in America. We see Africa and South America influencing the world with the gospel. No nation can close itself to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We do Not Rule

We are not saying that church leaders rule. Jesus rules. He rules through the church, but according to His will and plan, not according to our ambitions or wisdom. We are not speaking of a theocracy, where a Christian nation rules. God does not make covenants with nations today. The days of theocracy finished with Israel. We are now in the New Covenant. There is one king: Jesus Christ.

The church is not God’s government on earth. A nation whose leaders turn to Christ is not the government of God. No Christian nation runs God’s plan, or has any monopoly over God. Christ is the governor and no one else. He reigns in the hearts of His people, the church and He reigns over all flesh and over all powers.

Not Glory Theology

We are not teaching triumphalism. There will always be evil on the earth during the reign of Christ. As Psalm 2 states, the heathen will rage. The book of Revelation describes those inspired by Satan who will come against the Lord’s purposes, such as “Gog and Magog” (Rev 20:8).

This has nothing to do with the attack of Gog and Magog against Israel fulfilled in the Intertestamental period (Ezek 38:2). See historical commentaries for details. Josephus claimed this was the attack of the Scythians, meaning northern tribes. Meshech and Tubal lay between the Euxine and Caspian Seas (Barnes Commentary). They were known as savage people.

In Revelation Gog and Magog are symbolic of God’s enemies. They come against the Lord and His anointed throughout the generations. In all this Christ reigns. “He shall laugh them to scorn and have them in derision.” (Psalm 2). The Father could put all down any time it pleased Him. But He will not do this until the end. The Father has not called the church to put Satan down. He has already done this in Christ.

Why does God allow evil to continue? Evil is the result of man’s sin. He allows it to continue for several reasons. First, the Bible says He is long suffering. He does not bring judgement quickly. He is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet 3:9). This does not mean that He will save everyone. It means that He is patient and kind and He waits for His elect.