God’s Purpose for Nation States, How the Bible Created Nation States, and 3 Questions About Immigration
AN IDEA FROM ME
God established the nations so that the nation state itself would be a vehicle and a tool to lead people to God. Although the nations were initially developed by God, sent out from the Tower of Babel when He confused our languages, they very quickly turned away from God. You might even say they never really followed God. And according to Deuteronomy 32, God apportioned the nations according to the number of the sons of God. And so it seems like God gave authority to divine beings (what we might call angels or members of God’s divine council) to have authority over these different nations.
But very quickly, those angels, those celestial beings, started aggregating power and glory for themselves, and you started getting regional and ethnic “deities” and “pantheons,” as opposed to nations worshiping God. So the purpose of these nations was lost very quickly.
Lest we think that all hope is lost, God actually re-established the purpose of nations and re-established their function as vehicles for bringing people to Himself. Do you know when He did that? Matthew 28:18–20. That’s when Jesus says, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.” Go and disciple the nations. They are to be governed by God, and they are to facilitate man’s search for God.
The Great Commission is bound up with this idea of nation states. Before, you had empires and city states. Now, you’ve got nation states, and their purpose is to draw people to God. It’s very nice for us as Christians to have people divided up into nation states, so that we can study the culture of that nation state, and then travel to that nation state with the Gospel, like a William Carey, and evangelize them. We learn the language; we learn the customs. We go there and bring the Gospel to them.
—Source: “Christian Apologist: THIS Is What Bible Says About the Day Without Immigrants 2025 Protests,” Link: https://youtu.be/3Lyob8Vxc1o
Deuteronomy 32:8 is an admittedly controversial passage. For more on this passage and whether it refers to the “Sons of God” (and what that means), check out the late Dr. Michael Heiser’s scholarly treatment of the subject, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” here: https://drmsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Heiser-Deuteronomy-32-8-and-the-sons-of-God.pdf).
A QUOTE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE
“In the wake of the Reformation, it was the Bible that reorganized Europe as modern nation-states. Developing vernaculars through Bible translation was only the first step towards linguistic nation-states. The Bible also provided the theological justification for fighting to build independent nation-states such as Holland.”
― Vishal Mangalwadi, The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization. Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1595555455?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_EK8F487TBFDJ900SRA1D&bestFormat=true
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
As the world’s most powerful country, what obligation (if any) does America have to take in immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers seeking a better life? What obligation (if any) do we have to help improve the nations where they are coming from? And what obligation (if any) do immigrants have to assimilate American culture, language, and/or religion?
Reply to this email within seven days, and I will write you back.
In Christ,
Joel Settecase
President, The Think Institute
P. S. Christian men, are you looking for real accountability and solid theological education in a community with like-minded believers? That is what you will get in the Hammer & Anvil Society, our premium discipleship community for men. For a limited time, you can try it out for FREE for 8 weeks. Get access to all the unique discussions and exclusive resources right here: https://thethink.institute/society.