#920

Ghosted by Prophecy - Where’s China?

Prophecy Today

With a major offensive back and forth between Israel and Iran and Bible prophecy students taking a magnifying glass to Scriptures about the end times verses, those of us who have had our prophetic ears to the ground are being asked about nations that don’t appear to be listed in any of the upcoming wars. Nations like Russia, Iran, Turkey always come up, but what about China, North Korea, India, Britain, or America just to name a few? All of those last ones have nuclear bombs. China and North Korea could launch those bombs any time they want, but Israel is doing everything they can to make sure Iran doesn’t get even a sniff closer to going nuclear. But I was asked about China yesterday and I told that person that they simply aren’t listed as a major player in the last days. Neither is India who has a world class military program. Britain is no slouch when it comes to being locked and loaded in the case of a world war, too. God clearly knows how all of these countries will play parts in the prophetic end games so why are some prominent and others not? The answer is not as clear as we want, but the reasons are pretty simple.

God Moves The King’s Heart

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as are the watercourses; He turns it whichever way He wills. (Prov 21:1, AMPC)

For those who like to believe in predestination, this verse stands out as one their favorites because on its face it makes their point perfectly. However those who believe in free will they beg to differ. And when it comes to Bible prophecy this short verse can make all the difference in the world, literally. I like how an article from ligonier.org explains the meaning of this portion of Scripture:

Divine control and foreordination of whatsoever comes to pass, the Reformed tradition has argued, is among the most comforting of all the doctrines revealed in the Bible. In light of the chaos and unpredictability of so much of life, we come to understand why this doctrine is so important. If there is no sovereign Lord directing all things, we are without hope in this world and life has no transcendent meaning. But if the only wise God is truly in control of absolutely everything that ever happens in the universe, we know that even apparently random events have purpose, and that He can work all things together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28).

So keep in mind that when it comes to prophecy, God knows exactly what needs to happen and always has. The article goes on to flesh out this thinking a little more:

Given the practicality of the doctrine of divine sovereignty, it comes as no surprise that Proverbs, perhaps the most self-evidently practical book in the entire canon of Scripture, contains some of the most important teaching on God's rule over His creation. Today's passage, for instance, is a strong armation that the Lord is in control not only of physical forces but even of the final dispositions and plans of the heart. Even rulers, who have fewer constraints upon them and what they can do than "ordinary" people have, are finally directed by the Creator (Prov. 21:1). They are not ultimately sovereign; God is. Kings and other national leaders can accomplish only what the Lord wills for them to accomplish.

Water Obeys Him

I believe you may know exactly where I’m going with this, but the author makes a good point about the example given of streaming water in the context of the Middle East:

The metaphor of the king's heart as being like a God-directed stream borrows from common ancient Near Eastern life. Due to the arid conditions of the region, farmers in the ancient world—and even today—had to redirect the natural flow of rivers and streams to supply their gardens with life-giving water. This was no easy task for human beings, but the Creator who set rivers and streams on their courses can with ease direct water where He wants it to go (Ps. 78:15–16). It is a similarly easy task for Him to direct the hearts of kings to accomplish His purposes.

Man can control water to a point, but as in an out of control river or even a tsunami, water can simply have a mind of its own. God can actually control even a raging river and even divide the waters to save His people if He chooses:

Given the importance of water for life, the emphasis in today's passage seems to be on the Lord's direction of the hearts of kings to do what is right and to bless His people. However, God's control extends even to the evils committed by rulers. Scripture is clear that God exercises His sovereignty over wickedness more indirectly, for "God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one" (James 1:13). Nevertheless, the Lord is no less in control of evil than He is of good, and no sin takes place apart from His sovereign will.

So we see that God is orchestrating things both present and future even when it comes to evil leaders so that it all turns out the way He needs it to as we see in Romans 8:28. But let’s get back to Bible prophecy particularly with the current war in Israel.

Nations Play Their Parts

As I was explaining to my friend when he asked about China and their part in prophecy, I brought up the same logic as we see in Proverbs 21:1 without using it per se. I pointed to Iran and how China supplies weapons or the materials needed to make them as it did recently when it comes to making ballistic missiles. China is known to send weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen as well. So while China isn’t mentioned in Bible prophecy, they’re playing their part in how things turn out. In essence they are players in how things turn out but aren’t seen by name in Scriptures because God only tells us what we need to know to be prepared. He often shows us who is involved but doesn’t necessarily give us the how or in some cases the why. For instance, we see in Isaiah 17 that Israel will destroy Damascus, but we didn’t understand the real time logic until now which is that terrorists are getting their supplies and even troops from that area. We can turn to another prophetic chapter, this time from Ezekiel 28 where we read about Israel attacking two cities, Tyre and Sidon. On its face we can’t see the specific logic of modern day Israel needing to do that, but now we do. You see these two cities are in southern Lebanon where the terrorist group Hezbollah has stored weapons. A lot of them. If Israel wants to be safe from attacks from that area, they will need to destroy those two cities. Ezekiel 28:24 does tell us this which makes total sense:

No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. (NIV)

The World In Bible Prophecy

Overall my point is that prominent nations, even super powers in our time need not be mentioned by name in end times prophecy to be important. Instead of shoe horning these nations into Bible verses or passages trying to make sense of how say, even America is in prophecy we should see how He may be setting things up as he moves the hearts of kings to do His will. Whether they are good or evil He uses them for His purposes even when they don’t know they are doing it. He moves them like chess pieces on the board of world history as they think they are only doing what makes sense to them or even that they have no other choices. It is amazing when you think about it. Yes Iran or ancient Persia keeps showing up in the Bible and of course Israel is at the middle of so many parts of world history and they are really, really in prophecy, but others play their part by setting things up. The Romans didn’t know it, but they put everything in place for Jesus to come and Christianity to grow from a rag tag group of 12 disciples to the world presence it has today. They built the roads that the Apostle Paul walked to go from one city to the next. They kept the sea lanes safe as he went on his missionary journeys. And they mandated a common language for the gospel to be preached everywhere these men and women of God traveled. The United States was raised up in part to spread the gospel and support God’s chosen people, Israel. These leaders and nations weren’t perfect or even morally sound, but God used them as surely as He directs the rivers.

If You Want Good News

You don’t have to be a diehard lover of Bible prophecy to see the personal applications of this. You see, the same God who moves the hearts of kings to suit His purposes also moves things to bless and protect His children, children who will never be seen or known in the history books or newscasts. Their lives are lived out without glitz or glamour far from the spotlight. They go about their everyday lives working their 9-5 jobs, providing for their families and relaxing just to get up the next day and do it all over again. And yet God knows every hair on their heads and His care in moving events in their lives to bring about the most good for the longest amount of time is no less a miracle than orchestrating events on the world stage. I like how the Ligonier.org article sums this final point for us:

The manner in which God exercises His providential rule is a mystery, but we know that He never directs us in such a way that we cease to be morally responsible for our actions. Though the Lord ordains whatsoever comes to pass, those who do evil are still held accountable for it. This is comforting, for it reminds us that God is working even the worst things for our good. Yet it is also sobering, reminding us that we cannot take for granted His grace in restraining us from sinning with abandon.

And that is a good place for an amen.