If you are living in the 21^st century, you are most likely familiar or have at least heard about various international organizations such as United Nations (UN), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), European Union (EU), WTO (World Trade Organization), and the list goes on……While these organizations may have different missions, they are all intergovernmental organizations aiming to regulate affairs between nations.  The concepts of internationalism may be traced back to several hundred years ago, but they do not really become popular until early 20^th century following World War I when there was an outcry of rules and orders to protect civilian populations from warfare, as well as a desire to curb invasions. From that, the League of Nations was established in an attempt to curb invasions using economic and military sanctions.  Following World War II, the League was replaced by United Nations (UN) after it had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war.

United Nations inherited several organizations and agencies founded by the League and has since grown stronger and stronger in its power and become the go-to standard in handling international disputes.  It is tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order.  Maintaining international order could mean going against the sovereignty of a nation when it does not comply with international laws.  An example of this is the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 on the situation of Libya on March 11, 2011. The resolution formed the legal basis for coalition force to militarily intervene in the Libyan Civil War, demanding “an immediate ceasefire”, authorizing a no-fly zone, and using all means necessary short of foreign occupation to protect civilians.  While we are not here to justify either sides on what went on with the Libyan Civil War, we are here to assess which one of the governing notions, “international community” or “sovereign nation”, stands up more to the biblical values.

To answer this, we first need to understand the meaning  of the word “sovereignty”.  When you google it, Wikipedia gives us the following definition, “the full right and power of a governing body over itself, without any interference from outside sources or bodies”.  In layman’s term, it means an entity is free to choose and decide what is best for the entity without outside interference.  So does the Bible support the notion of “sovereignty”?

Yes, Bible most certainly supports the notion of sovereignty.  First and foremost, God is a sovereign God.  Here are a few of the many Bible passages that talk about the sovereignty of God:

“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him”  Psalms 115:3

“⁹Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. ¹⁰I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please”  Isaiah 46:9-10

Second, God did not just make a bunch of robots that were programmed to obey Him.  Instead, God created humans and gave them sovereign wills to decide matters including whether or not to obey Him.

“Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything”  1 Corinthians 6:12

“¹⁶And the Lord commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;  ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’ ”  Genesis 2:16-17

Third, God gave a nation the sovereignty to decide on its future.  For example, when King David was about to die, He said to King Solomon:

“the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ ”  1 Kings 2:9

In these verses, it is important to note here that although God gave us and each nation the sovereign wills to choose and decide, we don’t get to decide the consequences.  In other words, you are free to choose anything you want but not the consequences that come with your choices.  Nevertheless, it is very evident that God values sovereign will regardless whether it is from an individual or a nation.  So when you have an ally of nations that may be going against the sovereign will of a nation, I highly doubt that’s going to sit well with God.

So does Bible itself provide any clues about whether it is for or against the concept of internationalism?  It most certainly does.  There are many instances in the Bible that talks about nations or kingdoms joining forces to accomplish a goal (some already happened and some are prophecies that are yet to happen).  But in all of these instances, God sides with the opponents of the joint international forces.  Here are a few examples:

“¹A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. ²I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.  Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. ³Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle”  Zechariah 14:1-3

“⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon – joined forces.  They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it……⁸The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand.  Not one of them will be able to withstand you.’ ”  Joshua 10:5-8

Bible never contradicts itself in any ways, but if you think these clues aren’t strong enough support to show God is against the concept of ally nations (or internationalism), then perhaps Revelation 13:5-8 will do just that:

“⁵The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.  ⁶He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.  And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nations.  ⁸All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world”  Revelation 13:5-8

Here Bible talks about an entity, known as the “beast”, who will be given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation in the end time.  What kind of entity will have authority over nations?  It must be some kind of intergovernmental organizations or nations joining ally.  And Bible clearly indicates that the entity is against God.  So please bear that in mind when you look at some issues or agenda that were strongly supported by intergovernmental organizations such as UN and EU.  Nevertheless this passage gives us a very strong evidence that God is against the concept of internationalism.  It also gives clues that we are way into the end time as the intergovernmental organizations were nonexistent prior to 20^th century.

I hope this discussion about the international communities and sovereign nations can be beneficial to you and your understanding.  As always, we like to hear about your questions, comments, and remarks.  God bless!