Austin Bible Church
Internationalism is the governing of more than one nation under one head. A major passage on internationalism is Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel episode. This demonstrated God’s divine attitude toward internationalism.
Believers are told to be faithful to their national entities. No form of internationalism is acceptable to God. This includes political internationalism such as Communism, Socialism and the United Nations. Religious internationalism includes some eastern religions, the Roman Catholic Church, and the World Council of Churches. Rom. 13:1-7.
“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Romans 13:1, NASB)
“Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” (Romans 13:7, NASB)
Christianity is opposed to any form of internationalism. Internationalism is a vicious attack on Divine Institution #4 - Nationalism and also destroys Divine Institution #1 - Volition. The Tower of Babel was a combination of political and religious internationalism.
Internationalism is a Satanic device to try to frustrate the plan of God by breaking down, infiltrating, and opposing the plan of God. To understand the philosophy of Satan’s Internationalism, study the following passages (besides Genesis 11). Rom. 12:9-10; Isaiah 14:14-19; Rev. 20:8; Rev. 12:9-10.
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;” (Romans 12:9-10, NASB)
“'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. "Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?' "All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb. "But you have been cast out of your tomb Like a rejected branch, Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse.” (Isaiah 14:14-19, NASB)
“and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.” (Revelation 20:8, NASB)
“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:9-10, NASB)
Satan is said to be the “god of this world” and is the father of religion. Satan is also said to be the “ruler of this world.” 2 Cor. 4:3-4; John 12:31; John 14:30.
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, NASB)
“"Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” (John 12:31, NASB)
“"I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;” (John 14:30, NASB)
Satan is also called the “prince of the power of the air.” Satan is the ruler of this present world system. Eph. 2:2. In Job 1:7 and Job 2:2, “roaming about on the earth and walking around on it” is an idiom for rulership in the Hebrew.
“in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2, NASB)
“The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."” (Job 1:7, NASB)
“The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."” (Job 2:2, NASB)
Whenever Satan starts a religious organization to counteract the Word of God, a demonic organization is always involved. When Satan finds the need to establish a new religion somewhere, that new religion is compatible with the culture of that area (e.g., Mormonism, etc.).
Some of Satan’s religions are internationalist in character and some are local. Mormonism began as a localized religion and since has become international as has the Jehovah’s Witnesses. During the Church Age, religious internationalism is active, but it will never be as strong as in the Tribulation, when it will reach its maximum.
Internationalism results in maximum destruction of governing bodies on this earth, minimum use of free will resulting in minimum freedom, maximum heathenism or negative volition at the paint of God-consciousness, and minimum amount of evangelism.
The Philosophy of Internationalism
Internationalism results from seven aspects of man’s revolt against God’s plan.
Idealistic Rebellion Against God. God had told them to spread abroad after the flood, but instead of spreading abroad, they built up. God promised in the Noahic Covenant that He would never again destroy the world by water. They did not believe God’s Word. They rejected the Noahic Covenant and they hoped that the next time God did something like that they would be above the water line. This tells us that they were familiar with the Word of God, but they defied the Word and they set up an antithetical idealism - a flood-proof structure. Gen. 9:1; Gen. 9:7; Gen. 11:1-4.
“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1, NASB)
“"As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."” (Genesis 9:7, NASB)
“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.” (Genesis 11:1, NASB)
“They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."” (Genesis 11:4, NASB)
Volitional Rebellion Against God. Man was to spread out. In Genesis 11:4, “let us” means that man in mass had rejected Divine Institution #4, Nationalism. They rationalized that by holding together they could solve the problems of the human race. However, the panacea is not the masses in internationalism, but individual, personal. So there has been from the first the conflict between individuals and collectivism, which is anti-Divine Institution #1, Volition. A decadent nation tends to mass in cities resulting in one of the characteristics of the fourth cycle of discipline. Lev. 26:25.
“'I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands.” (Leviticus 26:25, NASB)
Governmental Rebellion Against God. They wanted to build a city. This was to be an international city. They should have continued with an agriculture economy, which afforded the privacy needed to raise families.
Physical Rebellion Against God. Man’s reaction to the flood of past history was to build a tower above the high-water mark of the flood. Man also thought that the arm of the flesh was strong enough to save. The result was a gigantic brick tower, a ziggurat, an Assyrian-Babylon tower. Man’s collective thinking was, “We’ll show you, God. We’ll build a physical structure that will leave us high and dry if you try that flood thing again.”
Spiritual Rebellion Against God. The tower was to reach heaven. They felt that an international brotherhood was the answer and that man’s work would get them to heaven without God’s help. The fact that it was obviously impossible to build a structure up to heaven was beside the point. They were intent on showing that by man’s ability and labor alone, they would succeed. This was a classic grace versus legalism operation. God had said that He would provide by His grace alone the way to heaven. These men said, “we will do it, we don’t need God.” Any system of internationalism applies the same concept. We will provide heaven on earth, the absolute and the perfect.
Personal Rebellion Against God. In Genesis 11:4, “let us make for ourselves a name” means to let us make a reputation and is pure egoism. We are going to make a reputation for ourselves. This is self-exaltation. Man receives the glory in the cult of egoism. Man by man’s abilities can solve man’s problems. Not so.
Structural Rebellion Against God. In Genesis 11:4, “otherwise we will be scattered abroad” means they refused the divine edict. God said to be scattered. They said we’ll stick together. This is also the philosophy that materialism is the god of man and can solve the problems of man.
Internationalism actually abolishes national government, private property, marriage and family life. It makes the state responsible for education and people’s needs. Inheritance is also abolished, as is biblical Christianity and patriotism.
The Origin of Internationalism
There was quite a population gain four generations after the great flood. God had given the command for mankind to scatter throughout the earth and form many nations. They disobeyed this command and we see Satan, who was the ruler of the world, attempting to destroy the whole earth. Gen. 11:9.
“Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:9, NASB)
Genesis 11:1 says that the whole earth was of one language. At first glance, this may seem like a pretty good idea. Today, there is a great deal of emphasis on modern high-speed communication. It might seem wonderful if we all spoke the same language. However, several times in human history people have attempted to formulate one international language.
“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.” (Genesis 11:1, NASB)
Greece tried it with some measure of success. It was attempted with Latin several different times in Western Europe. And, of course, we have several modern attempts that are almost ridiculous like Esperanto and so on.
From the divine viewpoint this is not desirable at all. God has divided the human race for the purpose of giving everyone in the human race maximum freedom. But you cannot have maximum freedom if you have one world government of any type. The old sin nature cannot stand world rulership. The human ego is always too great. The sin nature’s power lust plus ego lust plus Satan being the ruler of the world means that Satan controls and these are the objectives of Satan.
The rise of internationalism came from this one language and one speech rebellion against God. So it became a curse. If everyone spoke the same language today, there would still not be world peace and mutual understanding. Man still possesses an old sin nature and cultural exchange is never the answer.
The answer is personal and individual. At the start, Socialism champions the rights of the individual, but its deeper doctrine merges the individual into the mass and thus they lose their identify and freedom. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only good news that takes the individual out of the mass and makes them an individual through regeneration.
The Divine Attitude Toward Internationalism
In Genesis 11:5, God “came down to see” what man was up to. This is an anthropopathism as God is omniscient and omnipresent and does not need to go anywhere to see all that can be seen.
“The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.” (Genesis 11:5, NASB)
In Genesis 11:6, God labeled it as internationalism. God knew that man doing anything “which they purpose to do” would lead to their own destruction.
“The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” (Genesis 11:6, NASB)
In Genesis 11:7, “let Us” refers to the Trinity. God broke up the first try at internationalism. God’s attitude toward internationalism is always negative because He desires to allow mankind to live in freedom where volition toward God-consciousness and volition toward salvation through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross can always be exercised.
“"Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech."” (Genesis 11:7, NASB)
The Start of Nationalism
Those of the same language banded together in nations. Thus, Genesis 10 performs a two-fold purpose. It explains the prophecy at the end of Genesis 9. It also explains how God stopped the first great system of Internationalism.
He stopped it by spreading them geographically. He stopped it by spreading them linguistically. God makes different races. These are all precepts of Nationalism. There is no super race. When a nation gets powerful and breaks down national barriers, then that nation destroys itself and goes downhill.
Illustrations of Internationalism
There have been many forms of Internationalism in human history. None of them have ever succeeded. Socialism and Marxism use the United Nations and the World Council of Churches to try to achieve their goals. They are all trying to achieve the same goal - rule the world.
Gnosticism is a system of religious Internationalism that lasted nearly 600 years before it bit the dust. Some saw that heathenism and the religions of the world were going down, so they combined the best points of heathenism with Judaism and took some of the vocabulary and teachings of Christianity and this was fused into one system of Internationalism. It almost conquered the world. There are portions of seven New Testament epistles that warn against Gnosticism as a system of religious Internationalism.
Romanism was the next great system of religious Internationalism. This started out about 600-700 AD as just another branch of Christianity. Suddenly, it developed and reached out and took control of everything.
The Illuminati was started in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt. This began its operation in Western Europe and had six points which were taken over by Stalin on how to conquer the United States by peaceful means. Do you want this? Abolition of national government so a single world government can take over! This abolishes private property and destroys human enterprise.
Abolition of inheritance and our federal income tax system are trying to do the same thing - without legislation. This includes abolition of marriage and family life where the State owns all babies and takes responsibility for their education from the cradle to the grave. There is no regard for parent’s volition. Many would like to abolish biblical Christianity. To them, the Bible is the great enemy. They would like to abolish patriotism in any form because they feel it is an enemy of Internationalism.
In 1932 when Stalin wrote his treatise, he took six points from Adam Weishaupt’s Illuminati to be applied for the conquest of the United States. Try to see how many are already being practiced in our country today. They are:
1. Use philosophy, mysticism, cults in order to discredit Christian doctrine.
2. The destruction of marriage and introduction of theoretical interracial practices. Marriages between black and white.
3. In the realm of culture and ascetics, cultivate the ugly, the futuristic, the aberrant in art, drama and music. The stuff that passes for art is fantastic, the stuff of nightmares. Look at drama, or the movies today and what they portray. They are sadistic, melodramatic, immoral, perverted, and psychotic.
4. Create unrest, suspicion, revolt among the working classes, promote class warfare.
5. Standardize the cheap and the shoddy, advocate state ownership of property and business as the antidote, exchange all foreign currency at slight discounts for United States gold and gradually exchange all gold from circulation. This has already been accomplished.
6. Set up the idea of thinking Internationally so as to undermine all national patriotism, undermine all preparation for defense and ridicule all patriotic efforts.
Rycoff in Pravada stated, “It is our duty to inculcate in the minds of all nations the theory of international friendship, pacificism and disarmament and at the same time build up our own military establishment.”
Yneen said, “When a country is selected for attack, we must first set up before the youth of that land a mental barrage which will forever prohibit the youth to be molded into an armed force to oppose our invading armies.”
Nikolai Bukharin the bloody butcher gives a significant trend, “Friendship with liberal-minded ministers should be sought.”
If you look at the writings of prominent ministers of today and the last 50 years, you will see many who are tolerant of Socialism and Marxism ideology. Such ministers who advocate the destruction of our military weapons of mass destruction and are opposed to any form of military training. Some of these ministers say there is religious freedom in countries such as China, Russia, and Cuba and plead for better understanding with such totalitarian countries.
The Word of God makes it very clear that Internationalism destroys evangelism, is against the Word of God, and ultimately keeps people from accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Internationalism in the Tribulation
The Tribulation will be the greatest period of Internationalism that the world has ever known. The king of the North – northern internationalism. The king of the South – southern /African internationalism. The king of the East – eastern internationalism. King of the West – religious internationalism. Internationalism will be a trend right down to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and only Jesus Christ will destroy it.
Internationalism is the governing of more than one nation under one head. When a dictator finds they need a new religion somewhere to counter the truth, they start one compatible with the culture of that area. Some of their religions are international in nature and some are local.
There will be two types of internationalism in the Tribulation – Religious and Political. Babylon will represent religious internationalism as the Revived Roman Empire and its religious system in the Tribulation. All international religious organizations will be under demon influence. The only bona fide Internationalism will be a theocracy and will come into existence at the Second Advent of Christ to the earth. Our Lord will rule personally, but there will still be nations in operation. Rev. 20:4 through Rev. 22:2.