Russia’s president recently assured the world that the objective of his war in Ukraine is not for territorial expansion. Rather, he said it is a major step toward pushing for a new international order, one based on the principle that no nation has the right to tell ‘another nation’ how to operate .……uh, perhaps except Russia, itself, e.g., against Ukraine! Imagine that. Hey, wasn’t this the rationale for the USSR, the collapse of which he called ‘the greatest geopolitical catastrophe’?? His way around his obvious historical and current-day conundrum is simply …not recognize Ukraine as ‘an independent nation’, therefore worth invading and controlling! How manipulatively clever…
The practice he was 'railing against' is called ‘hegemony’. Within this context, hegemony is defined as:
…the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence
exerted by a dominant nation over smaller, weaker, dependent nation(s),
usually based on the threats of, or actual military conquests
of smaller, weaker or dependent nations.
So let’s take some time to examine this concept in context of Bible history and prophecies. The Bible is The Lord God’s definitive multi-millennial strategic plan for humanity, comprising 7 clear, distinct ages of human history. It is also the closest thing we have to ‘The Mind of Christ’, His inspired perspectives about, and for humanity, touching on each of the 7 ages He pre-determined for humanity. Though you won’t find the word, hegemony, in The Bible, trust me, it has a LOT to say about this critical concept… one The Lord, Himself, conceived, created, composed, claimed, characterized, etc. Here’s why I can say than emphatically:
In Jesus Christ, ALL the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge are hidden….
In Him dwells ALL the fullness of the Godhead, bodily…
(Colossians 2:2-3 & 9)
In light of this, it is safe to conclude ALL knowledge and wisdom that mankind accumulated over the ages, has come from Him, by His Grace, including hegemony, in accordance with the principle He revealed to the prophet, Isaiah:
Precept upon precept.
Line upon line.
Here a little, there a little.
(Isaiah 28:10 & 13)
The Birth of Nations
Have you noticed there is no mention in The Bible, of the words, ‘nation’ and ‘country’, before the global flood that ended the 1st age of human history, the pre-flood age?? It appears there were only cities during that age. The Bible does not reveal whether some pre-flood cities exercised hegemony over others. Since there is no Bible history of wars during this golden age, it is safe to presume there was no need for hegemony. Thus, it is safe to conclude nations and countries only began to develop after the Tower of Babel experience, when The Lord created diverse languages. That’s when peoples ‘separated into their lands and nations, everyone according to his language, according to their families’. (Genesis 10:5)
The global flood was The Lord’s strategic decision to ‘hit the reset button’ for life on Earth. Although the prime reason for sending a flood was mankind’s mounting sinfulness during the 1st age of our history, there is no Bible evidence that He had judged sinfulness during that age (apart from His banishment judgment on Cain for killing his brother, Abel). Recall, that time was during The Lord's ‘7th day, post-creation rest, and it may be safe to conclude it was likely …‘a millennial rest’. Noah was born very early in mankind’s second millennium on Earth. As a middle-aged adult (~400 - 500 years!), he received The Lord’s warning and plan for the flood. Right after the flood, The Lord promised Noah never again to judge sinfulness via a global flood. (Genesis 9:8-17) Interestingly, there is no Biblical indication whether Noah might have asked The Lord what I might have asked:
So Lord, other than ‘a life, for a life’ (Genesis 9:5-6, the judgment for murder),
how will You judge overall sinfulness from now on??
We learned the answer to that question from Moses, in Deuteronomy 32 and Leviticus 26, as he led the freed Hebrew slaves during their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness. Much later, to Ezekiel, a Judean captive in Babylon, The Lord succinctly summarized His post-flood judgment instruments or tactics against persistent sinfulness in any land:
1. Drought/famine,
2. Warfare,
3. Pestilence, and
4. Wild beast attacks.
Searching The Bible (any versions), you will only find these and related words appearing FIRST early in the 2nd age of human history! Undoubtedly, these judgment instruments have been and remain prominent, and very effectively applied throughout the 2nd and current 3rd ages of history! Moreover, these are the same, exact types of judgments The Lord promises to apply in the pending apocalypse, at the end of the 4th age of our history - the tribulation age. So let's give Him 'A+++' for His consistency and persistency in wanting to get us on His 'righteous track', though we all resist. Why 'righteous track'?? Righteousness is the last (3rd) point in The Lord's declared overarching strategy in dealing with humanity:
(1) Loving-kindness (long-term Grace to individuals, families, societies, and nations),
(2) Judgment (after Grace has expired without repentance), and
(3) Righteousness (more Righteous lifestyles among judgment remnant groups)
(Caveat! Now you know, and should understand the undeniable, deep-rooted, spiritual reason for such judgments, and how they fit into The Lord's multi-millennial strategy. Denial of such won’t change a thing.)
As global populations began to explode during the 2nd age (the post-flood/pre-cross age), The Lord strategically ordained and supported hegemony among the family of evolving nations. The first major/huge hegemon nation or ‘city-state’ recorded in The Bible appears to have been Babylon, initially led by the first King Nebuchadnezzar, who ‘built’ the Babylonian Empire through many successful conquests of other nations and city-states across the northern hemisphere.
Several years after he had conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the first Jewish temple, The Lord claimed responsibility for this king’s successful conquests. He did it through Daniel, one of the Judean wiseman the king had captured in Judah. (See: Daniel 2:27-38) The remnants of Babylon are in current-day Iraq.
So why would The Lord ordain, authorize and support
what we today might consider as ‘bully nations’??
Part 2 addresses this probing question, and reviews the miraculous manner in which The Lord made the above claim of responsibility for hegemony.
