That the refugee crisis is something God is using might seem initially counter-intuitive. And indeed, many Christians and many in the wider population see the European refugee crisis as a camouflaged Islamic invasion - for example, 31% of Brits voting for Brexit believed that in a recent study.
The truth is that often many things aren't what they seem. Did you know that London has in the last 20 years become the most Christian and religious part of Britain - because of immigration? And that it is the white heartland of Britain that is turning increasingly agnostic, even when that is often pictured with the idyllic country churches. That is the difference between the visual evidence and the actual statistics.
There are many reasons why the Brits, Americans and Europeans should not think that the migration crisis has nothing do with us, as the main reason behind it is that we helped to destabilize Iraq and Libya, which has led to migration flow and the increased risk of terrorism.
First, we destabilized Iraq by toppling the country's government and removing Saddam Hussein in 2003. This was followed by the removal of much of the Iraqi civil government, which led to sectarianism and tribalism in Iraq, as the state machinery of Iraq was removed. The state machinery brought a level of oppression, but it also kept the country together. The resulting power vacuum led, among many other things, to the rise of the Islamic State and terrorism. In essence, by removing the power of the Iraqi state, there was no one to offer protection apart from different religious and tribal groups, which began to fight against each other, as they looked to take control of various territories and resources.
See Iraq Synthesis Paper: Understanding the drivers of conflict in Iraq published by the LSE for more details.
These conflicts spilled over to Syria, causing the Syrian civil war, which further worsened the Middle Eastern refugee crisis and pushed it towards Europe. Had Saddam not been removed forcibly by the Western governments, which was 'justified' by the search for the weapons of mass destruction, it is unlikely that any of this would have happened.
Secondly, by removing Qaddafi in 2011, the Western governments destroyed the Libyan state, and the resulting fragmentation of Libya removed the barrier that had separated Africa from Europe - very soon Libya became a route to Europe and the operating space for human trafficking and even slave trade. Had Qaddafi not been removed, this route would not have opened, as the functioning state of Libya obstructed this migration.
So, we can see that it has been the destruction of these two states - Iraq and Libya - by Western forces, that created the refugee crisis and removed the barriers for large-scale human migration. For these reasons alone, we bear much larger responsibility for these refugees than most people realize.
Waiting for 70 years for a generation to pass
When the Jews went to exile in Babylon, they had to wait for 70 years until they returned, for the sin of the past generations had been very grave in God's sight.Jeremiah 29:10 says: "For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place."
Daniel 9:2 says: "In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem."
2 Chronicles 36:20-21 says: "And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years."
So, God let the land of Israel rest for 70 years after He had judged the sins of the nation, and then He let the nation return home.
But when it comes to the Jews, it was after the Holocaust that the opportunity for the independent state of Israel opened up - and Israel became their new homeland as fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The Jews have had no need to return to Germany, as Germany has, from biblical perspective, been part of the exile phase of the Jewish story. (Obviously, we are not expecting every Jew in the world to return to Israel for the end time prophecies to be fulfilled.)
It can't be a coincidence that it is 70 years from the end of World of War 2 in 1945 to 2015 when the EU and especially Germany were the recipients of masses of refugees.
The war in Europe concluded with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The end of war also triggered a huge refugee crisis with largest population movements in European history. But apart from destroying much of Europe and killing millions in Europe, the German nation sinned gravely against God's people. Can there be a greater sin that killing at least 6 million of God's chosen people?
Rather interestingly, 70 years and three days later after the surrender of Germany, in 11 May 2015, the European Commission proposed that EU member states should take in refugees under a quota scheme. Countries which had received large numbers of migrants and asylum applications – such as Italy, Malta and Germany – supported the proposal.
Now, I am not trying to fit the dates forcibly, but to show that that it was roughly 70 years after the end of the Holocaust and the Jewish refugee crisis that preceded, accompanied and followed it when Germany opened the doors to the refugees in mass scale.
So, what does this all mean? The Lord let 70 years pass in Israel before He let the Jews back home. He let the land rest for 70 years because of the evil they had committed. Now God seems to have waited for 70 years for Germany to be given an opportunity to receive this mass influx of refugees with no previous connection to the land.
To me it seems that God in His mercy is removing a curse from the land. Matthew 25:31-46 says:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Once the Germans were guilty of killing Jesus by killing the Jews; now many of them will be received into the Kingdom because they opened their doors to the strangers.
Deuteronomy 19:21 says: "Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
Over four million Germans died because of World War 2; but the destruction they caused was much greater. So, to 'balance the books', God is applying New Testament principles and 'rewriting' Deuteronomy 19:21 as "Show pity, save a life for each lost life, save a hand for each broken hand, foot for each foot."
This is fully in line with the redemptive principles of how God operates, although God won't be counting this mathematically but by judging the human hearts.
Many Christian despise and vilify Angela Merkel for allowing this influx of refugees, but I do believe that she very much has been used by God in this.
How will Germany be able to leave the history of the Holocaust fully behind if not by showing compassion to another Middle Eastern people group in need?
2 Chronicles 7:14 says: "and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
What was the sin of the Germans? Killing millions of strangers - who were also God's chosen people. How will Germany as a nation demonstrate that they have repented from their sin? By receiving a stranger. Not just one but millions.
Germany has been a spiritual dry land since the rise of the Nazi Germany when hundreds of thousands of Christians who objected to the Nazi Government were purged from the nation. I believe that through the Germans receiving the refugees with all the difficulties they can bring is a sign of God healing the land, so that He can pour out one more great revival upon the nation of Germany.
You can connect with Marko on Twitter @markojoensuu and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mpjoensuu/ or by visiting markojoensuu.com.
Excellent Marko, counter-intuitive but true to the nature and character of God. Every blessing in Christ to you!
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