ISSUE 305
Prophetic Brief
Insight and Analysis for the 21st Century
The Afghanistan
Briefs
Afghanistan continues to be in the
news with new troops, a renewed
push against the Taliban and
increased deaths. The month of July
has seen the highest death toll of
Amer ican soldier s since the
beginning of the war in 2001, and
the total may increase still more
before the month is out.
 
In a series of short video briefings,
S c o t t We b s t e r a d d r e s s e s
Afghanistan from the perspective of
the Word of God. Included in the
video sessions are:
 
1. Why Be Aware
2. The Formative Process
3. U.S. Involvement
4. Key Players
5. What Does the Future Hold
6. Kingdom Insights
 
Visit scottwebsterministries.org
where all 6 videos have been
posted for viewing.
© 2010 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.
An Analysis of the Financial Crisis in the United
States – Part 19
The Nature of Nations
D a n i e l ’s p l a c e m e n t w i t h i n t h e
Babylonian empire is one of the great
examples of a prophet impacting a
nation. After Daniel interpreted the
dream, Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face
in front of Daniel and declared: “your
God is the God of gods and the Lord of
kings and a revealer of
mysteries” (Daniel 2:46). Daniel
penetrated deeply into the Babylonian
system while never being defiled by it,
and he influenced the political structures
of an empire. But we will not understand
our mandate to impact nations unless we
recognize the importance of the very next
thing Nebuchadnezzar did, an act so
strange compared to his declaration of
God’s power that you’d be tempted to
think the king was schizophrenic. But he
wasn’t crazy – he was just being a king.
Daniel’s interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream impacted him
so powerfully that he appointed Daniel
and his friends to high places of political
leadership. And then, surrounded by
these prophets and ambassadors of the
Kingdom of God, Nebuchadnezzar
proceeded to make an idol of gold and
commanded that the entire nation – plus
foreigners – bow down and worship
when the music played. The refusal of the
Jews to bow down is what got them
thrown into the fiery furnace. This same
king who had just declared Daniel’s God
to be the Supreme God, turned right
a r o u n d a n d t o l d D a n i e l ’s t h r e e
compatriots: if you do not worship (the
idol I have made), you will be thrown
immediately into a blazing furnace. Then
what god will be able to rescue you from
my hand? (Daniel 3:15).
These two instances which occur back to
back are not contradictory nor are they
unusual in the pages of Scripture – they
are in fact a window into the nature of
nations. In short, nations have interests.
Nebuchadnezzar was an ancient
embodiment of the words of modern
statesmen Henry Kissinger, who declared
“nations don’t have friends, nations have
interests.” The king was not
schizophrenic, he was completely
Page 1 of 4
MAY 5TH 2010
congruent and singular in his purpose,
which was to preserve the power of his
state. National interests drive a nation in
three ways: a) within a nation, competing
agendas and political wills must be
harnessed to provide national leadership
to people and groups with divergent
interests b) nations compete with each
other for power and relate to one another
based on their specific agendas and
preferred design of their place in the
world system c) nations see God and
interact with the Kingdom of God based
on their interests.
Building a Coalition
Nebuchadnezzar went about the task of
building a coalition that was loyal to his
policy decisions. He summoned seven
classes of leaders from across the empire
and required them all to pay homage to
the image, or to indicate their loyalty to
him. The assembled dignitaries and
leaders included those closest to the king,
or the princes, who had free access to the
king; military leaders (captains and
lieutenants); political appointees over
regions; judges and lawyers; the
treasurers of Babylon; and civil
magistrates.
Like every national leader,
Nebuchadnezzar understood that his own
political power had to be firmly in place
in order for the wider empire to prosper.
Any sense of disloyalty was going to be
punished severely by the king, who
demanded that the political machine he
 ISSUE 305
had created function as one unit. He
needed his counselors, governors,
military and senators to all agree on the
key issues of the day – it would be very
much like President Obama counting
votes in the House and Senate to see if
the health care reform bill could be
passed, and risking all of his political
capital on that one legislative effort. The
problem lies in the fact that people in any
one nation often hold very divergent
views, and leaders who are elected or
appointed have to serve the entire
populace while keeping their own power
drives in check. These national interests
drive nations in their relations with other
nations and also in their interaction with
the Kingdom of God.
China and the U.S.
One of the most observable aspects of
self-interest is the relationship between
nations. For example, the relationship
between the U.S. and China is complex,
and a key feature is trade. China
manufactures and exports consumer
goods to the United States, and a key
factor in that trade equation is the value
of each nation’s currency. If the value of
the yuan is lower than the dollar more
Chinese goods can be sold – and
generally economists agree that the
yuan’s value is set artificially low by
China’s Central Bank. The exchange rate
also makes U.S. goods more expensive in
China and therefore less affordable to the
large Chinese market, which the U.S.
desperately wants to tap in a greater way.
The U.S. also wants to stop Iran from
developing nuclear capability but they
can’t do it by themselves – other nations
could simply sell nuclear technology to
the Iranians or look the other way as Iran
develops its own weapons grade nuclear
© 2010 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.
material. The U.S. has to balance these
concerns and desires, among countless
others. Recently they chose to delay a
report from the U.S. Treasury that was
critical of China’s currency and which
would have put greater international
pressure on the Chinese to re-evaluate the
yuan. In response to this delay Chinese
Prime Minister Hu Jintao’s chose to
participate, at the last minute, in a US
conference on nuclear disarmament in
order to bring more pressure on Iran.
China buys oil and gas from Iran, so they
also must balance their interests and
priorities in a multi-faceted world. Each
nation seeks the upper hand, and actions
and policies in one nation affect the other.
They bring pressure to bear on their
adversary and do what they can in order
to sway events in their favor. America,
China and Iran; none is righteous, all are
self-interested.
Nations, Self-Will and the
Kingdom
Imagine for a moment that a nation
suddenly decided to embrace the
commands given to us as believers: if
they turned the other check, forgave
offenses 70 x 7, bore the burdens of their
fellow nations, denied themselves and
took up the cross, etc. That nation would
be taken advantage of and overrun by any
other state that felt it was advantageous
to do so. Do you remember that worship
song that says: now, let the weak say I am
strong, let the poor say I am rich, because
of what the Lord has done, for us, give
thanks. If we re-phrase that to fit the
nations it would say: now let the weak
say I am overrun, let the poor say I am
insolvent, because of what the other
nations have done, to us.
Page 2 of 4
MAY 5TH 2010
Isaiah 14:13-15
You said in your heart, "I will
ascend to heaven; I will raise
my throne aboe the stars of
God; I will sit enthroned on
the mount of assembly, on the
utmost heights of the sacred
mountain. I will ascend
aboe the tops of the clouds; I
will make myself like the Most
High.” But you are brought
down to the grave, to the
depths of the pit.
Imagine for a moment that
a nation suddenly decided
to embrace the commands
given to us as believers: if
they turned the other
check, forgave offenses 70
x 7, bore the burdens of
their fellow nations, denied
themselves and took up
the cross, etc. That nation
would be taken advantage
of and overrun by any
other state that felt it was
advantageous to do so. Do
you remember that
worship song that says:
now, let the weak say I
am strong, let the poor
say I am rich, because of
what the Lord has done,
for us, give thanks. If we
re-phrase that to fit the
nations it would say: now
let the weak say I am
overrun, let the poor say
I am insolvent, because of
what the other nations
have done, to us.
 ISSUE 305
Make no mistake – nations have to
protect themselves and look out for their
own interests. That is the rationale behind
a quote from Condoleezza Rice, when in
2001 as Secretary of State she said on the
CBS program Face the Nation: “the
President of the United States was not
elected to sign treaties that are not in
America's interest." She was perfectly
correct in saying that and every President
is obligated to protect the interests of
their nation, especially the state’s survival
and security, including economic
strength. We can leave it to Nixon and
Kissinger to express this even more
clearly. In a conversation with Israeli
Prime Minister Golda Meir, Nixon
twisted the golden rule in a power game
when he told her: “My rule in
international affairs is, ‘Do unto others
as they would do unto you.’” At which
point Henry Kissinger interjected: “Plus
ten percent.”
Nations are in a quandary because they
must seek to protect their own interests, if
they do not they will be overrun by other
nations. But the problem is that God has
designed the earth to function based on
denial of self. Jesus said: For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will find it.
26 What good will it be for a man if he
gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
own soul? (Matthew 16:25-26).
In other words, the context that nations
exist within is an immoral one –
immorality being defined as the insertion
of self-will. Nations are obligated to seek
their own interests in a competitive
world; they are immoral not because of
the acts they commit, but because of the
nature of their existence. That is why no
empire has ever lasted – because the
spirit of empire, which is exploitation of
the weak and wrong use of power –
violates the unseen laws that God
established for mankind.
Babylon = Self-Will
This unseen law which banishes self-will
is revealed in a prophecy about the King
of Babylon, who had imposed his will by
conquering all of the surrounding nations
and taking their citizens into captivity.
Releasing The New Prophetic Dimension • Activating The Capacity To Build • Obeying The Command To Finish
© 2010 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.
MAY 5TH 2010
The prophecy can also be applied to the
Babylonian system which has existed The Architecture of
since the Satanic rebellion against God
which was manifest when man was the New Dimension
conned into exercising his will to eat of
the tree which was forbidden by A revolutionary
command. Isaiah prophesied about this new look at
king:
prophetic
You said in your heart, "I will reality as it
ascend to heaven; I will raise my exists in the
throne aboe the stars of God; I 21st century
church.
will sit enthroned on the mount of
assembly, on the utmost heights of
get this book>
the sacred mountain. I will ascend
aboe the tops of the clouds; I will
make myself like the Most High.”
But you are brought down to the
grave, to the depths of the pit.
Isaiah 14:13-15
The King of Babylon said I will but was
brought down to the grave and the depths
of the pit. In describing a Babylonian
system of ruler-ship which existed 2778 Cumberland Blvd
historically but which also exists in the Suite 163
timeless dimension of darkness, Isaiah
revealed a law or technology in the spirit Symrna GA 30080
realm which governs the universe: Self-
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will is the internal principle that makes
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death the predictable and stable external
manifestation. In other words, it always www.scottwebsterministries.org
happens – it is a guarantee from the Word © 2010 Scott Webster Ministries.
of God and it is true for every nation: All Rights Reserved.
Revelation 18:3 For all the
nations have drunk the
maddening wine of her (Babylon’s)
adulteries.
The language is total and inclusive – all
nations have drunk of Babylon’s
deception and they all seek their own
interests. There is no nation in existence
which is not Babylonian according to this
definition, not even America with its
strong background of Christian tradition.
But the day will come when this order of
life is banished from the earth:
How the oppressor has come to an
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end! How his fury has ended! e duplication without permission is prohibited.
LORD has broken the rod of the
Page 3 of 4
 ISSUE 305
wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples
with unceasing blows, and in fury
subdued nations with relentless
aggression. All the lands are at rest
and at peace; they break into
singing. Even the pine trees and the
cedars of Lebanon exult over you
and say, "Now that you have been
laid low, no woodsman comes to
cut us down.”…ose who see you
stare at you, they ponder your fate:
"Is this the man who shook the
earth and made kingdoms tremble,
the man who made the world a
desert, who overthrew its cities and
would not let his captives go
home?”
Isaiah 14:4-8; 16-17
Like the king of Babylon and the spirit of
empire, self-will is oppressive and filled
with fury; it is brimming with aggression
and is intent on subduing everything in
Releasing The New Prophetic Dimension • Activating The Capacity To Build • Obeying The Command To Finish
© 2010 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.
its path. When self-will is destroyed and
brought down to the grave, the people of
the earth will look in astonishment and
ask, “Is this the man (self-will) who
shook the earth and made kingdoms
tremble…who overthrew cities and would
not let his captives go home?” They are
shocked that it had such power, but we
know self-will to be the most powerful
force within creation: it can resist even
God.
In summary we can say:
a) The Sovereign power of God must
interact with the political systems of the
earth. There are prophetic decrees in the
Word of God that indicate that a feature
of the last days will be nations interacting
with the Kingdom of God. The global
Church must build sustainable systems of
life that are of such high quality that
nations take notice and are influenced. In
other words, our interaction with the
nations is not just a singular prophecy to
a head of state, it is a display of systems
that have been built over time which are
superior because they are built upon the
ethics of the Kingdom of God.
Page 4 of 4
MAY 5TH 2010
b) Nations exist in a competitive
international environment in which self-
interest is the governing paradigm. How
one nation interacts with another can be
traced back to their preferences rather
than to a covenantal oath. Strong
alliances like the one between the US and
the UK, for example, is not because they
are “friends” or committed to one
another, it exists because they have many
of the same interests or they have
complimentary interests.
c) The primary characteristic of the
Kingdom of God that distinguishes it
from all other nations is that it is based
on a renouncing of self-interest. There
are many implications to this, including
that prophets must be ambassadors of the
Kingdom – they cannot view the earth
from the perspective of their nation of
origin or they will misperceive what is
happening in the earth and misrepresent
the Lord. As Kingdom believers we must
be dead to self and committed to
advancing God’s interest within our own
lives and families and in the nations of
the earth.