Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation.

The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here.

GOD AND THE NATIONS
by Henry M. Morris

GOD AND THE NATIONS by Henry M. Morris; Master Books, Green Forest, AR; 13 Chapters, 176 Pages; $10.99, Paper

Subtitled, What the Bible Has to Say About Civilizations – Past and Present, readers have learned to expect volumes of great value when they come from the pen of this distinguished scientist/theologian. Is this another winner?

Henry Morris is one of the world’s top scientists and has done more to bring the field of his profession back to the biblical position of a 6 solar-day creation than any other five men, leading the battle in repudiating humanistic evolution. At the same time he is a Bible student of amazing proportions and whenever he picks up the Word of God to teach, his hearers are blessed, warmed and amazed at his insight and knowledge as he unfolds what it teaches. In this work, Dr. Morris shows his deep knowledge of Bible history, Biblical genealogy, and Biblical etymology.

Dr. Morris is one of my heroes. As a young preacher fresh out of seminary and in my first pastorate, during a day when the world was figuratively bathed in Darwinian philosophy from a cultural, sociological and educational worldview, I managed to get his little book, That Ye Might Believe! It thrilled my soul as had no book up to that point and I have referred to what I learned therein repeatedly through more than half-a-century. This, his latest work, deals with nations from the beginning of time in creation to time’s closing as we know it. Nations is indeed a book for all. Christians will learn and profit from it while the unsaved need to read about their eternal destiny outside of Christ, then hopefully repent and believe (Acts 20:21).

Dr. Morris is unequivocally and unashamedly a believer in the inerrancy and authority of Scripture and he takes statements literally unless the context suggests otherwise. He is such an excellent Bible scholar and so saturates his thoughts with the Word of God, even if you disagree with something it will cause you to go back and reexamine your own position. Nations is, indeed, a Scripture-sated volume. Morris lets the Bible speak for itself, with almost no reference to secular authorities or other evangelical scholars.

If someone asked you what God’s purpose was in the nations of the world, what would you say? Most active Christians would be able, or so we would hope, to speak of His plan for Israel, but what about the other 200-plus nations in the world today? The purpose of this volume, Dr. Morris tells us, is to explain what God has said about the rise and fall of all nations, and His reasons behind those actions. Since most of those listed in God’s “Table of Nations” (Genesis 10) no longer even exist, the author explains how God determined which ones would succeed and which would disappear from history. He deals with the spiritually “hot and cold” nation of Israel as well as the “times of the Gentiles,” showing God’s purposes in both. We thought his chapter on how nations began of special interest and value. Nimrod and Babylon come in for close scrutiny throughout the volume.

Do you have questions? Dr. Morris has answers. Some of the questions about nations with which he deals in this concise yet wide-ranging book include: What are the two principal mandates God gave all nations? To what regions did the sons of Noah migrate and develop nations? Who launched the other early nations? Why did God choose Israel as His elect nation? Why did He even need an elect nation? How does Paul’s reference to the “times before appointed” refer to the early (and later) nations of the earth? What about America? Will it reach the “bounds” ordained by God and come to an end, too? What is the “dominion mandate” God has given all nations? Why does God put down one nation and establish another? What about the law of God? Does it apply to Christians today? Can any nation in the world in our day be described as truly seeking the God of the Bible and His Christ? Does God create evil among nations? If so, what kind? Is there a “gospel in the stars”? Should the prophecies about Christ’s coming and God’s wrath being poured out on the nations be taken literally or figuratively? How did God manifest His tri-unity in the universe? What form of government does God call for on the part of today’s nations? Since God says all men are “without excuse,” what universal witnesses are available to all the world’s inhabitants? These and other questions are answered in this important, timely, and fascinating volume.

Islam is very much on the minds of the world’s people today and Dr. Morris faces the issues it raises head on. He deals especially with the matter promoted by some religious leaders that “Allah” is just another name for the One true God, showing conclusively that it is not. While Islam holds to creation and some other Biblical insights, for the most part it rejects the Bible’s teachings, especially as to the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Allah is no more the true God than is Baal or Ashtoreth, and the author notes that instead of being a synonym for Jehovah, the name “is really just another name for Satan.”

That this is a very readable book should come as no surprise. Everything Henry Morris writes is highly readable and extremely profitable. We know of no other book like Nations on this theme; it fills a real void in the Bible student’s library. Actually, this might also be a good book to place in the hands of your Senators and Congressional leaders, along with those on the State and local levels. In fact, we recommend it.

Obtaining this work will be a wise purchase. It will help you in the days and years to come as you return repeatedly to reference its teaching. To answer the question in our first paragraph: Yes!

[Confession: The above was written after reading this book in manuscript form, not after publication – as with most volumes we review. Dr. Morris graciously honored this poor preacher by asking him to write the Foreword. The above is part, but not all, of what we wrote there.]