Why the Anglo-American Brotherhood?
Just within the last three years, four major books, all by distinguished authors, have been published about the unique relationship between Britain and the United States. Why have these two countries changed the modern world? Only the Judeo/Christian Bible contains the master key to discovering the true answer.
by John Ross Schroeder
In 1968 Sir Martin Gilbert was named Winston Churchill's official biographer. Sir Martin has authored some 75 books, including histories of both World Wars I and II and the present state of Israel. He has also written a three-volume work on the general history of the 20th century.
A more recent publication under the byline of this British author comes under the title Churchill and America. This book explores how Sir Winston's intense rapport and collaboration with the United States has been instrumental in the preservation of Western European freedom and democracy.
Joining the old world with the new
Even in his 20s Churchill realized how important this transatlantic relationship would be during the 20th century and beyond. In his maiden parliamentary speech on Feb. 18, 1901, he stated: "Evil would be the counsellors, dark would be the day, when we embarked on that most foolish, futile, and fatal of all wars—a war with the United States" (Churchill and America, 2005, p. xxi).
His contribution to Anglo-American unity has no equal among anyone in either nation. "Churchill's determination to maintain, repair, strengthen and make full use of the ties between the two countries is unique in the annals of Anglo-American relations" (p. xxiv).
Of course, there have been many ups and downs, joyous accords and bitter disagreements, in the bilateral relations. As the great depression really began to bite, Churchill wisely told an American audience in 1932: "Let our common tongue, our common basic law, our joint heritage of literature and deals, the red tie of kinship, become the sponge of obliteration of all the unpleasantness of the past" (p. xxi, emphasis added throughout).
However he might privately complain of any specific American action, in public Sir Winston nearly always uttered the fullest positive praise about the United States. During World War I, in the presence of his American mother, the former Jennie Jerome, he said to 4,000 British munitions workers: "There had come from across the ocean the last of all the great allies, perhaps the most powerful of all, certainly the most welcome to us here, our cousins, our brothers, the great republic of the United States" (p. 70).
Churchill had been urging the Americans to "come over [to Britain] as quickly as possible." Years later during World War II his call became much more urgent, particularly in 1940 and 1941, when Britain had to hang on alone in forestalling the Nazi threat of invasion.
President Franklin Roosevelt did what he could with the Lend-Lease Act, loaning Great Britain warships. After two years America entered the European war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Finally Churchill could say, "We are no longer alone."
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900
Andrew Roberts' book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900 is next in line. The contents embrace more nations than just America and Britain, but they are the principal ones discussed. (Of course, other countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all emerged from the British mother country.) Roberts' field of studies was modern and contemporary history at Cambridge in England. He is a first-class British historian with a gift for writing. Roberts' book is an account of how the political culture of one linguistic people "comprehensively triumphed over all others."
Andrew Roberts looks back at the dawn of the last century by remarking that "the world entered a century that for all of its warfare and perils would nevertheless mark the triumph of the English-speaking peoples. Few could have suspected it at the time, but the British Empire would wane to extinction during that period, while the American Republic would wax to such hegemony that it would become the sole global hyper-power.
"Assault after assault would be made upon the English-speaking peoples' primacy, each of which would be beaten off successfully, albeit sometimes at huge and tragic cost. Even as the twenty-first century dawned they would be doughtily defending themselves still" (2006, p. 1). Seven years into the current century, not only are America and Britain still embroiled in Iraq, but also the Iranian crisis threatens to worsen to the point of armed American intervention, most likely strategic bombing.
This British historian analyzes the English-speaking nations' dominance between the late 18th and early 21st centuries. "In the majestic sweep of history they had so much in common…that they ought to be regarded as a single historical entity, which only scholars and pedants will try to describe separately" (p. 1). This may seem somewhat of an overstatement, but sometimes a little hyperbole underscores the basic point. (See the August World News and Prophecy for a detailed review of Roberts' book.)
Professor Deepak Lal, in his book In Praise of Empires, also underlines this remarkable linguistic national phenomenon. "If one reflected on the most important events of the last millennium compared with the first, the ascent of the English-speaking peoples to predominance in the world surely ranked highest" (2004, p. 45).
Two American authors
Kathleen Burk was born in California and educated at the state university in Berkeley. Later she was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. She is now a professor of history at University College, London.
In her new book, Old World, New World: The Story of Britain and America, she asks the question: "Why is the Anglo-American relationship different from those of any two countries? One may approve or disapprove, but the fact is undeniable" (2007, p. xiii). In her own words, "Churchill had a much rosier view of the relationship than I do." Ditto Andrew Roberts.
In 1607 English settlers arrived in Jamestown and became the first permanent British settlement on the American continent. Fast forward to this century. During the years 2003 to 2007, British Prime Minister Tony Blair fully supported George W. Bush in the allied effort in Iraq. Four hundred years have now elapsed since Jamestown. Kathleen Burk addresses the in-between.
Her answer to her question of why, in some 650-plus pages, is secular in nature and cannot be adequately summarized here. However, her concluding remarks are of interest and certainly worth quoting. "In these circumstances [the difficulties and conflicts between the two nations], it is a matter of some interest that the two countries managed to maintain such close relations… They were, nevertheless, more alike than any other two powers on the globe" (p. 659).
For 400 years Britain and the United States, along with their "brother" allies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, have dominated much of the globe, economically and militarily. Time and again they have eventually emerged victorious in cold, hot and even trade wars. This is the thesis of Walter Russell Mead, the author of several books and the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for foreign policy at the U.S. Council of Foreign Relations.
Like Kathleen Burk, Walter Mead wrestles with the basic question, "What accounts for the ascendancy of the British and American systems during the past three centuries?" His new book is titled God and Gold: Britain, America and the Making of the Modern World. His observations about the reality of this unique relationship are very insightful.
"America and Britain…even when they agree on what needs to be done…often disagree quite bitterly over how to do it. Yet over time, and taking the world as a whole, the chief 'Anglo-Saxon Powers,' as their rivals often describe them, tend to reach similar if not identical conclusions about what needs to be done" (2007, p. xii). This is still broadly true today!
"The close similarity between the British and American world orders does not just influence both Britain and the United States toward international policies that are usually broadly compatible; it also gives Britain a unique and special role in the world order. This is most clearly seen in the close and beneficial relations that exist between London and New York, the twin financial centers of the world. The financial genius of Great Britain has been one of the great driving forces that created the world we live in; Americans share that genius…" (p. xiv).
Mead's last chapter is titled "The Meaning of It All" and that properly introduces what the Bible has to say about why the English-speaking peoples have been so successful in the world of the last two centuries and more. (Harvard historian Niall Ferguson has also written prolifically on this basic theme along with one or two others.)
It all began in the book of Genesis
Our biblical explanation begins with the incredible national promises given to the patriarch Abraham in Genesis 12. God promises: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. And in you all the families [nations] of the earth shall be blessed" (verses 2-3). These divine promises include both the physical and spiritual realms.
As we progress through Genesis, these promises expand in scope, grandeur and geography. God later stated to Abraham: "I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you" (Genesis 17:5-6). These divine promises are repeated to Abraham's son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. "And I will make your [Isaac's] descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands" (Genesis 26:4).
Notice God's promises to Jacob: "The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north and the south" (Genesis 28:14).
This is exactly what has happened to the English-speaking peoples. They comprise the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and islands and outposts in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Additionally, all the nations that comprise today's Commonwealth were once British colonies that were developed by British capital and British settlers.
Jacob had 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel (his new God-given name). It is his son Joseph with whom we are primarily concerned in this article. The elderly Jacob especially blessed his two grandsons, Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and even adopted them as his own sons. "Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth" (Genesis 48:16). This explains why we have so many Abramsons, Isaacsons and Jacobsons in the English-speaking world!
Special promises to Joseph
The divine blessings and promises to the patriarch Joseph for the most part overwhelm the promises to the other 11 sons. Jacob predicted: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall [amazing growth]. The archers have bitterly grieved him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength" (Genesis 49:22-24).
This passage is reminiscent of the words of historian Andrew Roberts, quoted earlier in this article. "Assault after assault would be made upon the English-speaking peoples' primacy, each of which would be beaten off successfully, albeit sometimes at huge and tragic cost."
Continue the Genesis account: "By the God of your father…who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath [oceans and large lakes], blessings of the breasts and of the womb [children and grandchildren]" (verse 25).
Moses complements and expands the blessings of Jacob upon Joseph. "And of Joseph he said, 'Blessed of the LORD is his land, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew and the deep lying beneath, with the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months…with the precious things of the earth and its fullness [massive natural resources]… Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph… He shall push the peoples to the ends of the earth" (Deuteronomy 33:13-17). The English-speaking peoples have gone to all parts of the globe.
In no way could the one tribe of Judah, comprising the Jews in many nations today and in the modern state of Israel, have fulfilled these massive national and physical promises and blessings. This tribe does have a very special spiritual blessing, however. Jacob predicted: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Jesus Christ] comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people" (Genesis 49:10).
Although God was His Father through the agency of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21; Luke 1:34-35), Jesus Christ was descended from Judah on His mother's side and was therefore a Jew (see Hebrews 7:14; John 1:11; Revelation 5:5). Spiritual salvation can only come through Christ's sacrificial atonement for our sins and His High Priesthood to help Christians after conversion. Salvation is available to all nations regardless of ethnic background (see Galatians 3:28-29).
An important free booklet
The above scriptural summary from Genesis and Deuteronomy goes a long way in explaining why America and Great Britain are the subjects of books trying to account for the fact that these nations have dominated the world for two centuries and more.
The true answer lies in the pages of the Judeo-Christian Bible. Our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy shows how secular and biblical history merge with Bible prophecy to confirm the true identity of the lost tribes of Israel. Truly Britain and America have inherited Joseph's birthright—brought to fruition in these last days by the modern descendants of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, identified as Britain and the United States.
Request this free booklet in print or download it from the Internet at http://www.wnponline.org/ . See the proof of this little-known truth from your Bible for yourself. WNP
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