The Bible speaks to the theme of restoration on many levels, including personal renewal, the restoration of relationships, and significantly, the healing and restoration of nations. These scriptures often highlight God’s promises and actions to restore and bless nations, guiding them towards peace, justice, and prosperity. Here are some impactful Bible verses that resonate with the theme of restoring nations:
1. 2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” This verse is a profound promise that speaks of spiritual and moral revival leading to the restoration of a nation.
2. Isaiah 60:1-3
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isaiah speaks of a time when God’s glory will be evident upon His people, attracting nations towards righteousness and divine favor.
3. Jeremiah 29:7
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” This verse emphasizes the importance of seeking the welfare of one’s community and nation, suggesting that personal prosperity is linked with the nation’s well-being.
4. Ezekiel 36:33-36
“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.’” Ezekiel prophecies about the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, serving as a metaphor for God’s power to restore any nation.
5. Acts 3:19-21
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” This passage talks about the ultimate restoration that will come through Jesus Christ, encompassing both personal redemption and the holistic renewal of all creation, including nations.
These verses offer hope and guidance for those seeking the restoration of their nations, emphasizing the role of righteousness, prayer, and divine intervention in achieving national renewal.
The Bible also speaks about the restoration of nations in a few different contexts, most prominently with the nation of Israel. Here are some key points:
-
Conditional Restoration: God promises to restore nations who repent of their sins and turn back to him. Passages like Jeremiah 29:11-14 speak of God’s desire for his people’s welfare and his plan to restore their fortunes if they seek him with all their heart.
-
Restoration through Israel: Some passages connect the restoration of nations to the restoration of Israel. For example, Isaiah 49:6 casts Israel as a light to the nations, bringing salvation through their relationship with God.
-
Prophetic Restoration: The Bible also prophesies a future restoration of all things, sometimes described as a new heaven and new earth. This future restoration is often linked to the return of Christ (e.g. Revelation 21).
Here are some helpful verses to explore further:
Jeremiah 29:11-14
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Isaiah 49:6
He says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Amos 9:13-15
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
Revelation 21
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels. There were names written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The city has a wall made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
It’s important to note that interpretations of these passages can vary. Some see them as referring to literal national restoration, while others view them metaphorically or as part of the ultimate future restoration in God’s kingdom.
