BBC: Colonisation by British ‘luckiest thing’ to happen to Australia

BBC: Colonisation by British ‘luckiest thing’ to happen to Australia – John Howard

WATCH in full: As he celebrates his 84th birthday on Wednesday, former Prime Minister John Howard predicts that the voice referendum will fail and will go down significantly. https://t.co/bYNKemfPWg

— The Australian (@australian) July 25, 2023

COGwriter

The BBC reported the following:

Colonisation by British ‘luckiest thing’ to happen to Australia – John Howard

July 26, 2023

Colonisation was “the luckiest thing that happened” to Australia, the nation’s second-longest serving Prime Minister John Howard has said.

His remarks were made in relation to a historic referendum due to take place this year on Indigenous recognition.

If successful, the vote will change Australia’s constitution to give First Nations peoples a greater say over the laws and policies that affect them. …

Speaking to the Australian Newspaper about the upcoming vote, Mr Howard described colonisation as “inevitable”.

“I do hold the view that the luckiest thing that happened to this country was being colonised by the British,” he said. “Not that they were perfect by any means, but they were infinitely more successful and beneficent colonisers than other European countries.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66309637

While the British colonizing Australia was NOT because of luck, yes, it was inevitable.

Why?

Because of various biblical prophecies.

The Bible shows that the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, also named Israel, had 12 sons (Genesis 35:22). His son Joseph appears to have been the eleventh one. This Joseph is the one who had dreams (Genesis 37:5-11) and God gave him the ability to interpret them, but his envious brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:26-28). He is the one that told Pharaoh to store food during seven good years to prepare for seven very lean years (Genesis 41:14-37).

Even though he was not the oldest son, the Bible shows that Joseph received the birthright:

1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel–he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; 2 yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s– (1 Chronicles 5:1-2)

In this case, the birthright had to do with future national greatness, consistent with what was first promised to Abraham. That was then passed down to Abraham’s son Isaac, then to Isaac’s son Jacob.

Now, before Jacob’s death in Egypt, Joseph took his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh to visited his ailing father.

1 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. (Genesis 48:1-5)

So, Jacob asked more or less adopted Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons. When he saw them there, he then called to bless them:

8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” (Genesis 48:8-9)

12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. (Genesis 48:12-14)

Now, Joseph had directed Ephraim, the youngest son, toward Jacob’s left hand and Manasseh, the eldest, toward Jacob’s right hand (verse 13), so the firstborn would receive the greater blessing. But notice that Jacob crossed his arms and laid his right hand on the younger Ephraim, “guiding his hands wittingly” (verse 14).

Joseph thought this was a mistake, but it wasn’t:

18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. (Genesis 48:18-20)

Ephraim was thus blessed so that his descendants would become a company of nations and share the staggering birthright blessings with his brother Manasseh.

Ephraim represents the British descended peoples. We see them in the British Isles, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, with some also in lands like South Africa. The descendants of Manasseh ended up settling what became the USA–prophesied to be great (verse 18). Australia and New Zealand began to be Anglicized after the British explorer Captain James Cook visited them in the late 18th century and mapped parts of their coastlines.

Now, let’s notice that Jacob/Israel also gave an end time prophesy for the descendants of Joseph:

1 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: …

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. 24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. (Genesis 49:1, 22-26)

The “crown” in this case seems to refer to the British crown.

A crown those in Australia and New Zealand have been at least partially under since the 19th century. A crown that exists to this day.

The word “Australia” seems to signify southern lands. And speaking of southern lands like Australia and New Zealand, notice a prophecy in Isaiah 49:12:

12 Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim. (Isaiah 49:12, NKJV)

ecce isti de longe venient et ecce illi ab aquilone et mari et isti de terra australi (Isaiah 49:12; Jerome translation: Latin Vulgate Bible)

Some have speculated that the lands from afar, specifically Sinim (NKJV)/isti de terra australi (Latin Vulgate) could be referring to certain modern lands in the South Pacific.

For example, Wikipedia (accessed 03/14/12) has stated:

Australia … the name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning “southern”. The country has been referred to colloquially as Oz since the early 20th century …

Legends of Terra Australis Incognita—an “unknown land of the South”—date back to Roman times and were commonplace in medieval geography, although not based on any documented knowledge of the continent. Following European discovery, names for the Australian landmass were often references to the famed Terra Australis.

The earliest recorded use of the word Australia in English was in 1625 in “A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir Richard Hakluyt”, published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a corruption of the original Spanish name “Tierra Austral del Espíritu Santo” (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit) for an island in Vanuatu. The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. Australia was later used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1676 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny, under the pen-name Jacques Sadeur. Referring to the entire South Pacific region, Alexander Dalrymple used it in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean in 1771.

Notice something that the late Herbert W. Armstrong taught about what this passage of scripture in Isaiah 49:12 may be referring to:

Referring to the house of ISRAEL, not Judah (Isaiah 49:3,6), God says: “Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the NORTH and from the WEST; and these from the land of Sinim” (Isa. 49:12). In the Hebrew, the language in which this was originally inspired, there is no word for “northwest,” but this term is designated by the phrase, “the north and the west.” It means, literally, the northwest! The Vulgate renders “Sinim” as “Australi,” or “Australia.” So we now have the location northwest of Jerusalem and even spreading around the world. (Armstrong HW. THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN IN PROPHECY, 1954, 1967, 1972, 1975, 1980 edition)

Notice some comments on Isaiah 49:12 about Sinim:

Isaiah 49:12
Meaning, the south country, so that Christ will deliver his from all the parts of the world. (Geneva Notes, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2005, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Isaiah 49:12

Behold, these shall come from far … and these from the land of Sinim. The Arabians and other Asiatics called China Sin, or Tchin: the Chinese had no special name for themselves, but either adopted that of the reigning dynasty or some high-sounding titles. This view of “Sinim” suits the context, which requires a people to be meant “from far,” and distinct, from those “from the north and from the west” (Gesenius). (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sinim

a people noticed in (Isaiah 49:12) as living at the extremity of the known world. They may be identified with the classical Sinoe, the inhabitants of the southern part of China. (Smith’s Bible Dictionary)

Isaiah 49:12…

From the land of Sinim – There have been many different opinions in regard to the ‘land of Sinim.’ The name ‘Sinim’ (סינים siyniym) occurs nowhere else in the Bible, and of course it is not easy to determine what country is meant. It is evident that it is some remote country, and it is remarkable that it is the only land specified here by name. Some, it is said, should come from far, some from the north, others from the west, and another portion from the country here specifically mentioned. Jerome understands it of the south in general – Isti de terra Australi…The Chaldee also interprets it as Jerome has done, of the south. The Syriac has not translated it, but retained the name Sinim…Grotius supposes that it means the region of Sinim to the south of Palestine, and Vitringa also coincides with this opinion…

Gesenius supposes that it refers to the Chinese, and that the country here referred to is Sina or China. ‘This very ancient and celebrated people,’ says he, ‘was known to the Arabians and Syrians by the name Sin, Tein, Tshini; and a Hebrew writer might well have heard of them, especially if sojourning in Babylon, the metropolis as it were of all Asia. This name appears to have been given to the Chinese by the other Asiatics; for the Chinese themselves do not employ it, and seem indeed to be destitute of any ancient domestic name, either adopting the names of the reigning dynasties, or ostentatiously assuming high-sounding titles, as “people of the empire in the center of the world.” (Notes on the Bible by Albert Barnes [1834]. viewed 03/13/12)

The above is interesting and perhaps Isaiah 49:12 hints that Australia/New Zealand, which are lands of the southern hemisphere and past China (from the perspective of Jerusalem), could have possibly been identified so long ago. This is not necessarily specific identification of the lands now known as Australia and New Zealand but it seems possible. From a Jerusalem perspective, Australia and New Zealand are far off lands and in the south east (and north and west were referring somewhere else–possible the UK and USA respectively).

Bible prophecy shows that unless the Australian and New Zealand people change their ways and repent of their national sins, they stand to lose it all.

In the 28th chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, God long ago revealed how the Israelite-descended peoples, such as Australia and New Zealand could recover from their problems and be guaranteed prosperity in the future:

1″Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)

Many blessings.

Notice that all these blessings were guaranteed only “if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you… to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them” (verses 13 and 14, RSV).

Then God gives a startling list of curses for disobedience:

15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart. 29 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. (Deuteronomy 28:15-29)

The prophet Ezekiel (cf. Ezekiel 5) also reveals that because the modern descendants of the sons of Jacob refuse to repent, one third of the English speaking world will die in disease epidemics resulting from famine. The cities will be destroyed in war by an enemy yet to appear on the world scene, and with the destruction of our cities another one third of our people will perish.

In the old Radio Church of God, the late Garner Ted Armstrong wrote:

The Australian people have seen the way the United States has FAILED to stand up to the Communists in IndoChina, the Mideast, Hungary, and, in many instances, in acts of aggression against unarmed American airplanes or even civilian personnel. …

The United States … may become totally unable to protect Australia! While the United States and Great Britain are faced with the prophesied revival of the “beast,” … in Europe, forming the rebuilding of the ancient Roman Empire, Australia may well be taken over by an entirely different enemy! Australia, trying to populate and industrialize to stave off Communism, may become the SLAVES OF COMMUNISTS! (Armstrong GT. Populate or Perish! Plain Truth, January 1960)

The above is consistent with my views on that.

The old Worldwide Church, itself, taught that Ezekiel 5 and 6, as well as the latter portion of Hosea 5, applied to the English-dominated nations, specifying Australia, but also by implication, including New Zealand (Noller DK. Australia the Beautiful … Australia the Condemned! Plain Truth Magazine July-August 1983).

Notice some portions of those scriptures:

11 ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. 12 One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13 ‘Thus shall My anger be spent, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be avenged; and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them. 14 Moreover I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

15 ‘So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.'” (Ezekiel 5:11-17)

1 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

8 “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.” (Ezekiel 6:1-10)

14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. (Hosea 5:14-15)

Those of Australia and New Zealand, as well as the whole world, will eventually know that the God of the Bible is real.

It will take the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to be able to save the Australian and New Zealand people and their kindred worldwide from total annihilation (Hosea 13:9; Matthew 24:21-22). Jesus will return to earth as King of kings and establish God’s government over all nations.

For more information on the fate of Australia, the Continuing Church of God put together this sermon on our ContinuingCOG channel:

1:19:37

Australia and New Zealand: Origins and Prophecy

Who are the ancestors of the British peoples who went to Australia and New Zealand? Are there biblical and even non-biblical prophecies that point to the nations of Australia and New Zealand? If so, what do they teach? Have any been fulfilled? What are some of the blessings and cursings the Bible tells of? Does prophecy help explain the wealth of Australia and New Zealand? Will future prophecies still be fulfilled? Does Isaiah 49:12 refer to Australia or New Zealand? What about the Five Eyes? Are there any Catholic or Chinese prophecies that point to Australia and New Zealand? What about the Cook Islands and Australia’s external territories? How will the Great Tribulation affect Australia and New Zealand? Will military alliances fail? Are Australians and New Zealanders prophesied to be slaves? Is China a real threat? What about Japan?