And He made from one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, determining beforehand their appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwelling—Acts 17:26
The events of world history have been sovereignly arranged by God for Him to carry out His purpose…The rise and fall of the kingdoms of earth and the boundaries of all the nations have been predetermined by Him…God’s move among men is wrapped up with the course of history. Whether we speak of His becoming flesh through the incarnation, or of the spread of the gospel, or of the raising up of the church life, or of the preparation of the bride, all these aspects of His move require the proper environment, as far as the world situation is concerned. (The World Situation and God’s Move, p. 5)
The world situation has always been the indicator of the Lord’s move on earth. (The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, p. 8)
Europe has been a crucial region in the Lord’s move throughout the centuries. Brother Lee points out in The World Situation and God’s Move (1981) that “for the first step, the spread of the gospel, God prepared the Roman Empire. For the second step, the return to the Bible, God prepared Germany. For the third step, the recovery of the gospel, the teaching of the Bible, and the proper meetings—God in the last two centuries used Great Britain. Finally, for the fourth step God has prepared the United States” (p. 40). The Lord brought His recovery to the US via the Far East for the preparation of His bride. In 1991 Brother Lee says further in The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move that “the recovery has taken root in the United States and the Far East, but there is a void in Europe. For this reason, the Lord’s direction of His present recovery must be toward Europe” (p. 17). In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries God has moved and is continuing to move to gain a group of people who have Christ as their life and live Him and who are being built up for Christ to have His Body to prepare His bride for His return.