David Goodhart, editor of the British magazine Prospect, asked in the title of his lead editorial, "Why are we British such eager interveners all over the world?"

He further asked in the text: "Is it a generous outgoing spirit of wanting to do our bit to make the world a better, less dangerous place—a sort of global welfare-ism? Or is it the last vestiges of an imperial spirit, wanting to plant the flag in as many places as possible, and clinging on to a past at the top table despite our relative decline over the past century? Perhaps it's a bit of both..." (August 2009).

An article in Newsweek also highlighted the outsized British role in the world. Britain, it says, "is the only country of its size in recent history that has sought such a disproportionately large role on the world stage...During [Tony] Blair's decade in office, from 1997 to 2007, Britain fought three wars—in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq—in which its military participation was right behind that of the United States" (Stryker McGuire, "Forget the Great in Britain," Aug. 17, 2009).

The Bible addresses this dilemma. God Almighty assigned a special prophetic role to the English-speaking peoples. Though most have no inkling of it, the British and American people are in large part descended from the two sons of Joseph, the son of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel). To learn much more, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.