A "Lucky Country"?

Since the 1960s, Australia has been known as “The Lucky Country.” Most people have assumed that it earned this nickname because of its vast natural resources and rich agricultural land. However, there is no “luck” or “good fortune” involved in Australia’s prosperity. It has resulted from a source that very few people today acknowledge, or have even considered.

Prior to the 18th and 19th centuries and the arrival of Europeans, especially those from the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia was a mainly arid continent inhabited by native hunter-gatherers and a variety of strange animals such as emus, kangaroos, wombats, spiny anteaters and koalas. As the European population grew, many mineral resources were discovered in Australia and some of its regions were found suitable for growing crops and grazing stock. After World War II, the Australian economy boomed, and the nation became wealthy and the desired home for thousands of new European immigrants.

In 1964, academic and social critic Donald Horne wrote The Lucky Country—a book about his homeland Australia. His title came from the opening words of the book’s last chapter: “Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.” In his 1976 sequel, Death of the Lucky Country, Horne clarified his meaning regarding Australia’s “luck.”  He had not meant that the country had abundant mineral resources. “I had in mind the idea of Australia as a British derived society whose prosperity in the great age of manufacturing came from the luck of its historical origins… In the lucky style we have never ‘earned’ our democracy. We simply went along with some British habits.”

Horne was correct, in that the prosperity of Australia came from its historical origins—but he certainly was not aware of how deep the true historical origins really are.

As a matter of fact, they go back thousands of years, long before Britain even existed. Actually, the British people are the descendants of Joseph’s son Ephraim, who was blessed by the patriarch Jacob and was prophesied to “become a multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:19). Just prior to his death, Jacob prophesied regarding the future for each of his twelve sons in the end times. Concerning Joseph, he said, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall… 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. 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 him who was separate from his brothers” (Genesis 49:22, 25-26).

The nation of Australia has been a recipient of these promises. That is not a matter of being “lucky,” but rather having been truly blessed by God as a result of the promise made to Joseph over three thousand years ago. Sadly, because of disobedience to God, these blessings are being taken away, as they are for all of the Israelite nations. The children of Israel were admonished by Moses to “choose life” that God’s blessings would be maintained and their obedience rewarded (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). However, even he predicted that their downfall would come when they walked astray from God (Deuteronomy 31:29) and would suffer in the “latter days.” We see this happening today, and the same pattern of curses are now falling on the descendants of the Israelite people—modern America, Britain and their relatives around the world. The same heart of disobedience remains—although God will one day change that as well and redeem His people (Ezekiel 36:26; Hosea 3:5).

For the time being, however, Australia and its allies are beginning to see their “luck” run out.

For more detailed information on the modern locations of the ancient tribes of Israel—and their prophesied future—please order a free copy of our booklet The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy, or read it online.