Healing the Land Teaching by Winkie Pratney and Report by Roger Armbruster

This 25-minute video clip contains a 10-minute teaching by Winkie Pratnery from New Zealand at the Healing the Land Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, in October of 2005, along with 15 minutes from a report given by Roger Armbruster at that same Conference on Healing of the Land in the Canadian High Arctic.  This Conference was sponsored by the Sentinel Group and George Otis Jr.

The teaching by Winkie Pratney makes a case for the biblical view that people (whose bodies are made from the dust of the ground, Genesis 2:7) and land are connected.  While the western mindset often compartmentalizes the spiritual and the natural, human beings interconnect between the two, because humans are spirit, soul and body.  I Thessalonians 5:23. 

The biblical concept of redemption encompasses not just the redemption of human beings, but indeed all of creation.  Mark 16:15, ESV.  Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:15, 16; Revelation 4:11.

Naturalism, and naturalistic thinking, does not recognize and regard that nature is not a closed circle, but rather it is an open circle, and that it is connected to a spiritual reality, that is, to God who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  Indigenous peoples, on the other hand, have a more biblical concept that understands that the spiritual world and humans are connected, but that humans and land (as well as all creation) are connected. 

Yet, even as western Christians, we repeatedly sing the carol every Christmas season:  Joy to the World!  One line in the carol goes, "Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing...."  Nature singing?  Nature having a voice?  Nature having a sound?  What is that all about?  Do we understand the biblical basis for land having a sound and a song?

Is there a biblical basis for believing that the entire creation and the world of nature has a voice which reflects the condition of the hearts of the people who live on the land, whether to mourn and to groan, or else to sing and to rejoice and to praise the Lord?

As mentioned, humans are spirit, soul and body, and while their spirit connects them to God, the Creator, it is their body that connects them to the earth.  The earth is affected by the words and actions of humans, and responds accordingly.  When people mourn, and joy is withered away from the sons and the daughters of men, the land mourns, and when people rejoice, the land rejoices.  The earth can be spoken to, and it can be impacted by words.  

"Hear O earth!" (Jeremiah 6:19).  "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD!" (Jeremiah 22:29).  "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.  Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass, for I proclaim the Name of the LORD.  Ascribe greatness to our God"  (Deuteronomy 32:1-3).

We are not saying the nature is human, but it is interconnected with humans, and there is a bond between the two.  And all of creation has a sound, a song and a voice that reflects the human condition.  In its fallen state, that sound is characterized by groaning and by mourning.  In its redeemed state, it is characterized by rejoicing, and a song that is deposited right in the land, and into all creation itself.  All of creation was created to praise the living God, and to give Him glory and honour, not in a narcissistic way, as if God were an egoist, wanting all of the honor and glory without sharing it, but in a way in which He shares that glory and honour with His mature children as humans fulfill their purpose to reflect His image and glory into the creation.

Indeed, all of creation is standing on its tip toes.  It is eagerly waiting and earnestly anticipating the very apparent liberty that will release nature from its bondage to futility and decay when the revealing of God's children is fully manifested.  Romans 8:19-23.

Nature in its Original State

"Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).

"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend (cultivate) and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15).  This is the stewardship of God's good earth that was given to the man (male and female) that God originally created in His image and likeness.

"The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.  He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap.  He lays up the deep in storehouses.  Let all the earth fear the LORD.  Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.  For He spoke, and it was done, He commanded, and it stood fast" (Psalm 33:5b-9).

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell Me, if you have understanding.  Who determined its measurements?  Surely you know!  Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?  To what were its foundations fastened?  Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7).

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day after they they pour forth speech, and night after night they reveal knowledge.  There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard, their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Psalm 19:1-4a).

Nature in its Fallen State

"For we know that the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs together until now"  (Romans 8:22).

"The land mourns...joy has withered away from the sons of men...How the animals groan!  The herds of cattle are restless...The beasts of the field also cry out to You" (Joel 1:10, 12, 18, 20).

"They have made my desired portion of land desolate...Desolate, it mourns to Me; the whole land is made desolate, because no one takes it to heart" (Jeremiah 12:10, 11).

"There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.  By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed.  Therefore, the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea will be taken away" (Hosea 4:1b-3).

"The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.  So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you.  A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth" (Genesis 4:10b-12).

"Shall the land not tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it?" (Amos 8:8).

"The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away.  The haughty people of the earth languish, the earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.  Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate" (Isaiah 24:4-6a).                                                        "The pastures...mourn, and the top of Carmel (Garden of God) withers" (Amos 1:2).

"Then to Adam He said...Cursed is the ground for your sake.  In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.  Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth (cause to grow) for you..." (Genesis 3:17, 18a).

Even in its Present Fallen Condition, Nature Still Bears Traces of its Original State

"You visit the earth and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it" (Psalm 65:9).

"Let the peoples praise You, O God.  Let all the peoples praise You.  Then the earth shall yield her increase (give her produce).  God, our own God, shall bless us" (Psalm 67:5, 6).

"Oh LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions--this great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great....These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. What you give them they gather in. You open Your hand, and they are filled with good" (Psalm 104:24, 25, 27, 28).

"If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.  Your threshing shall last until the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing.  You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely" (Leviticus 26:3-5; see also Deuteronomy 11:14-17; 28:12, 13, 23, 24).

"Who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.  Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, aand gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:16, 17).

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made (the world of nature), even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

"But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you, and the birds of the air, and they will tell you.  Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, and the fish of the sea will explain to you.  Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing,and the breath of all mankind?" (Job 12:7-10).

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and deaath, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live"  (Deuteronomy 30:19; see also Deuteronomy 4:26).

"(David's throne) shall be established forever like the moon, even the faithful witness in the sky.  Selah" (Psalm 89:37).

So "God did not leave Himself without witness" (Acts 14:17), He called "heaven and earth as witnesses against Israel" (Deut. 30:19), and he placed the moon as "the faithful witness in the sky" (Psalm 89:37).  How does the world of Nature act as a witness to the actions and the behaviour of humans?

1.  Whenever sins such as the shedding of innocent blood, sexual immorality, witchcraft and idolatry, and the breaking of covenants come to a fullness and start to spill over, the earth, the land starts to revolt, and to respond with an act of nature.  "The land is defiled; therefore...the land vomits outs its inhabitants"  (Leviticus 18:25.  See also Leviticus 18:28).  "You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all my judgments, and perform them that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out" (Leviticus 20:11).

2. God is patient and longsuffering, and continues to provide glimpses of His goodness into the world of nature, even in its fallen state, in causing the sun to shine and the rain to fall in due season upon everyone, allowing the earth to yield its produce.  "He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:16, 17).  "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45b).  "Upon whom does His light not rise?" (Job 23:3b).

Nature in its Redeemed State

"Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44b).

"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come...not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place (in Heaven itself) once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12).



"No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground, He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found..." (Christmas Carol).

His blood was sprinkled all the way from the ground to the Throne Room in the highest heaven, so that the Most Holy Place in Heaven now sees the creation through the eyes of the finished work on the cross, and of the precious blood that was shed for the entire creation once and for all.

"You have come...to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24).  The blood of Abel cried out for revenge and for retribution, but the blood of Jesus cries out for mercy and for forgiveness.

"The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the Throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying:  'You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and for Your pleasure and by Your will they exist and were created...For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth'" (Revelation 4:11; 5:9b, 10).

"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done marvelous (great) things!  Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field, for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and the vine yield their strength" (Joe 2:21, 22).

"Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, shall you not perceive it?  I will make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  The beast of the field will honour Me...This people I have formed for Myself, they shall declare My praise" (Isaiah 43:19-21).

"I will give peace (shalom) in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid.  I will rid the land of evil beasts..." (Leviticus 26:6).

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.  The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together.  And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:6-9).

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace.  The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 55:12, 13).

"The whole earth is at rest and quiet.  They break forth into singing.  Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon" (Isaiah 14:7, 8a).

"The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a garden.  It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing...They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God" (Isaiah 35:1, 2).

"Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it!  Shout, you lower parts of the earth.  Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!  For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel" (Isaiah 44:23).

"Sing, O heavens!  Be joyful, O earth!  And break out in singing, O mountains!  For the LORD has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted" (Isaiah 49:13).

"The little hills rejoice on every side.  The pastures are clothed with flocks.  The valleys also are covered with grain.  They shout for joy.  They also sing" (Psalm 65:12b, 13).

"Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!  Sing to the LORD, all the earth...Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad.  Let the sea roar, and all its fullness.  Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.  For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.  He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth" (Psalm 96:1, 11-13).

"Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth, break forth in song, rejoice and sing praises...Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it.  Let the rivers clap their hands.  Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth.  Wih righteousness he shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity" (Psalm 98:4, 7-9).

"Make a joyful noice, a gleeful sound, a resounding shout to the LORD, all you lands!" (Psalm 100:1).

"Praise Him sun and moon;  Praise Him all you stars of light!  Praise Him you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens.  Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created.  He also established them for ever and ever.  He made a decree which shall not pass away.

"Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths...Mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars;  Beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl.  Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth.  Both young men and maidens, old men and children.  Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted.  His glory is above the earth and heaven" (Psalm 148:3-7, 9-13).

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind...The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, says the LORD"  (Isaiah 65:17, 25).

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...Then He who sat on the Throne said, "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:1, 5).