Oikos Rising
God, Home and the Reordering of Nations
Introduction: The Return to Home
In recent years, a subtle yet powerful shift has begun to take place across nations and communities. Whether in the rural towns of America, the villages of Italy, or the coastal communities of the UK, there is a growing instinct to recover what is local, tangible and rooted. This phenomenon is often labelled ‘nationalism’ or ‘populism’ by political analysts, but at its heart, it is much deeper; it is a reawakening of oikos.
In Greek, oikos means ‘household’, ‘home’ or ‘family estate … the domestic economy.’ In the Hebrew worldview, the closest concept is beit av (בֵּית אָב), ‘the father’s house’, which describes the extended family as an economic, social and covenantal unit. Both terms describe more than a building. They describe order, belonging, inheritance and stewardship.
Today, this ancient biblical impulse is reasserting itself, even, very much, in secular contexts. People are yearning for stable families, cohesive communities, secure borders and meaningful work - a life rooted in place and tradition rather than abstract globalism.
Biblical Foundations: Oikos and Beit Av
The Bible consistently affirms God’s design for human life to be organised around households and nations rather than borderless utopias.
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Genesis 18:19: “For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of YHWH by doing righteousness and justice…” Abraham’s calling begins in his household (beit av) and radiates outward to the nations.
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Deuteronomy 32:8-9: “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But YHWH's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.” God Himself ordained national distinctions, not as barriers to love but as boundaries of stewardship.
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Acts 17:26: “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place…” Nations, like households, are part of God’s creational design.
The term oikos appears frequently in the New Testament to describe not only literal homes but also the household of faith (Gal 6:10, Eph 2:19). The early Church was structured around house fellowships; local, tangible communities, not abstract organisations.
The early Church was structured around house fellowships; local, tangible communities, not abstract organisations.
I was taught by Dwight Pryor that the Kingdom of God advances household to household, through fathers and mothers discipling their children, neighbours serving one another, and believers gathering around the table. My studies with Mike Heiser’s work complemented this by showing that even in the cosmic realm, God governs through ordered structures, divine and human, rather than chaos.
Hebrew Word Study: Beit Av (בֵּית אָב)
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Beit (בֵּית): ‘house’ or ‘household’: not just a physical structure but a lineage, dwelling or covenantal family unit.
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Av (אָב): ‘father’: source or origin, the head of the household who carries the authority and responsibility to protect and provide.
Together, beit av literally means ‘the father’s house’, which in biblical culture included grandparents, married sons, servants, herds, and land. It was the core economic and spiritual unit of Israelite society. Land was not owned individually but held as a sacred trust for the family and future generations (Lev 25:23).
Greek Word Study: Oikos (οἶκος)
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Used for dwelling (Luke 6:48), household members (Acts 16:31), and spiritual community; “judgment begins at the household of God” (1 Pet 4:17).
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Root of oikonomia (οἰκονομία): ‘stewardship, administration of the household’, from which we get the word economy. In biblical terms, economy is not about global markets first; it is about faithful stewardship of what God has entrusted to your household and community.
Case Study 1: The United States and MAGA
Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement is often dismissed as mere political populism. Yet its popularity reveals something deeper: a longing to recover home. Millions of Americans feel alienated by decades of deindustrialisation, porous borders and cultural upheaval. They want to see local factories reopen, farmers supported and national sovereignty respected.
Millions of Americans feel alienated by decades of deindustrialisation, porous borders and cultural upheaval.
This does not mean that every policy or personality in MAGA perfectly reflects biblical values. But the movement resonates because it appeals to a biblical instinct, the call to guard and steward one’s household and nation. Like Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls (Neh 2:17), many sense a divine mandate to repair the gates of their own communities before speaking to the world.
Case Study 2: Reform UK and the Rejection of Supranational Control
In the United Kingdom, the rise of Reform UK, along with the Brexit vote itself, shows a parallel pattern. Britons are pushing back against top-down governance from Brussels, rediscovering their own industries, legal traditions and cultural identity. This is oikos on a national scale.
Tom Holland’s ‘Dominion’ together with Douglas Murray’s ‘The Strange Death of Europe’ have demonstrated that faith must be embodied in culture. When a people lose touch with their heritage, they lose a sense of covenantal accountability before God. Reform UK’s messaging on sovereignty, trade, independence and border security reflects a widespread hunger to recover that accountability, to live as a “household of Britain” rather than a tenant in someone else’s empire.
Across Europe, leaders like Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Poland’s previous Law and Justice party have unapologetically defended Christian values, traditional family policies and national sovereignty. Meloni famously said, “I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am Christian” - a declaration of oikos identity.
The spirit of what we are doing through Oikos inspires – I would even say inspirits – me.
Michael Heiser’s biblical theology of the nations sheds light here: nations are not arbitrary human inventions but divine allotments. God has not called humanity to erase distinctions in pursuit of a human-centered unity (Babel), but to live faithfully within those distinctions for His glory.
A Local Witness: Churches Collaborating as Oikos
In my own town, Anglican, Catholic and Methodist congregations have begun collaborating in service to the community. It’s called Oikos, and I volunteer there. We serve our community with food distribution – food bank and food pantry plus a community fridge – also youth mentorship, bible studies, alpha groups and prayer gatherings. The fruit is remarkable and has taught me so much: it is an expression of faith not seen in any of the three churches individually, none of which, to be frank, I would feel comfortable being a part of. Yet the spirit of what we are doing through Oikos inspires – I would even say inspirits – me.
This is what happens when believers recover oikos thinking. Instead of outsourcing compassion to distant agencies or government programs, they embody it in the local household of faith. The early Church was described this way: “Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes… they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:46).
The Prophetic Resistance to Babel
Genesis 11 tells the story of Babel, humanity uniting to make a name for itself apart from God. Globalism today carries the same spirit: erasing borders, diluting faith, and centralising power in the name of progress.
This is not divine punishment but divine mercy, protecting humanity from the tyranny of centralised rebellion.
But God responds to Babel by scattering, re-establishing nations, and setting boundaries (Deut 32:8, Acts 17:26). This is not divine punishment but divine mercy, protecting humanity from the tyranny of centralised rebellion.
In my understanding, God oversees the nations even when they rebel, holding them accountable for injustice and idolatry. Meanwhile, God’s Kingdom is relational, covenantal and household-based, not bureaucratic. Babel represents man’s plan to rule without God. Oikos represents God’s way of ordering creation.
Life Application: Building Oikos Where We Are
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Strengthen our literal household: Practice family worship, share meals and cultivate multigenerational bonds (Deut 6:4-9).
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Support our local communities: Buy from local farmers and artisans, invest in our local town, and strengthen the ‘household economy’.
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Pray for our nation: Seek its welfare as Jeremiah commanded the exiles (Jer 29:7)
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Collaborate with other believers: Tear down denominational walls in our towns. Serve together as one household of faith.
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Guard our cultural gates: Discern which ideologies undermine loyalty to God, family and land.
Oikos as the Seedbed of the Kingdom
The rise of oikos thinking worldwide is not merely political nostalgia, it is a prophetic correction. God is calling His people to rebuild from the ground up, to treasure what He has given, to live faithfully in households, congregations, and nations so that we may bless the world.
The rise of oikos thinking worldwide is not merely political nostalgia, it is a prophetic correction.
As Jesus taught, “The one who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10). If we will be faithful with our oikos, our homes, our communities, our lands, we will be prepared to steward greater things in the coming days.
Suggested Prayer Points
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For Strong Households: Let’s pray that families would be restored to God’s design, places of discipleship, love and covenant faithfulness (Deut 6:6-7).
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For Righteous Leadership in Nations: Ask YHWH to raise up leaders who will honour the boundaries and stewardship of their nations (Prov 29:2).
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For Local Congregational Unity: Let’s pray that churches in every town would collaborate as one household of faith, showing Christ’s love in action (John 17:21).
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For Protection Against Globalist Idolatry: Seek discernment to reject ungodly ideologies that erase God-given identity, family and land (Gen. 11:4-9).
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For the Household of Faith to Shine: make intercession that believers would live out oikos values, caring for their homes, communities and nations as witnesses to the Kingdom (Gal 6:10).
Nick Thompson, 28/08/2025