[Editor’s Note: This article was originally written for the international audience on the UCG Website’s Weekly News Commentary.]

An exodus has always been a significant and often foreboding event. It involves the movement of masses of people from one place to another, driven by some major forces.

At the turn of the past century, a significant movement of peoples began to flow towards the “first-world nations” and has continued unabated to this day. Some of the major reasons are: the results of war (e.g. Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees), and the economic factors governing the supply-and-demand in the world’s labor market.

This time, I will focus on the little-known labor-related “Modern Exodus” happening in the Philippines which is driving its able, qualified, and willing citizens to work abroad. Not seeing much hope in the country’s political and economic situation, a recent Pulse Asia Survey showed that Filipinos who expressed an intention to migrate has risen from 26 to 33 percent just between July to October last year. Visually corroborating this data is the perennial long queues of hopeful visa applicants at various Western embassies in Manila.

It has been said that the Philippines (pop. about 80 million) is perhaps one of the largest suppliers of an assortment of workers. These are employed as doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers, technicians, caregivers, entertainers, domestic workers, etc. Because of the great numbers deployed abroad, it has also been said that if every Filipino seaman were pulled out from every sailing ship, the world’s maritime industry will come to a halt.

From the supply side of the labor market, the Philippines produces thousands of graduates every year but with no employment opportunities locally. The realignment of the new employment situation is desperate to the extent that many practicing medical doctors are re-training to be registered nurses because of the greater demand for such abroad.

In a recent issue of the Philippine STAR (a national daily newspaper), columnist Alejandro R. Roces lamented the mass exodus of Philippine doctors to the United States. One article titled, “Doctors’ exodus continues,” said that at least 2,215 doctors went to work abroad as nurses in the year 2004 alone. Philippine Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas adds to say that an average of 5,000 nurses leave the country monthly, such that in just the first 10 months of last year, the total deployed abroad has reached 58,759!

Adding it all up, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency estimates the total number of Filipino workers deployed abroad to have reached over one million last year, which is an increase of almost 10 percent over the previous year. At such rate, statistics as of the end of December 2004 show that the number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) has already reached more than eight million (8,083,815), according to accumulated government data. This figure is more than 10 percent of the total Philippine population!

While this great mass of OFW is generating income equal to 10 percent of the Philippine economy, this is also alarmingly causing a “brain drain” situation in the nation.

Filipino workers are in demand due to their proficiency in the English language, their training in Western standards of education, their reputation as being hardworking, resourceful, adaptable, and patient employees—with a willingness to accept a lower pay rate—and as a bonus to some employers, their adherence to some Christian values.

This exodus of Filipino workers from their own country is just one example of such type of exodus involving other Asian nationals as well. Another case in point is the stream of immigrants to Vancouver, Canada. I have personally been in a recent direct flight from Manila to Vancouver which was filled with Chinese nationals. Since this has been going on continuously and cumulatively for many decades now, unknown to many, Vancouver has come to the point where it is now considered the new Hong Kong in Canada!

Apart from the obvious cause-and-effect factors of such exoduses, are there other reasons why these events seem uncontrollably happening before our eyes? Has God somehow seen these developments long ago? If so, does the Bible have anything to say about it?

It is difficult for one to definitely know the answers to these questions and understand these things unless he or she has an adequate background concerning the ancient origins and identities of modern nations, and their attendant prophetic roles. For example, who is Japheth and Shem referring to? Who and where are these peoples? Can the ancient verse in Genesis 9:27 be somehow prophetic when it says: “May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem”? And is there more to that verse in Bible prophecy?

To learn how the pronouncements of God in the Bible are being fulfilled to the letter, including understanding the ancient identities of modern nations, request for your free copy of our booklets: The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. You can also download your copy from our Web site at www.ucg.org. You can’t afford not to know what the future holds for you. It can affect your life and that of your loved ones.