Many people are at a loss to understand why things have become so toxic in the secular realm over the last few years. And many others erroneously believe that God’s jurisdiction only pertains to those who believe in Him. But this is not the case for God holds jurisdiction over secular, as well as spiritual leaders.
It is not necessary for one to believe in God for Him to have jurisdiction over him or her, for all souls are His, both by creation and redemption. In particular, those who bear sway in the secular realm do so at the discretion of God, not of man. Some may vote and others may protest, and at other times, rulers may come to power through conflicts and wars, but at the end of the day, it is God who always rules in the affairs of men.
The fact is that God’s will often gets accomplished using the natural processes we are accustomed to, so on the surface, it may seem as if the craftiness, and money injected into political maneuvering is what produces results, but this is not the case. In all and through all, God is working behind the scenes to get His will accomplished. Several passages teach us this sobering truth. Let’s read:
Daniel 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.
Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Thus, in certain instances, secular rulers may come into power by peaceful means, but at other times they may come into power through violence, and war, but God is still working in the background even though the methods employed by men may not be scriptural. This fact has perplexed many people who erroneously believe that God is restricted to using only Biblical means and methods.
In the case of Cyrus, God permitted him and guided him to go to war with Babylon, so that the kingdom was overthrown when it was time to pass on the scepter and the method employed in doing so, also had its origin with God. Even before birth, Cyrus was being groomed to conquer Babylon, so that the purposes of God could be fulfilled.
The wisdom, the methods, the unfolding situations which accommodated the conquest, all had their origins with God, but to the secular mind, it seemed to be an arbitrary coming together of unfortunate events, but in all and through it all God was at work, hidden from view. Let’s read:
Isaiah 45:1 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
Then, after all the intricate and extensive planning was done the human agent accomplished God’s will and Babylon was overthrown in the dead of night. But poor, frail mortals often take the glory for what God has ordained or accomplished through human instrumentalities. The scriptures seek to correct this erroneous mode of thought, to the intent that we may know that God still sits on the throne. Let’s read:
Psalms 33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
11 The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Daniel 5:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand.
2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
8 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor.
19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.
24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
25 And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it.
27 Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 Peres; Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
Thus, the selection of kings, rulers, and presidents is the product of God, even though He works through the various systems established on earth. Now, as stated before we must be careful in understanding this matter, because we should not always expect that things would go in a godly manner just because God selected a king or ruler.
Nebuchadnezzar was selected by God, as the Bible confirms, but he tried to roast the three Hebrews when they would not bow down to graven images. Saul was selected but he set himself in array against the plainest commands of God, and ended up going to a witch, instead of to the Lord. And in the book of Numbers, the future of kings and nations were laid out, many years in advance.
This brings us to pharaoh, the king of Egypt who sat upon the throne after Joseph had died. According to history, this particular pharaoh was groomed by his instructors to hate and oppress the Hebrews, and thus, when he came into power, he carried out that which he was prepared for. But in the narrative that pertains to him he speaks very proudly as if he does not even acknowledge the existence of God.
But God explains to him through Moses that indeed, it was not by the capricious unfolding of events, nor even by the cunning and planning of his instructors that he came into power. It was the providence of God alone, why he sat upon the throne at that time, so that a specific segment of sacred history could be implemented at a specific time.
So, the question is: “Why would God install a proud rebellious pharaoh, who would not only afflict the Hebrews, but would set himself in direct rebellion against God’s revealed will? Why would God choose a stubborn person, instead of one who will go with the flow? The answer is that God could use man’s stubbornness to accomplish His purposes.
Thus, at this time, a king who would be naturally stubborn would be the best pick to fit the schedule. God would not deliberately make him stubborn, but He will use his natural stubbornness to accomplish His will. Judas was not forced to betray Christ, but his natural greed was employed in bringing God’s purposes to pass.
Thus, kings and rulers, politicians and regular folk often fulfill God’s will any which way; some often cooperate willingly, while others cooperate in a stubborn manner, but at the end of the day, God’s will is accomplished one way or another.
In other words, the time for the deliverance of the Hebrews had now come, and one way or another, pharaoh will let them go. He could cooperate with God or he could rebel against God, but at the end of the day, the Hebrews are leaving, period. Let’s read:
Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Exodus 9:14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses.
21 And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
And concerning God’s will, of using that stubborn pharaoh to let His name be proclaimed throughout the earth, the sacred record teaches us that God’s will was accomplished, for many nations, who had heard of the plagues, and utter discomfiture of the Egyptians, had that unfortunate experience etched into their memories permanently, and never to be forgotten. Let’s read:
Joshua 2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
1st Samuel 6:2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
Similarly, in our day, kings and presidents are once again, set up by The God of heaven to accomplish His purposes. Like pharaoh, they may be proud and boastful, or they may be stubborn. They may not seem to be godly at all, even though God installed them, but we are not to become perturbed or upset because at the end of the day, it is God’s will that is being accomplished.
At the end of the age Christ is scheduled to appear, to take the reins of control from secular rulers, and in preparation for that cataclysmic event there are certain developments which must take place first. Therefore, specific presidents and rulers who would manifest specific traits of character will be selected for the accomplishment of God’s purposes, so as to facilitate the soon return of Christ. Let’s read:
Purpose # [1]
All earth’s inhabitants must be given an opportunity to choose or reject Christ.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Purpose # [2]
The mark of the beast (The mandatory system of worship) must be set up, to draw the line between those who will serve God, and those who won’t.
Revelation 13: 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Purpose # [3]
The false system of worship and its advocates must be judged by the very nations who subscribed to the religious dogma.
Revelation 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Therefore, as we see with our own two eyes, and hear with our own two ears, many unprecedented occurrences across America, and across the globe, let us not lose hope and worry, as do those who do not know these things, but let us look up with the eye of faith, knowing that our redemption draws nigh.
A sacred obligation also rests upon the shoulders of those who know of, and believe the revealed will of God, for there are millions and billions of persons who are yet to be enlightened concerning all these things. Let us then work diligently towards this end while we still have the freedom and limited time to do so, for we must remember that Christ’s second coming will take place as a thief in the night.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reminds us of the blessed hope, and our duty to live in readiness each day. Let’s read:
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.
God Bless!