(This commentary was intentionally written prior to knowing the election’s outcome)
“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 2:21).
It is finished. The most vicious, divisive and outright bizarre of United States’ presidential elections is now but history. In the aftermath of the torrid and sickening public casting of stones, and shocking gutter dragging revelations, remains a reeling nation…staggering and bruised, bloodied and divided.
Whether the elections’ outcome has left you in elation, crushed in defeat, or just ready to warily move on, we Christians need to place this event in a much, much larger Biblical perspective.
As the acrimonious smoke continues to clear, remember above all that the Word of God tells us in no uncertain terms the Lord God has executed His sovereign right to set up rulers in accordance with his divine will (Daniel 2:21; 5:21, Psalms 47:8 and 99:1-2, Proverbs 8:15, Isaiah 40:23).
Above all we should not take this outcome as a change of course from Jesus Christ’s prophesied ever increasing sorrowful, birth pains the end of which shall come like a flood. (Mathew 24:4-39). Despite our hopes and prayers America’s leaders will eventually align with all the Antichrists’ other Gentile nations who will cut themselves to pieces against the cup of trembling and the burdensome stone which is Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:1-4).
God Reigns Sovereign
Post election we must remember, the Bible specifically points out that the Lord God often allows nations to be ruled at times by even the vilest of people in order to shape the future to His will, because it is in the midst of the nation’s churning turmoil and strife that people most often seek Him even though He is not far away (Daniel 4:17, Acts 17:27).
As this president-elect is inaugurated and assumes the position of “most powerful person on earth”, remember we are told not to put our ultimate trust in mere men, but in God, for even the most mighty people are but sinners, fallen short of the glory of God (Psalms 118:8, Proverbs 29:25).
Despite the new president’s desires, like all other rulers, they are just being placed in their position in order to execute but a portion of the Lord God’s much grander plan. Know that the Lord God holds every individual ruler’s hearts in his hand and he will use it to move Mankind towards the inevitable outcome which the Lord God long ago, foreordained (Proverbs 21:1, Isaiah 46:10).
So how will God use, this new “most powerful person on earth?” The Bible shows us.
Biblical Examples
Though the numerous cited scriptures I have cited were pinned thousands of years ago about Israel and long since vanished mighty gentile nations, the Lord God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Accordingly, He will continue to place the rulers over the nations in order to achieve His higher purposes (Malachi 3:6).
The Bible provides a rich tapestry which fully portrays how the Lord God deals with “the most powerful men on earth.”
Early on the Lord God used the “most powerful man on earth” at that time, Egypt’s Pharaoh, to lift up Joseph from slavery to become the second most powerful person in the land, in order to bring the nation of Israel into fertile lands to prosper and multiply (Genesis 41:41; 47:1).
Four hundred years later, the Lord God dealt with another “all powerful” Pharaoh to achieve His divine will. In this instance God allowed this greatest ruler’s sinful nature to harden the Pharaoh’s own heart, but also notice the Lord God purposely hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to bring Israel out of bondage in Egypt and reveal Himself to the nation of Israel (Exodus chapters 4 through 14).
Eight hundred years later, in Daniel the greatest prophetic book of the Old Testament, we see how the Lord God chose to lift up and then bring low the most powerful man on earth, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
God used this “absolute dictator” to execute his righteous judgment upon the rebellious Jewish people by destroying their nation and temple, and returning them into bondage. The Lord God further gave this ruler a dream which set the prophetic stage for all future gentile nations until Christ’s Second Coming and Millennial kingdom reign (Daniel Chapter 2).
Seventy years after that, in the books of Daniel and 2nd Chronicles, we find the Lord God using two other “most powerful men on earth”, the Persian Kings Darius and Cyrus to: protect the Jews people; end Israel’s Babylonian captivity; and provide the authority needed to reestablish Israel as a nation and rebuild the second temple (Daniel 6, 2 Chronicles 36:2).
Five hundred years on as prophesied by Jesus Christ, the Lord God used two of the “most powerful men on earth”, the Roman Emperor Vespasian and his son and successor, Titus to destroy Jerusalem and the Second Temple, because Israel rejected His Son (Mathew 24:2, Mark 13:2, Luke 19:44, 21:6).
Providence…The Forgotten Word
As cited the Lord God does not change. From a Biblical perspective, what we call history is the free will of men being allowed to unfold within and beneath the Lord God’s greater overarching divine will…His divine providence. Providence captures in a single word an all encompassing and humbling view of Man’s relation to god, which is but a passé, old-fashioned, archaic concept of god no longer held as valid in our secular world.
Mankind in its blind, self-inflated arrogance has forgotten God’s providence and instead chalks up historical outcomes to chance, luck, and fortune. Life therefore becomes just one great never ending series of outcomes on a roulette wheel, spun by the most powerful men on the earth.
Consequently, in our government, schools, and courts the Lord God’s guiding hand over history is ever increasingly unacknowledged and forgotten, yet He is there; ever present and ever shaping His creation.
The Lord God’s Recent Providence
Believers take notice in all these Biblical cases provided, that the Lord God almost exclusively uses the most powerful men on earth to execute His divine providence concerning the apple of his eye, Israel. That has been the Lord God’s means of dealing with the Gentile nations and that will not change.
In recent memory, the vilest “most powerful man on earth” was Adolf Hitler, who came to power with a mix of enthusiastic approval and apathetic indifference in a desperate nation in post WWI Europe. The German nation sold their soul to this demonically possessed man who promised to give them back their fallen national pride and bring back economic prosperity.
In the end Hitler’s maniacal rule brought death and destruction to the German people, and unleashed upon Europe the horrific slaughter of tens of millions of souls, which included the systematic extermination of six million Jews.
As Satan danced amongst the bones and ashes of the Jews Hitler burned in the ovens, the Lord God used this man’s evil holocaust to place the prophetic flesh upon the valley of dry bones as the Nation of Israel was reborn amidst the ashes of the slaughtered Diaspora (Ezekiel 37). The Lord God’s providence alone has allowed Israel whose people’s nation and temple were destroyed, and its people were scattered to be reborn nearly two thousand years later.
Conversely, the Lord God has also recently used the most powerful men on earth to execute more praise-worthy roles for his divine providence concerning Israel.
In 1948, the Lord God used the “most powerful man on earth”, United States President Harry Truman, who against the counsel of his advisors, became the first to recognize Israel as a nation, and help legitimize them among the international community.
In 1973, the Lord God used the “most powerful man on earth”, United States President Richard Nixon, who risked global thermo-nuclear war, to order the airlifting of vital supplies to Israel during the critical apex of the Yom Kippur War.
The Lord God’s Future Providence
At this time in history, the key point for us to remember is none of us know how the Lord God will use this new “most powerful person on earth” to execute His will.
Since the Second World War, the United States president has held the title of “most powerful man on earth” which is gradually, willfully, and prophetically being relinquished to the ever evolving globalists agenda (Revelation 13th chapter). And at some point the mantle will be passed; but when?
We also know from Scripture that in the future, a powerful man, Magog, will arise and lead a confederation of evil, anti-Semitic nations against Israel, and the Lord God’s mighty hand will be seen in Magog’s crushing defeat as He announces Himself to Israel and the gentile nations (Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39).
And this new president may very well shake hands with the man, Magog, and later—the final and ultimate “most powerful” man on earth—the Antichrist.
Biblical Peace of Mind…
In these anxious times, we need to tamp down our pride for none of us can fully grasp what is going on in the swirling whirlwind around us. Though God has given us a glimpse of his master plan in His Word, we as mere humans can only ponder at the vast complexity and intricacies of God’s mysteries.
We must remember we are but a wisp, a mere puff of air as the Creator of all the universe patiently works on an unfathomably grandiose yet microscopically detailed scale (Job 5:9, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Romans 11:33). We must endeavor to be still and know, the Lord God is orchestrating his grand design which will bring forth the greatest salvation of the souls Mankind will ever know.
We should all be dwelling in the peace that surpasses all understanding knowing that the Lord God is working all things for His greater purposes.
Marantha!
J&J Ranch Ministries – “But as for me and my [ranch] we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).