Greetings,
God revealed to Daniel the meaning of the image that Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had seen in a dream. It became clear that the king was ruler over the greatest of all four revealed kingdoms. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar ruling over a kingdom of power, strength and glory. This knowledge impressed the king enormously but unfortunately he began to believe he was a “king of kings.” His spirit became hardened in pride (Daniel 5:20). Nebuchadnezzar had an important lesson to learn. “…till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men…” (Daniel 4:25). God took away the heart of a man and gave him the heart of a beast until seven times passed over him in order to reinforce the lesson.
Daniel understood this well and as he thanked God for revealing the meaning of the king’s dreams. He acknowledged that “He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). Through Daniel these words have been written and recorded for our understanding.
It is no secret that our social, economic and cultural environment is unraveling. The future, from a human standpoint, is unpredictable and uncertain. Some of the things that represented certainty in our lives in the past no longer hold the same values. As a news item posted on our website this week points out, cyber attacks are a reality and, if employed against power grids, have the potential to bring a nation to its knees very quickly. We are also watching the failure of the European experiment. The European Union is breaking down as nationalistic resistance and interests are reasserting themselves under the weight of economic and immigration pressures. What will Europe look like in the time ahead? For those living in America the exhausting presidential election process is driving home the scary reality of God’s prediction that He would remove strong, sound leadership. The future is very disturbing to contemplate. That is, if you leave God out of the equation.
We are reminded that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men. He removes and raises up kings. He also provides wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those of understanding (God’s people). It is this wisdom and knowledge that we are to look to and grasp firmly.
The apostle Paul’s instruction to God’s people in Rome is one of support. He addresses the attitude God’s people are to have toward governing bodies – the civil authorities who are over us. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1). The civil authorities occupy a position under God (correct translation of the Greek preposition). All authorities of this world are under God. It makes no difference whether God directly places a person in a position or allows man’s system to do so – nothing happens without His explicit oversight. If we resist or disrespect civil authorities over us, we are arranging ourselves in opposition to God.
What is unraveling is man’s attempt to rule himself apart from His Creator. God is allowing man’s systems to fail — just as He prophesied they would. What man is doing apart from the One true God will lead to disaster. For us, though, there is no uncertainty. God is in charge and whatever is happening or will happen is under our Father’s close scrutiny. He is preparing the world for true kingship. Nebuchadnezzar was king of human kings but his pride and vanity brought only destruction. Christ is the King of Kings and as we look to Him and His soon coming rule we can have peace of mind.
Remember the apostle Peter’s admonition to the Church. “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God …” (1Peter 2:13-15).
Let us do the will of God and look forward with hope for the kingdom of God to be set up as the ruling body over this earth.
Warm Regards,
Brian Orchard
