God's Sovereignty Over Governments and Leaders

While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses."

(Daniel 4:31-32)

King Nebuchadnezzar was the longest-reigning and most powerful monarch of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and it was God who put him there. The context of this passage is that God had shown Nebuchadnezzar in a dream that his greatness and the greatness of his kingdom existed because God had brought them to pass. However, Nebuchadnezzar had begun to grow prideful, attributing his achievements to his own prowess. God therefore warned him in a dream that for seven months, God would reduce him to behaving like an animal that eats grass and lives in the fields, until he recognized that it was God who had made him such a powerful monarch.

The prophet Daniel, in interpreting the dream for Nebuchadnezzar, admonished him to live as righteously as possible to try averting the judgment heaven had pronounced upon him. A year later, Nebuchadnezzar began to act prideful again, and heaven's response was immediate. In the passage above, an angel spoke to him, pronouncing the Lord's judgment upon him. He lost his mind and ended up living like an animal in the fields. After seven months, his reasoning returned to him, and he acknowledged that God indeed reigns in the affairs of men. From that moment on, he walked in obedience to the Lord.

The point is very clear from this account: God is the one who raises up heads of state and their governments, and they are subject to do His bidding. Even though in most instances governments do not even acknowledge Him, God is nevertheless the one who directs their every move.

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)

Just as God forms nations and decides what their borders will be, so God decides who will govern those nations and what forms of government each nation will have. The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, makes this particular truth very clear in the passage quoted above.

A number of Christians struggle with this truth, for they look at the many corrupt governments they see around the world today and ask how it is possible that God could allow such corrupt individuals to govern those nations. To understand this concept, we must also understand that no government in this life is completely free from corruption. Even the most transparent societies on earth today still experience some forms of corruption in their governments. The reason for this is simply that this world exists in a fallen state where injustice and unrighteousness prevail, and so God deals with each nation accordingly.

Someone once said that every nation gets the government it deserves, and there is much truth to that statement. If you examine nations that have extremely corrupt governments, you will find that the majority of the citizens of those nations are just as corrupt. On the other hand, nations where the majority of citizens display high moral standards will have governments that reflect those same standards.

In this discussion, we are concentrating mainly on heads of state to illustrate how God raises up and deals with the governments of nations. Nevertheless, we must bear in mind that the biblical principles discussed here apply not only to heads of state but also to every government official in a nation. Scripture plainly declares that every authority that exists has been appointed by God, which would include even local mayors and councillors.

For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

(Romans 9:17-18)

God decides which individual will govern a nation at any given point in time, which simply means that whenever a new head of state is appointed to lead a nation, that appointment is made by God. The Lord very clearly reveals in the passage quoted above that He appointed Pharaoh to govern Egypt at that time, and the same principle continues to apply in every nation on earth today.

In most nations, transitions from one head of state to the next take place peacefully. Nations governed by democracies hold elections, and the winner is then appointed as the new head of state until the next election takes place. As an aside, regarding democracies, God also appoints the various leaders of opposition parties, for invariably they also hold some degree of authority in those nations. We see that it is God who predetermines the outcome of election results.

Nations controlled by authoritarian governments normally hand over power to new heads of state through some form of succession—when the current head of state either dies or becomes too old to continue governing. In these nations also, God predetermines who the new successor will be.

Not all transitions between heads of state take place peacefully, however. There are instances when transitions from one head of state to the next occur more violently, such as through a coup d'état. Very often these coups involve civil wars in those nations. Even in these instances, however, God is still the one who orchestrates the change in head of state. There are numerous accounts in scripture that confirm this truth, one example being when Jehu assassinated Jehoram King of Judah and then ascended to the throne in his place. This account in scripture clearly shows that God orchestrated that coup (2 Kings 9:1-37).

"Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armour of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

(Isaiah 45:1-5)

The above passage records Isaiah's prophecy about Cyrus the King of Persia approximately one hundred years before Cyrus became king. This is another example in scripture that shows us very clearly that God appoints heads of state, for in this passage God speaks about Cyrus as king before he was even born.

It is important to note that, as God Himself declares, Cyrus was a Gentile who did not know God. Nevertheless, God appointed Cyrus—a Gentile head of state of a Gentile nation—because every authority on earth falls under God's domain. On numerous occasions in scripture, God refers to King Nebuchadnezzar as His servant (Jeremiah 25:9), thus reinforcing the truth that every head of state is appointed by God to fulfil His purposes on earth.

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. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.

(Romans 13:1-6)

In the above passage, the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to emphasize that all authorities on earth are in fact God's ministers, for Paul mentions this particular truth three times in this one passage. As God's ministers, each one of them is held accountable for how faithfully they serve Him in the various roles He has prescribed for them. Those who prove faithful are rewarded, while those who abuse their authority are judged accordingly. This truth applies both in this life and on their day of judgment.

Does this mean that an unbelieving ruler who has served faithfully in the role appointed to him by God will therefore be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus? Not at all, for all unbelievers stand condemned before God. Nevertheless, the unbelieving ruler who proved unfaithful on that day will receive greater condemnation than the unbelieving ruler who proved faithful. Our Lord Jesus explained this concept when He taught about the differing degrees of punishment that individuals will incur on that day (Luke 10:14).

This same principle also applies to believers that God appoints to serve Him in this particular ministry role, with one exception. Although in this life believing rulers are also rewarded for serving faithfully while being judged for serving unfaithfully, on their day of judgment the believing ruler who proved faithful will receive their reward from the Lord. The believing ruler who proved unfaithful will not be condemned as unbelieving rulers are—they will only suffer the loss of their rewards, but they themselves will still be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15).

Michael E.B. Maher

The Church and the State

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