2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. (14) And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
So what about wicked rulers? In the above passage of scripture the Holy Spirit clearly reveals to us that Satan raises up false ministers, and sends them into the church under the pretence of being ministers of Christ. Clearly God is not the one who sends false ministers of the gospel into the church, Satan is. And so when we look at that truth we assume that Satan is therefore also able to raise up rulers in the earth, and that viewpoint seems to be confirmed when we look at the various wicked rulers that have arisen in the earth, such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin for example. However that viewpoint is completely unscriptural, for the bible is very plain when it tells us that all authorities are from God, even the very wicked ones, for the scripture clearly states that God has made all for Himself, even the wicked for the day of doom (Proverbs 16:4). And so in order for us to understand how it is possible that God allows Satan to raise up false ministers of the gospel but He does not allow him to raise up rulers in the earth, we need to understand the difference between religious leaders and secular leaders. As heads of state, secular leaders are given authority by God to govern the affairs of men. Religious leaders on the other hand do not exercise that type authority, for God limits their authority to the area of religious practices only, and in most instances even those practices are subject to the governing authority of the secular leaders. The only spiritual leaders that God raises up in the earth today are the genuine ministers of the gospel and the Levitical priesthood of Judaism, for both serve Him. All other religious leaders in the earth however, are raised up by Satan and thus fall under his domain. The apostle Paul confirms that truth to us when he tells us that all gentile religions are directed by demons and not by God (1 Corinthians 10:20). There is one exception to this rule however, which is the religion of Islam. For example, currently the religious leader in Iran possesses more power than Iran's president. So why does God allow the exception of Islam? He does so because He has a specific purpose for that religion in the end times, and He therefore uses their religious leaders to fulfil His purposes in the same manner as He uses the secular leaders of non-Islamic states. And so we see a truth from scripture, which is that God forms nations and raises up their secular leaders, while Satan forms religions and raises up the leaders of those religions. As an aside, we need to realise that no matter how benevolent a particular religion may seem to be, for some even cloak themselves under the guise of being “Christian”, it is still a religion that is directed by a demon whose sole purpose is to steer as many people as possible, away from salvation through faith in Christ.
Michael E.B. Maher
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