Kings and Emperors

God allows good and evil rulers to govern nations and uses them to accomplish His purposes. Believers must show them proper respect. God gives political power to whomever He pleases, “even to the lowest of men.” He “removes kings and installs kings” to accomplish His purposes, including rulers of whom many church leaders may disapprove.

When we decide that certain politicians should hold governmental power but others must not, we trespass on God’s prerogative. This is especially so among the churches of Western-style democracies.

The Apostle Paul exhorted believers in Rome to respect magistrates, obey the emperor, and pay taxes. Existing authorities “have been arranged by God,” therefore, anyone who opposes them opposes the “arrangement of God.” Paul wrote this when Rome was ruled by a notorious despot, Emperor Nero - (Romans 13:1-7).

[Corinth - Photo by Alex Presa on Unsplash]

We agree with Paul’s guidelines when we approve of the government that currently holds power, its leaders, and its policies. When we disapprove, we seek and even invent loopholes in the Apostle’s words. By doing so, we display our hypocrisy and disrespect the teachings of the Apostles.

For example, the famous New Testament Greek scholar, A.T. Robertson, commented in his Word Picture in the New Testament that:

• “Paul is not arguing for the divine right of kings or for any special form of government, but for government and order. Nor does he oppose here revolution for a change of government, but he does oppose all lawlessness and disorder.”

However, nothing in Paul’s words allows for violent revolution or overthrowing existing governments. If anything, he teaches the exact opposite of the kind of “law and order” enforced by revolutionary violence promoted by Mr. Robertson and others of his school of thought, even to this day.

If we take it upon ourselves to advocate for a “change of government,” as Mr. Robertson argues, we choose to “oppose the arrangement of God” and presume that we know what the Divine will is in the matter, or worse, that we know better than God himself.

The passage in Romans follows Paul’s exhortation not to take vengeance into our own hands. If we are disciples of Jesus, we must not “render to any man evil for evil.” Instead, we must leave judgment in the hands of God. We are “not to be overcome by evil, but instead, to overcome evil with good.” Arguing that Paul next wrote of his approval of taking the law into our own hands by overthrowing governments and rulers violates the immediate and larger literary contexts of his Letter to the Romans – (Romans 12:17-21).

Interpretations of this sort read modern democratic ideas into the Apostle’s words. At the time he wrote them, the church of Jesus Christ had few if any civil “rights,” and his followers certainly had no right or even ability to elect their political overlords or influence Imperial policies.

In the first century, this new faith was not recognized by the Roman government as a legal religion, and the emperor was certainly no champion of democracy, religious rights, freedom of speech, or other individual and civil liberties.

Nevertheless, Paul warned the church of Rome that resistance to the government of Rome would constitute opposition to God’s “arrangement.”

EMPEROR NERO

The problem with every attempt to water down Paul’s words is Nero. At the time the Apostle wrote to the church in Rome, the Empire was ruled by Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (reigned A.D. 54-68), one of the most despotic emperors in Roman history, a man who murdered his mother, kicked his pregnant wife to death, and became the first emperor to persecute the church of Rome.

Nevertheless, Paul summoned the church to honor, respect, and obey that man’s government and honor its officers. Rather ironically, the Apostle was possibly executed by Nero’s government when Caesar launched his persecution of the churches of Rome.

Paul was arguing on solid scriptural grounds. The Book of Daniel, for example, began by declaring that Yahweh gave Jerusalem and the “vessels of the house of God” into the “hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,” the same pagan ruler who later destroyed the Kingdom of Judah, the City of Jerusalem, and the Temple, and exiled many Jews to Mesopotamia – (Daniel 1:1).

No patriotic Israelite would have elected that idol-worshipping tyrant to govern Judah. Nevertheless, with this very king in mind, Daniel praised Yahweh as the one who “removes kings and sets up kings,” and even announced to Nebuchadnezzar that:

• “You are the king of kings, for the God of Heavens has given you the kingship, the might, the power, and the dignity. And wherever the sons of men dwell, the wild beasts of the field and the birds of the air, He has given into your hand and made you ruler over them all.”

God's hand is not limited. He can deliver us by many or few, and He is well able to employ evil, good, mediocre, or incompetent kings and presidents to achieve His purposes. Only God sees the “end from the beginning” and knows what is in every man’s heart.

Neither the form of government nor the nefarious schemes of world rulers can derail God’s plans, and the downfall of dozens of great empires over the centuries, often suddenly and unexpectedly, demonstrates that He can remove a politician or regime whenever He pleases.

History demonstrates eloquently that no political ideology or government endures forever. Whether monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, capitalism, or communism, all political and economic systems and theories fail sooner or later, and the current World Empire will be no exception to the rule.

When we declare that God is opposed to a government, politician, or policy we despise, how do we know that is His will? Just because a political ideology is “good” to our way of thinking does not mean God has chosen it to hold power.

Despite its faults and abuses, the Roman Empire did several things that helped pave the way for the rapid expansion of the Gospel, including building a system of empire-spanning roads and shipping routes, things that directly benefited the missionary efforts of the Apostle Paul and many other preachers of the Gospel.

Regardless of the often violent and pagan nature of Rome, the early church was able to spread the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean world in only a few short decades because of the infrastructure built by the Empire, along with the relative peace it brought and then enforced in many regions.

The fact that God used King Nebuchadnezzar and Caesar to achieve His plans and called His people to submit respectfully to these governments ought to caution us against assuming that we know which politician or party God wishes to run the government of our country.

Instead of taking over governments and populations, the church of Jesus Christ is called to “occupy” in the period between his ascension and return by proclaiming his Gospel and the “Kingdom of God” to all nations and peoples until he returns to gather his elect. In the interim between Christ’s ascension and return, God alone decides who will exercise political power. His church is called to undertake a mission much holier than exercising political power over others.

The Kingdom of God is a political reality that will endure, unlike all others, though it is a realm in its values and principles that is contrary to the kingdoms and regimes of this fallen age. Since it is the only dominion that will remain standing when Jesus arrives in power and glory, it is the only one that truly matters and deserves our allegiance.

Likewise, only Jesus is the True Emperor, the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth,” and his sovereignty over the Heavens and the Earth will be forevermore.

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SEE ALSO:

• The True Emperor - (Messianic promises from the Psalms are applied to the present reign of Jesus who possesses all authority in Heaven and on Earth)

• His Unique Kingdom - (Jesus proclaimed a new and different political reality, the Kingdom of God, and it bears little resemblance to the powers of this evil age)

• Whomever He Pleases - (The one true God changes the times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings as He pleases - to achieve His purposes)

• Rois et Empereurs - (Dieu permet aux bons et aux mauvais dirigeants de gouverner les nations et les utilise pour accomplir Ses desseins. Les croyants doivent leur montrer du respect)