The Sovereign Creator's Plan

The Kingdom of God is not a democracy (continued)

A few months ago the general media were all over Rev. John Hagee, the evangelical preacher from San Antonio, about his comments regarding the Holocaust. Obviously the media's reaction was the result of his endorsement of Senator McCain, and provided a really good opportunity for attacking the Republican candidate on the simplistic implication that the preacher supported the actions of Hitler and the Holocaust. If a diligent study is made, one is left to consider whether the perpetrators of these media reports are dismally ignorant, or are deliberately misleading the public. I leave that decision to the reader.

I'm sure that Rev. Hagee's reputation is unsullied by these scurrilous reports. His history of support for Israel and God's chosen people has long been acclaimed. However, the incident does reveal a point that should be recognized by believing Christians.

When Jesus wept over Jerusalem as he predicted the destruction of that city and the temple, did He imply hatred for Israel? Was He implying His support for the Romans? History repeatedly highlights dramatic changes of direction in this world as the result of the actions of dictators or nations. Where would today's Western civilization be without the rapid expansion of the Hellenistic influence by Alexander the Great and his successors; then after that, the Romans? The prophecies in scripture are not crystal balls for us to predict the future. They are there primarily to prove the unerring foreknowledge and intentions of a Sovereign God as He carries out His great plan for this corrupt and lost world. When we read these prophecies, we are comforted by the evidence that God is in control, and that the Scriptures can readily be trusted as the Word of God.

This brings me to the crux of this whole matter. God is the Sovereign God. He created this universe, and continues to be in control. “Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee”. (Nehemiah 9:6). Believers refer to this as the doctrine of Divine Providence. He created mankind with the full knowledge of our pending downfall, but already had a plan for us. God is not bound by mere physical dimensions, including time. He knows what has happened, is happening, and what will happen – everywhere! God can and does intervene and control the world – even when it doesn’t seem to be so. God is all powerful and all-knowing (omnipotent and omniscient). His plan is perfect because He has already witnessed the outcome.

When Adam first fell, God gave us a glimpse of the plan already in place. Addressing the serpent He proclaimed: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). Our heel surely is being bruised by sin. Millennia later, the Son of Man conquered sin and death on the cross; thereby bruising the head of the evil serpent.

So then. Is that all? God’s plan was not a simple solving of a puzzling problem caused by the unexpected stumbling of mankind. The overall plan is the very reason for the existence of the universe, the world and mankind in the first place. Everything happens because of what God has planned, whether by our positive actions or those of evil motivation. “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth . . . ”. (Deut. 8:18) and “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”. (Phil. 2:13). How else could we as Christians believe that “ . . all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. (Rom 8:28) unless we can have confidence in God’s planning and continuous control.

As we revue the history of the world, the believing Christian can trace the hand of God in the progression of events that support the outcome of God’s purpose and prove His effective control towards that end. Did the Romans consider themselves to be a part of God’s plan when they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews? Since Jesus is now our high priest, was there any lingering need for the temple? Were Nero and the Romans aware that their persecution of the Church on Earth would strengthen and unite Christendom, thus ensuring its survival for centuries?

Did Martin Luther, when he nailed his 95 theses to the chapel door at Wittenberg, consider that those student assignments would lead to a new Protestant movement? Was King Henry VIII aware that his divorce problems would lead to a split with the Pope and bring about the Reformation in England? Hitler thought to usher in the Third Reich and exterminate God’s chosen people, but God had another plan, and used those evil deeds to facilitate the prophesied return of the Jews to Israel.

In spite of our democratic form of Government, or those of dictators and tyrants, any wise national leader should consider this: They are in place at the will of God. “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth”. (Proverbs 3:15,16). What a fearful and awesome accountability! Everything that happens, whether physical, social or political, occurs only because God makes it happen, or allows it to happen as part of His whole plan of the universe.

When sin came into the world, it affected not only humans, but the entire universe (Gen. 3:15 -19) where suffering, corruption and decay became a part of nature. A major part of God's plan is to deal with this as well with a new creation "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt" (Matt 6:19). Once everything has been accomplished according to His will, God will bring about the New Heaven and the New Earth (2 Peter 3:13, Rev. 21:1) for those who responded to God’s command to repent and turn to Him as their Lord and Master.

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”. (Hebrews 1:3).

The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. Thank God for that.