In Psalm 2:1-11 we find God, speaking to us through the psalmist by way of the Holy Spirit, putting the world’s power brokers in their place.  Most of those of high political status believe, as did Nebuchadnezzar, that they achieved that status by their own efforts.  They do not realize that only the Almighty has the power to raise up and put down people and nations on the political level and, depending on their character, bless or curse them.  He promises to shower favor and blessings on the individual or the nation that obeys His Words.  But when men or nations refuse to bow to His plainly written commands, His judgment is severe, and rightly so.

In Isaiah 40:17,23,24 the Almighty uses His prophet as His megaphone to remind us of who and what we are relative to Him: “Behold, the nations are as a drop (of water) in a bucket, and are counted as dust on a balance.  Behold, to remove islands is a small thing to Him ….  All nations before Him are as nothing; they are counted as less than nothing, but are merely the result of man’s vanity.  … [God] brings the nation’s princes (leaders) to nothing; He treats the world’s judges as vain things.  [He] will blow upon them, they will wither and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.”

The above statements about the Almighty puts all concerns relative to the election process in its proper place.  Man’s concerns are irrelevant.  It would be wise of us to study the Words (will) of the One who has all power, believe His Words and obey them in absolute fear of Him.  It would be equally wise of us to understand why we have the leaders we have and to recognize the fact that it is our character–our thoughts, words and deeds–that caused them to be placed over us.  In truth: WE ARE IN CHARGE OF HOW OUR INDIVIDUAL LIVES PLAY OUT IN THIS LIFE.  The mess individuals and nations are in, and have been in for generations, has one cause.  I will use the wisdom of a cartoon character named Pogo who long ago voiced what man has refused to acknowledge.  He said relative to man’s propensity for wrong reasonings and self-destruction: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”  Our leaders create the laws by which we live.  The Lord gives us the leadership we have earned by our past thoughts, words and deeds.  Again, read Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.  And remember that what was written by those in the past was preserved for “our admonition (teaching) upon whom the ends of the world have come” (1 Cor. 10:11).  We are the generation that has seen the signs foretelling the Second Advent that Jesus.  Only one of those signs has yet to come to pass.  This sign, which could take place at any time, is found in Luke 21:20.  Read The Signs of the End of the Age.  Use “Signs” as the key word.

Shockingly, THE message Jesus brought to salvation seekers has been rejected by them.  It is called “the gospel of the Kingdom of God” not a gospel about the person of Jesus.  We will be judged by that gospel, not by Him (Jn. 12:48-50).  We are told in Mark 1:14,15: “Jesus came into Galilee preaching the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.  Repent and believe the (THAT) gospel.'”  In Acts 1:3 we read that Jesus returned to the Mt. of Olives where for 40 days He taught His disciples “the things concerning the KINGDOM OF GOD,” not concerning Himself.  The tiny church He established on the Day of Pentecost would later become God’s kingdom in embryo.  Just as a human embryo does not resemble the adult he/she will grow into, God’s true church on earth today is the “embryo” of the coming Kingdom of God, now located in heaven where it awaits its descent to earth at the appointed time.  True saints of that church are mere “shadows” of what they will be.  Some church people belittle the shadow analogy, saying that a shadow is in reality nothing.  I would remind those people that in order to have a shadow there must be something that it is the shadow of.  Pardon my sentence structure.  Without that “something” there could be no shadow.  Without human adults there can be no human embryo.  Christ is that “something” that His disciples–His “shadows” or “embryos”–manifest in this life.  This is what John meant when he said that Christ’s true disciples must “walk (live) as He (Christ) walked” (1 Jn. 2:6) and purify [them]selves so that they are pure “even as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:3).  Jesus said in Revelation 3:21 that in order to be His people we must “… overcome (Satan) even as I overcame (him).”  This is the level of “shadowhood” and “embryohood” (my terms) one must manifest in this life in order to join Father and Son in the coming Kingdom of God.  The gospel of the soon-coming Kingdom of God on earth is the gospel Jesus and His apostles preached and His ministers continue to preach today.  As the following will show, that kingdom is at present in heaven but will one day come to earth.

Jesus spoke about the present location of God’s kingdom and its future change of location.  In His prayer recorded in Matthew 6:1 He said to His Father: “… thy kingdom come (later), thy will be done (later) on EARTH as it is (presently) in HEAVEN.”  Jesus reiterated this Truth when He proclaimed, “My kingdom is not of (in) this world” (Jn. 18:36).  It is, however, “at hand,” as He said (Mk. 1:14,15).  He went on to tell us how to enter His future earthly kingdom: “… repent and believe THE (only true) gospel” (of the Kingdom of God that will be established on earth).  In Matthew 6:1 He proves that God’s true saints will be with Him ON EARTH (not heaven) for eternity.  Read The Kingdom of God.  Use “Kingdom” as your key word.

Jesus went on to say through the Prophet Daniel concerning His Father’s future earthly kingdom: “And in the days of those (worldly) kings THE GOD OF HEAVEN WILL SET UP A KINGDOM which will never be destroyed.  And that kingdom will not be occupied by those kings and their people.  God’s kingdom will conquer all other kingdoms and IT WILL STAND FOREVER” (Dan. 2:24).  The Apostle John wrote that as he gazed at the vision Jesus was showing him: “… the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign (over the kingdom) for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).  In Revelation 5:10; 20:6 and 22:5 we learn that GOD’S SAINTS WILL RULE AND REIGN WITH HIM FOR EVER first over the earth, then over the universe.  Read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.  Use “Caretakers” as your key word.

Now let us return to the question asked in the title of this series: WHO ESTABLISHES WORLD LEADERSHIP?  WHO PLACES IT IN POWER?  WHO ESTABLISHES KINGDOMS AND DESTROYS KINGDOMS?  The answer, of course, is God.  But what we must understand is that, contrary to religious opinion, this is not God’s world.  This world belongs to Satan.  Adam gave it to him by sinning.  Sinners Saved By Grace give up their potential status in God’s church by obeying him.  Jesus qualified to rule the world by refusing to sin.  However, at this time He does not control it.  He is not this world’s God.  Satan, the Apostle Paul tells us, is “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4).  As He did with Adam and Eve, God allows man to choose his god–his master whom he will obey and serve.  With minutely few exceptions, church people have joined the unchurched in choosing to worship, serve and obey Satan, thereby making him their god.  Like their unchurched brethren, church people do not know to whom they bow.  Satan has successfully deceived modern churchites into worshiping, serving and obeying Satan, all the while “knowing” that they are one with the Biblical God.  By keeping false Christians ignorant of God’s “fine print” Satan has retained control over them.  Jesus spoke to this situation, noting that only a “few” believers would enter God’s strait gate and walked His narrow way that leads to His kingdom (Mat. 7:13,14), that only a “few” would answer God’s call to holiness that leads to salvation (Mat. 20:16/ Rom. 5:21; 6:22).

GOD’S PEOPLE DO NOT VOTE.  This is not His world (2 Cor. 4:4).  The god of this world has deceived the whole world (Rev. 12:9).  Scripture labels it “this present evil world” (Gal. 1:4).  The Lord’s kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36,37).  He has called His people out of this world (Jn. 18:36/ Rev. 18:4).  The Lord’s true saints have their “citizenship in heaven, from which (heaven) we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” to return and set up God’s earthly kingdom (Phil. 3:20).  GOD HAS CALLED HIS PEOPLE  OUT OF THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD.  THEY ARE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN ITS HUMAN-GENERATED, SATAN-EMPOWERED DOINGS (Jn. 18:36/ Rev. 18:4).  Voting gives people a part to play the vile, Satan-orchestrated production that is human civilization.  God’s saints do not involve themselves in this world’s evilness.  Politics is in the top echelon of evil.  Though we are commanded to obey the laws our leaders decree, we are commanded to reject the dictates of man, including his church, when they contradict the commands of God.  Though we are in the world, we are not to be of the world.  Our spiritual differences must be obvious to outsiders, including “the church” which, as it turns out, is the true saint’s worst enemy.  As God tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, we must come out of that “unclean thing” and reject her along with the society whose ways she has embraced.  We are called to walk on a much higher plain.   The Lord’s true saints are His “ambassadors” who represent His will and way for this evil world to see (2 Cor. 5:20).  They are His lights in this dark world.  Saints can spread that light only by obeying Him.  L.J.