The Bible
says that God is ultimately in control of everything, not just some things.
He is in
control of:
- the
weather (Psalm 148:8),
- life and
death (Psalm 104:29-30),
- and even
seemingly inconsequential happenings (Proverbs 16:33).
God ultimate
control extends to the rulers of nations, presidents, kings:
“Wisdom and
power are His. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them”
(Daniel 2:20-21).
In times
past, God once raised up an ungodly king named Cyrus. In fact 150 years before
the birth of Cyrus the Great, God was already calling him by name and promising
to set him on the throne of Persia: “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness”
(Isaiah 45:13).
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Why Does God Allow Evil Men Like Hitler To Come Into Power? |
God’s
sovereign plan allows for the pagan Cyrus, the proud Nebuchadnezzar, and, yes,
the Hitlers and Sadam Husseins of the world.
Paul tells
us in Romans 13:1 that, “There is no authority except that which God has
established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” This is
a startling statement, given that the book of Romans was written at a time when
Nero, a decidedly evil ruler, was the emperor. Nero led one of the severest
persecutions of Christians in the history of the church. When Paul wrote this
portion of Scripture, he was aware of Nero’s wickedness, yet he does not
question why God put him in power.
In our case,
believe you me, the general truth remains the same, our rulers have been
established by God and God will remove them at a time suit to Him.
In Acts 8,
we see that governing authorities led a persecution against the early church.
It was a hard time, and there were probably believers who began to doubt God’s ultimate
power or question His care. Yet, the persecution had the effect that the church
in Jerusalem was “scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (verse 1). Thus, in
part because of evil men in places of authority, the Great Commission was put
into action, the gospel spread, and the church grew.
God does not
explicitly say why He allows evil men to rule. At times, God has used evil
rulers to bring judgment on His people and bring them back to righteousness. It
is worth noting that all rulers are accountable to God for their actions. For
example, God raised up Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in order to punish Judah for
their repeated idolatry (2 Kings 20:17-18). Later, after Babylon had fulfilled
its purpose, it was judged for its own wickedness (Isaiah 13:19; 14:4). Their
king, Nebuchadnezzar, suffered an individual judgment (Daniel 4). God did the
same with Assyria, allowing its rise for a purpose, and then judging that
nation’s pride and cruelty (Isaiah 10:5-19).
God
sometimes allows an evil president to rule, and the reasons for His choice are
not readily apparent. But we know this: God always sets boundaries for the
potentates (see Psalm 74:12-17). Human rulers are not omnipotent, they are not
eternal, and they are not immune from punishment. There will be a day of
reckoning. Rulers who die in their sins will face the ultimate punishment,
eternity in hell. Hitler, Lenin, and others who have rejected Christ and abused
the people of God have been serving their sentence in hell for a long time.
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