Why is any nation strong, why do they prosper and grow, why is what we call the standard of living better in some than others. Natural resources, the inventiveness of their citizens, the desire and ability to work together for a common cause?
“Give us a king to judge us,” (1 Sam. 8:6) Samuel was not just saddened by these words from his countrymen, he was frustrated, he was angered by them. “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Sam. 8:7)
Many people want to make a change in the path of their community, their nation, and so these individuals reach for in whatever way is allowed in their nation a position of authority, they become politicians, and I will not say that it happens to all of them, but most find that once they attain a position of authority, they want a greater one. Power over people is a very tempting drink, and the higher up the ladder one goes, the more one wants of it. The “perks of the job” as it is called become greater, and some realize that the higher up the position, the less the laws pertain to them, they join an elite club, a group of individuals separate from those that they are meant to serve.
Every nation has these people within it, those who not only set the laws in place that are to be followed by all, but also set those in place who are to enforce those laws, then placing themselves above those very laws they have set. It has always been this way, the world calls it power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is why in many nations today the governments no longer serve the people, the people within those nations serve their government, and if they do not, well, that’s the reason for some of those laws. The larger the military force, the more law enforcement officers they have in place, the easier it is to keep the masses at bay, force is a powerful persuader. Governments do not have to be large to control the people, they must have only a powerful law enforcement option, and the money to persuade it to obey.
When the Israelites asked for a king to be placed over them, it was a step down, even when told what would happen to their sons and daughters, to their property and goods, to their very lives, they still decided against the Lord and this is where we are today my friends, there is not one nation on this planet that as a whole serves the Lord God, and in most nations now, those in authority over the people in it are wicked. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” (Prov. 29:2)
When those who are from the kingdom of God, when the ambassadors sent from His Holy throne room do not stand, wicked men will rule, and over the past few decades, less and less have decided to stand. A good analogy of this would be to envision a group of protesters on the street of some major city, say perhaps ten thousand strong. There will be of course present representatives of that nation’s enforcement individuals, just in case, and they will do no more than observe if the protest remains peaceful, at best occasionally needing to remove one or two of the group for various reasons, usually minor ones. The more adamant, the more unruly, the more violent the crowd becomes, the greater the force used against them.
One hundred officers of the law dressed in full riot gear with weapons at their disposal can quite easily quell a mass of ten thousand people, not because of those items they carry, but because the mob will flee when the possibility of death begins. If you have been following along in this letter to you, then you know what the next verse of Scripture is going to be, the question will be, where does your walk with Christ fit into this verse? “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:11)
If a thousand, or even two thousand were adamant enough in their belief of the cause that they were protesting against were willing to die, the eight thousand would then be the victor. Such is the way of evil, because of the fear of death, of trials and persecution, of personal fear of the believer in Christ, evil has very little problem ruling in any nation, for as a whole, as one body, the people of God will not rise up and say, “No more, it is the Lord Jesus we serve.”
I believe that I can quite assuredly say that there is no nation on this earth whose majority of the population within it are born-again believers, it such a place existed, I would live there, and so would you. The black covering of evil, if you will, is beginning to enshroud this entire planet, the rain will fall on the just and the unjust, those who have in their heart the truth of Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” will stand as it approaches, they always have, in every generation, but I am afraid that many of them are going to stand alone, for the majority fear more than their faith trusts. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)
I am not sure if you are aware of this, but you have to die to go to heaven, how your life here will end, only the Lord knows, what you must purpose in your heart is if you are going to be standing for Him until the end, if your death will honor Him as much as your life did, or if that death will reflect the life you lived, one of shame, fear, and embarrassment. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)