Who, exactly, is in charge of the political bodies of the earth? In one way or another, it looks like man is, either through some form of ascendancy by birth (Monarchy), by force (Tyranny), or by some elective means (Republic, or Democracy).
But the Bible makes quite clear that however messy even awful such governments have been, are now, and ever will be, in this Gentile Nations period of rule God sets over the peoples whoever He wills, for His purposes, and ultimately for His glory. As clear as Scripture is on this, it is indeed not an easy doctrine to accept, let alone embrace. But it is our ‘job’ to do so.
Our only means of doing this ‘job,’ namely expressing Biblical “joy” in the midst of, and even despite, circumstances, requires a new understanding in a new heart.
Phil 4 (NKJV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
1 Thes. 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Roman 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fearb] when heat comes, But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Below is a small study based from Daniel 4 and 2. We should also bear in mind that during the time of the New Testament, there were an awful string of Roman Emperor’s, regarding which God has said only that we are to accept our subjection to such rule.
Roman Emperor’s during the period of the New Testament
Source: Wikipedia
Augustus reigned during the birth of Jesus. It was his decree for everyone to return to the city of their tribe that God use to demonstrate His sovereignty as such decree caused Mary and Joseph to leave Galilee to go to Bethlehem, the city of David, of the Tribe of Judah, to which Joseph belonged, fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy and requirement.
Tiberius was the Emperor during the public ministry of Christ and the early years of the Book of Acts, and after whom the Sea of Galilee was named.
After Tiberius there was an awful ‘trinity’ of Roman Emperor’s: Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The below table provides just a glimpse of these deeply flawed men. Nero is by church history understood to be the cause of mass and horrific executions of Christians as those blamed for setting fire to the city of Rome.
Julio-Claudian dynasty[edit]
| Portrait | Name | Birth | Succession | Reign | Death | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Augustus IMPERATOR CAESAR DIVI FILIVS AVGVSTVS |
September 23, 63 BC, Rome, Italia | Great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar; became de factoemperor as a result of the ‘first settlement’ between himself and the Roman Senate. | January 16, 27 BC – August 19, 14 AD | August 19, 14 AD Natural causes or perhaps poisoning by his wife, Livia. |
40 years, 7 months and 3 days |
 |
Tiberius TIBERIVS CAESAR DIVI AVGVSTI FILIVS AVGVSTVS |
November 16, 42 BC, Rome | Natural son of Livia Drusilla, Augustus’ third wife, by a previous marriage; stepbrother and third husband of Julia the Elder, daughter of Augustus; adopted by Augustus as his son and heir. | September 18, 14 AD – March 16, 37 AD | March 16, 37 AD Probably natural causes, possibly assassinated by Caligula |
22 years, 5 months and 27 days |
 |
Caligula GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS |
August 31, 12 AD, Antium, Italia | Great-nephew and adoptive grandson of Tiberius; natural son of Germanicus; great-grandson of Augustus. | March 18, 37 AD – January 24, 41 AD | January 24, 41 AD Assassinated in a conspiracy involving senators and Praetorian Guards. |
3 years, 10 months and 6 days |
 |
Claudius TIBERIVS CLAVDIVSCAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS |
August 1, 10 BC, Lugdunum, Gallia Lugdunensis | Uncle of Caligula; brother of Germanicus; nephew of Tiberius; great-nephew and step-grandson of Augustus; proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard. | January 25/26, 41 AD – October 13, 54 AD | October 13, 54 AD Probably poisoned by his wife Agrippina the Younger, in favour of her son Nero, possibly natural causes. |
13 years, 8 months and 18/19 days |
 |
Nero NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS |
December 15, 37 AD, Antium, Italia | Great-nephew, stepson, son-in-law and adopted son of Claudius; nephew of Caligula; great-great-nephew of Tiberius; grandson of Germanicus; great-great-grandson of Augustus | October 13, 54 AD – June 9, 68 AD | June 9, 68 AD Committed suicide after being declared a public enemy by the Senate. |
13 years, 7 months and 27 days |
Study of Daniel 4 and 2
Biblical Perspective on Political Elections
Context of Daniel’s dream-vision said to
Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar
Daniel 4:17 (KJV)
This matter is by the decree of the watchers,
and the demand by the word of the holy ones:
to the intent that the living may know that
- the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
- and [He] giveth it to whomsoever he will,
- and [He] setteth up over it the basest* of men.
*the lowliest, the lowest (NKJV, NIV, ESV, HCSB, NASB, NET)
*et humillimum (VUL)
*shephai [WLC (Heb.), H8215, low]
*Daniel 4:25 That they shall drive thee [Nebuchadnezzar] from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will….37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and
those that walk in pride he is able to abase**.
**to humble (NKV, ESV, HCSB, NASB)
to put down (NKJV), to bring down NET), humiliare (VUL)
Daniel 5: During the drunken celebration of Nebuchadnezzar’s successor (Belshazzar), praising “the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone” (Dan. 5:4), the finger’s of a hand appears, writing Babylon’s doom that very night.Previously, in Daniel 2, Daniel begins his service to Babylon’s King Nebuchnezzar by interpreting the foundational dream to the kingdom which destroyed and exiled God’s people from The Promised Land. This dream foretells the entire sweep of “the nations” rule over the earth, from the time of the fall of Jerusalem to the end of the age.
Daniel 2:31 (NKJV) “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome.
32 This image’s (1) head was of fine gold,
its (2) chest and arms of silver,
its (3) belly and thighs of bronze
33 its (4) legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This is the dream.
Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.
- 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—
(1) you are this head of gold. 39 But - after you shall arise (2) another kingdom inferior to yours;
- then another, (3) a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
- 40 And (4) the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
Reformation Study Bible Commentary:
2:37–40 king of kings … fourth kingdom. The four kingdoms have been widely understood since the Jewish historian Josephus (writing in the first century A.D.) to be the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome…. The only certain identification between the portions of the image and specific world empires is Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) as the head of gold. It is plausible that four represents completeness here: rather than seeking to describe particular kingdoms, the sequence describes the consistent downward trend in world history, not toward greater glory and unity but toward greater dishonor and chaos until the kingdom of God arrives on earth and fills it with its glory. The rock that crushes all of the kingdoms of this world is Christ (Luke 20:18). He is the mystery of the ages, the One in whom God will unite all things in His glorious kingdom (Eph. 1:9, 10).
Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2015). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (p. 1468). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.Reformation Study Bible Commentary
Reformation Study Bible on “THE WILL OF GOD”
The Bible is deeply concerned about the will of God—His sovereign authority over His creation and everything in it. When we speak about God’s will we do so in at least three different ways. The broader concept is known as God’s decretive, sovereign, or hidden will. By this, theologians refer to the will of God by which He sovereignly ordains everything that comes to pass. Because God is sovereign and His will can never be frustrated, we can be sure that nothing happens over which He is not in control. He at least must “permit” whatever happens to happen. Yet even when God passively permits things to happen, He chooses to permit them in that He always has the power and right to intervene and prevent the actions and events of this world. Insofar as He lets things happen, He has “willed” them in this certain sense.
Though God’s sovereign will is often hidden from us until after it comes to pass, there is one aspect of His will that is plain to us—His preceptive will. Here God reveals His will through His holy law. For example, it is the will of God that we do not steal; that we love our enemies; that we repent; that we be holy. This aspect of God’s will is revealed in His Word as well as in our conscience, by which God has written His moral law upon our heart.
His laws, whether they be found in the Scripture or in the heart, are binding. We have no authority to violate this will. We have the power or the ability to thwart the preceptive will of God, though never the right to do so. Nor can we excuse ourselves for sinning by saying, “Que sera, sera.” It may be God’s sovereign or hidden will that we be “permitted” to sin, as He brings His sovereign will to pass even through and by means of the sinful acts of people. God ordained that Jesus be betrayed by the instrument of Judas’s treachery. Yet this makes Judas’s sin no less evil or treacherous. When God “permits” us to break His preceptive will, it is not to be understood as permission in the moral sense of His granting us a moral right. His permission gives us the power, but not the right to sin.
The third way the Bible speaks of the will of God is with respect to God’s will of disposition. This will describes God’s attitude. It defines what is pleasing to Him. For example, God takes no delight in the death of the wicked, yet He most surely wills or decrees the death of the wicked. God’s ultimate delight is in His own holiness and righteousness. When He judges the world, He delights in the vindication of His own righteousness and justice, yet He is not gleeful in a vindictive sense toward those who receive His judgment. God is pleased when we find our pleasure in obedience. He is sorely displeased when we are disobedient.
Many Christians become preoccupied or even obsessed with finding the “will” of God for their lives. If the will we are seeking is His secret, hidden, or decretive will, then our quest is a fool’s errand. The secret counsel of God is His secret. He has not been pleased to make it known to us. Far from being a mark of spirituality, the quest for God’s secret will is an unwarranted invasion of God’s privacy. God’s secret counsel is none of our business. This is partly why the Bible takes such a negative view of fortune-telling, necromancy, and other forms of prohibited practices.
We would be wise to follow the counsel of John Calvin when he said, “When God closes His holy mouth, I will desist from inquiry.” The true mark of spirituality is seen in those seeking to know the will of God that is revealed in His preceptive will. It is the godly person who meditates on God’s law day and night. While we seek to be “led” by the Holy Spirit, it is vital to remember that the Holy Spirit is primarily leading us into righteousness. We are called to live our lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It is His revealed will that is our business, indeed, the chief business of our lives.
Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2015). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (p. 1467). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.
Physical Portrayal of the Image of Daniel 2
source: FreeBibleStudiesOnline.org
The visions recorded by Daniel have been the subject of much study and speculation. The lack of absolute clarity as to their meaning is likely the result that the time for their fulfillment yet awaits us.
What is not unclear is that Daniel in his Babylonian captivity, after the fall of Jerusalem and the remnant of the people of Israel in God’s Promised Land, is living under the first of what will be an unbroken line of Gentile nations ruling over Israel and the whole earth. Although Israel was re-established as a nation in 1948, a date some believe to be a marker of the last times, Israel remains beholden to the present support of certain nations for its continued survival. So it is independent but not entirely so. Further, Israel has no control over the Temple Mount in the midst of Jerusalem and no ability to rebuild the Temple itself.
The late J Vernon McGee has expressed in simple terms, as was his custom (despite his great intelligence and education), this period in which we live based on Daniel Chapters 4 and 2 (I am giving his commentary in that order to follow the above structure that I used).
McGee on Daniel 4:
There are three things that we learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream:
1. “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” If you think that God has abdicated today and has withdrawn from this universe, you are wrong. The universe has not gotten loose from Him. Emerson was wrong when he said, “Things are in the saddle, and they ride mankind.” There happens to be Somebody else in the saddle, and He is in control on this earth. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:4–6). God says He is going on with His purpose in the world. He is permitting Satan to carry out a nefarious plot for a very definite reason: God is demonstrating something to His created intelligences today. There are a lot of silly things being said about Satan which are entirely unscriptural.
Nations rise and fall to teach men that God rules and overrules the kingdoms of this world. If you think our nation happens to be His special little pet, you are entirely wrong. I believe we have already been put on the auction block: we are already judged. The downward course which this nation is traveling is going to take us right to the judgment of God. He rules in the kingdom of men.
2. He “giveth it to whomsoever he will.” You probably thought that the Democrats and the Republicans put men in power. They think they do, but God disposes of these kingdoms according to His will. That thought may cause someone’s chest to puff up, and he will say, “Well, I am occupying this office by the will of God.” A lot of kings in the past had the foolish notion that they were ruling in God’s place. Don’t believe a word of it—God puts them in power. Notice that Paul says in Romans 13:1, “… the powers that be are ordained of God.” Why in the world does God permit certain powers to rule on this earth?
3. He “setteth up over it the basest of men.” This third statement should be humbling to both the Democrats and the Republicans—and to all of mankind. If you think we pick the best men, we don’t—all you need to do is to read human history to see this. My study of English history shows that our ancestors in the British Isles were some pretty bloody ancestors. They were terrible, and they had some rulers who were unspeakable! May I say to you, God “setteth up over it the basest of men,” and we get the kind of ruler that we deserve. People complain about our government, our Congress, and all that sort of thing. My friend, we put them in their offices; we voted for them. God lets the basest of men come to power. That ought to be humbling to all of us—from Washington, D.C., on down. You will never hear of someone who is trying to curry the favor of our leaders speaking on this verse at a Presidential breakfast or upon any occasion in Washington! This verse is quite upsetting, is it not?
History will substantiate the truth of this statement. The head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar, was insane; yet he was a brilliant ruler who formed the first world kingdom. He had times when he was as mad as a mad–hatter and didn’t even know who he was. As we have mentioned before, many of the great world rulers have suffered problems similar to his. And the reason our forefathers did not establish the United States of America as a kingdom is because they believed that no man could be trusted to rule. God has been demonstrating this now over quite a length of time: He “setteth up over it the basest of men.”
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Prophets (Daniel) (electronic ed., Vol. 26, pp. 73–74). Nashville: Thomas Nelson
McGee on the Dream – Vision of Daniel 2:
Nebuchadnezzar was the first great world ruler. I think that this was God’s ideal for Adam—he was given dominion, but he lost it. The world has known four great world rulers; there have been four great nations who have attempted to rule the world. They all just butchered the job—none of them made a real success of it—but the first one, Nebuchadnezzar, did the best job.
Daniel immediately began to interpret the dream. The different metals represent world empires. Nebuchadnezzar is identified as the head of gold. He exercised rulership over the then–known world. No one questioned his authority. His was an absolute monarchy, and there have been very few since then, by the way. More is said about this Babylonian empire in other sections of the Bible, including Daniel 5:18–19 and Jeremiah 27:5–11. Through Jeremiah God said: “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come …” (Jer. 27:5–7). God made Nebuchadnezzar the one at the top; He made him the first great world ruler, and there has been none like him since then.
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth [Dan. 2:39].
The kingdom which will come after Nebuchadnezzar will be inferior to his. The third one will be inferior to the second, and the fourth will be inferior to the third. That means the fourth one is the worst form of all. That is where we are today.
There are two kingdoms mentioned in this verse. The arms of silver represent Media and Persia. In Daniel 5:28 we are told the future of the Babylonian kingdom: “Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” We don’t need to speculate as to who the second kingdom is—it is made clear. Remember that Daniel lived in both the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Media–Persia. We read in Daniel 6:8, “Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.”
The third kingdom would be a kingdom of brass and would “bear rule over all the earth.” This is the Graeco–Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great.
This brings us to the fourth kingdom. It is important to note that there are only four—there is no fifth kingdom. The period of the fourth kingdom is where we are today.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay [Dan. 2:40–43].
This is a remarkable passage of Scripture. More attention is directed to this fourth kingdom than to the other three kingdoms put together. Four verses are used here by Daniel to describe it and interpret it. Only one verse, verse 39, is used to describe the second and third kingdoms, the Medo–Persian and the Graeco–Macedonian empires.
The fourth kingdom is the kingdom of the latter days. Remember that Daniel had told Nebuchadnezzar that that was the reason for the image. God is speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, an idol worshiper, through this image, and He is telling Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. He is a world ruler, and he is concerned about where it is all going to end. My friend, we are living in the period of the latter days, and that is still the question today: What is this world coming to?
We need to stand back and look at this image again for a moment. It is awe–inspiring and of tremendous size. I think it towered over the entire plain of Babylon as Nebuchadnezzar saw it in his vision. It is a multimetallic image. It has a head of gold, and that speaks of Babylon. The breast and arms are of silver—Medo–Persia. The brass is Graeco–Macedonia. The legs are of iron, and that is Rome. In the feet, clay is inserted into the iron, which is the last form of the Roman Empire.
The image represents four empires, and there are several observations to be made about them. There is a definite deterioration from one kingdom to another, and this is made clear in several very specific ways. This deterioration is contrary to modern philosophy and opinion. Our viewpoint today is that we are all getting better and better every day: evolution is at work, and it is onward and upward forever. We feel that we have the best form of government and that we are superior people—neither of which is true. The human race has always liked to pat itself on the back as Little Jack Horner did:
Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating of Christmas pie:
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said, “What a good boy am I!”
However, what we have here is the deterioration from one kingdom to the other—each is inferior to its predecessor. This is revealed through the image in several ways:
1. The quality of the metals: gold is finer than silver, and silver is finer that brass. Brass is finer than iron, and iron is better than clay. There is definite deterioration.
2. The specific gravity of the metals: each metal shows deterioration; Tregelles (as quoted by Culver) is the scholar who called attention to this factor.
3. The position of each metal: the head has more honor than do the feet.
4. The specific statement of Scripture: “And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee” (v. 39). Scripture is clear that each kingdom is to be inferior to the one before it.
5. The division of sovereignty: the definite division of sovereignty denotes weakness. Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold, but there are two arms of the Medo–Persian Empire. The Babylonian Empire was strong because there was not that division. The Graeco–Macedonian Empire begins with one, but soon is divided into four. Rome has two legs of iron, but it eventuates into ten toes which are composed of both iron and clay.
In the United States today we like to believe we have the very best form of government, and people eagerly say they “believe in democracy.” Actually, our form of government is not a democracy, but a representative form of government. No one asks me to come to Washington, D.C., to make any decisions. There are many who do go to Washington to tell them how to do it, and I think somebody needs to tell them. The problem is that it is the wrong people who are doing the telling. I am of the opinion that a democracy is really not the best form of government.
God’s form of government is going to be just exactly like that head of gold, only the ruler will be that Rock that is “cut out without hands”—none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is going to reign over this earth, and He is not going to ask anybody for advice about it. He will not have a Congress, and He will not have a Cabinet, and He will not be calling upon you to vote for Him. In fact, if you don’t make a decision for Him in this life, my friend, you just won’t be there at all. Don’t rebel against that fact, because this happens to be His world—He created it. You and I are just little pygmies running around down here. God has as much right to remove you and me from this little world as I have to remove those ants that get into my house and yard. I set out poison for those fellows—I want to get rid of them. Why? Because they don’t fit into my program. There are a lot of us who don’t fit into God’s program. This is His world, and He is going to make it to suit Himself.
God’s form of government is going to be one of the most strict forms of government that the world has ever seen. I do not think a rooster is going to crow in that day without His permission to do so. The Lord Jesus Christ is going to be a dictator, and if you are not willing to bow to Him, I don’t think you would even want to be in His Kingdom when He establishes it here upon the earth. Maybe it is good that He has another place for folk like that, because it will not be pleasant for them to be here—they wouldn’t enjoy it at all. God’s form of government is the absolute rule of a king, the sovereignty of one ruler. It is going to be autocratic, dictatorial, and His will is going to prevail. That is the reason it is well for you and me to practice bowing to Him and acknowledging Him. He is going to take over one of these days.
Before we move on, we need to notice one more thing: No great world power follows Rome. The Roman Empire is the last, and it will be in existence in the latter days. Actually, it exists today. All of these other empires were destroyed by an enemy from the outside, but no enemy destroyed Rome. Attila the Hun came in and sacked the city, but he was so awestruck by what he saw that he realized he could not handle it. He took his barbarians and left town. The Roman Empire fell apart from within—no enemy destroyed it. Rome is living in the great nations of Europe today: Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Spain are all part of the old Roman Empire. The laws of Rome live on, and her language also. No one speaks Latin today, but it is basic to understanding French, Spanish, and other languages. Her warlike spirit lives on also: Europe has been at war ever since the empire broke up into these kingdoms.
What is happening in Europe today? There is a new psychological viewpoint developing. The young people there do not want to be called Italians or Germans; they like to be called Europeans. Such thinking is creating a basis for the man who is coming someday to put the Roman Empire back together again. He is known in Scripture as the Man of Sin, or the Antichrist. They have a Common Market in Europe today, and they may be well along in restoring the Roman Empire. But not until God takes down the roadblock will that man appear and all this come to fruition. Because he is Satan’s man, God will not let him appear until He has called out His people to His name. When He has done that, He will remove His church from the earth. God is carrying out His program whether it looks like it or not.
Therefore, there is one coming who will put the Roman Empire together again. I never speak of the resurrection of the Roman Empire; that implies that it died. Let me again quote a nursery rhyme:
Humpty–Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty–Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men
Could not put Humpty–Dumpty together again.
You see, the Roman Empire fell apart like Humpty–Dumpty. There have been a lot of men who tried to put it together again, but they have not succeeded. That was one of the missions of the Roman Catholic Church at the beginning. Also, Charlemagne attempted to put it back together. Napoleon tried to do so, and also several emperors of Germany. Hitler and Mussolini attempted it, but so far the man has not yet appeared who will accomplish it. God is not quite ready for him to appear.
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Prophets (Daniel) (electronic ed., Vol. 26, pp. 42–47). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.