"Kings" come into power either through God's direct will or
through God's permissive will. In my opinion, to believe that every king is the
direct will of God would mean that God directly chose Hitler, Stalin and Mao to
be kings so that they could murder tens of millions of people. If this were the
case, then it would appear that God is behind much of the evil in this world,
rather than man's evil nature and Satan. God is sovereign but that doesn't mean
everything that happens is in accordance with his desires. For example, sin is
something God is permitting at this time but he is not directing us to sin.
Hosea 8:4 states "They have set up kings,
but
not by me:
they have made princes, and
I knew it not..."
The NIV states "They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes
without my approval...". I believe Hosea 8:4 clearly teaches that God has
allowed kings to be set up that were only permitted by him and were not directly
placed into power by him.
Daniel 2:21 states "... he removeth kings, and
setteth up kings ..." I believe this verse is a general statement and should not
be interpreted as every king is removed by his direct will and
every
king is set up according to his direct will. I believe that God sometimes
sets up kings according to his direct will and other times he simply permits
kings to be set up. God has given man free will to make choices even though man
oftentimes makes bad choices. If he directed all of our choices, there would be
no free will. In other words, on election day, everyone would just be a robot -
voting as directed by God. The whole election process would then be just a sham
if there is no free will.
Daniel 4:17 states "... the Most High ruleth in the
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the
basest of men." This verse does not say that God's direct will is involved in
the setting up of kings but only that his will is involved (which can be either
direct or permissive). To believe that this passage teaches that every king is
set up by God's direct will contradicts what God says in Hosea 8:4.
Satan is the "god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4) and he owns
the kingdoms of this world. In Luke 4:5-6, Satan showed the Lord "... all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this
power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me,
and to whomsoever I will I give it." To me, the two following verses indicate
that Satan and his angels are behind many of the princes (or kings) of this
world.
Daniel 10:13 "But the prince of the kingdom of
Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, Lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia."
Daniel 10:20"... And now will I return to fight with
the prince of Persia; and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall
come."
I believe God has and is permitting Satan to be behind many
of the kings of this world. If God is directly installing these kings rather
than just permitting these kings, then why are God's angels fighting against the
powers behind God's directly appointed kings?