Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities

Romans 13 tells us to be subject to the governing authorities and then it goes on to define such a government, "Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil"... For he is "God's minister" to you "for good". To me God is talking about just governments which would rule out tyrannical authorities who are a terror to good works. We must not forget Satan is also in the business of appointing leaders. Just a few examples, the Prince of Persia, the Prince of Greece, the Prince of Tyre (Eze 28), the Anti-Christ, etc. This world system is controlled by Satan.

So how do we respond to tyrannical governments? If we look to the Old Testament we certainly see examples of Godly men and women not submitting to evil authorities:
Mosses mother defied the Pharaoh's command to kill all Hebrew babies (Exodus 1:15-21)
Mosses defied Pharaoh to free his people.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the golden image. (Daniel 3:18)
Daniel did not obey the decree not to petition any god or man for thirty days, except the king.
Mordecai refused to bow down to the Persian magistrate Haman. (Esther 3:5)
Seven thousand in Israel refused to bow down and worship Baal. (I Kings 19:18)

Likewise in the New Testament they did not blindly submit to the governing powers:
Mary and Joseph did not obey Herod's command to kill the baby boys. (Mat 2:16)
An angel did not obey the governing authorities when he broke Peter out of jail (Acts 12:6-11) or Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25-34)
An angel warns the people not to take the Mark of the Beast even though the Anti-Christ is given authority to cause all to receive his mark. (Rev 13:16, Rev 14:9)

It's true Jesus did not condemn the authorities of his day, but he didn't listen to them either when they told him to stop preaching the gospel. Jesus claim to be the son of God was in fact a direct challenge to the supremacy of Caesar himself and part of the reason why he was crucified and Christians were persecuted. Jesus submitted himself to be crucified not out of blind submission to the governing authorities but because it was his purpose in coming to earth. It should also be remembered that Jesus is just one part of the God head, and while Jesus did not chastise the governing authorities, God certainly did. The apostles followed suit by preaching the gospel in direct violation of the will of the governing authorities which led to their deaths. And not all the early Christians were okay with being persecuted by the governing authorities:

Saint Romanus, right before he was martyred in the early fourth century said, "Never shall I pray for the emperor’s well-being or for his great and brave regiments but that they may be faithful soldiers and in the water of Christ be born again for the Father and receive from heaven the Comforter himself, that they may cast off the darkness of idolatry and see the light of eternal hope which does not flow into the humours of the eyes gleaming through the windows of the body, but shines in pure hearts within. …I assure you I shall never obey one who commands a sin.”

Saint Vincent of Saragossa said, "Torture, imprisonment, the claws, the hissing red-hot plate, even the final suffering of death, are all mere sport to Christians. How vain and futile are you rulers! How senseless Caesar’s decree!"

Saint Eulalia said, "Here am I, a foe to the worship of evil spirits; I trample idols under foot, and with heart and lips I confess God. Isis, Apollo, Venus–they are naught; Maximian himself too is naught; they because they are works of men’s hands, both worthless, both naught. Though Maximian, lord of power and yet himself vassalage to figures of stone, prostitute himself to his gods and make himself over to them, why does he persecute noble hearts?"

Here in the United States the Christians during the 18th century obviously didn't see a problem with rebelling against a tyrannical government. The seeds of rebellion were preached from the pulpit some two decades before the American Revolution, so much so that King George called it a "Presbyterian Rebellion". One such example is The Reverend Nathaniel Whitaker. Citing Joshua 11 he wrote:

"While all the peace in his kingdom, for aught we find, God commands Israel to raise an army, and invade the tyrant’s dominions. The moral reason for this is obvious. For usurpation or oppression, is offensive war, already levied. Any state which usurps power over another state, or rulers, who by a wanton use of their power, oppress their subjects, do thereby break the peace and commence an offensive war. In such a case opposition is mere self-defense, and is no more criminal, yea, as really our duty to defend ourselves against murderer, or highway robber. Self-preservation is an instinct God implanted in our nature. Therefore we sin against God and nature, when we tamely resign our rights to tyrants, or quietly submit to public oppressors, if it be in our power to defend ourselves"

One important detail in the United States is we elect our officials, unlike the despots in biblical times. That means the people are supposed to be the governing authorities and the politicians are here to serve us. So much so that the Founding Fathers put a rebellion clause in the Constitution by adding the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Hint, those arms were not just for hunting. Thomas Jefferson said "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical." As such we have every right and duty to castigate our leaders when they no longer serve the public good.

I do not purpose to stop paying taxing or to take up arms against the government, such actions should not be taken lightly. I'm saying evil should be opposed with appropriate force. Evil prevails when good men do nothing. Yes presidents come and go, but all the while we are losing our freedoms as we are being dragged into a one world system. We should do all we can now, in a civil manner, so it doesn't get to the point where it becomes physical. And if the first shot is fired, I guarantee it won't be by us. Yes I know this world is headed in that direction no matter what we do. But we are supposed to be the salt of the the earth and it is our job to occupy until He comes. Then means we should do what we can to delay the decay.

Why God does allow suffering?

Sometime back I tried to answer this question from a theological standpoint. And while I think some insights can be gleamed from such a perspective, I realize now I overcomplicated the issue. There is a simpler explanation that answers why God allows suffering, why things are the way the are, and why Satan is currently allowed to roam free, and it has to do with the title deed to the earth.

Genesis tells us when God made everything is was perfect, it wasn't just good it was very good. There was no pain, suffering, or death. The earth was perfect, there was no rain, earthquakes, hurricanes, cold, or extreme heat, or natural disasters of any kind. The animal kingdom was also in harmony. Then God handed it over to Adam, to have denomination over the whole earth (Gen 1:26, Psalm 8:4-9). In essence God gave Adam a title deed to the earth.

Pastor Chuck Smith says of deeds, "Under Jewish law whenever you sold property in the deed there was always a redemptive clause. You always had the right to buy the property back within a specified period of time providing you could fulfill the terms and the requirements that were written in the deed.

 So wherever there was the sale of property, there was always two deeds that were drawn up. One deed was sealed and it was put away in a safe deposit. The other remained open and was kept by the person who sold the property. And in the time of redemption you would bring both deeds, the one that was open and the one that was sealed. And by the open deed you would prove that you were the one that had the right to redeem it. And in the redeeming of it, you would break the seals of the closed deed and you would fulfill the requirements therein, and thus, the property would revert to you."

When Adam sinned he in essence turned the title deed of earth over to Satan. Since that point Satan has been the God of this world (2 Cr 4:4). Likewise John says the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1Jo 5:19). Satan tempted Jesus by showing Him all the kingdoms of the world and said all the authority (of these kingdoms) would be given to Him if He would worship Satan. This claim of ownership was never contested by Jesus and Satan could not tempt Jesus with something he did not have (Luke 4:5-7). Matthew 12:26 acknowledges that Satan has a kingdom. The Book of Daniel (Dan 10:20) describes two spiritual principalities, the prince of Persia (Persia was the dominate power of that day) and the prince of Greece (Alexander the Great became the next power), indicating Satan does have influence over the kingdoms over the earth. In Ezekiel 28 Satan is described as the King of Tyre who was the real power behind the power of Tyre. Satan's man The Anti-Christ will have authority over every tribe, nation, tongue (Rev 13:7). Revelation 13:2 makes it clear this authority comes from Satan not from God, "The dragon (Satan) gave him his power, his throne, and great authority." As such Satan retains some of his old authority, he is allowed to present himself before God (Job 1:6, 2:1), and when Micheal the archangel disputes Satan over the body of Moses he didn't dare to condemn him (Jud 1:9), showing a respect for authority.

When Jesus came and died on the cross, He redeemed the earth back but hasn't taken possession of it yet. Some believe the first seal opened in Revelation is the title deed to the earth (Rev 5), and the point at which God fully takes it back. After the seven years of tribulation and the removal of Satan and those who have taken his mark, there is a partial restoration that takes place. Life span's are restored to pre-flood conditions, everyone will eat under there own vine meaning no one will go hungry, and animals will no longer eat one another or harm us. After those 1000 years death, the final enemy, is destroyed and everything is made new and perfect once again.

In conclusion, there is evil and suffering in the world because Adam opened the door to it when he gave the title deed to Satan. That means even God is not legally bound to intervene until the title deed is taken back. Yes God can do anything, but He does have self-imposed limitations. If God violated his word then He wouldn't be a just God. But He has a plan to bring everything back into perfection, we are merely living in the intermediary period until then.