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.
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.
