God's ministers, the kings

Roman 13:44 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. I would like to discuss what Scripture has to say about the kings that God appoints. Job 34:16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words. 17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? 18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? 19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands. 20 In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. 21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. 22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23 For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God. 24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. 25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. 26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; 27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: 28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. In this section of Scripture we learn that God appoints and condemns the kings of this earth if they do not heed His counsel. Scripture tells us that judgement comes to those who turn back from Him and would not consider any of his ways. In ChristJeff

Here is another section of Scripture which speaks to God's ministers, the kings of this earth.Psa. 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Do you see the truth of the matter. God determine who is to rule, yet the ruler has the choice to obey or not to obey. In ChristJeff

Psalm 2 was also prophetic of this event:Daniel 3:10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.In ChristJeff

Again Romans 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. In the last part of this verse it says: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Let us look at some of the examples that are given to us in Scripture.First, an example is given to us of the nation of Israel.3 Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. 4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. 5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The nation of Israel is used to destroy the wickedness around them. God uses them as the revenger to execute wrath on those who are more evil then they. Here is another example. This time Scripture speaks of Jerusalem's wickedness of coming judgement.Ezekiel 5:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. 6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. So now it is Israel's turn for judgement. Listen to the Scriptures as it speaks of the revenger that God raises up to execute His judgement.Ezekiel 7: 21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. 23 Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. Jeremiah 6: 22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. 23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. Jer. 21:1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. 3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. More to come on the nature to this world's kings the revengers who execute wrath.In ChristJeff

Listen for how God deals with those who are judged. Jer. 25:8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, “and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. During the time of judgement of the nations around Judah listen to how God pays those who work for Him. Ezek. 29:17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD. So nation after nation are paid wages for the land that they plunder. Yet the wealth they receive is no indication of their righteous standing before God. More to come on the kings of this earth.In ChristJeff

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Listen again in another place of God's minister. Habakkuk 1:5 \t“Look among the nations and watch—\tBe utterly astounded!\tFor I will work a work in your days\tWhich you would not believe, though it were told you.6 \tFor indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,\tA bitter and hasty nation\tWhich marches through the breadth of the earth,\tTo possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 \tThey are terrible and dreadful;\tTheir judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 \tTheir horses also are swifter than leopards,\tAnd more fierce than evening wolves.\tTheir chargers charge ahead;\tTheir cavalry comes from afar;\tThey fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. 9 \t“They all come for violence;\tTheir faces are set like the east wind.\tThey gather captives like sand. 10 \tThey scoff at kings,\tAnd princes are scorned by them.\tThey deride every stronghold,\tFor they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. 11 \tThen his mind changes, and he transgresses;\tHe commits offense,\tAscribing this power to his god.” In verse 11 we are given a hint as to the type of disobedience that also brings God's judgement on Babylon.In ChristJeff

Listen to the judgement of Babylon.Isaiah 1317 \t“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,\tWho will not regard silver;\tAnd as for gold, they will not delight in it. 18 \tAlso their bows will dash the young men to pieces,\tAnd they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;\tTheir eye will not spare children. 19 \tAnd Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,\tThe beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,\tWill be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. Jeremiah 508 \t“Move from the midst of Babylon,\tGo out of the land of the Chaldeans;\tAnd be like the rams before the flocks. 9 \tFor behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon\tAn assembly of great nations from the north country,\tAnd they shall array themselves against her;\tFrom there she shall be captured.\tTheir arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior;\tNone shall return in vain. 10 \tAnd Chaldea shall become plunder;\tAll who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the LORD. 11 \t“Because you were glad, because you rejoiced,\tYou destroyers of My heritage,\tBecause you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain,\tAnd you bellow like bulls, 12 \tYour mother shall be deeply ashamed;\tShe who bore you shall be ashamed.\tBehold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness,\tA dry land and a desert. 13 \tBecause of the wrath of the LORD\tShe shall not be inhabited,\tBut she shall be wholly desolate.\tEveryone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified\tAnd hiss at all her plagues. 14 \t“Put yourselves in array against Babylon all around,\tAll you who bend the bow;\tShoot at her, spare no arrows,\tFor she has sinned against the LORD. 15 \tShout against her all around;\tShe has given her hand,\tHer foundations have fallen,\tHer walls are thrown down;\tFor it is the vengeance of the LORD.\tTake vengeance on her.\tAs she has done, so do to her. 16 \tCut off the sower from Babylon,\tAnd him who handles the sickle at harvest time.\tFor fear of the oppressing sword\tEveryone shall turn to his own people,\tAnd everyone shall flee to his own land. 17 \t“Israel is like scattered sheep;\tThe lions have driven him away.\tFirst the king of Assyria devoured him;\tNow at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.” What do you see according to Scripture?In ChristJeff

Listen for the next avenger for wrath that God raises up now to destroy Babylon.Jeremiah 518 \tBabylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed.\tWail for her!\tTake balm for her pain;\tPerhaps she may be healed. 9 \tWe would have healed Babylon,\tBut she is not healed.\tForsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country;\tFor her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. 10 \tThe LORD has revealed our righteousness.\tCome and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. 11 \tMake the arrows bright!\tGather the shields!\tThe LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.\tFor His plan is against Babylon to destroy it,\tBecause it is the vengeance of the LORD,\tThe vengeance for His temple. And now it is the Medes turn to destroy the nation before it. And next we will visit the book of Daniel.In ChristJeff

According to the foreknowledge of God, Scripture reveals the outcome of the Babylonian, Medes, Greek, and Roman empires. In the book of Daniel we find God's description of those empires to come.Daniel 2:Dan. 2:36 “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—you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And 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.” According to Scripture are any of these empire righteous? Are any spared from God's judgement? What of the kings who are raised and then judged by God? What does Scripture teach about the God's ministers, remember verse 4..."But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Should a Christian drink from the same cup as these kings?In ChristJeff

Is. 45:1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed,\tTo Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—\tTo subdue nations before him\tAnd loose the armor of kings,\tTo open before him the double doors,\tSo that the gates will not be shut: 2 \t“I will go before you\tAnd make the crooked places straight;\tI will break in pieces the gates of bronze\tAnd cut the bars of iron. 3 \tI will give you the treasures of darkness\tAnd hidden riches of secret places,\tThat you may know that I, the LORD,\tWho call you by your name,\tAm the God of Israel. 4 \tFor Jacob My servant’s sake,\tAnd Israel My elect,\tI have even called you by your name;\tI have named you, though you have not known Me. What is Cyrus's reward? Was he ever declared righteous or did he receive his wages, the "treasures of darkness."In ChristJeff

Isaiah 45:2 “I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. Also, Ezek. 29:17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD. In both this sections of Scripture we find that God pays wages to His ministers, "an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." Rom. 4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. In Rom 4:4 we find that there is a way with God that when dealing with His ministers, he pays wages which are not considered as His grace. He does indeed call the kings as tools used to judge the evil generations that exist. The wages become the booty for which many strive. There are other times in Scripture where those he calls to avenge evil are not driven by gold or silver. What might they be drunk with?In ChristJeff