Amidst the seemingly-unending stream of troubling news around the world, it is good to periodically remind ourselves that God reigns in total sovereignty over the nations, their leaders and the flow of world events. Nothing can happen outside the overall sovereign will of the Creator God (Elohim), and that is a comforting thought.
Even the accelerating pace of “bad news” and global traumas is evidence that God’s permissive will is being done on the earth. Many of my blogs and articles have documented these prophesied latter-day traumas so I will not repeat them in this blog. Remember all these things were foretold to come to pass in biblical prophecies and the fact that they are coming to pass confirms God’s sovereign ability to keep his promises and fulfill his prophecies. In Isaiah 41:21-26, God challenges all mankind to watch his ability to fulfill his future prophecies as clear evidence of his reality, sovereignty and power.
I receive many emails from people who are worried about current events or possible future events that might occur. There is no question that we live in troubled times, but let’s put everything in perspective. Isaiah 40:15-17 cites God as saying “the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance…All nations before him are as nothing.” Isaiah 40:22 adds that God “sits above the circle of the earth” [this confirms that ancient Israelite cultures knew the earth was a sphere long before Greece and Rome figured it out!], and that “the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers.” The Creator God created both the angelic realm and the material earthly realm, and he is utterly sovereign over both of them. While our lifespans are so short we think “next year” is long-term thinking, God’s awareness spans millennia and he knows the people that will be born long before they ever draw their first breath. Isaiah 44:28-45:1 records that God prophesied circa 690 BC that a king named “Cyrus” would proclaim that Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt (this was before either had been destroyed!). King Cyrus of Persia did exactly that circa 538 BC. In the tenth century BC, a prophet told wicked King Jeroboam of Israel that a future king named Josiah would burn the bones of the idolatrous priests at Jeroboam’s altar. King Josiah of Judah did exactly that in the seventh century BC (II Kings 23:16-17).
Proverbs 21:1 states that God can turn a king’s heart “withersoever he will.” The above paragraph gives two accounts in ancient history where this very thing happened. The latter day prophecies of the Bible are full of specific prophecies where national rulers will do certain things…on God’s timetable. Revelation 17:9-12 prophesies that the “seven heads and ten horns” will be nations/national leaders who will overthrow the modern financial system called “Babylon the Great” in the Bible and install a “beast” system in its place. At the very end of the latter days of our age, Ezekiel 38:4 and 10 prophesy that Gog, the leader of the alliance including Russia, China, Iran, etc., will have the motive placed in his mind to attack the modern nations of the house of “Israel” and their allies. It matters not what treaties or agreements he has signed. At the time God wants this to happen, God will place the thought in his mind and it will happen.
God’s authority exists just as totally in the spirit realm. Job 1 records the terrible (for Job) account of God allowing Satan to afflict Job in escalating stages. The key lesson here is that Satan could do nothing that God didn’t allow. When Job’s afflictions and trials were over, God removed his suffering (and Satan) and restored him to a glorious fulfilling life (Job 42). God has lost none of his power to restrain evil. It is within his revealed sovereign will that mankind’s society reach a point of severe sinfulness in the latter days. My viewpoint is that God wants the maximum contrast between how evil and destructive sin is in our current world and how excellent and peaceful his ways will be when Jesus Christ/Yahshua rules in the millennium/Messianic Age. However, while God has an overall prophetic pattern that will take place, there are many details that are not predetermined in terms of what will happen in our future. One prayer can change the course of history. Elijah’s prayer did (James 5:17), and so did a prayer by Moses (Exodus 32:7-14). So can your prayer.
A previous blog of mine emphasized that God actually wants intercessory prayer to be made to him so he can be dissuaded from punishing his Covenant nations (Ezekiel 22:30) even though their national sins have made punishments due. The USA is just such a “covenant” nation as you can see easily by reading the article, The USA in Bible Prophecy, posted at my website’s homepage. Decide to be an intercessor with God. He gives us permission to “put him in remembrance” of his promises when we pray (Isaiah 43:26). Remind God of his stated willingness in Ezekiel 22:30 to have mercy on nations that deserve punishments if people will “stand in the gap” and ask him to be merciful. Our nations’ future hangs in the balance. I urge you to “stand in the gap” for your nation in prayer…regularly.
