Upon reading the title of this post, I’m sure there are many readers who are reacting with thoughts like; “Why is this post necessary? Of course Christians should vote!” However, to such Christians, I will reply that I have known many Christians (including good friends) who think Christians should not vote. They fear that they may be too much a part of the system of “this world” if they vote and since Revelation 18:4 warns Christians to “come out” of Babylon the Great’s corrupt end-time system to avoid partaking in its plagues, they fear voting may be a failure to “come out” of this world’s system. Such believers also sometimes cite Daniel 4:17 which states that God puts on thrones whomsoever he wishes, and they are concerned that they may be resisting God’s will if they vote contrary to God’s will.
For this reason I am writing this post, which is very timely as the USA is about to hold a critically-important presidential election. Right at the start, I will state my opinion: I think that Christians should vote in every election in which they have a chance to do so. Here are my reasons.
Daniel 4:17 is entirely true, but it has no application to our modern voting process. Ancient kingdoms had no elections and kings came into power via dynastic succession, wars, assassinations, etc. God decided the overall outcome of royal dynasties or the accession of kings as he needed to do so to fulfill his prophecies about nations. The early apostolic church had no right to vote for any Roman Caesar or any local Roman leader. However, we can learn something instructive by looking at the life of Paul. He was a Roman citizen and he asserted his Roman citizenship rights in order to be released from prison on trumped-up charges (Romans 16:36-39). Paul also asserted his Roman citizenship rights to avoid a scourging in Acts 22:25-29. Paul also was rescued by a detachment of Roman cavalry from a band of Jews seeking to kill him because he was a Roman citizen (Acts 23:12-17). While we tend to overlook it, Paul’s ability to travel all over the Roman Empire, using its roads and maritime transportation system unimpeded by anyone, was due to the fact that he was a Roman citizen. Paul also asserted another Roman citizenship right by appealing directly to Caesar to avoid death or the punishment of a kangaroo court (Acts 25:1-12, 25). The book of Acts makes it clear that Paul asserted his Roman citizenship rights and used them! Doing so in no way made him part of “the world” in God’s eyes.
When the United States was founded, our rights were given to us by the US Constitution, which I firmly believe was given to us by God as a system of government that would be a blessing to our nation. The provisions of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (voting, bearing arms, freedoms of speech, assembly and religion) protect Americans from despotism. The Constitution was written and ratified by Christians…for an educated Christian nation.
Just as Paul asserted whatever citizenship rights he had as a Roman citizen, Americans (or citizens of other nations) should likewise feel free to assert their citizenship rights as well. For Americans, the right to vote will be available to us on November 6, 2012 (or earlier if you are in a state allowing early voting). Paul had no right to vote for Roman leaders, but given his willingness to assert whatever Roman citizenship rights he did have, I have no doubt he would have voted if that had also been a Roman citizenship right.
There is a latter-day prophecy that strongly indicates that it was God’s will that the latter-day nations of the tribes of Israel would all be democracies (which is exactly what has happened). Jeremiah 30 is a prophecy to both Judah and the ten tribes of Israel in the latter days (verse 24) and verses 1-8 about “Jacob’s Trouble” clearly are for the latter days. This means that Judah (the Israelis/Jews) and the modern nations descended from the ancient ten tribes of Israel (the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, all Scandinavian and many European nations) are being addressed in this prophecy. Verse 21 states that, in the latter days, “their nobles shall be of themselves and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them” (emphasis added). This is a vitally-important prophecy, and I mention it in several of my books about the history and locations of the modern Israelite tribes. It prophesies that the ruling officials of the latter-day nations of Judah (the Israelis) and the nations of the ten tribes of Israel shall come forth not from royal appointments or decrees, but from the midst of the people! In other words, commoners can be governors and government officials. How can this happen? Only via a process which allows elections!
I think it is clear that Christians not only can vote with clear consciences, but they should vote! Indeed, the higher the percentage of Christians that vote in an election campaign, the more righteous should be the outcomes. Proverbs 28:4 adds: “They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them” (emphasis added). God expects the righteous to “contend” against the wicked in a society! How do you do that in our modern democracies? By participating in the electoral process! Christians, in order to obey Proverbs 28:4, should vote, make phone calls or post yard signs for Godly candidates, contact elected representatives regarding important issues that come before legislatures and Congress for votes, etc. Have Christians considered that in the Judgment, God may ask them: “I gave you the right to participate in your nation’s selection of leaders and influence the course of legislative actions: To what extent did you obey me and exercise these rights I gave you so you could ‘contend’ against the wicked one who tried to corrupt your society?”
I’d like to state that I have voted in every presidential election that I had a legal right to do so, and this year I have already voted for Mitt Romney in the presidential election as my state, South Dakota, allows early voting. Given the choice between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, I can’t imagine that any Christian would vote for the latter candidate. Since my website is not a 501(3)C entity, I am free to openly urge readers to vote for Mitt Romney and I do so!
In conclusion, I have one last thing to say to believers who feel they should not vote. There is one being who is thrilled with your decision not to vote. That being is Satan. The more that Christians neglect to exercise their right to vote in an election, the more the unrighteous voters will be the ones determining the outcome of national and local elections. Christians choosing not to vote ought to ponder this fact for a while…and then go vote for the candidates that have the closest to Christian values in each electoral race.
