There is a vast difference between lawmaking and governing. Law expresses a ruler’s will; government demands observance. After the flood of Noah, God instituted government; violence must now be restrained, and human life respected. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Gen. 9:6). Inquisition for blood was placed in man’s hand, and God supported him in it.
The Necessity for Government
The necessity for government points to its use: the restraint of lawlessness and the support of well-doing. “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well” (1 Peter 2:13-14).
In order to appreciate rightly God’s present use of government, we must bear in mind that it is only a temporary provision until the scepter is given to “the Prince of Peace.” “Of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:33). In the meantime, God has two objects of interest on the earth — Israel and the church. But Israel, the natural seed of Abraham, must wait until the church is gathered home. Paul could say, “The Lord... will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). But a remnant of the Jewish nation will be preserved for the earthly kingdom.
Until His designs for both are accomplished, God will have the world kept in a measure of order, though, if He sees it necessary, He may permit persecutions, national conflicts, or commercial upheavals to prevent their settling down, for neither are yet in their destined position. Israel’s place is Canaan; the church’s home is heaven, and God is behind the scenes acting for both.
God’s Ideal in Government
God’s ideal in government is to have all power placed in the hands of one man — the one only Head (Eph. 1:10; Psa. 2:6-8). He gave Nebuchadnezzar absolute control, but instead of using it for God’s glory and man’s blessing, he used it for his own glory and man’s destruction. In a little while absolute dominion shall be given to another Man — Christ. Then God’s will shall “be done in earth as it is in heaven,” and “men shall be blessed in Him” (Psa. 72:17,19).
Consider the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. In this image we get a glance at the whole scope of Gentile government as God foresaw it to its end. Four imperial powers are represented in this image by the four chief materials that form it (Dan. 2:38-43). The head is of fine gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, with a combination of “potters’ clay” at the lowest extremity — “his feet part of iron and part of clay” (vs. 33).
The Head of Gold
Nebuchadnezzar’s power was absolute. Fine gold represents it (Dan. 2:38; 5:18-19). “Thou art this head of gold.” Succeeding powers are more and more inferior, down to the toes. It is important to take note of this, for we can gauge the present whereabouts of Gentile government only in the light of the real secret of its decline.
It is said of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, “Whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive” (Dan. 5:19). But Darius the Medo-Persian had no such supreme authority. He tried his utmost to deliver Daniel from the lion’s den, but failed. Why? It was the intrusion of other wills. That principle has been gradually developing ever since, until today it is not a few wills backed up by royal assent, but millions of wills — wills strong and weak (iron and clay). These wills are making their voices heard by representation, to make laws that suit themselves, and to which the king (or other head of state) is expected to put his seal! When subjects rule and kings are expected to submit, we are approaching the very opposite of God’s ideal, and, according to the image, the end of Gentile government.
But pause here a moment to notice one thing. The figure of “potters’ clay” is associated in Scripture with the supremacy of God’s will over man’s. “Hath not the potter power over the clay?” God will have the last word; He who set up Gentile government will, in His own time, set it aside forever. It is when the utmost extremity of the “image” is reached that the “Stone cut out without hands” will completely destroy the whole image, and the atoms will be carried away as chaff.
The Stone
The Stone that smites the image will then fill the whole earth. David in the Psalms (Psa. 118:22), Isaiah (Isa. 8:14-15), and the apostles Peter (Acts 4:11-12) and Paul (Rom. 9:33) all declare that the “Stone” is Christ. And this is confirmed by the Lord Himself, for He says, “On whomsoever it [the Stone] shall fall, it will grind him to powder” (Luke 20:18).
If having fellowship with both the image and the “Stone” will be an utter impossibility then, why try it now? To spend our best on that which is certain to be demolished is not true wisdom and can only diminish our interest in the Kingdom “which shall never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44). How much better to take the blessed Savior’s advice: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). One great help toward this is to see the import of Daniel’s dream in Daniel 7.
Daniel’s Dream
In this dream the same four powers are brought before us, but this time under the figure of four beasts. A “beast” in this context is God’s symbol of earthly government, but the figure is not intended as any personal slight upon the king himself, for God says, “Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). The first three powers are definitely named: Babylonian, Medio-Persian, and Grecian. The fourth and last, the Roman Empire, is named in the New Testament (Luke 2:1). This power held sway during the lifetime of the Lord and His apostles. It was set up shortly before Christ’s first appearing and will be ended by His second. This great empire has since been divided into many kingdoms, but it will again be united under one political head, spoken of in Revelation 13 as a beast rising out of the “sea.” The mass will gladly hail his advent as the very man they have been looking for!
The Beasts
In the “image” of Daniel 2, the prominent thought seems to be the sovereignty of God’s will in earthly government. In the “beasts,” it is more the ravaging of man’s will. The symbol is a simple one. With the exception of the fourth beast, they are all beasts of prey: unclean, but with conquering power.
Now, a beast naturally follows the bent of its own will, without any reference to God, or even to man, save for its own protection. The Lord Himself provides us with a key for the understanding of this figure of a beast. The unjust judge in Luke 18 “neither feared God, nor regarded man,” and a judge is clearly representative of governing power. As a matter of justice, this judge disregarded the widow’s appeal. It was only when she gave him trouble that he interfered for her. As to motive, he served himself; in result, he served her. So with God’s symbol.
Men in power may think that their policies serve their own ends. But they forget that, long before their scheme was thought of, God had secret designs of His own to further. By a hidden link with theirs, He can give effect to His own. If governing powers will not by choice carry out God’s will consciously, they shall, by the very force of their own wills, carry it out unconsciously.
The Most High Rules
If rulers are God-fearing men, all the better, but while things are in disorder, God does not confine Himself to good men for earthly government. “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Dan. 4:17). As an example, we know that one of the greatest boons in British history came to the nation through one of the basest of her kings. When, for his own ends, Henry VIII defied papal authority, the very Bible, which condemned his wickedness, was opened to millions of his subjects. By the will of God, however dark the monarch’s motive, the bright result was an open Bible and full liberty to read it. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will” (Prov. 21:1).
Even if there is a combination of powers, it is all the same. If ten kings at last combine to give their power to the beast and destroy the harlot, it will be because God puts it into their hearts to fulfill His will (Rev. 17:16-17). It was so with our blessed Lord. “Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.” They did so for their own wicked ends, but in God’s account it was “to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:27-28). In all things, it is “whomsoever He will,” “whithersoever He will,” and “whatsoever He predetermines.”
G. Cutting (adapted)