ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
'Yho administer th~a~s of go_vernment may be unr!ghteous. ~ Have you ever thought that as Paul wrote these words, possibly the most blood....thirsty monster who has ever lived in this world was exercising control over the Roman Empire? The cruel Nero not only washed his hands in the blood of the Christian martyrs, but he murdered his own mother. That is the kind of man who was on the throne in the Roman E~: pire, and God allowed Nero to rule over the destiny of men. Now you may ask: "Why does God permit men like Nero, Augustus, and Titus to rule over their fellows? Why does He let cruel monarchs like Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar hold in their hands the power of life and death? Why does He allow such men as Lenin and Stalin and Hitler to exercise dictatorships? Why will He permit such a man as the Anti .... christ to reign? He will be the most blood....thirsty of them all. He will set up his image and will force people to worship him or starve. He will be the head of the revived Roman Empire. The Antichrist will rule because Christ Jesus, the Lord, will permit him to do so. Why does our Saviour, whose name is "Love," allow these things? These are questions that readily arise in the minds of thoughtful people when they read Romans 13: 1. And the answer is this~God sometimes sets up the basest o_f men to rule over the destiny of their fellow....creatures as punishment ~f the wickedness of the people. We have an illustration of t is in the opening words of Daniel. God allowed Nebuchad.... nezzar to seize Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar was a blood....thirsty tyrant, and yet God permitted him to lead Israel captive, even as we read in Dan. 1:1, 2, "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand." Why? Because Israel had apostatized from God. He had sent Isaiah and Jeremiah to warn them that, if they did not turn from their idols, He would allow them to be taken into captivity and their city to be destroyed. But Israel would not listen; therefore, the hour struck, and God allowed the Gentiles to reign over them. The same thing applies to the future, when the Antichrist will rule. Page 234]
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