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be repaid by treachery and rebel–
lion. (Read the account in
J
J
Samu–
el, chapters 13 through 19).
What prompts people to want to
overthrow their governments?
The successful coup leaders give
various reasons: "social justice,"
"to put an end to despotism and
corruption," "redistribute wealth,"
etc. But the real reasons can be
found in the biblical account of the
first ever attempted coup in his–
tory, that of Lucifer's rebellion
against the great Creator God.
Satan's Coup
This coup took place before the
contemporary world as we know it
even existed.
Lucifer was a great archangel
created by God. He was given rule
over the earth, then inhabited by
angels. After God the Father and
Jesus Christ, it seems as if Lucifer
was the next most important being
in the universe, given his position
with access to God's throne (Ezek.
28:14).
He was "perfect in [his]
ways . .. till iniquity [sin] was
found in [him] " (verse 15, RAV) .
Lucifer wasn't satisfied with
being No. 3. He wanted to be No.
1, to take over the very throne of
God (lsa. 14:13). " 1 will be like the
Mos t High" (verse 14).
So often world leaders are vio–
lently overthrown by senior mem–
bers of their own armed forces ,
men they have trusted and placed
in authority themselves.
Basic Cause of Coups
Lucifer took one third of the angels
with him (Rev. 12:4). Yes, coups
are often quite popular, with a siz–
able segment of the population sup–
porting the rebels.
Satan 's attitude of vanity, jeal–
ousy, envy, lust and greed, resent–
ment and rebellion are usually the
basic motives behind attempts to
overthrow governments. People
want POWER, WEALTH and POSI–
TJON-and the quickest way to
have them is to
get
them from
somebody else.
Satan's attitude is one of compe–
tition, not cooperation. He resents
peaceful change. Ironically, the
same people who choose violent
change often end up victims of a
similar coup a few years later. Just
18
as Christ said, " . .. all they that
take the sword [choose violence]
shall perish with the sword" (Matt.
26:52).
.
A Christian's Responsl_bility
The apostle Paul , living under one
of the most oppressive governments
in history, that of the emperor
Nero in ancient Rome (a man so
evil he murdered his mother and
two of his wives, plus countless
other victims), instructed all Chris–
tians to respect government: " Let
every soul be subject unto the high–
er powers" (Rom.
J
3:
J ).
In the same verse, he adds, "For
there is no power but of God: the
powers that be are ordained of
God."
This does not mean that God
approves of all the governments of
man. God does not approve of any
government that does not obey his
laws. Rather , this verse tells us that
God
permits
governments to
exist-for a reason.
Continue in
verse 3: "For rulers are nota terror
to good works, but to the evil."
Many governments considered
bad sti ll maintain a certain amount
of law and order, permitting com–
merce and normal social life to con–
tinue. Frequent overthrows of gov–
ernments lead to a breakdown of
every
fac~t
of society until anarchy
reigns- a situation summed up in
the last verse of the book of Judges:
" In those days there was no king
[effective leader] in Israel: every
man did that which was right in his
own eyes. "
People who cannot be loyal to
their leaders will find it difficult
being loyal to anyone or anything.
A breakdown of government
authority has character repercus–
sions throughout society .
King. Saul of ancient Israel was
not a good leader. He disobeyed
God, consulted a witch and tried to
have David, and even his own son ,
killed. Yet , when one of Saul's own
soldiers claimed to have ended his
life, King David's reaction was to
have the man executed. " How wast
thou not afraid to stretch forth
thine hand to dest roy the Lord's
anointed?"
(ll
Sam. 1:1-16.)
David knew and understood why
God attached so much importance
to governmental stability.
No human leader is perfect, but
God permits rulers to rule because
the alternative is total anarchy- no
law and order, just chaos. The apos–
tle Peter, echoing Paul 's words,
reminds us at whatever leve) in
society we are: "Servants, be sub–
ject to your masters with all fear ;
not only to the good and·gentle, but
also to the froward"
(1
Pet. 2:18).
Leaders Also Responsible
This doesn' t mean that the world's
leaders have got absolute authority
from God to do what they wish.
Too many leaders are like the Gen–
tile rulers described by Jesu s
Christ in Matthew 20:25: "The
rulers of the pagans exercise des–
potic powers (E.V. Rieu transla–
tion) ." 'Their chiefs iikewise rule
as dictators" (Norlie translation of
The New Testament).
·
This is not God's way of ruling.
Christ continues, " But it shall not
be so among you: but whosoever
will be great among you, Jet him be
your minister [servant] ; and whoso–
ever will be chief among you, let
him be your servant" (verses 26-27
AV) .
" Even as the Son of man [Jesus
Christ] carne not to be ministered
unto, but to minister . . ." (verse
28). C hrist is the Son of God. He is
to be crowned King of kings and
Lord of lords (Rev. 19: 16). His
titles will far exceed and excel
those of this world's rulers ( Isa.
9:6-7; Rev. 19:12). His government
will soon replace all governments of
men, and bis reign will never cease
over the earth (Isa. 9:7; Dan. 2:44).
Yet it will be a government dedi–
cated
tO
SERVING ITS SUBJECTS,
with Christ the chief servant, hav–
ing already died for us (Matt.
20:28).
Having experienced firsthand
the fear rebellion can bring, 1 know
one of the first things Christ wiH do
when he establishes his kingdom
over this earth . is to strip mankind
of all weapons of war (Mic. 4:3).
Humanity will certainly get the
message. There will be no more
coups d 'etat. This is absolutely nec–
essary before any progress can be
made in any other a rca. Arms
destroy economic progress, taking
away in a moment all that people
have spent their lives striving for.
Only when people learn the way to
(Continued on page 29)
The
PLAIN TRUTH