Who Elected Joseph Biden?
By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

    

May 2021 - Many are contending (and I believe correctly) that the 2020

United States presidential election was stolen; had actual, legitimate

votes - and those only - been counted fairly and accurately, Donald

Trump would have been re-elected president of the United States. For

this reason, some are claiming that the installation of Joseph Biden as

president is contrary to God's eternal plan. But Scripture shows us that

the opposite is true. God often raises up sinful leaders for His purposes,

and they often come to power through sinful means.

Similar Statements During the Obama Years

This is not a new phenomenon. Throughout Barack Obama's two terms

as president, self-described Evangelicals made similar un-Biblical

assertions in letters to the editor, postings on numerous blogs, and even

pronouncements from pulpits. Here is one example, from a World Net

Daily commentary in 2008:

God did not elect Barack Hussein Obama president: the American

people did...

God will not inaugurate Barack Hussein Obama...America will....

God IS in charge, all REAL authority does come from God, but NOT

everything that happens in this world comports with God's long-term

plans. Most often, the human race does all it can to stand in God's way

and hinder God's perfect will for humankind.

The election of Barack Hussein Obama, in my opinion, is an obstacle to

God's perfect plan, NOT part of His plan, and certainly NOT something

he "pre-ordained." [1]

The writer of this letter concluded by repeating his assertion that, as he

put it, "in my book" the election of Barack Obama was not God's will.

The events of the Obama years only increased this kind of rhetoric in

some circles. Many were rightly alarmed by the anti-Christian positions

he took, and his administration's targeting of Evangelical Christians for

persecution and the teachings of the Bible for ridicule and suppression.

Clearly, under Mr. Biden and those who have conspired to bring him to

power, the anti-Christian position of government is being further

entrenched. His first 100 days in the White House have been

breathtakingly anti-Christian. To cite just a handful of examples: Last

month the Biden administration filed an appeal in a federal court

designed to force all doctors and hospitals in the United States,

regardless of religious conviction, to provide transgender surgeries to all

patients who demand them. His administration supports Planned

Parenthood's selling of pieces of aborted babies for profit. Biden's

Department of Education is promoting homosexuality and other forms of

sexual perversion, even at the kindergarten level.

This, we can be certain, is only the beginning.

America: An Anomaly in World History

But one would think, from the comments of many Evangelicals, that this

is the first time in history that Christians have ever faced such things.

We need to remind ourselves that the history of this world is the

unfolding of the eternal plan of God. We need to remind ourselves of

God's relationship to the rulers of this world, of the attitude that Jesus

and the apostles instructed early Christians to have toward even the

most cruel and ungodly rulers of their times, and of the pattern we find in

much of subsequent church history.

The fact is, the enjoyment of such a high degree of religious freedom

and Bible-based righteousness in North America over the past four

hundred years is an anomaly in world history. There has never been

another such long-term safe haven for Christians on this earth. The

much more normal case has been for true believers to face opposition,

persecution, and worse at the hands of civil authorities.

Have both cases been God's will? Is an ungodly ruler ordained of God?

What really matters in answering those questions is not man's opinion -

not how things are "in my book" as the writer cited above put it. What

matters is how things are in God's Book - what His Word says is true.

The question is: What must Christians do in response?

The World's Rulers Are God's Direct Choices

Let us take up the things of which we need to remind ourselves. First of

all, what does God's Word tell us about His relationship to the rulers of

this world? Scripture makes it clear that no earthly ruler comes to power

or remains in power apart from God's direct choosing:

I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by

My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom

it seemed proper to Me. (Jeremiah 27:5)

For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from

the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.

(Psalm 75:6-7)

And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and

raises up kings... (Daniel 2:21)

...the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He

will, and sets over it the lowest of men. (Daniel 4:17)

...the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever

He chooses. (Daniel 4:25 and 32)

He loosens the bonds of kings, and binds their waist with a belt. (Job

12:18)

Is it true, as the writer of the letter to the editor insisted, that human

beings can "stand in God's way and hinder God's perfect will for

humankind?" Absolutely not:

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does

according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of

the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have You

done?" (Daniel 4:35)

[God] works all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians

1:11).

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

(Proverbs 16:33)

Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has taught

Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and

taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and

showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a

drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look,

He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to

burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him

are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and

worthless.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from

the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the

earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants

are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and

spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth

useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown,

scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when He will also blow

on them, and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like

stubble.

"To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?" says the

Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who

brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the

greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from

the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God"? Have you not

known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the

Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His

understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to

those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall

faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who

wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with

wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and

not faint. (Isaiah 40:13-31)

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,"

says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My

ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For

as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return

there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may

give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that

goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void [literally,

fruitless], but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the

thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:8-11)

In short, if man could thwart God's perfect plan, then it would not be a

perfect plan!

God's Plan Is Rarely "Perfect" to Human Eyes

Scripture shows us that God has raised up many rulers who, to put it

mildly, did not honor Him. Men who literally shook their fists at the Lord

of the universe. Men who led or participated in pagan worship that

involved perversion and even human sacrifice. Men who sought to

exterminate the people of God. Often they have come to power by illegal

means - assassinations, overthrow of lawful governments, rigged

elections, mass deportations, wars of aggression, genocide, and worse.

Hereditary succession has brought few righteous monarchs to power,

but thousands of evil ones. Even so, God said this to a man such as

Pharaoh of Egypt: "But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that

I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all

the earth" (Exodus 9:16).

When Jesus told His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to be put

to death, His disciples tried to oppose Him, as we read in Matthew

16:21-23 -

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to

Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and

scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him

aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this

shall not happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind

Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the

things of God, but the things of men."

God's perfect plan did not appear to be perfect to human eyes. But His

ways are not our ways. As He was about to be led away to be crucified,

the Lord of the universe declared to the governor Pontius Pilate, "You

could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from

above" (John 19:11).

Certainly, America and the rest of the nations that once had at least a

degree of respect for the Bible have departed from God's Word, and

have exalted evil men, philosophies and practices to places of honor and

prominence. For that reason, America and the rest of the nations stand

under God's judgment. It should not surprise us that God would raise up

evil leaders as a means of judgment. But let us not think for one moment

that we understand all of God's reasons for choosing such a man to lead

this nation. God's Word makes it clear that this development in our

nation's history is but one of the innumerable details of His eternal plan.

In the future consummation of all things, the universe will see and

understand that even this has redounded to His eternal glory.

What Is Our Duty as Christians?

What, then, is our duty as Christians according to God's Word?

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no

authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed

by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of

God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers

are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of

the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for

he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger

to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be

subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For

because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers

attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due:

taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom

fear, honor to whom honor. (Romans 13:1-7)

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's

sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who

are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of

those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you

may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men - as free, yet not using

liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people.

Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

Your response may be, "Yes - but look at the kinds of rulers we have

today!" Well, consider the kinds of rulers of which Paul and Peter were

speaking when they wrote these words under divine inspiration.

History records that the Roman emperor Tiberius, who reigned during

most of the life of Christ on earth (14 to 37 A. D.) was notoriously

paranoid, cruel, and vengeful. Historical accounts include lurid tales of

his sexual perversity, both private and public. Tiberius arrested and

summarily executed many of his political opponents without the judicial

trial stipulated by Roman law. In many of his dominions he appointed the

most corrupt governors imaginable. It was under Tiberius that the public

persona of the emperor shifted from that of a priest of the pagan gods to

that of a god himself. But it was of this emperor that Jesus said, "Render

to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Mark 12:17).

Caligula, who ruled from 37 A.D. to 41 A.D., was notoriously cruel. He

engaged in and publicly promoted adultery and all sorts of sexual

perversion, including homosexuality and incest. Caligula was one of the

major figures in the establishment of the worship of the emperor as a

god. Although it did not come to pass, Caligula made plans to have a

statue of himself erected at the temple in Jerusalem so that he could be

worshipped there.

Caligula's successor Claudius (41-54 A.D.) was likewise a cruel man,

promoted the cult of emperor deification, and opposed the attempts of

Christians to win others to their faith as illegal "proselytizing."

The emperor Nero (54-68 A.D.) instituted a program of extensive

persecution of Christians who refused to say that "Caesar is Lord,"

including torture and execution by the most horrible means. According to

later Christian writers such as Eusebius (late third century) the apostles

Paul and Peter were both executed during Nero's bloody reign.

Dear friends, these were the realities of New Testament times. The

pattern is much the same throughout the lines of subsequent history,

which pass through such events as the killing of thousands of Christians

during the rise of Islam, hundreds of thousands who suffered and died

under Roman Catholic inquisitions, and countless Bible-believers of the

20th century who suffered and died under Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin,

Pol Pot, and others.

Unlike their counterparts in other lands, American Christians "have not

yet resisted unto bloodshed, striving against sin" (Hebrews 12:4). Unless

the Lord is merciful, as our nation's present decline continues that day

may soon come. But our constant duty as Christians under all kinds of

rulers is to pray for our rulers, and give them the honor they are due.

Even though the American constitutional republic is now only the

disintegrating shell of that which the founders established, it is also the

duty of American Christians to pray, work, and vote, whenever possible

and as long as it is possible, for the election of those who honor God,

and to pray that God in mercy would deliver us from the evil plans of evil

rulers.

We are also to obey God rather than men when man's law clearly

conflicts with God's Word (Acts 4:19, 5:29). It is, above all, our duty to

obey the Word of God in every area of life and ministry. That is going to

become increasingly difficult in the years ahead, but those who truly

belong to Christ must never fail to do it. We must always keep in mind

our true calling and destiny. As Paul told first-century believers who lived

in the midst of the pagan cruelty of the Roman Empire:

Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as

you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often,

and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of

Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose

glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things. For our

citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,

the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be

conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is

able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:17-21)

 

References:

1. Tom Quigley, "God Did Not Elect Obama," letter to the editor of

WorldNetDaily, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/, as viewed on 12/12/2008.

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