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an article by Ken Simmons

The Bible clearly teaches that all earthly authority has been established by God. That statement surely rattles a few cages and shakes the theology of many. 

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)  Let’s look at some examples that make us question that scripture on its face value. 

The Pharoahs during the time of Moses are: (1) the Pharoah of the Oppression, and after his death, (2) the Pharoah of the Exodus (historians have been unable to agree as to their names), but both of these Pharoahs oppressed and harassed the Hebrews mercilessly. “You mean to tell me that God was responsible for this”?

Pontius Pilate killed the son of God. “Why would a righteous God put such a man in power if He knew this evil man was going to kill ‘His only begotten son.’”?

Adolf Hitler started a war that killed fifty million people, including the death camps that put six million Jews to death in what is known as the holocaust. “You mean to tell me that an ‘all-knowing God’ couldn’t see what this monster would do before he placed him in power?” 

“Let’s see if I got this straight -- you want me to believe that God Himself put these evil Pharoahs in their places of authority? That He did the same with Pontius Pilate resulting in the death of  Jesus, the son of God? And that God Almighty placed Adolf Hitler in authority so that he could commit unspeakable atrocities? What kind of crackpot theology is that?” 

This is a difficult pill to swallow, especially at a time when respect for those in authority is at an all-time low, but follow me for a moment and see if we can make some sense of this seeming dilemma. 

In another of my articles I stated that since we don't usually eat everything we bought that day from the grocery store, we typically put most of it in the pantry to eat later when we're ready for it. You may not be ready for some of the "food" I'm about to give you, maybe it's a bit "too much to swallow" right now and that's okay, just put it in the pantry and when you're hungry enough you'll say, "I remember what he said, I think I'm ready for it now."

If you consider that in God there is no “time” (He created space and time for us), it’s quite possible that God sees things a bit differently – maybe He sees the “Big Picture” when most of us are unable to see as far as tomorrow. The Bible tells us that what men “meant for evil, God used for the good” (see Genesis 50:20). Let’s see if we can put this into perspective.

Nowhere does the Bible suggest that we must “approve” of the actions of all those in authority, especially since many of them are evil rulers who oppress their people, but we are to respect and honor their authority nonetheless. Because if God puts people in authority, as the Bible clearly indicates He does, then to disrespect those who hold that authority is to disrespect God. We need to understand that God never “caused” any of these men to do evil, as they all had free will to do good, or to do evil, but when they chose to do commit wicked acts He still turned events around to work out for good. Let’s see these same events, but now in a different light.

God took the actions of the Pharoahs, which were meant for evil, and He turned them around for eventual good by sending Moses, who led the people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. If it weren’t for the Pharoahs the Hebrews might never have entered into the “land flowing with milk and honey,” a land where a young virgin would give birth to the Christ and He would make salvation available to all mankind.  The Pharoahs had an appointment with destiny.

If it weren’t for Pontius Pilate, who knew Jesus was innocent but did what was expedient for him in spite of what his conscience knew to be right, he would not have fulfilled prophesy by nailing Jesus to a cross, who then died, was resurrected, and ended up conquering death, hell, and the grave (See Psalms 22:1-18 which spells out the crucifixion in detail nearly one thousand years before it happened). Jesus was appointed for His time on the cross and He knew it. It had to happen. And, Pontius Pilate was supposed to fulfill his role in history.  

And, if it weren’t for Adolf Hitler, who caused the death of six million Jews during the holocaust, they might never have fled Europe and emigrated to Israel to create a new nation in 1948, a nation that is now America’s strongest ally in the Middle East. Even though Hitler’s actions were evil, God turned it into eventual good. Hitler also had a date with destiny. 

If you would like more insights into why God allows bad things to happen to good people, go to my website at www.kensimmonsministries.com and click on “Why Does God Allow This?”

*Some of this was gleaned from teachings from Seymour Driggers, Pastor of The Gathering at Corona, CA. Giving credit where credit is due.