Good civic citizenship begins with a clear understanding of the past. The Book of Ecclesiastes says, "What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before because God makes the same things happen over and over again." So, whoever is in the White House isn't because of economics, immigration, or party preference … it is because God ordained it:
Romans 13:1 Those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
God sees the beginning from the end, and human history has been full of disastrous dictators and leaders. Does God ordain disastrous leaders? He must because all authority is put into place by God. It may not be clear now, but history always has a clue because God repeats it. God is always in control.
Solomon was wise enough to know there is nothing new under the sun, and with God, nothing ever changes. Even with mankind, sin is always shifting its emphasis, and each generation gets a new dose of its influence. Yet, nothing is new with sin either. The temptations of sin are usually around morals, money, and power. Often, these three operate in a trifecta of temptation. Nothing is new under the sun Solomon says, so what has happened before, will happen again, both now and in the future. I suppose this is where we get the saying, history repeats itself. Wars and rumors of wars will always repeat themselves. Humans are consistently fighting. They want status, resources, and power over others. Wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East continue to fuel the evil that demands control over others. We have seen the same pattern in all the wars that have been fought previously in history. Nothing changes.
War will always be among us until God takes over, and even then, a war is fought to regain control of a world ruled by the Anti-Christ. That war, known as Armageddon, will usher in a one-thousand-year reign of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Even at the end of that Millennial Reign, Satan will have one last chance to corrupt the world. Yet, in all the turmoil of war and hatred, we end up with God finally in control.
Isaiah 2:4 The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.
The only way this world changes is when God is in control. Since the day Adam and Eve introduced sin into this world, we have been under sin’s control. When Jesus came the first time, He set us free from the tyranny of sin and made a way for us to escape. In the End Times, Jesus will come a second time, to create a world without sin, war, hatred, and greed. In this New Heaven and New Earth, the past will be wiped away and all things will become new. There will be no reason for the past to be remembered. All the centuries of hatred, murder, genocide, and war will no longer be remembered.
The future of this world will be a world without end and governed by a loving God in control. Solomon is right. Nothing ever changes … we just repeat, repeat, and repeat, until the day Jesus returns. Nothing will ever change until God makes an entrance again to make all things new. God is in control.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler