THE DELUSION OF THE ‘DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS’ (1400 – 1650 AD)
1 Samuel 8:4-5 “So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’”
The Bible tells us that we should not be ignorant of the devil’s devices. The mustard seed that was sown in the little obscure village in Palestine had grown by the 16th century and like a mighty oak; its roots were deep. No external pagan force could stand against it so the Prince of Darkness resorted to send forth his minions as counterfeit angels of light robed in righteousness. This evil delusion was the “Divine Right of Kings.”
Just like God warned the Children of Israel in what would happen if they appointed a king over them, so we see that these powerful monarchs did as God said would happen. Eventually they ignored the rights of the people, confiscated their land as well as weapons and forced them into their armies of conquest.
“Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do. He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. And others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.” (Vs. 9, 11, 13-17)
During this time we see the tares being manifested. This was a time that the church was in a decline for almost 200 years. A new paganism was coming in, but not like the pagans of old because they were coming in with religious Christianity garb. Like one of the princes said: “To be successful you must use fear and expedience and not governed by principle. It is safer to be feared than to be loved.” This was the thought that governed those in power during this period.
Basically the “Divine Right of Kings” was a political and religious doctrine of royal absolutism. It asserted that a king is subject to no earthly authority and his right to rule came directly from God. To go against the king and his rule would be to go against God Himself.
During this time there had been a revival of intellectual growth, but education among the common people had not changed. People on a whole were illiterate and not able to read the Bible. We find that monarchs, leading men/women of society, church leaders could make decisions that were even contrary to Biblical teaching, but the common people would not know what the Bible said and so who were they to confront the leadership on decisions that were made.
Eventually this ignorance allowed the monarchy to claim ultimate sovereignty over their land and impose laws and restrictions upon their people in the name of God. Some of the rulers, like James the First, used the “Divine Right of Kings” in a positive way to help the people, but most used it to push their own agenda and fortunes.
Theologically we know that no human being can have or obtain ultimate authority. Only God is truly sovereign. But when there is a lack of Biblical knowledge among the people this authority is not questioned. People assumed that the leaders were telling the truth.
One of the reasons for these weeklies is to look at history and see what we can learn from it. When I take a look at Western Civilization today I see where government has taken the “Divine Right of Kings.” It is not using that title, but the authority is there.
Here in the States we have what is known as “Eminent Domain” where land can be confiscated by the government if it can be used for, what they think might be, the common good.
We now are getting what we call “hate speech laws” where if we were to preach the whole truth of the Word of God some of it is now labeled “hate speech.” We see a ‘dummy-down syndrome’ in our education – especially here in the States – not only in Biblical knowledge, but also in knowledge of our own history and the principles that our country was built upon.
Western civilization (this includes the USA) is moving toward a system where a select elite group will rule and the rest are slaves. Let us learn from the past so that we will not repeat the mistakes in the future.