Derek Prince - Democracy Isn't God's Form Of Government
This excerpt is from: How to Approach Biblical Prophecy
So those are the seven principles that I want to put before you as we begin to approach biblical prophecy. Number one, there are secret and revealed things. Don’t waste time trying to find out the secret things but be sure to obey the revealed things. Number three, some prophecies are given for a specific time and will not be understood until the time comes. Four, prophecy is given very often to keep us from wrong action and wrong prayer. You see, if God has said something will happen, it will happen. If God has said something will not happen, it will not happen. You can spend hours praying the opposite way but all you’re doing is wasting time and energy. So if you want to pray sensible effective prayers, you need to know the parameters of the will of God revealed in prophecy.
Principle number five the spirit of prophecy is the revelation of Jesus. All true prophecy given by the Holy Spirit ultimately has one theme, it’s Jesus. Number six, give words their plain meaning. And number seven, acknowledge and bow before God’s total sovereignty. I do not read the Bible in order to correct God’s ethics. A lot of people do. A lot of people have got the idea that God is doing something unjust in the Middle East at the moment. He’s not. God is always right. Do you think you can say that with conviction? "God is always right." Amen.
Now then, I want to come to one specific prophecy of the New Testament and make it a test case of these principles. It’s a very relevant and important one in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. 2 Timothy 3:1–5. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money boasters, proud, blasphemers disobedient to parents, unthankful unholy, unloving, unforgiving slanderers, without self control brutal, despisers of good traitors, headstrong, haughty lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away. That statement of Paul’s begins with something unusual in the Scripture. He says "know this." Usually the Bible simply says this is the way it’ll be. But Paul is so concerned that we’ll not have a wrong idea about the last days that he says "know this." Be in no doubt about this here is an absolutely established fact which you cannot change by prayer by pleading or by any kind of activity. It’s going to happen. So, bow before this fact.
Now, a lot of contemporary Christians have not really yet absorbed this truth. He says in the last days which is the period immediately preceding the return of the Lord and probably half the books of the Bible have some reference to the last days perilous times will come. Now that word that’s translated perilous -only occurs in one other place in the New Testament. It’s in Matthew 8:28 and it describes two demonized men who came to confront Jesus when He crossed the Sea of Galilee to the region called Gadara. And it says they were exceedingly fierce. I want to suggest to you that that’s a better translation here. In the last days fierce times will come. I believe myself we’re living in fierce times. But I think they’re going to get fiercer.
Now, to wish otherwise to pray otherwise to act as if it were not true is a waste of time. It’s an established fact. In the last days things are going to get fiercer and fiercer and fiercer. That doesn’t frighten me I’ve adjusted to it. I accept it as the expression of God’s wisdom, God’s righteousness. But, a lot of people still act as if it weren’t going to happen and some of those people are here this evening. You have not yet grasped the fact that we are confronting fierce times. They’re not going to get less fierce they’re going to get more fierce. You might say "You’re just a pessimist." No, I’m not, I’m an optimist. I’m an optimist because I believe God has a solution. Do you know what the solution is? The coming of Jesus. I don’t believe there’s any other valid solution. No other solution than the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.
With all respect to the politicians I don’t believe they have the solution. If they have, I’d like to know where it is. I pray for politicians, if they’re political leaders I respect them. But, I do not expect them to come up with a remedy for the problems of humanity, which are enormous and increasing poverty, sickness, hatred, war. All these terrible things that are blighting the lives of millions and millions of people politicians do not have a solution. Ultimately, I believe the Bible reveals there will be one politician who will claim to have the solutions and he will be the antichrist. But his solution will be worse than all the problems that have ever gone before. I am not a pessimist. I am not standing here looking unhappy because I believe that Jesus is coming. But He cannot come until this condition is fulfilled in the world because that’s what the Bible says.
So, if we want Jesus to come... do you want Jesus to come? Well, you have to be prepared for fierce times because that’s what it’s going to take. I believe myself God is going to allow human wickedness to come to its full expression. We will see, if we’re still alive the real, innate evil in the heart of sinners manifested with an ugliness and a fearfulness that we can hardly imagine. I believe God is going to let man, who claims to be able to choose his own leaders, make their own choice. See, I have to tell you frankly I prefer to live in a democracy than a tyranny but democracy is not God’s pattern for government. Democracy is a Greek word just like humanism, it comes from Greece. It’s corrupted our thinking, some of us. I was a student of Greek philosophy before I became a preacher. I didn’t intend to do this but let me give you Plato’s little picture of five forms of government. I think, really you can’t improve on this. Starting with the best and ending with the worst the best is the rule of one good man. The next best is the rule of a few good men. The rule of one good man he called monarchy the rule of a few good men he called aristocracy.
Thank you After that is democracy, the rule of the people by themselves. Who was it, it was Lincoln who said government by the people, of the people and for the people will never perish from the earth. I’m afraid he was wrong. It will. Going still further, number four is the rule of a few bad men which he called oligarchy. And finally, the rule of one evil man which he called tyranny. Now, I cannot really see that that needs any correction. What he said about democracy is it’s the weakest form of government. But, in my opinion, it’s preferable to oligarchy or tyranny. But it’s not God’s form of government. God’s form of government is monarchy the rule of one good man. And what is His name? Jesus And the rule of a few good men with Him who are His saints.
So I tolerate a democracy and I’d rather live in a democracy than a tyranny but I don’t believe it’s the ultimate solution. I don’t believe it has the power to solve the problems of the human race. I don’t believe that men and women, basically are capable of choosing the right leader. If they have, why haven’t they done it? I’m not criticizing the government I’m just dealing with human weaknesses.