Approved for distribution by the Publishing Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB 13-314-2075 48 pp. Priest Daniel Sysoev. How Does God Rule the World? Daniel Sysoev Inc, New Jersey, 2018. ISBN: 978-5-4279-0075-4
This question is the subject of a tremendous number of myths and fancies, and frequently of outright heretical perceptions. If we turn to Holy Scripture we will see that God is the Ruler of all things. When He shows His merciful face, all nature flourishes, whereas when He turns away in wrath all things collapse and crumble. All the kingdoms of the world belong to the Lord God, and to each of them are assigned particular times and seasons. All this, as well as the crimes of the nations and the visitations of God, divine providence, the principle of justice, and the angels’ role in ruling the world, you will learn in this booklet.
Booklet 3 of 12 from a series of talks given by Priest Daniel Sysoev entitled “How to Inherit Eternal Life.”
Protected by USA Federal copyright law. Reproduction of this book in whole or in part is prohibited. Any attempt to violate the law will be prosecuted. © Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2018 © Yulia Sysoeva, 2018
CONTENT
HOW DOES GOD RULE THE WOR LD? Heretical Perceptions of the How the World is Ruled ������������������������������������������������ 4 How the World is Ruled According to Holy Scripture ���������������������������������������������������� 6 How God Rules Countries and Nations ���������� 15 National Crimes are Punished by National Disasters ���������������������������������������������������������������� 17 The Question of Justice in the World ��������������20 All Nations Must Seek God ������������������������������23 God’s Providence for the World for the Sake of His Chosen People �������������������� 27 Guardian Angels of Nations ������������������������������29 The People of the Covenant and Other Peoples in World History ����������������33 Why do Pagan Nations Exist Today? ��������������40 The Involvement of Rebellious Angels in the World of Men ��������������������������������������������42
HOW DOES GOD RULE THE WOR LD?
Heretical Perceptions of the How the World is Ruled
How
does God rule the world? This question is the subject of a tremendous number of myths and fables, and frequently of outright heretical perceptions. In the worldview of a great many people, including some Orthodox Christians, the concept of divine providence is wholly nonexistent. This naturally leads them to conclude that man, and not God, rules the world. This gives rise to conspiracy theories (centering on the Masons, the Americans, the Jews, or others), the essence of which is that the world is ruled by evil, not by good, and that divine providence is absent from the world. Secret societies cannot rule the world. They only disseminate their ideology through the media. There is also a widespread false perception that the world is ruled by fate, blind destiny, and not by God’s free beneficence. Another theory claims that there are two equally matched and 4
equally significant forces at work in the world: divine providence, which aids a person in good deeds, and the evil power of the devil. As these two wage war with one another they balance each other out, creating world history in the process. All these perceptions are radically at odds with Holy Scripture. Many people do not attempt to ground their musings in rationality, and this leads to failures in faith, failures in life, and an incorrect understanding of history. People do not know divine providence, and consequently they are incapable of learning from the past. For example, how are we to view the 1917 revolution in Russia? If a person does not see divine providence he will blame everything on a Masonic conspiracy (which did in fact exist). From this he will conclude that it was all the fault of certain mysterious conspirators, and that the country’s inhabitants had nothing to do with the events that took place. Today this is a very widespread view, the underlying implication of which is that God punishes no one, but is rather like a kind old grandfather who hands out rewards to everyone. But this is not the true God of the Bible. The Lord says that it is He Who destroyed Jerusalem for the apostasy of the Jewish nation, and that He will bring about the dread punishment of the Apoca5
Priest Daniel Sysoev
HOW DOES GOD RULE THE WORLD? Translator and Editor in Chief Priest Nathan Williams Layout and design Kyrill Zubchenko Except where otherwise noted, scriptural quotes are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Quotes from the book of Psalms are taken from The Psalter According to the Seventy, published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline MA; all rights reserved. mission-shop.com danielsysoev.com mission379@gmail.com +1(609)605-70-76