He showed us through the Scriptures of a time when the people of God had no king. After the great leadership of Joshua, Judges 2:10 tells us there arose a generation who didn't remember him. Because of this, it seems "everyone did as he saw fit" or as other versions are worded, "everyone did what was right in their own eyes". You will find this phrase repeated often throughout the book of Judges.
Eventually it came to a point where the Israelites decided they wanted a king like the other nations around them, and thus it was God gave them Saul, who was what Dan referred to as "man's king". Eventually in 2 Samuel came David, who was God's choice as king and a man after God's own heart.
These stories from the Bible were not new to me. In fact, over the course of my lifetime, they have been read many times. And so it was quite "enlightening" to have Dan point out something very interesting relating to the bigger picture of this portion of the Bible.
In Dan's opinion, we are now in a period much like the one referred to in Judges. It seems there is no one looking to anyone in particular to be the absolute authority, leaving everyone to do what is right in their own eyes. We are in essence doing a repeat of what happened to God's people in Judges.
Jumping over the book of Ruth, Dan compared the time when the Israelite's were ruled by Saul, man's king, to a time in the future when a person known as the Antichrist will arise and unite the world under one government. It will seem as if this world ruler will be the answer to the problems, but unfortunately, during this time in the future, people will relinquish their freedom for a false sense of security.
Following this time of "man's king" will come the return of Jesus Christ, which will be the establishment of God's King. At this point, the Bible says, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Dan questioned why we would want to wait until a time we will be forced to kneel when we can freely do so now? By doing so, the Bible says we will avoid a very troublesome time under the rule of the Antichrist.
This is where the Book of Ruth comes in. Ruth is a love story between a young widow and her "kinsman redeemer", Boaz. In Old Testament law, a kinsman redeemer could marry a relative's widow to redeem the inheritance. Dan used the story of Ruth as a picture of the love between God's people and Jesus Christ who redeemed us by His death on the cross.
Will the Old Testament pattern of no king (Judges), a wedding (Ruth), man's king (1 Samuel) and God's king (2 Samuel) play out in the end time scenario? Looking around our world, it certainly is a point in time where everyone is doing just as they please as they did in Judges. The wedding will take place when Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, comes to claim His bride, the church. A time of man's king ruling will take place during the troublesome time referred to as "the tribulation" under the rule of the Antichrist. Finally, God will put Jesus in place as the King of Kings after His second coming.
It is exciting to me to realize we may be alive during the time all this happens! Many come with the argument, "Yes, but people have been saying the end is near for a long time". I say, "How much closer are we now?" and "Someday there will be a generation who will live through the ending of the story". Could it be we will be the ones? I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm thankful for powerful men of God, like Dan Johnson, who help us see God's timeless story in a new light!
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