He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”(1 Samuel 8:11, 13, 19-20,NIV)
Throughout history, sinners enslaved by Satan have rejected the King of kings, God, and sought to enthrone themselves. Out of selfish desires and greed, they have plundered and killed, not only as individuals but also across tribes, nations, and states. In every nation’s history, Satan has stirred sinners to raise up absolute rulers and dictators who wield unchecked power. Even in modern democratic systems, where class hierarchies have been abolished and progress has been made toward equality, freedom, and human rights, dictators consumed by the greed for power continue to emerge.
A dictator is defined as one who possesses concentrated authority and can make national decisions single handedly. Even leaders who are legally elected through democratic processes may become dictators if power is centralized in one individual. The problem with dictatorship as a political system lies in the lack of checks and balances against the dictator’s abuse of power, which consistently leads to tyranny. In many cases, freedom of the press is suppressed, media outlets are censored, and citizens lose their right to express opinions freely.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research arm of the British magazine The Economist, 59 nations were classified as authoritarian regimes in its 2021 Democracy Index, published in 2022. These included seven countries in Asia: North Korea, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. North Korea, since the Democracy Index was first introduced in 2006, has never scored above the 1 point range, even dropping to 0 in 2008, and has ranked last globally for 16 consecutive years.
In 2021, the international press watchdog Reporters Without Borders published a list of 37 world leaders labeled as press freedom predators for their large scale crackdowns on media freedom. Among them were Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar, and Bashar al Assad of Syria.
Some of the world’s longest ruling dictators include Paul Biya of Cameroon, in power since 1975, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, in power since 1979, Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, who ruled from 1979 to 1992 and again since 1997, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, in power since 1986, Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, in power since 1993, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, in power since 2000.
Elsewhere, dictators include Ali Hosseini Khamenei of Iran, in power since 1981, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, since 1994, Hun Sen of Cambodia, since 1998, Vladimir Putin of Russia, since 1999, Bashar al Assad of Syria, since 2000, succeeding his father Hafez al Assad who ruled from 1971 to 2000, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, since 2003, Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, since 2004, following his father Lee Kuan Yew who ruled from 1963 to 2004, Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, since 2005, Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar, since 2011, Xi Jinping of China, since 2013, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye, since 2014.
Additionally, monarchies such as Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations, along with socialist one party states like North Korea, China, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba, as well as Brunei, continue to operate under authoritarian and dictatorial rule.
》Prayer Point
1. The twenty-first century has seen the growth and establishment of democracy in many nations. The world seeks balance of power and cooperation to achieve peace and stability. Yet the persistence of dictators, as in the eras of absolute monarchy or the Cold War, shows that the greed of sinful humanity cannot be restrained by any ideology or system. Let us pray that the Lord would hear the cries of nations suffering under dictators and deliver them from oppression.
》Scripture Prayer
Psalm 145:1, 11-21 (NIV)
1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20(NIV)
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.
19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. God is King, and His rule extends not only over all creation but from eternity to eternity without end. Yet because of sin, mankind was cut off from Him, and throughout history people raised up kings like Nimrod, whose rule beginning in Babel was a direct rebellion against God. This sinful nature continues to appear in today’s rulers. Let us proclaim the word, “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations,” and pray that God Himself would reign over the nations.
2. Israel longed for a Messiah who would save them with the strength of a mighty king like David. Yet whether shepherd or king, David did not rely on himself but received the Lord as the true King, exalting and blessing Him without ceasing. Let us pray that kings and political leaders across the world may come to know the works of the Lord and the majesty of His kingdom, and that they may fear Him. Through this, may the cries of nations oppressed by dictators be answered with salvation.
3. Even rulers who enjoy popular support, if they act as dictators and oppose God’s Word, remain sinners driven by greed who will face judgment. Before God, the most important duty of a king is to read His Word all the days of his life and to obey His commands. In this way he will not act with arrogance but will govern with wisdom, and his days will be prolonged. Let us pray that the leaders of Christian nations would read and obey Scripture, ruling their people according to the law of God’s kingdom, so that through them the gospel may also be proclaimed to other nations and rulers.
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