THE BIBLE ALREADY SHOWED GOD CAN USE A PAGAN KING
Many Christians today struggle with the idea that God could use a flawed political leader. Scripture already answered that question thousands of years ago.
In Isaiah 45, God speaks about Cyrus, a pagan king of Persia, and calls him His “anointed.” Cyrus did not know the Lord. He was not part of Israel. He was not a prophet, priest, or righteous reformer. Yet God declares, “I will go before you and level the exalted places… I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron” (Isaiah 45:2).
Why? Because God had a purpose.
Cyrus would conquer nations and ultimately issue the decree that allowed Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt (Ezra 1:1–4). God makes the point unmistakable: “Though you do not know Me… I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:4–5).
Cyrus was not chosen because he was perfect. He was chosen because God is sovereign.
That pattern runs all through Scripture. God does not wait for flawless leaders. He raises up unlikely ones and uses them to shift history. As Daniel 2:21 says, “He removes kings and raises up kings.”
Look at the modern moment.
As the 45th president, Donald Trump made decisions that directly reshaped the geopolitical landscape surrounding Israel. The United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The U.S. Embassy was moved there. The Abraham Accords established diplomatic agreements between Israel and several Arab nations. The administration confronted the Iranian regime and reshaped the federal judiciary with long lasting appointments.
Those were not symbolic gestures. They were structural shifts.
Now pause and ask the uncomfortable question many believers avoid.
What if God still uses unexpected rulers the same way He did in the past?
Cyrus was not the Messiah. He was an instrument.
Scripture repeatedly shows that God works through patterns and shadows before ultimate fulfillment arrives. Adam is called “a type of the one to come” in Romans 5:14. The Passover lamb foreshadowed Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7). The law itself was “a shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1).
History does not move randomly. God moves through it.
Sometimes He raises shepherds.
Sometimes He raises prophets.
And sometimes He raises strong, unconventional rulers to open doors and redirect nations.
The Bible has already shown us this pattern.
The real question is whether people are willing to recognize it when it happens again.
