According to Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, God predetermines the events of life (Eccl. 3:1-9), God predetermines the conditions surrounding the events of life (Eccl. 3:10-15, and God judges humanity based on their responses to the events and conditions of life (Eccl. 3:16-22), which should be to please God.

God judges humanity’s responses to the events and conditions of life to accomplish His plans, promises, and purposes by the use of blessings and curses, and through good people and evil people, and the responses of humanity should always be designed to please God. 

The Book of Job, attributed to Moses, is an example of how God the Father operates in the physical universe to accomplish His plans, promises, and purposes for humanity. God predetermined the events in the life of Job, God predetermined the conditions surrounding the events in the life of Job, and God judged Job and all his friends based on their responses to the events in the life of Job, which should have been designed to please God.

God predetermines the events and conditions of life through His covenants and prophecies, which allow us to observe His predetermined plans, promises, and purposes being accomplished in a precise manner throughout biblical and secular history, based on humanity’s responses to His predetermined events and conditions of life. 

1. Appendix 17A below contains the summary histories of seventeen secular world powers and major empires, along with their relationship to biblical prophecy and God’s predetermined events, as outlined in Volumes 2 and 3 of the book entitled “From Church House to Main Street: A Scientific Analysis of the Holy Bible.” This analysis reveals how the Almighty and Sovereign God has been predetermining the history of humanity.

 Chapter 22A of Volume 3 contains the histories of the Seventeen Secular World Powers and Major Empires that have existed from the beginning of recorded history to the present time.  Chapter 22B of Volume 2 reveals how God the Father has predetermined the histories of the first six world powers—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia (also known as Iran), Greece, and Rome—through the prophecies of Old Testament prophets.

Chapter 22A contains the complete histories of the other eleven Major Empires since the Roman Empire, which are the Islamic Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the United States, the French Empire, the German Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, the Russian Empire, Japan, and China.  Chapter 22B reveals how God has predetermined the histories of these eleven Major Empires since the Roman Empire, as foretold in the prophecies of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 22B presents the conclusions and inferences derived from the analysis of the histories of the Seventeen Secular World Powers and Major Empires, as outlined in Chapter 22A of Volume 3.  It will demonstrate how God has predetermined the history of the first six Secular World Powers in the Old Testament through the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets, and how God has predetermined the histories of the other eleven Major Empires since the Roman Empire through the prophecies of Jesus Christ. 

This analysis also reveals, from a secular point of view, that throughout history, when humanity has challenged the sovereignty of God the Father and disobeyed the moral foundations and spiritual controls established by Him, the consequences have been enormous human suffering; yet, God has still fulfilled His plans, promises, and purposes. 

This is confirmation of the quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Human history demonstrates that God the Father has consistently provided a means, through blessings, curses, good people, and evil people, to ensure that His plans, promises, and purposes are fulfilled.

2. Appendix 17C below, from Volume 2, presents a chronology of biblical and secular history from the beginning of biblical history in 3994 BCE to AD 2023, illustrating how biblical prophetic history has intersected with secular history from the beginning of recorded history to the present time.

This analysis is remarkable because most of secular history has been derived from archeological discoveries since the 18^th century AD, and secular history has been continually repeating itself due to imperial national conquests.  This analysis reveals three truths about God’s Word:

a. God the Father has been predetermining the events of life and the conditions surrounding the events of life, and He has been                judging humanity based on their responses to the events of life and conditions surrounding the events of life in the history of                  humanity. God predetermined the events of life and the conditions surrounding them in the Old Testament of the Bible through His                  covenants with humanity and through the Old Testament prophets. God predetermined the events of life and the conditions surrounding            them in the New Testament through Old Testament prophecies concerning the life and ministry of the Messiah, which were fulfilled in              Jesus Christ. God has been predetermining the events of life and the conditions surrounding them since the death and resurrection of Jesus      Christ, as foretold through the prophecies made by Jesus during His earthly ministry.

b. God the Father is no respecter of persons. God has allowed each of the major races and cultures in the world to become a world power        or a major empire at some point in history, which proves that no one race of people is inherently superior to any other.  We are all created        in the image of God. There is a correlation between the epidemics and plagues and the major events that occurred in the histories of these        17 Secular World Powers and Major Empires, as well as the overall history of the world.

c. From the beginning, God the Father has given humanity the free will and freedom to do good or evil, and to serve Him or not serve      Him, but He has not given humanity the freedom to impinge on the freedoms and civil rights of other people through violence,              coercion, abuse, or exploitation. God the Father has used His Word, the Bible, to provide moral foundations and spiritual controls for            humanity to use in addressing Sins Against God and Sins Against Humanity. The moral foundations are the Ten Mosaic                                  Commandments, which are in turn reflected in the Universal Principles. The spiritual controls are reflected in the redemptive process of          conviction, confession, repentance, and forgiveness. God has provided a process for humanity to be forgiven of their Sins Against God            through the sacrifice of His Son. But God has given humanity the responsibility to resolve Sins Against Humanity, which is conduct that        impinges on the freedoms and civil rights of other people through violence, coercion, abuse, or exploitation. God has provided a                        redemptive process for humanity to transform their character from a worldly attitude of hate, self-righteousness, judgment, condemnation,        and persecution (war) to a “born again” spiritual attitude of love, humility, forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption (peace). Humanity        must utilize the moral foundations (laws) established by God to guide the free will of people, such that Sins Against God do not escalate        into Sins Against Humanity.  

3. The future potential of God’s predetermined events.  God’s predetermined events and conditions, which have shaped the course of history            since the time of the Roman Empire, led to the founding of the United Nations at the end of World War II.  The vast majority of countries that            were a part of the European colonial empires have become independent nations with their own sovereign governments.

There are at least 193 independent nations in the world today, and the public worship of idol gods has been virtually eliminated in all of them.  The next frontier is for God to free the people who live within these 193 independent nations to choose how they will live their lives. But they must be willing to submit to the moral foundations and internal spiritual controls that help to prevent Sins Against God from escalating into Sins Against Humanity.

On May 14, 1948, a remnant of the Nation of Israel became a fully independent and sovereign nation for the first time since Babylon defeated it in about 597 BCE, which appears to be the fulfillment of the grace aspect of the Palestinian Covenant of 1441 BCE, as promised by God.

The Nation of Israel obtained its sovereignty at about the same time as the other nations of the world obtained their sovereignty.  The real test for the Nation of Israel in the future will be how it utilizes its sovereignty, as the chosen people of God, in its relationships with other nations and peoples.  It can become a catalyst for peace or another world war.

4. The American and French Revolutions.  The Age of Enlightenment has been frequently associated with the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789 because both were influenced by Thomas Jefferson in real time.

One viewpoint of the political changes that occur during the Enlightenment is that the “consent of the governed” philosophy, as defined by Locke, represents a paradigm shift from the old governance paradigm under feudalism known as the “divine right of kings.”

From this enlightened viewpoint, the revolutions of the late 1700s and early 1800s are caused by the fact that this paradigm shift to governance often cannot be resolved peacefully, and therefore, violent revolution is the result.  Obviously, a philosophy of governance in which the king is never wrong is in direct conflict with one in which citizens, by natural law, must consent to the acts and rulings of their government. 

The United States of America is a product of the Age of Enlightenment, and Appendix 17D traces America’s attempt to live up to the enlightened ideals the founders established in its Constitution.  Although America has never lived up to the ideals of its Constitution, it has never abandoned its attempt to create a more perfect union, and we must not stop now.

Appendix 17A – Summary Histories of 17 Secular World Powers and Major Empires

Appendix 17C – Chronology of Biblical and Secular Prophetic History 3994 BCE to AD 2023

Appendix 17D – The History of the United States of America