In North Korea today, two colossal bronze figures rise above the capital. Citizens are required to bow, lay flowers, and step back in silence.

It’s like Nebuchadnezzar, who built an enormous statue of gold and demanded worship from every nation under his rule (Daniel 3).

Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were more than political leaders. They were deified. Even after their deaths, Kim Il-sung remains the “Eternal President” and Kim Jong-il the “Eternal Chairman”.

“To my childish eyes and to those of all my friends, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were perfect beings, untarnished by any base human function. I was convinced, as we all were, that neither of them urinated or defecated. Who could imagine such things of gods?” – Kang Chol-hwan 

Their portraits hang in every home. Their birthdays are celebrated as national holidays. Their stories are told with signs and wonders—new stars at birth, double rainbows at death, and miraculous childhood feats.

They restarted the calendar at Year 1, dating time from Kim Il-sung’s birth in 1912, the same year a bright star supposedly appeared in the sky. In official history, he single-handedly saved Korea from Japanese occupation, founded the nation, and created a paradise of self-reliance.

Like Nebuchadnezzar: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30)

But God replied: “You shall be driven from among men… until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Daniel 4:32)

The king goes mad, his throne collapses, and finally, he admits: “His dominion is everlasting… all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing.” (Daniel 4:34–35).

The divinity that surrounded Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il is now unraveling under Kim Jong-un. His official biography had to be withdrawn for “distorted propaganda.” His childhood image was toned down.

As Jang Jin-sung put it in The Guardian: “It’s not that people really believe all this propaganda about Kim Jong-un, that he’s a god, and need someone to tell them otherwise or show them another way of thinking. North Koreans are people, and they aren’t stupid. In the North Korean system, you have to praise Kim….”

The throne still stands. But the people no longer worship. Perhaps this was the last remaining god-king in Asia. The rest had already been dethroned.

1. Early Christian Movements (4th–7th centuries)

• Armenia — Kings claimed divine favor and priestly authority until the nation became the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion in ~301 AD.
• Georgia — Sacred monarchy was redefined when Christianity spread in the 4th century.

2. Islamic Expansion (7th–13th centuries)

• Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh — Pre-Islamic kings (e.g., Greco-Bactrian, Hindu-Buddhist rulers) held divine titles until Islamic conquest.
• Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan — Tribal kings and khans ruled by sacred mandate (e.g., Tengriism), but Islam replaced them.
• Maldives — Buddhist sacred monarchy ended with conversion to Islam.
• Malaysia, Indonesia — Hindu-Buddhist divine kingship (e.g., Srivijaya, Majapahit) was replaced by Islamic sultanates.

3. Catholic Missions and Colonization (16th–20th centuries)

• Philippines — Precolonial rajahs were treated as semi-divine until Spanish conquest and Catholic missions.
• Timor-Leste — Tribal god-kings were replaced by Portuguese Catholic rule and widespread conversion.
• Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia — Hindu-Buddhist kings (e.g., devaraja cults) lost their divine status through French Catholic influence.
• Myanmar (Burma) — Kings from the Pagan dynasty were considered divine until British colonization and Christian missions.
• India, Sri Lanka — God-kings were widespread across Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, but colonialism and both Catholic and Protestant mission work replaced their divine role.

4. Protestant Missions, Translation, and Reform (19th–20th centuries)

• China — For millennia, emperors ruled as “Sons of Heaven” under the Mandate of Heaven, but Christian influence and republican revolution ended the throne in 1912.
• Nepal — Hindu kings were seen as divine protectors of the faith until the monarchy was abolished in 2008, with prior Christian influence already challenging the premise.
• Bhutan — Kings ruled with Tantric spiritual authority until constitutional reforms in 2008.
• Japan — The emperor was worshiped as a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu until the U.S.-led postwar occupation (deeply influenced by Christian values) compelled Hirohito to renounce divinity in 1946.
• South Korea — Silla kings once claimed divine descent, but later Christian revivals cemented the rejection of god-king ideology.
• Mongolia — The khans ruled under a heavenly mandate (Tengri), but Christian missions and communist suppression ended any divine legitimacy.
• Singapore — No native god-kings, but its history under Srivijaya sacred rulership was erased through colonial and Christian redefinition.