The Sun Throne Falls

In the high Andes of South America, the Inca ruled as gods. The Sapa Inca was the “Son of the Sun”. His face was never to be seen in public. His feet never touched the ground. His word was law, and his person was sacred. When he died, one heir ruled, but the mummy of the dead god-king was still treated as alive, consulted for decisions, fed with offerings, carried through the streets on festival days.

In 1532, a Spanish envoy met Atahualpa, the last effective Sapa Inca. They had a priest with them who offered him a Bible that he refused (they had refused the cup of chicha he’d offered them). Then, with gunfire the Inca had never seen, the Spaniards massacred thousands of attendants and scattered his army.

Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries went to work establishing churches, schools, and missions across the former empire. The majority of the indigenous population was baptized within a few generations. But in many areas, Christianity was blended with traditional Inca beliefs. For example, the Virgin Mary was often associated with Pachamama (Mother Earth), and saints were venerated alongside mountain spirits (apus).

Taking the Promised Land

When Joshua led Israel into Canaan, the kings were divinely appointed spiritual rulers who lived in sacred cities. Some bore names like Adoni-Zedek, “Lord of Righteousness,” opposing Yahweh’s rule. Israel defeated all 31 of these kings. But then:

Another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. – Judges 2:10-12

Conquest without Discipleship

The Americas no longer have god-kings, but Christianity has been mixed with traditional beliefs. In much of Central and South America, Catholicism has merged with older rituals—animism, superstition, and cosmic symbolism—leaving a hybrid faith where saints replace spirits, and the old gods still linger beneath new names. In North America, Jesus is Lord right there alongside health and wealth.

The thrones were toppled, but the people were never taught to follow the true King. The result is a shell of Christianity, hollowed out by superstition, prosperity, and power. The god-kings fell throughout the Americas, but the nations were not discipled.

1. Conquest and Mission (16th–17th centuries)

• Peru — The Sapa Inca, “Son of the Sun,” ruled as a divine being until the Spanish conquest and Christian missions.
• Mexico — Aztec, Mixtec, and Zapotec kings held divine titles and ruled through blood sacrifice until Spanish conquest and missionary expansion.
• Guatemala, Belize, Honduras — Maya kings (k’uhul ajaw) were divine intermediaries until Spanish campaigns and Catholic missions.
• Ecuador, Bolivia — Inca and pre-Inca rulers held divine status until Spanish conquest and Jesuit missions.
• Paraguay — Guaraní chiefs were seen as divine intercessors until Jesuit Reductions reframed leadership under Christ.
• Brazil — Tupi and Guaraní chiefs held religious-political power until Portuguese colonization and Jesuit influence.
• Colombia — Muisca and Tairona chiefs served as sacred intermediaries until Spanish conquest and Catholic missions.
• El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica — Indigenous leaders combined sacred and political roles until Spanish conquest and Christianization.
• Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Bahamas — Taino chiefs held spiritual and ancestral authority until forced Christian conversion.

2. No Divine Kingship

• Argentina, Chile, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Uruguay — Indigenous leaders held sacred authority but were not deified; colonization, Christian missions, or republican reform redefined their roles or erased them entirely.
• Canada, United States — Indigenous elders led clan-based spiritual communities, but had no divine monarchy; missions and colonization reshaped leadership.
• Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Arawak and Carib chiefs were spiritual guides, not god-kings.
• Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela — Tribal leadership was communal and sacred, never centralized in divine kingship.