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Building the Kingdom: The King, part 2

The Bible is the record of Kingdom history for the first 4,000 years, and then it prophesies the rest of the story to the end of time. The apostles wrote the finishing touches on Scripture just after the midpoint from Creation to the Great White Throne.

From the beginning, it is clear that God created Adam to be the king of creation, ruling as a steward or trustee of God’s Kingdom. This authority is stated in Genesis 1:26, along with Adam’s responsibility in Genesis 1:28 to “be fruitful.”

Of course, we know from the record that Adam failed through sin and that he was replaced by “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), Jesus Christ, whose success was guaranteed “by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Hence, all that Adam lost through sin was regained and redeemed through the obedience of the last Adam. Though there was a long delay, God’s plan for creation was to be fulfilled successfully.

Christ the King

When Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to bring forth the Messiah, he said in Luke 1:32, 33,

³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High [i.e., El Elyon]; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

This was a reference to the prophecy in Daniel 7:27,

²⁷ Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One [El Elyon]; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.

It is clear, then, that He was born to be the king. The wise men knew this when they arrived three months later bearing gifts, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). We do not know if they understood that He was to be King of the World and not merely the King of Judah or Israel. Nonetheless, they recognized Him as the legitimate King, which was an affront to King Herod.

Later, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:25-28,

²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be abolished is death, ²⁷ for He has put all things in subjection under His feet [quoting Psalm 8:6]. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He [El Elyon, Jesus’ Father] is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

We see from this that Christ was given authority not only over mankind but also over death itself, which is considered to be an “enemy.” John 1:4 says, “In Him was life,” and therefore death is incompatible with His very nature. Life and death have irreconcilable differences, and so death must be abolished in the end.

Our great King, in whom we have placed our trust, is the absolute Monarch of creation itself. He proved His worthiness by His obedience which was motivated by His love for the world (John 3:16). Most earthly kings ask men to die for them; Jesus came to die for the world (1 John 2:2), so that death itself might be abolished.

When His Kingdom is in full manifestation, there will be no more death in the entire universe. Neither the first death (mortality) nor the second (the lake of fire) will exist at that point, for all things will be reconciled to Him, whether they are things in earth, in heaven, or under the earth.

Quoting Psalm 8, the writer says of Christ in Hebrews 2:7, 8,

⁷ You have made Him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned Him with glory and honor and have appointed Him over the works of Your hands; ⁸ You have put all things in subjection under His feet.” For in subjecting all things to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to Him.

So Ephesians 1:20-23 adds,

²⁰ which he brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

The Revelation of Christ’s Reign

Christ’s death on the cross at His first appearance established the foundations of His reign and also set into motion the training school for those called to reign with Him. His life and death occurred during the time when the fourth beast (Rome) was at the height of power. Because God had contracted with these beast empires to bring judgment upon Jerusalem for her sins, it was not God’s will that Christ would take the throne yet.

The throne of Christ was to be established later at His second appearance. Then, too, “thrones” were to be set up for the overcomers (Revelation 20:4), “and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Of these, it is said that “they will be priests of God and of Christ” (Revelation 20:6).

The book of Revelation prophesies the future reign of Christ, along with the overcomers who are called to reign with Him over the existing nations. Christ is proclaimed to be “worthy” of this honor, not only because of His genealogy back to David, Judah, and Adam, but also because of His love for mankind—proven by His death on the cross (Revelation 4:11; 5:12). No one else did what Jesus did. Hence, all rivals to the throne, of necessity, must discount His work on the cross, for they cannot make the same claim of worthiness.

In the end, all the nations (and their kings) will recognize what Jesus did. They will sing the Song of the Lamb (Revelation 15:3, 4), saying,

³ … Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! ⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.

We also read in Revelation 21:2 that “the holy city, new Jerusalem” will be the capital of Christ’s Kingdom. Its spiritual “walls” and “gates” are described in Revelation 21:12-21 and explained in greater detail in Isaiah 60. This city is not the earthly Jerusalem, as many think, for Paul tells us plainly that the earthly city is pictured as Hagar (Galatians 4:25), which must be “cast out” in favor of the heavenly city (Galatians 4:30).

In the end, from Christ’s throne pours forth “the water of life” which fulfills the Fruitfulness Mandate of Genesis 1:28. Hence, Christ’s authority and responsibility are established equally, and this is the foundation of His worthiness to sit on the throne of creation.

Jesus Christ, then, is the King of Creation, the Ruler of all that His Father created at the beginning. His destiny is set forth in Scripture, and there can be no rivals in the end, for all will acknowledge Him as the undisputed King. As Hebrews 2:8 says, “For in subjecting all things to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him.”

This is the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).