I came. I saw. I conquered

The Royal Priesthood Reigns with its Hero – King Jesus

“I came. I saw. I conquered.” Julius Caesar, 47 BC? No, Jesus Christ, 4 BC-30 AD!  Psalm 132:9-18. Jesus came calling sinners to repent and enter His kingdom. Mark 1:15. As Son of David he would sit on David’s throne. Genesis 49:8-10; Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 22:41-45. At the end of Jesus’ ministry, one prominent Jewish councillor even asked for Jesus’ body on the cross, and Mark said he was waiting for the kingdom. Mark 15:43. When Jesus came He saw our need, conquered our sin, was raised from death to become King, and rules  His kingdom of priests till he returns at the end of time. Exodus 19:6; Psalm 45; 110:1-7; 132:9-18; Daniel 7:21-27; Colossians 1:12-14; 1 Peter 2:5-9; 3:13-22; Revelation 1:6; 2:17; 5:10; 7:9-17; 20:6. In fact, King Jesus rules over everyone and everything in the universe. He is Lord of all. Psalm 2; 110:1-3; Matthew 11:27-12:8; 28:18; Mark 4:35-41; Acts 10:36; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; 15:25; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 1:17-18; 5:9-14; 17:14; 19:16. God’s reign is one of the great themes of the Bible, as is God’s reign through Jesus.

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honour, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.' Daniel 7:13-14

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but  they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:6

Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. 9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy. 10 For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies

that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne. Psalm 132:8-12

Many are making huge sacrifices to get a glimpse of Prince Harry - the possible, future king of England, but why

aren’t they  interested in Jesus the Saviour of the world and the King of the universe who grants life everlasting?

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.

Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendour and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.

Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

    by anointing you with the oil of joy. Psalm 45:1-7

We Christians, of course, have no need to say, “Long live the King,” because Jesus our King lives forever. His reign will last until God the Father decides to bring our world to a close, and then Jesus will hand His rulership back to His Father, and again be subject to Him.

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." Daniel 2:44-45

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) 28 Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

In our day-to-day lives, Jesus is King when we do His will.

Our Father in heaven.

May your name be kept holy.

May your Kingdom come soon.

May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10

We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you into his Kingdom to share his glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:12.    Compare 2 Thessalonians 1:3-5.

And as we daily do God’s will, we ensure that the kingdom we entered at our conversion, John 3:3-5; Colossians 1:12-14, will welcome us into its eternal phase in heaven at the return and judgment of Jesus. John 5:24-30; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Ephesians 5:5; Hebrews 9:27-28

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.  8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are short-sighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-11

The kingdom belongs to Christ and God. Ephesians 5:5. It is not of this world, John 18:36, but is “righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17. It is the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - not because Jesus remains King eternally, but because the Kingdom (i) that began when Jesus became Lord after His resurrection, Acts 2:29-36, (ii) into which we entered as specially favoured at conversion, Colossians 1:12-14, (iii) in which we live each day as we reign with Christ, Matthew 6:10; Romans 5:17; Revelation 5:10, and (iv) will continue eternally under Father God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 15:25-28; Hebrews 12:25-28; Revelation 22:5.

The gospel of Christ is the gospel of the kingdom which we always preach, Acts 1:3,6-8; 8:12; 19:8 … because Jesus’ kingdom is now! John 3:3,5; Romans 1:14-17; 5:17,21; 14:17; Colossians 1:13-14; Hebrews 12:48. The

kingdom of Christ is Christ’s reign in our lives so that we can reign in righteousness with Him.

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the

abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

David Hunter