Christ rules, okay?
by Pastor Jim Strelan
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The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord (Revelation 11:15b).
Read Revelation 11:15–19
In Jewish worship, the sounding of the seventh trumpet signalled the singing of a hymn of thanksgiving and praise. And so, here, the voices of heaven sing their thanksgiving song, a victory song. The battle has been fierce and long. The kingdoms of Earth have been put in their place. The faithful have remained true. Who is the real king? Who holds the reins of power? The Lord Jesus does. And he does ‘forever and ever’.
Be of no doubt. This is the status of things in the heavenly realm, and so in this earthly realm. At the end of World War II, after peace had been negotiated and become a reality, fighting continued in some places. The news had not reached them. They hadn’t heard the peace proclamation, and so, needlessly, people died. If the kingdom of Satan appears to hold sway here on Earth sometimes, it is only because the proclamation of his defeat has not been heard. Satan has been defeated. Echoing an old slogan: Christ rules, okay?
In Colossians 2:15, we read this: ‘And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross’. When a general returned home after a successful battle, they would lead in procession all the vanquished ones. People could laugh at them and hurl abuse – they had been disarmed, defeated and were now a public spectacle for amusement. That calls for the seventh trumpet. That calls for a victory song. And that song is one God’s people sing over and over and over again.
When you are overwhelmed by the world you live in, to the point that it almost seems hopeless; when things are so dark in your life that you feel as though God has been defeated; when you read these chapters in Revelation, and they frighten you, and you worry for yourself and your children and grandchildren, hear this song. Sing this song. It sings a truth that no one and nothing can take away.
Thank you, Jesus. You have defeated all the powers of evil, and you rule supreme. You are my shield, which I hold in front of me when the attack is heavy. Thank you. Amen.
Pastor Jim is a retired pastor living on Brisbane Northside. He served in Papua New Guinea and as school pastor in a number of schools and congregations with schools. He is married to Ruth and has three children and seven grandchildren and loves them all unconditionally. He loves to share the gospel as simply and clearly as he can.
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