Matthew relates the story of wise men from the east asking, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" We don’t know who these men were, their number, or their country. We know they had studied the prophecies and knew that a ruler would be born in Bethlehem. My personal belief is that the star that stood above the house where the young child was dwelling was the Shekinah glory of God. God’s glory had not been seen in Israel since the time of Solomon’s temple. It would have been fitting for the Shekinah to lead these men to the true temple of God and to the One bearing His glory. A dying Jacob prophesied of a lawgiver named Shiloh who would gather the people (Gen. 49:10).
The 2nd Psalm speaks of the rulers of this earth who have raged against the Kingship of God. Conquerers have come and gone, but He is still on the throne. Much blood has been spilled by faithful witnesses (Heb. 11) but the church marches on. Tyrants have come throughout the ages demanding to be worshipped as God. They are dead, but our King lives.
We can’t comprehend the millions of lives snuffed out by those such as Stalin, who tried to establish the absolute mastery of the Russian state. Stalin is dead, his system has colaspsed , but the church is rising in Russia. The people are looking to the Eternal King instead of to the state.
The Hebrew prophets painted a dual picture of the coming King. It was so confusing that some looked for two Messiahs. They could not comprehend a King who was meek, riding on a donkey, and coming as a Servant. They rightly saw the King exercizing the vengence of God against sin and wickedness.
God made an absolute promise to David that He would personally sit on David’s throne as one one David’s descendants. We can rest assured that this and every other promise of God will be fulfilled.
Psalms 132:1 ¶ The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
Isaiah saw the day when all nations would go up to Jerusalem to the house of the Lord to learn of His law. He saw Jesus sitting as a Judge among peaceful nations and the Word of the Lord flowing from Jerusalem. (Isa 2:2-4). Isaiah saw the incarnation of the Mighty God as a child. This child would sit on the throne of David with an everlasting government (Isa.9:6-7). This was confirmed by the angelic pronouncement to Mary (Luke 1:32-33).
Isaiah saw Jesus as the Just God and Savior to whom every knee will bow (Isa 45:21-23) Phillipians tells us that we will all bow and confess at the Name of Jesus. (Php. 2:9-11) Daniel and Zechariah saw all earthly kingdoms destroyed , and a glorified Jesus reigning, with His saints possessing an eternal Kingdom (Dan. 7; Zech. 14).
Exciting prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. The Lord Jesus will come from heaven to exercize judgement and vengence (II Thes. 1:7; Jude 14,15). No kingdom will stand before Him. No Ceasar, Alexander, Stalin or Hitler will survive. Stalin will bow, Hitler will bow and you and I will bow.
It is easy to talk of the evil bloody kings and kingdoms who have oppossed God’s rule. There is another kingdom that is harder to identify. That is the kingdom of self. To God, a proud heart and haughty spirit is just as evil as any other. Any time we go about to do our own thing with our own agenda, we are building a kingdom. Many kingdoms are built in the name of Christ that He knows nothing of. He told us that our prayer was to be, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done.
It is imperative that we examine our every act, deed and motive to see if we are promoting His Kingdom or our own. We are told that our every word and deed is to be in His name (Col. 3:17).
We sing the stirring song, “The King is Coming” and I believe it with all of my heart. No past kingdom has succeeded before Him and neither will any future kingdom, whether it be a political kingdom or a personal one. Everything and every thought that exalts itself against Almighty God will be revealed and destroyed. We will see THE KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORD (Rev 19:16). It will be to the sorrow of some, but for the joy of many. We will see and be with our King.
1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
We will see Him at the throne when we sing of how He redeemed us from every kindred tongue and people. We will praise the Lamb, the Word of God, who was first revealed as a meek and mild Savior. We will see Him there as the conquering King, receiving the praise and accolades of untold myriads of believers. Let us ALL Hail King Jesus.
