Articles
God Is Still King
When the powerful king Uzziah died, and the nation of Israel was thrust into the turmoil of the Assyrian crisis, and all the people seemed to be defiling themselves, the prophet Isaiah had this vision:
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa 6:1-3)
Even though the king of Israel had died, God was still the real king.
When the last righteous king Josiah died, and the people of Judah were carried off into exile in Babylon with his grandson Jeconiah, and the nation seemed doomed to fall to wicked Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet Ezekiel had this vision:
And above the expanse over their [the living creatures’] heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. (Ezek 1:26-28)
Even though Israel was in exile in a foreign land, God was still the real king.
When the beloved disciple was exiled to Patmos, and it seemed like many Christians were about to suffer from the persecution of the devil, and the pressure was on to worship Caesar and call him Lord and God, the apostle John had this vision:
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. (Rev 4:2-6)
Even though the people of Christ were suffering because they would not worship a despotic tyrannical king, God was still the real king.
There have been many nations in turmoil in human history. There have been many countries that came to an end at the hands of powers far more wicked than themselves. And there have been many times when a psychotic megalomaniac came in to a little bit of power and abused it to make the faithful suffer. Through all of those times, God has not been sleeping. He has not been deposed from his throne. He has not been restrained by these national conflicts. Through all of it, God is still king. He laughs at the petty plans of the earth’s kings to overthrow him (cf. Psa 2:1-3). He sees through the hearts of those who pay him mere lip service (cf. Isa 29:13-14). And he is a fountain of life to those who trust in him (cf. Psa 36:9).
Let us remember whose kingdom we are a part of. We are not on the side of the nations of the world, who conspire against the Lord. We are on the side of the God in whom we take refuge. Our final home is not the physical country in which we were born. It is the heavenly country yet unseen. Clinging to the world that is passing away will yield us no profit. Clinging to Christ the King will yield us eternal life.
No matter how bad it gets right now in this life, God is still king.
