Philippians 2: 9-11 states, “Therefore God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above ever name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Mediate on this passage and it gives you a sense of awe at the status of Jesus bestowed by the Father. Ever human past, present or future will one day (at time of their death or at His return) acknowledge Jesus as LORD, bowing in complete joy for the believer and complete terror for the non-believer who foolishly and in pride ignored the hundreds of prompting in their life to seek God and find His purpose for their life through Jesus. There are no atheists or agnostics in eternity!
But, before we jump ahead to fast we need to built a Biblical case for what it actually means that Jesus is both King, Judge and Lord at His second coming. The Bible is a progressive revealing of God through His prophets and writers, clarifying His nature, character and the purposes of God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit. The principal of “first reference” and the context of that passage is very important in helping us form an accurate theology (the Study of God) and the succeeding texts that confirm and help us better understand God.
The idea of a king coming from a son of Jacob is found in Genesis 49:10 and this prophetic word is given by Jacob to his 4th son Judah. But before a king would arise in Israel hundreds of years later, revelation had been given to Israel that God was both their KING and JUDGE by the time of the Judges or possibly before. I Sam. 2:10, 8: 6-7; 12: 12. Under the Mosaic Law the priesthood had a clear role in providing justice for the people, but tied to the role of a king was a significant mandate to be a just judge and uphold God’s righteous requirements for the nation. I Sam. 12: 13-14.
Israel would choose their first king in Saul which ended badly, and Israel ignored the prophetic word of Jacob that their king should rise from the house of Judah (Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin). The second king would be God’s chosen king (David) and we know He appointed and anointed him of the tribe of Judah even before Saul's death. With God’s help David built a unique and powerful nation and for most of his life he walked very closely with God following His ways. David also knew that his success was because God Himself was the ultimate King of Israel and the nations, Psalm 10:16, 24:8-10, 47: 2, 6-7.
It was not only David who understood that God was a King and Righteous Judge of the nations, we also see several of the prophets extoling God as sovereign King. Isaiah in his amazing vision and calling Isa. 6:5 see’s God as King and the Lord of Host. In Isa. 43:14-15 Isaiah records God as Israel’s King and He is dealing with the wicked nation of Babylon. Jeremiah see’s the Lordship, His exclusive status as God and the everlasting kingship of God in executing righteous judgement against nations that rebel. Then Zechariah (Zech. 9:9) foresees with prophetic eyes a righteous King riding a humble donkey into Jerusalem bringing salvation. Jesus is that King and He came on a donkey signifying peace (Matt. 21: 1-11 ; however, in His second coming He will ride a glorious white stallion to wage war and destroy all rebellion on the earth and set up a 1000-year reign as King, Judge and the Lord. We will look in detail into Jesus role of His second coming in the next blog.
Now that we have clearly seen from OT revelation that the Father has the sovereign roles as King, Judge and Lord over Israel and the nations we will transition next week to complete the NT revelation of Jesus’ current status and His prophetic mandate when He returns to earth and plants his feet on Mount Olivet with His armies.
From a friend, Bill W…if you have found these studies insightful and encouraging pass them on to a friend! Maranatha…Our Lord, come!