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One of the three things said of Jesus in Revelation 1:5 is that he is “the ruler of the kings of the earth,” and that includes Assad of Syria and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, and yes, he is the ruler of President Donald Trump as well. Continue reading . . . 

One of the three things said of Jesus in Revelation 1:5 is that he is “the ruler of the kings of the earth,” and that includes Assad of Syria and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, and yes, he is the ruler of President Donald Trump as well. Solomon said it with the utmost clarity: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov. 21:1). When God’s purpose was to bring the people of Israel back to Jerusalem from their time of exile in Babylon, how did he do it? He “stirred up the spirit” of the pagan, unbelieving king of Persia, Cyrus, “so that he,” Cyrus, “made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing” (Ezra 1:1).

We see this incredibly wonderful and reassuring truth all through the Revelation, but especially in chapter 17. There we read how God will make use of the kings of the earth and even the leaders of the corrupt religious system to accomplish his purpose. We read in Revelation 17:17, “for God has put it into their hearts,” that is, into the hearts of the ruling leaders of the pagan kingdoms of the earth, “to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled” (Rev. 17:17).

Today we hear and read and see on every hand the movements and decisions and plans of earthly leaders in their efforts to expand their power and gain new territory. And people tremble in fear. Do not be afraid, Christian! Do not be afraid. Everything they do, down to the most strategic plans formulated in back rooms under the strictest of secrecy, is all in the hands of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. They are unwittingly doing his will.

It often appears that the entire world reels with one blow after another. In Egypt dozens of Christians are killed when ISIS detonates a bomb on Palm Sunday. Bloody civil wars continually erupt all around the globe. Racial strife plagues our own country. Threats against Israel by Iran and other Muslim countries is a daily fixture. And drug cartels continue to supply a seemingly endless flow of illegal narcotics into our country. The world, by all external appearances, appears horribly unstable and chaotic and out of control.

The churches in Asia Minor, to whom Revelation was first written, were facing their own fair share of persecution and political turmoil. But John speaks words of unimaginable encouragement to them and to us today.

Jesus Christ is alive from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, reigning and ruling and exercising absolute sovereignty over all the kings of the earth, over all the events in the Middle East and throughout Central and South America and even over the lunatic plans of North Korea and China and Russia.

Jesus does not approve of their wicked ways, but he irresistibly overrules the sinful acts of evil rulers and makes their sin and their folly a part of his wise plan for history. I cannot fathom how he does this. In the end, I must fall back on the words of Paul in Romans 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

As “the ruler of the kings on earth” he mysteriously governs and regulates what all earthly kings and presidents do, sometimes restraining them from doing evil, sometimes frustrating their plans, sometimes ordering events so that they might serve his purposes. We can’t figure out how he does it, but do it, he does!

Thus Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:25 that “he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” So don’t just read the newspaper or scour the internet. Read and reflect with the eyes of faith and confidence in the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all things.

2 Comments

My Mother went to be in the Lord's presence on April 1. I am a Christian, so I had immediate peace about it, even though I saw her take her last breath. Mama and I both taught Sunday School classes and read God's word together often.
My sister is really struggling with the loss of our precious Mother. I went to my Bible to look for comforting scripture and found quite a lot but I google the question "do Christians go to heaven immediately?" I found your site. It was a blessing for my sister. All her questions were answered. Thank you for being here for fellow Christians and others!

This is my Father's world...
And though the wrong seems oft so strong...

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