His Victory and Present Reign

Did Jesus triumph through his Death and Resurrection, or is he still waiting for some future event for his reign to begin?

Was Jesus victorious over God’s enemies on the Cross, and did he begin to rule as the Davidic King following his Death and Resurrection? Most Christians would answer, “Well, yes! Of course!” Nevertheless, many popular interpretations effectively if not openly deny this present reality when they claim his reign over the Earth will not commence until his return in glory or some other future date or event.

A common assumption is that Jesus came as the lowly Lamb the first time, but when he comes again, he will arrive as the conquering warrior-king, the “roaring lion” who will impose his rule through force. That “messiah” will rule as do the political powers of the present fallen age, only in his case, with supernatural powers behind his dictates and violent actions.

[Crown of Thorns - Photo by BBC Creative on Unsplash]

Jesus certainly did come the first time as the sacrificial victim whose death “loosed us from our sins.” However, that does not mean he failed to conquer his enemies or that his reign did not commence twenty centuries ago – (Revelation 1:4-6).

The New Testament never teaches that his Messianic Reign has been delayed until his return. Paul, for example, wrote that after nailing the “ordinance that were against us” to the Cross, Jesus “despoiled the principalities and the powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them” – (Colossians 2:14-15).

Paul’s description echoes the Roman practice of honoring conquering heroes with a triumphal parade through the streets of the Imperial City, and this Jesus did through his resurrection and ascension to His Father’s Throne where he has reigned ever since– (“As I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne” - Revelation 3:21, 5:5-14).

Christ’s exaltation to the Divine Throne fulfills the Psalmist’s promise, which is confirmed several times as a present reality by the authors of the New Testament:

• “Yahweh said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” - (Psalm 110:1).

• “Which God did in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the coming one, and he put all things in subjection under his feet” - (Ephesians 1:20-22).

• “Looking to Jesus, the Author and the Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” - (Hebrews 12:2).

Certainly, Jesus will reign over all the Earth on the day he “arrives on the clouds” and thereafter, but he reigns from the Davidic even now.

Jesus will not return so that he may beat his enemies into submission after that day. The submission of “all his enemies” will be accomplished before the Last Day. Again according to the Psalmist, His Father is putting his enemies beneath his feet at this time, in the present, and He will continue to do so until the day of Christ’s coming from Heaven. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, at his “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ (παρουσια):

• “Then comes the end, when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet,” and that will include the “last enemy, death” – (1 Corinthians 15:24).

Christ is coming to consummate his existing reign, not to start the whole process. Already he is subjugating his enemies and liberating men, women, and children from the tyranny of Satan and Death as the Gospel is preached to the nations. Whenever the true Gospel is proclaimed, the forces of darkness are driven back, and territory is added to the Kingdom of God.

Unfortunately, we continue to conform our ideas to the existing world order. We hear terms like “king,” “reign,” and “conquer” and we imagine a ruler who uses his “iron scepter” and steel fist to crack the skulls of his opponents and grind them to powder. Like the rulers of this age, we remain incapable of envisioning a political entity that does not conquer its enemies through economic coercion or military violence.

Satan is under the same delusion. His inability to understand the mind of God caused him to do the very thing that defeated his forces. If he and the “rulers of this age” had understood the “mystery” of God, they would never have “crucified the Lord of glory,” thereby sealing their fate. It is the “word of the Cross” that is the “power and wisdom of God.” However, only the “mind of the Spirit” understands this paradoxical truth – (1 Corinthian 1:18-23, 2:6-8).

EXALTED AFTER HIS RESURRECTION

Jesus humbled himself by submitting to death on a Roman cross, and that is precisely why God “highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus is Lord.” Note well that “exalted” is in the past tense. His enthronement is an accomplished fact and present reality, and Christ’s victory over his enemies was achieved through his Death and Resurrection– (Philippians 2:6-11).

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is called the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” in the present tense. It is the “slain Lamb” who “conquered” through his death and became “worthy” to receive all “power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing,” and it is the resurrected Christ, the “Firstborn of the Dead,” who now holds the “keys of Death and Hades”- (“I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” - Revelation 1:4-6, 1:18, 5:6-14).

For the remainder of the Book of Revelation after Chapter 5, Christ reigns as the “Lamb.” He is the Messianic Son destined to “rule the nations with his rod of iron” as described in the Second Psalm, but he uses his rod to “shepherd” the nations, not to destroy them - (“She was delivered of a son, a male, who is to shepherd [‘poimainein’] all the nations with a rod of iron” - Revelation 12:5).

The “one like a Son of Man” portrayed as a high priestly figure in the first vision of Revelation conquered through his sacrificial death. He now summons his followers to “conquer” in the same manner that he did. That is how they qualify to reign with him on his Father’s throne and become members of his “Kingdom of Priests.”

Victorious saints “conquer” or overcome Satan by the “blood of the Lamb, the Word of their Testimony, and because they loved not their lives unto death,” not by tyrannizing or killing their persecutors – (Psalm 2:6-9, Revelation 3:21, 12:1-11).

In the Book of Revelation, the “slain Lamb” does not become the “King of kings” in the future. He is the “King of kings” in the present who is conquering all those who “war” against him while “shepherding” nations and kings to the Holy City, “New Jerusalem” - (Revelation 17:14, 19:11-21).

His Kingdom will be consummated upon his return, but his reign and kingdom are also present realities. For now, Satan is “bound from deceiving the nations,” and if his powers were not curtailed, he would have destroyed the Church ages ago. God’s Kingdom advances on Earth wherever the “Gospel of the Kingdom” is proclaimed, and men and women are delivered from satanic darkness and oppression by obeying and submitting to it. This process will not cease until the Gospel has been preached to all nations, and only then will the “end come” – (Matthew 24:14).

Finally, Christ’s disciples reign with him in this life, but they do so as “priests,” not as conquering warriors. Like the ancient priests of Israel, their task is to mediate God’s light in a sin-darkened world. They shine as lights for the Kingdom of God as they bear the “testimony of Jesus.”

Like John on the Isle of Patmos, the true disciples of Jesus are “participants in the Tribulation, the Kingdom, and Endurance,” and they are rejected and persecuted for the “testimony of Jesus Christ” – (Revelation 1:9, 6:9, 12:17).

This paradoxical way of ruling with Jesus is contrary to the wisdom of this age, and unfortunately, to the teachings of many churches and ministries. It can only be comprehended and implemented through the Spirit of God operating in His people to expand Christ’s dominion over the nations and peoples of the Earth.

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SEE ALSO:

• Calvary or Rome? - (When offered by Satan, Jesus refused the political power of Rome. So, why do we continue to seek what he rejected?)

• His Realm - (Jesus proclaimed a new political reality, the Kingdom of God, one that bears little resemblance to the political systems of this world)

• The Unwelcome Savior - (Unrecognized as the Savior of the World and the Messiah of Israel, Jesus was rejected by all but the unlikeliest of men)

• The Folly of the Cross - (God’s Power and Wisdom are found in the proclamation of a Crucified Messiah, not in displays of power or political might)