CELEBRATING THE ETERNAL KING

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful – Revelation 17:14

I have sometimes wondered about the number of kings on earth! Although real royals of kingdoms and monarchs of nations are finite and far between, there are thousands – perhaps tens and hundreds of thousands – of kings at various levels of society: rulers of tribes, cities, towns, villages, and clans. In Nigeria for example, such royalties come in classes – first class, second class, and third class kings; whether among Yoruba Obas, Hausa Emirs, or Igbo Obis – with or without beaded crowns! If we could stretch the concept of kingship a bit further, we’ll have kings in Sports, Music, Media, Entertainment, Business and other spheres of society – Gurus, Stars, and ‘rulers’ in their narrow, but legitimate territories!

Whether the world’s “kings” are crowned heads, athletes, celebrities, cultural icons, or business tycoons, what is common to them is their temporality – they come and go! Their influence may be immense and their followers fanatically faithful, but it never last forever! Personalities have boasted, and the world has tasted the moments and wasted the memories of ‘kings’ – the likes of Mohammed Ali, king of boxing and Elvis Presley, king of Music. All of these were temporal kings, flitting shadows on life’s stage, whose times came and gradually or suddenly fizzled and faded off the scene of Time. There always comes a generation of “a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exo.1:8b). That’s the transcience of mortal kings!

The Bible and history, however, refer to the Testimony of One and only One Eternal King – Jesus Christ. The seventeenth chapter of Revelation illustrates prophetically how earthly kings will fight to establish their authority at the end of the ages. While the identities of these kings remain subjects of Biblical scholarship and debate, there is no ambiguity about the One they will try to, but cannot overpower: “...for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (v.14). Jesus Christ the Lord is the Lord of lord and King of kings, the Eternal King – for He will reign forever! Praise God, I am His follower; I am with Him; I am among the called, chosen, and faithful! I am a subject of the Eternal King; not a subjugated subject, but a saved subject – saved to serve and redeemed to reign.

I am one of the eternally privileged kings under the authority of the King of kings. He has chosen me; I also choose to celebrate Him. He reigns today and always in my heart and life, and the hearts of billions who believe in His saving Grace, redemptive Power, living Presence, and transcendent Glory. He will in the imminent future, bring Peace on earth through His Kingdom that will never depart: “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan.2:44). Join me to celebrate JESUS – the Eternal King!