Tidings for Tuesday
But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Hebrews 1:8
Perhaps no verse in the Bible so clearly and emphatically proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ as God the Son. And yet, there is one group of people who twist it around to make it say the opposite. Every version of the Bible, regardless of the manuscripts from which they were produced, clearly identifies this verse as claiming that Jesus Christ the Son is God. Every version but one, and it can safely called a perversion rather than a version. That’s the New World Translation of the JWs (my mother always called them de hopeless witnesses). This blasphemous book twists even the original Greek to produce something that denies that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of the Eternal God. How deep must be the judgment of those who produced such a lie! Because God wants us to know that the Son Who He sent to us is no less than Himself, none other than the King eternal.
Angels proclaimed Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem, but He was cradled in a livestock feeding trough. John proclaimed Him the Lamb of God, but He was despised and rejected by the establishment. Pilate declared Him to be King of the Jews, but the Jewish leaders demanded His execution. The Scriptures tell us that the angels were right and the innkeeper was wrong, John Baptist was right and the establishment was wrong, Pilate was right and the Sanhedrin was wrong. Everything about the life of the Lord Jesus shows Him to be the Son of God. His miracles proved Him to be the Almighty. His unswerving devotion to the Father’s will proved Him to be the obedient Servant. His fulfillment of all that the prophets spoke proved Him to be the Messiah. His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration proved Him to be the King of Glory. We rejoice today to look back and see that the Son of God would come to walk, work, and serve among humanity. We also rejoice that we look forward to see that He will reign in righteousness forever.
For a thousand years, Jesus Christ will be King in this world. And it will be a kingdom like none other. With a sceptre of righteousness, He will rule this world in such a way that the past failures of previous kingdoms will be displayed in their shame. We are unable to imagine the conditions of that great reign. But we do know that no law will be unfairly applied, no court will make a faulty judgment, no decree will be incomplete or inaccurate. The righteousness that the world speaks of today will be exposed as an utter fake when compared to the righteousness of that Millenium. The prosperity that will accompany such a righteous reign will be great. And yet, that thousand years in all of its glory represents but a portion of the eternal reign of that same King. When this old earth is melted and gone, the kingdom of Christ will be only beginning.
We know Him as the meek and lowly Jesus, the innocent Sufferer for our sins, the Lover of our souls. How thrilling that this same Jesus will forever fill our eyes in the magnificence of His righteous kingdom! – Jim MacIntosh