By Robert Halsey Pine
“…And he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God…On his robe and on his thigh, he has a name inscribed, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’” (Revelation 19:11-16 NRSV).
The battle between good and evil has been fought. It has been won for good through Christ Jesus. He came as “The Word of God,” and the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Satan is defeated, but he comes back to pull us down with him. If he can’t reside in heaven, he doesn’t want us to go there. Satan keeps on replaying the movie to see if the ending will change. Replay as he will, the ending remains the same with victory in Jesus.
Jesus asked the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16 NRSV) With his answer Peter became the “rock” upon which Jesus built the Church. Who do we say that Jesus is? Peter gave us the correct answer, but do we understand who He is?
Do we too often look to other things for delivery from our ordeal? We seek gratification in so many worldly ways. We get it backwards. Through Christ Jesus we can enjoy all good things. Things in and of themselves cannot provide us with deliverance from our burdens.
The Gospel According to John begins with this wonderful epic description of Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:1-5 NRSV).
There is no other in the world greater than Christ Jesus. He is “The Word of God.” He is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Our challenge is to totally surrender to Him, to make Him our source for all things. The devil has lost. He is expelled from heaven and resides in Hades. Hades only exists for us to the extent that we let Satan convince us that the end of the story is different than victory in Christ Jesus.
Robert Halsey Pine was born at Newark, Ohio in 1943. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and completed the program of Theological Education by Extension: Education for Ministry, School of Theology, the University of the South.