SUNDAY, August 1

Scripture: Revelation 1:5, Psalm 2:1-3

Revelation 1:5 says, “And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth.” This verse implies a tension between godly rulers and ungodly ones stating that Jesus bought and paid for victory over ungodly ones.  We have a covenant right to ask God to intervene.  We have a spiritual obligation based on the Lord’s Prayer to demand God’s rule in our nation.  Did Jesus found the kingdom?  Did He give the authority to rule and how far does that authority extend? Did He intend us just to rule in our personal circumstances and situation or are we to extend kingdom rule everywhere we go?  In Psalm 2:1-3 we face a season where the battle is over who is going to rule who.  “The kings of the earth and the rulers take council together against the Lord and against His anointed.”  Can they break the biblical bonds?  Can they cast away the cords of scripture and make them of none of effect?  The letters to the seven churches all highlight issues that need repentance in order to restore the rule of Christ.  The book of Revelation is all about whose will rules.  Will God rule, even in man’s rebellion?  If our answer is, yes, then the book of Revelation is as viable for us today as the day it was written and may well describe the final confrontation of the ages.  Will the Lord rule through us or will we allow the enemy to rule over us?  That is a question every generation of believers has had to answer.