The Gold Ring of Power

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:18-20.

 

These are the final words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. All of Jesus’ words are important but His last words should have a special significance of their own. The words recorded here are important because Jesus is saying something about a power change, a change in government. He is saying “Something has happened that you should all know about. The Ring of Power has changed hands and I now possess it. This changes everything and therefore all people need to know about it, should be warned about it, and take immediate action.”

On Friday, January 20^th, at noon, a new president was inaugurated as the 45^th P.O.T.U.S. From that moment on, the powers and authority enumerated in the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the United States were placed in the custody of Donald Trump. For the sake of brevity, I will refer to these powers as the gold ring of power. He will possess custody of the gold ring for a four year term that will be extended should he win reelection. If he loses the election, the gold ring will be given to another. 

It is interesting to observe the change in the people’s perception of a person, a regular citizen, when they take possession of the gold ring of power. Trump’s inauguration and election was met with great joy in some places and horror and anger in other places. This visceral reaction has never happened in the history of the United States that I am aware of. 

I am not trying to make a political statement by mentioning this. I realize that there are some who are readers of this newsletter who are not happy by Trump’s election and that is fine. I ask those of you who don’t like Trump to take into consideration what I am going to say about Jesus getting the Gold Ring of Power. The Bible says the whole world is going to go into spasms when He comes to enforce the power He now possesses on earth as it is in heaven. The whole world is going to react because they are going to find out that “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Let us now consider what Jesus is saying in Matthew chapter twenty-eight.

We must begin by asking a very important question: Who is Jesus and what does He mean to the world? I found a quote by the late, great preacher, Leonard Ravenhill that says it all. “I find it most intriguing to contemplate the fact that while men are considering what place to give Jesus in history, He has already decided what place to give them in eternity.” This is a great quote because it accurately puts the cheese on the cracker as to the problem the world faces when it comes to their relationship with God. Fallen men see Jesus as a historical personality, a religious icon, someone we can choose to follow or reject without impunity. They are willing to concede He has made positive contributions to civilization and we are better for it. However, that is not an adequate response to One of the stature, power and greatness of Jesus. Such a response exposes their ignorance of Jesus’ place on the Throne of Power to govern heaven and earth in righteousness and holiness. 

Some might be surprised to hear me say this but it is true. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a religious issue. It is a governmental issue. People erroneously think of Christianity as something that belongs in the category of religions. It is not. The Faith as we see it as defined by the Scriptures, should be placed in the category of “Empires in world history.” 

The Gospel is the story of Jesus Christ’s rise to power to rule the earth. The Prophets testify to this fact in almost every book of the Old Testament. The Messiah, in the understanding of Jewish people, were looking for a king, a conqueror, a warrior, as well as a savior. A careful reading of the Gospel of Matthew centers on the arrival of the King, the One who would fulfill the Messianic promises and take custody of the Gold Ring of Power. In the words of those who were alive at that time, they were elated that the new born King had arrived. But Herod was not pleased. He feared the arrival of the King and did all he could to have Him destroyed while He was an infant. 

I remember hearing a Jewish, born-again, pastor say one time that Jewish people are looking for the arrival of the Messiah to take over the world. Christians, on the other hand, are looking to go to heaven when they die. Why is that? I often say when preaching that Jesus is coming, not to take us to heaven, but to take over the earth! And should we die before that happens, we will go to heaven for awhile, and be with Him there. But He will be leaving Heaven and will come to rule the earth and expand His kingdom to the earth as it is in heaven. He will bring both realms together, the heavenly and earthly under His control and dominion.

The Gold Ring of Power

Before we go farther, we must visit the history of the Gold Ring. When God was finishing the work of Creation, and He put Man in Eden, He gave them the Gold Ring to rule the Garden. We call this the “dominion mandate.” However, the serpent, a.k.a. Satan, entered their domain and convinced them to eat of the tree they were forbidden to eat of. By doing so, Satan took possession of the Gold Ring. From that time forward, the world has been under the dominion and control of the serpent. He has been the chief architect of this present evil world. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (1 John 5:19 NIV). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the world is trending away from God at every turn. It is in serious moral decay, becoming more violent and godless by the day. All this is happening because the wicked one has been the possessor of the Gold Ring.  But wait. What is Jesus saying? All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. If Jesus has all authority, the Gold Ring, why is the world still in a state of corruption? 

Consider what has happened up until this present time. Man lost the Gold Ring of Power. Satan took custody of it. Jesus came into the earth to do many things including reconcile Man to God and win back the Gold Ring. A book recently fell into my hands that beautifully explains this. From Destined to Overcome; Paul Billheimer states;

“Legally, Calvary was Satan’s complete undoing. Legally, the Cross completely destroyed Satan. All of his claims were cancelled when he sent Jesus to the cross and He died there. But like any other legal transaction, Calvary’s legal victory must be enforced.”

Billheimer goes on to explain the difference between the powers of government in the American Constitution. The legislative branch, the Congress, they make the laws. The judicial branch, interpret the laws as constitutional or not. The executive branch is charged with the duty of “enforcing the laws of the United States.” To say it plainly, a law is worthless unless there is a power to enforce the law. Without law enforcement, lawlessness will rule the day. It seems that this is exactly what is happening today, in the spiritual as well as the natural. 

Jesus is warning the world that the Cross was a great victory for God’s creation. His death means we can be reconciled to God. His resurrection means He can serve as high priest and king forever and His exaltation means He now has custody of the Gold Ring of Power forevermore. He is temporarily withholding His plan to enforce His conquest because He wants to seek and save the lost, i.e., give people an opportunity to change their mind about Him and receive a royal pardon for past offenses against His Majesty. He has raised up heralds to go into all the earth to inform the world of their new King and warn them to repent and prepare themselves for His arrival to enforce His conquest by telling His disciples to “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” He tells them to do this because He must give the people of the earth His great salvation, that makes them fit for His Kingdom and ready to participate in His vast eternal empire. They must repent of being allied with the enemies of God, those who resist and conspire against His Throne. The good news is that this all powerful King is offering clemency and amnesty because He is merciful to all who will call upon the Name of the Lord. But when the King comes to take full possession of the earth and enforce the Law of the Lord on earth, the nations are going to go into full rebellion mode. 

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath and distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Psalm2). 

Psalms 2 is a snapshot of a future day when the Messiah rises from His Throne to take possession of His inheritance. The earth and the fullness thereof is already His legally. Now He comes to take it by force and the nations are raging about it. If you think the protesters were mad because Trump won the gold ring of the American government, wait till they find out Jesus has the Gold Ring of Power of the whole earth. They will conspire to stop Him. He will laugh at their nonsense and foolish attempts to unseat Him from His Throne.

Psalms 110 reveals the battle plan of the King on the day of His wrath.

The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn  And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.  He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head. (Psalms 110).

I am posting these verses to illustrate the strong interest the Lord has for this earth. The Cross has as much meaning for who will control and set the agenda for the earth as it does for the salvation of men. One more verse to make my point. 

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:4-7). 

John opens the Book of Revelation saying that this information is coming to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. The information written here is a prophesy of what is about to happen when the Ruler of the kings of the earth comes to make His Law the Law of the land. When Jesus first appeared in public, He said “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Now, the King is here and so is His Kingdom and the wicked, unbelieving people of the earth are in mourning over Him.

I have always wondered about that verse. Why are people in mourning? I think I know why. People mourn when it occurs to them that all their plans, hopes, dreams, future, is lost. They see Him coming in the clouds. For the redeemed of the Lord, He is the Alpha, the beginning of the glorious future the righteous have been patiently waiting for. For the lost, He is the Omega, the end of everything they love and think is great. He is the end of life as they know it. 

The failure of the world to pay proper respect to Jesus Christ is the root of all other sin. Everyone who sees Jesus as He really is, is emptied of his pride to such an extent that he is crushed in the process. Jesus said that the Gospel of the Kingdom would be preached in all the world as a witness and then the end would come. (Matthew 24:4). Get ready people, Jesus has the Gold Ring of Power.