Some question the authority of Jesus. Yep, I know it’s strange.
Do they have a Bible? Here are just a few texts illustrating His authority:
Jesus told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in Heaven and on Earth’. Mat 28:18.
‘All things have been handed over to me by my Father’ Mat 11:27.
‘The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand’. John 3:35.
‘Father, glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him’. John 17:2.
His authority in His coming again
Long ago He came on the clouds of Heaven in judgment on wayward Israel. See Jesus’ words, Luke 21:22:
For those will be days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled.
Read Jesus words in Matthew 24:30:
And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the land. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And His amazing authority that follows recorded in verses 24:32-34:
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.
He claimed his return was very near, right at the door, and not 2000 years in the future as many suppose. There would absolutely be no point telling his disciples His coming was far and away in the future!
The seat of Jesus’ authority
The actual seat of Christ’s throne both then and forever is the Jerusalem that is in Heaven, not on Earth, just as he told Pilate—John 18:36:
“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
And see Hebrews 12:22-23.
. . . you [believers] have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect.
See also Galatians 4:26:
But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem.
The seat of Christ’s throne then and forever is with the Father as Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 4:31-32:
Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’
And Peter on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:33:
Now he is exalted to the place of highest honour in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today
And Stephen as he boldly told his accusers, Acts 7:48-49:
. . . the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,
‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the Lord. Could you build me such a resting place? Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’
As Paul wrote to the Philippians 2:9-10:
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Erroneous teachings
Dispensational teachers say that Jesus’ return to the earth will mean He will establish His Kingdom on earth where He will reign from Jerusalem”. some even think He will sit a new temple! They try to support these assertions with texts like Isaiah 2:2-4, 11:6-9, Jeremiah 3:17; Luke 1:31-32,Revelation 5:10, 19:15, 20:4-6).
Nothing here about his return to earth, nor his rule from earthly Jerusalem. No. He rules from heaven where He has ascended on high with the Father. See Revelation 3: 12 re the overcomers:
. . . . . they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God.
See also Psalm 2:3, 9 and Acts 4:25-26.
. . . . But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. . . . . . You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’”
Luke 1:31-32 “The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Israel? We believers are the Israel of God, Galatians 6:16.
Others draw attention to the obvious situation here on earth that wickedness prevails under satan and thus conclude that our Lord has limited authority.
Satan can be bound! Believers can resist him. Believers have a greater One within them. Jesus showed he could bind satan and plunder his goods (Matthew 12:29, Mark 3:27 and Luke 11:21-22).
Jesus gave his disciples power and authority over evil spirits. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.(Matthew 10:8).
The Lord has created all people with the power of choice. He will not act against our free will. He invites us to choose between life and death, light and darkness, truth and lies.
Conclusion
Let us take heart. Our mighty King of Kings rules from heaven where He has ascended on high with the Father. And his people reign with Him here. We don’t look forward to the absurd notion that Jesus will come and reign in a stone temple in earthly Jerusalem for 1000 years.
We look forward to eternal life with Him. What an exhilarating future awaits us!
Rejoice!
Ian Thomson 