Who Will Rule the Earth?
By Jeff Ziegler
8/91
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and
turn unto the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will
worship before Thee.
For the kingdom is the Lord's,
And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth will
eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will
bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the
coming generation.
They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has
performed it."
- Psalm 22:27-31
Notice the universal dimensions of Christ's rulership by virtue of His resurrection:
* All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.
* All the families of the nations (ethnic groupings) shall worship before Him.
* He alone is the ruler among the nations.
Thus the resurrected Christ has rightful rule over all men, and all nations by the dynamic of His finished work upon death's tree, the cross. His resurrection is the key in advancing His reign upon the earth. The emphasis is upon the "FINISHED WORK." Christ need not perform any other act in order to have rightful rule over all the earth, His work is indeed finished!
The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians chapter one, echoes the prophetic nature of the 22nd Psalm giving definition and sinew to Christ's comprehensive victory along with its implications for the Church.
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth even in Him ... And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the one to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:10,19-23).
Ephesians depicts the triumphant Christ reconciling all things in heaven and earth. All power, rule, and authority, whether human institutions or spiritual wickedness in high places are beneath His feet, and this great victory is communicated to His Church as a witness of His supremacy!
In Psalm 72:7-11, we have further reinforcement of Christ's comprehensive reign in the earth. While this utterance is in reality a prayer of David for his son Solomon, it actually points by way of type to Christ's universal dominion over all the nations of the earth.
In His days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
May He also rule from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
And let all kings bow before Him,
All nations serve Him.
Finally we turn to Psalm 110:1-3 to see the participation of the Church in spreading Christ's dominion making full application of His victory through the dynamic of revival.
The Lord says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool
for thy feet."
The Lord will stretch forth Thy strong
scepter from Zion, saying:
"Rule in the midst of Thine enemies."
Thy people will volunteer freely in the
day of Thy power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Thy youth are to Thee as dew.
Again we have the picture of an exalted Christ at the right hand of the Father. Christ is seated, a position of rest, His work fully accomplished. From this position the rod of His strength (the Holy Spirit) is sent down from the plane of Christ's supremacy to a people (His Church) willing and voluntary in the day of His power. The purpose? To testify of the victory of Christ to all the ends of the earth, to make His enemies His footstool!
On the day of Pentecost, Peter's inspired sermon which depicted what was taking place, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, clearly shows the purpose of the Spirit's work when he quotes from Psalm 110 in Acts 2:32-35:
"This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but He himself said:
'The Lord says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool
for thy feet."
Thus the rod of His strength (the Holy Spirit) is being given to the Church to subdue all of Christ's foes.
The question for you, dear reader, is found in the first part of the third verse of Psalm 110 - THY PEOPLE SHALL VOLUNTEER FREELY IN THE DAY OF THY POWER. Clearly the Lord is looking for a willing and voluntary people who will bow the knee and participate especially in prayer for Christ's purposes in the earth. Are you willing in the day of revival?
In conclusion, we find Christ in Psalm 2:6-9 inheriting the earth for His choice possession.
But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.
I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, "Thou art My Son,
Today I have begotten Thee.
Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine
inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron,
Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware."
Notice Christ, though very much God, nevertheless is to ask the Father for His inheritance - worldwide rule. This is the high priestly role of our Christ who "EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION" (Hebrews 7:25). If the Son of God, the expressed image of the Father's glory is not exempt from this law of asking, how can the people, "willing in the day of His power," remain prayerless and neutered in regard to revival speeding Christ's rule throughout the earth!
The saints of the Most High God are not exempt from participation through intercession for God's purposes! I end with Paul's unqualified injunction to the Thessalonian church (1 Thessalonians 5:17). It is the marching orders for all saints in every generation for all time - "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!"
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