Christ Reigns Now!
Today is Ascension Day, when we remember Jesus returning to heaven forty days after His resurrection. Years earlier, Daniel had prophesied about this very event. He wrote this: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away." (Daniel 7:13-14)
The Vision Fulfilled
Daniel was in heaven with the Ancient of Days, in his vision. And from heaven, he sees the Son of Man coming on the clouds and being led into the presence of the Ancient of Days.
What was he seeing? He was seeing the ascension of Jesus. He was seeing Jesus coming in the clouds from earth into the presence of the Father, and receiving all dominion and power in that moment!
At the end of Mark's Gospel, we read this: "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God." (Mark 16:19) This is the same event as what Daniel was speaking of – Jesus ascending, in what Acts 1 calls a cloud, and taking His place at the right hand of God, the Ancient of Days.
And what's more, the end of Matthew's Gospel has Jesus saying this: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me." (Matthew 28:18) Just as Daniel had said that the Son of Man coming into the presence of the Ancient of Days was given all authority and dominion, so Jesus confirmed as He ascended: ALL authority on heaven and earth has been given to Me.
Christ Reigns Now
Question: Who is the one with all authority and power in our world?
Many Christians have this idea that the world belongs to Satan. That God is waiting for Satan to bring things to almost complete desolation, and that He will then come back to rescue us and make things right.
Many of us believe that God has ultimate authority, but He has allowed Satan to just have his way, and so we are stuck here in a terrible place where evil has its way, and we look forward to getting out of here when the rapture comes.
I always believed that. But I have seen lately in the Scriptures, something different. As I've read the Gospels, the New Testament letters and the prophets, I have come to believe that we are not living in a decaying world where evil reigns and we are to allow evil to reign while we wait for Jesus' return.
I have instead come to believe that Jesus is now on the throne, and that now we are living in His kingdom, where good has power to defeat evil, and we are called to bring healing and wholeness and goodness to this world in Jesus' name. And I believe this, in no small part, because of the Ascension of Christ.
Friends, though the world is certainly not in a great way at this point, don’t let this cause you to doubt the reign and control of Jesus. Today, on Ascension Day, remember that Christ has all authority and dominion. Worship Him with joy, because no matter how bad things look, this is still God’s world, and He will make all things right.
