“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.””
Revelation 11:15 (NIV)
I realize that I take a risk using a passage like Revelation 11 as a passage to help us shed light on the prophecy of Obadiah, for there are diverse and strong positions taken on the meaning of verses 15 through 19, and we might get lost in the details of the arguments.
Hopefully we can step back and agree that in this verse the King has come to the world, and that the kingdoms of the world are now His kingdom.
One of the ways pastors explain the kingdom as presented in the gospels, is to talk of here and not yet. We mean that the kingdom is here, as in near and open for entry through spiritual union with the King, and as His kingdom becomes the dominant force in my life through personal surrender and commitment, then His kingdom takes on a physical manifestation through my physical presence in the world. We mean the kingdom is not yet, in the sense that the King will come back to earth in power one day, and when He does all aspects of all creation, including all human kingdoms will be subjected to Him.
What Obadiah and Revelation 15 and many other prophets as well as the gospels declare is that one day the kingdoms of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Messiah.
What a blessed day that will be!
How blessed will the people who are spiritually united with the King be on that day!
But for those who refuse to believe that this day will come- for those who refuse to live their lives in light of the coming kingdom- those who treat the people of the kingdom as if their King won’t come back- look out!
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