“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15.

At the end of November, on the last Sunday of the Church’s year, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Having followed the story of Jesus from birth at Bethlehem to Golgotha, to the empty tomb, to the mount of the ascension, and then Pentecost and the creation of the new community, the ‘followers of the Way’, we now affirm that the one who suffered and died for us is the glorified Son, sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high.

As we read the words above, sung by the heavenly chorus in one of John’s visions in Revelation, many of us will hear them in the tones of Handel’s music: multi-voiced choir, drums and the trumpets of triumph. It is a ringing proclamation of victory. But if we look at the words in context, in Revelation, we shall find that they were sung not at some moment of final triumph, but right in the middle of a series of earthly ‘woes’ - earthquakes, drought, flood, war and conquest.
It was not so much a cry of triumph as of faith. The earthly kingdom, represented by the ‘beast’ - the Roman Emperor, identity cautiously hidden by coded language - might seem to exercise absolute power over the world, but its mandate was temporary. Whatever happens, and however dark the earthly scene may be, the ‘kingdom of the world’ (singular, we may note) has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah, Jesus, who has become King.
The ‘Lamb of God’ is enthroned on the seat of ultimate power. This declaration of faith will become gloriously vindicated before the world: ‘every knee will bow at the Name of Jesus’.

As I worked through the visions in the book of Revelation last year I was constantly struck by the way the present and the ultimate were virtually indistinguishable. ‘Now’ and ‘then’ seem to be one and the same, because the visions see history not as an unfolding news reel but as a single event. So the bold claim at the top of this column was true for the people of the first century (even though they were suffering under a tyrant and experiencing natural disasters), is true now (in times of anxiety, distress and perplexity) and will remain true for all eternity.

It’s a view of human destiny and divine will which is hard for us to comprehend. It is almost impossible for us to think outside the box of time and space into the realm of the infinite and eternal. Yet that is God’s familiar dimension, and in that place of ultimate reality authority has never been ceded to any other sovereign. It is in that realm that we celebrate the festival of Christ the King. He was and is and will be King of kings and Lord of lords, and - unlike human rulers - his reign is as timeless as eternity.

Those for whom John’s visions were first recorded could cling to that faith in dark and dangerous times. In our days of anxiety and tumult, so can we. The proud but discredited kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. The glory is both now and not yet!

The Revd Canon David Winter’s latest book ‘Facing the Darkness and Finding the Light’ (BRF £6.99), is a guide to the biblical book of Revelation.You can read some of his other work on his website: www.davidwinter-author.co.uk