The Coming Kingdom
“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
You may recognize this line from the song, “The Hallelujah Chorus” in Handel’s “Messiah.” This line is not just a Bible passage, but also a prophecy. One day all nations will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. All nations will be under Jesus’ authority, “…and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
The Bible says there will be political leaders who go to heaven: “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.” (Revelation 21:24) They won’t go to heaven because they were leaders, but because at some point in their lives, they realized they were sinners who needed Jesus to forgive and save them. They came to Him in repentance and faith and received Him as Saviour, and He saved them by His grace.
For all who are saved, whatever their place was in life, heaven will be a place of joyful fellowship, serving the Lord: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) “…and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face,” (Revelation 22:3-4)
Sadly, the Bible also says there will be leaders who do not receive Jesus as Saviour and die lost. Isaiah 14:9 has a grim preview of their ultimate fate: “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” The “thee” in this verse is the devil, who will be cast one day into the lake of fire with the lost and be “…tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)
The chief ones and kings in this verse are leaders who did not receive Jesus as Saviour and died lost. Power had obviously been very important to them. They may have let their lust for power turn their hearts from Jesus. Now the temporary power they had is gone forever, and they are doomed. They are weak, and they ask the devil, “Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?” (Isaiah 14:10)
If you’re a leader, do you covet power? What are you willing to do to get it, keep it, or increase it? To covet something is to want it so much that you’re willing to do wrong to get it. When Israel was about to overthrow Jericho, God told them not to take any spoils from the city. A man named Achan disobeyed. He took clothing, gold, and silver. God commanded that his sin be dealt with. Achan confessed that when he saw the goods, “…I COVETED them, and took them;” (Joshua 7:21, capitals added)
Colossians 3:5 also speaks of “…fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and COVETOUSNESS, WHICH IS IDOLATRY:” (capitals added) Covetousness is a form of idol worship. You may belong to a religion, but if power is your chief aim, then technically you’re worshiping power.
If you’re a leader, you know power is a strong temptation. Yet if you’re saved, 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Your Saviour can give you grace to act with integrity and honor.