The Christ Child—the Conquering King

Guest essay by Randall A. Terry

And you shall call His name Jesus,
For he shall save His people from their sins (Matt. 1: 21).

The Son of God appeared for this purpose,
to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

The very names of the Holy Child point to our Salvation: Emmanuel… Lamb of God… Redeemer… the Word Made Flesh… Messiah… Shepherd… Deliverer… Savior… Jesus.

But the coming of Christ did not solely bring the wonder of salvation and eternal life.

His other Sacred Names and titles herald His rule over the whole world: King of Kings… Ruler of Nations… LORD of Lords… Prince of Peace… Son of David… the Anointed One… Wonderful Counselor… Mighty God.

His coming brought overwhelming transformation and deliverance to a world that languished under demonic tyranny, satanic cruelty, and devilish deception.

Consider this: When Joseph and Mary found shelter in a Bethlehem stable, and Mary bore our Savior, the world was a loathsome pit of malice and despair. Men were sacrificed to false gods; newborn babies were abandoned and left to die at the whim of godless fathers; Caesar claimed to be a god, and was forcibly worshipped as such.

When the Angels sang out the glorious words to the Shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest! On earth, peace, good will to men!” the world languished under cruelty, lies, and eternal damnation that followed the Greek and Roman gods; millions languished in slavery; men murdered men for sport in “the games;” the poor were trampled.

But those evil scourges were soon to be crushed! As the Scripture says:

The Son of God appeared for this purpose,
to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

Infanticide, the worship of Caesar, false Greek and Roman gods, human sacrifice, slavery, etc., were “the works of the devil.” Into this wretched world…our Lord was born. He lived. He preached. And when His earthly ministry neared its end, he declared:

I will build my Church,
And the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt 16:18).

The battle was joined. The servants of the Lamb of God…the King of Kings – who had been redeemed by His shed blood – made sacrificial war against the powers of darkness, and the gates of hell did not prevail. Martyrs died; but the Church prevailed.

Slowly…human sacrifice and infanticide were eradicated. Caesar was no longer worshipped as a god; Greek and Roman gods were cast aside. Their temple stones were used to build Churches. (We name our dogs and cars after those false deities!) Slavery was beaten back. This is the worldwide fruit of Jesus’ birth; he destroyed the works of the devil; this is our heritage…the gates of hell did not prevail.

But let’s be honest: even as we rejoice over Jesus’ birth for our salvation; even while we happily remember the defeat of Greek and Roman paganism; as Paul said, we are “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” We grieve over America’s demise; we mourn the world’s cruelty; we are enraged at the injustices engulfing our nation and the world.

From tyrannical court decisions against babies and marriage to the demonic swamp of Washington DC fighting against every good thing that President Trump tries to accomplish; from the ongoing slaughter of babies at Planned Parenthood to ISIS beheadings in Iraq and Muslim terrorist attacks throughout the world – and a myriad of other atrocities marring humanity—these are dark times.

Many of us in the Christian community are battle weary… even after the defeat of Hillary (thank you Lord) we are angered by tragic defeats, tired of empty rhetoric from our spiritual and political leaders. Many of us pray with tears, “How long, oh Lord?” Many of us groan under the burden of our heavy hearts, sighing, and praying: “Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. Ransom captive Israel.”

So, as we enter this Christmas season, alternating between grief and hope, I bid you to ponder this thought: the evils of today are not as entrenched, nor as widespread as they were when Jesus was born. No one worships Caesar or the Greek and Roman gods. Slavery has been obliterated in most of the world—except certain Islamic nations. We still have the freedoms in this country to fight back, to preach the truth…

Sadly, the evil of child-killing is entrenched, as are other evils; but we can have hope that as Christ—through His Church—conquered evils in times past, He and His Church will conquer these evils again.

Jesus will “destroy the works of the devil.” The Church will arise, and “the gates of hell will not prevail.” You—and I—are part of the victory. So, stand firm, and let your heart have hope.

Amen.


The Voice of Resistance published the original of this article for a circular email on December 14, 2017.

Randall Terry is the well-known Christian activist, founder of Operation Rescue, and author. He hosts the web-based TV show Randall Terry: Voice of Resistance, airing on The Walk TV and streamed from his website Voice of Resistance. Mr. Terry holds a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and a Concentration in International Terrorism, and 25 years experience as a TV and radio host.

© 2017 Used by Permission

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One Response to The Christ Child—the Conquering King

  1. Insectman December 20, 2017 at 1:19 am #

    May God bless you brother Terry.

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