Forgive what could turn out to be a bad analogy, but reading Psalm 2 brought to mind the Galactic Empire run by Darth Sidious and Darth Vader in the popular fiction Star Wars. It is a short Psalm and I will not quote it here in full but please take a few moments to read it. Perhaps the notable breakdown in the analogy comes in the very last sentence of the Psalm. Speaking of the Son, the Anointed One:
All those who take refuge in Him are happy.
Such a statement would be difficult to say about Darth Vader. In many other ways, the analogy holds up. The Psalm speaks of a worldwide (galaxy-wide for the analogy) authority. What feels like a sizable portion of the subjects wish to “tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints.” In both cases anger and wrath are the response to such rebellion. Both speak of the rulership consisting of the Lord and His Anointed One (master and apprentice in the analogy). In neither do you see the Lord (or master) overly active in what I would call direct rule rather the interventions are centered around the Son (or apprentice). The Psalm speaks of the son breaking the nations with a rod of iron as one would shatter pottery and those not paying homage to the Son causing Him anger, which will result in the ones not paying homage to perish in their rebellion. Almost as a footnote, the Psalm states that “His anger may ignite at any moment” as if there is a delaying in retribution that may cease at any moment–the end time of this mercy is uncertain.
Anyone with some reasonable knowledge of Star Wars ought to be able to picture Darth Vader choking Imperial officers who displease him as he flies about the galaxy meting out the wrath of his master on all opposition. Here we come back to the breaking point of our analogy for while the Lord and His Anointed One do exhibit wrath and anger, in them you will find no malice or injustice. Let us examine further the nature of these who do not oppose authoritarian leadership but instead embody this form of government in perfection. Remember
All those who take refuge in Him are happy.
In Revelation 19 we see a picture that should inspire awe and trembling:
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
There is much we could gather from dissecting this passage and it is worth your time to do so but for know consider only that this one whose eyes are like blazing fire wearing a robe dipped in blood leading armies and with a sharp sword is a very dangerous person. It tells us clearly that he will strike down the nations and quoting from Psalm 2, “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” We are very much in line with the picture of Darth Vader here who commanded the power of the Force against his enemies and sat at the head of vast armies of stormtroopers and countless ships with the power to devastate planets. However, my eyes must drift back to verse 11 and note the difference between the reality and the analogy: the Son is faithful and true, judging with justice. Though there is wrath and anger they are a faithful and true reflection of justice. I know we can all imagine true justice. I am convinced it is burned into the heart of every human being but we lose sight of what it really is because it is so very illusive in our broken world. True justice is both very comforting and may be terrifying because every wrong is righted whether we call it small or great, no favoritism exists. No one gets “let off.” There is no “grading curve.” There are no “go backs.” Yes, it is not hard to admit that under a regime of perfect justice that we would experience the wrath and anger end of things from time to time.
Another point this may bring up is a quote you may have heard, that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” This is true. In this world, there is the possibility of ignorance of some law and in our ignorance we may violate the law and be punishable. Under God’s government, this does not worry us. Willful sins have been distinguished from sins in ignorance and provision was made for restoring the person who committed a sin of ignorance and punishing the person who committed a willful sin. This has long been clear if you take a tour through the Old Testament.
Now, consider this text from Hebrews 10:
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
It is implicit here that we will receive the knowledge of the truth. We will know right and wrong. This knowledge is not just the innate knowledge I mentioned earlier but God gives us more. Let us talk about God’s mercy. Romans 3 comes to our aid:
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood —to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Again, we have a power packed passage of scripture, which I cannot hope to fully describe here but let us pull out some essentials. Christ (the Anointed One) shed his blood to satisfy justice. Christ (this same one we see who will come to break the nations) first provided a path of mercy that any who have faith in Jesus may receive. Sins have been long left unpunished in anticipation of this event. Colossians 1:19-23 tells us much the same thing but let this one statement be brought forth here, “This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.” There is one needed piece of knowledge (for the faith discussed earlier) for all and it has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.
So, God’s justice is justified. It is perfect and unblemished. Injustice we see today will be reconciled and exists mostly if not entirely because of God’s patience in allowing us to accept his opportunity for mercy. Nevertheless, be warned by what follows our earlier passage from Hebrews 10 given what I hope is some understanding of the preciousness of the Anointed One and what he gave for you. As opposed to lawbreakers under the law of Moses,
29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
God has provided a nearly inexplicable source of grace for us, giving a way for the undeserving to avoid wrath. There is only one Way. Christ will not be sacrificed again and it is petty to think that something else could have the same power as the blood of God’s own Son or that God would shed that blood unnecessarily. Faith in Christ is the way to be reconciled to a God who cannot let the least transgression go unpunished.
As a final note so that we do not lose sight of our role of service in what is now a stealth and what will be a very visible Kingdom, in the Empire there were ruling governors and officers and we have the same in the Kingdom of God. He tells those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord that they are kings and priests. So, let us “Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling” for He is worthy.
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