The Advent - The Coronation of a (the) King.

"When you see the earth set under the Cross, remember that the whole world is subject to the Power and Empire of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer".*

The monarch while receiving the Orb which represents the dominion of the Lord over the whole earth and the monarch as His representative accepts this Orb says the pledge, "Receive this orb set under the cross, and remember that the whole world is subject to the power and empire of Christ our Redeemer.” In other words, the Sovereign’s Orb is a reminder, not of the King’s power but of the limits of his power.

Even the monarch limits his own power and gives way to the dominion of the Lord.

Prophet Isaiah 9:6,7 reads, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

In Gospel of Luke, first chapter, angel Gabriel greeting Mary and gives a good news that, "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him "Jesus". He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (v31-33, NIV).

In Matthew 2:11, One of the three gifts that were received from the Wisemen by Mary and Jesus included Gold, which represents the Kingship, and the Divine nature of the Lord.

One of the Apocryphal books, the Psalms of Solomon 17: 32-36 read as,

"He will have the nation's to serve Him under his yoke..the nation's may come from the ends of the earth to see His glory...He himself is a righteous King over them... their King is the anointed Lord."

"[LORD] hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  ...[And] on His head are many Crowns. He has a name written on Him.... He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the "Word of God". The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ...He will rule them with an iron scepter. ... On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: "KING of kings and LORD of lords."

- Matthew 6:9,10; Revelation 19:13-16 (NIV).

We should be aware of this Scripture from John 6:15, "Jesus, knowing that they (people who ate 5 barley loaves and 2 fish) intended to come and make him (Jesus) King by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." So, there was a strong impulse in the people's heart that Jesus should be the king, but this would destroy the plan what Father intended for Him. So Jesus withdrew from there.

Another incident that followed to show Jesus as King is in Zechariah 9:9. The prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-11, when Jesus rode on a donkey. F F Bruce writes that, "once upon a time the ass has been the beast on which judges and kings rode in Israel. But since Solomon's time the horse had replaced the ass for this purpose. ...Jesus accordingly presented Himself to the people of Jerusalem as their King." (The Spreading Flame).

Before His crucifixion, when Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" “You have said so,” Jesus replied. Then He continues saying that, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth." (Matthew 27:11; John 18:36,37 NIV).

The truth is that, Jesus came to this world to shed His blood for each and everyone of us, past, present and future. He said, "This is my blood of the (new) covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins", "as the Son of Man... to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 26:28; 20:28, NIV).

But, He (Jesus) will soon come back and take you... (John 14:3).

Till then, let the Sovereignty of the Lord reign over all the earth forever and ever. Amen. As His representatives we need to take the orb as a responsibility of spreading the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to the very ends of the earth (Matthew 28:18-20).

- Words within parentheses are my own.

- *Quote inspired from British Coronation Service.

Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III with Orb

"globus cruciger" (Latin for ‘cross-bearing orb’)

Timothy and Elagabalus: Compare and Contrast.

It's a story of two grand mother's, two mother's (of two one is an Aunt and the other is a mother), and two son's: overall it's a story of two families - compared and contrasted.

Though there is almost a two hundred years gap between the two, their mothers, Julia Mamaea (actually *Aunt) and other Eunice, both were attracted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, one by Apostle Paul and the other by Origen. Julia knew the Lord, but when she came to know that Origen was in the city, she called him up, spent time in enquiring more about the Lord. Eunice is a jewesses who has the knowledge about the Lord, but she came to know about the incarnated Lord Jesus Christ through Apostle Paul. Their sons, one accepted the Lord as his Saviour, the other didn't. One came to be called by Paul as the "true child in faith and my beloved child" (1Tim :2; 2Tim 1:2), the other became an emperor of Rome (reigned from AD/CE 218-222). While one walked in the fear of the Lord, the other started a new cult religion of his own. While one started/planted new Churches all around, the other planted a temple for Sun god (El-Gabal) and built a temple for his patron god on Palatine hill, Rome. While one evangelized about Jesus Christ, above all other faiths fearlessly. The other kept tolerance with other religions, and forcing people to worship Sun god, his patron deity. While one was appointed to a servitude job as an overseer (later was appointed the first Bishop of the Church at Ephesus), the other was a high priest at the temple of Sun god. After living a faithful life (2Tim 3:10,11) at the age of 80 or 90 years one became a martyr, stoned to death for preaching against idolatry [According to Heb 13:23, once Timothy was arrested and imprisoned, but was set free or escaped death]. The other was murdered (his mother too) after reigning Rome for four years at an early age by his own guards for forcing people to worship his patron deity Sun god. Of these two, one was Timothy, the disciple of Apostle Paul (Ac 16:1), the other was Elagabalus, the  emperor of Rome. The name Timothy means "God honours", its like God honoured him for his servitude. Whereas the name Elagabalus means in Arabic "god of the mountain", its like thefting the pride of God and paralleling himself with the God. 1Kings 20:28 reads that the God of Israel is called "the God of the mountains". Historians say that though Elagabalus married four women, he was a gay and a transgender which is against the nature which God prescribed (Romans 1:26-28; 1Tim 1:10). Timothy on the other hand followed what was taught by Paul (2Timothy 3:10-14). When Eunice sent Timothy to the Lord's service (1Tim 4:14; 1:18; 2Tim 1:6), Timothy made every moment count in accordance to his mother's faith. But Elagabalus, didn't fulfill his grand mother's (Julia Maesa) plans, so Julia Maesa (grand mother) had to look to Alexander Severus (AD/CE 222-235), the successor of Elagabalus. Today we can see the relics of St.Timothy are venerated at Cathedral of Termoli, Italy, but after emperor Elagabalus brutal murder his body, decapitated his head and was thrown into river Tiber in Italy.

To conclude both were nurtured by devote mothers (one is Aunt), but their choice, paths, and faith were different. Proverbs 22:6 reads, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" (ESV). How are we training our children?

*Julia Mamaea was daughter of Julia Maesa and younger sister of Julia Soaemias mother of emperor Elagabalus.

Sources:

1. Holy Bible,

2. Bible Encyclopaedia,

3. Eusebius - Church History,

4. Wikipedia.

Julia Mamaea, Aunt of Emperor Elagabalus.

Julia Soaemias mother of emperor Elagabalus.

St.Timothy relics at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Purification in Termoli, Italy.

Is It Mandatory For Man To Do The Dishes? 2Kings 21:13.

Misinterpretation of 2Kings 21:13.

I was watching on FB Reels, YT Shots, Instagram posts and memes these days on social media about Man doing with cleaning of dishes in the kitchen. Though it started as fun but soon it might take a serious turn. So, I decided to try and give a better understanding of the Scripture.

As "a man" wipeth - the word "man" was never there in the hebrew scriptures, but the meaning was implied to it. It was more of implied to God rather than man (husband/son). It is God who warns Israel that as the remnant of food is wiped from the bowl, leaving no crumbs or the last drop, the bowl can be turned upside down. In the same way God is going to handover them (Israelites) to enemies who will spoil and plunder as like nothing left in their bowels or plates, because they have done evil before the Lord since they came out of Egypt (2Kings 21:13,14,15). So v13 has nothing to do with a man (husband/son) doing dishes, but there is nothing wrong in helping your woman/mother/sister in the kitchen. It's not mandatory that the man has to do with the dishes in his house.

Tetragrammaton YHWH and Jesus

This is a tetragrammaton. The first letter of every word of the signboard (hebrew) that was fixed above the cross on which Jesus was crucified spells the name YHWH, which in 15th to 17th centuries AD or a little earlier by adding the vowels YHWH was pronounced "Yehowah", and in English we call Him "Jehovah". The vowels are supplied from another adoration word "Adonay". "Adon" literally means "my Lord". We can see this tetragrammaton in Exodus 6:2, "I am the LORD (Yehowah)". This is one beautiful example which equates Jesus with His Father. Jesus said that "I and my Father are one.. the Father is in Me, and I in Him", in John 10:30, 38. When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father", (John 14:8,9) and says again in v10 and 11, that "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me". When Jesus has come to know that the time for His crucifixion has come, Jesus said, "Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again". The people therefore, that stood by and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. (John 12:28,29). We can see a similar thing happening at Jesus baptism in Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the witnessing of the Father from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased", (Matt 3:17; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22). There are still more instances of equating Jesus with the Father in the Holy Bible.