«　WEEK 2　DAY 6　»

　　Rev. 1:4-5 …Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth…

　　19:16 And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

　　The name Jesus implies the incarnation, and the title Christ indicates that the Lord Jesus is God’s anointed One. He was the faithful Witness in His human living, and He is the Firstborn of the dead in His resurrection. In His ascension and enthronement He is the Ruler of the kings of the earth, for He is now Lord and Head of all. Furthermore, He will rule over all nations when He comes to reign in His kingdom. The title the Ruler of the kings of the earth thus refers to His ascension, to His present situation, and to His coming back. Therefore, the description of Christ in Revelation 1:5 covers everything from Christ’s incarnation to His eternal kingdom. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4123)

　　According to history, the one whose calendar we use is the one to whom we are in subjection. If a person used the calendar of a certain king, he would be under the rule of that king. In like manner, even the ungodly are under Jesus Christ because they use His calendar…. Jesus’ birth has become the landmark of the calendar of all the peoples on earth. To use His calendar is to acknowledge that He is the King. In this way they unconsciously admit that He is their Ruler. In the universe there is one unique Ruler…. All the people on earth are His people, and He is the Ruler of all nations. He is the unique Ruler of the earth; the whole world is Christ’s kingdom.

　　To call Him the Ruler of kings is to say that He is far above the earthly rulers. On the earth there have been many kings, queens, and presidents, but the Ruler of all these is Christ. The rulers of this world are not the real rulers. Christ is the One ruling over the world. In a very real sense, Christ as the Ruler of the kings dethrones all the kings. Only He is the Ruler.

　　According to Revelation 19:16, He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Christ is both the Ruler and the King…. It may seem that kings and presidents rule the earth and that the Lord Jesus is not on the throne. Nevertheless, this One who seems not to be on the throne is the Ruler of all the enthroned ones. Today the entire world is under the Lord’s ruling. Every king, queen, president, and head of state is under His reign. He is truly the Leader, the chief Ruler. The entire world situation is under His rule, not under the control of any nation. Jesus Christ is the Administrator of today’s universe. God made Christ the Ruler and exalted Him as the Leader. He is the Ruler of all the kings of the earth to administrate God’s plan for man. He administrates the entire universe for the purpose of fulfilling God's eternal plan.

　　Christ carries out His mission as the Ruler of the kings of the earth by the seven Spirits of God burning before the throne of God (1:4; 4:5; 5:6). All of the world leaders are under the flaming of the seven Spirits. The seven Spirits are burning on this earth today for the carrying out of God’s administration. The entire world situation is under the flame of the burning of the seven Spirits…. The world situation and international affairs are all under the direction of this flame. The flame of the seven burning Spirits before the throne of God has sovereignly controlled the world situation. The throne of God in the heavens is the deciding factor of the world situation. We must realize that today the seven Spirits of God are burning before the throne, not only concerning the churches but also concerning the world situation for the churches. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4124-4125)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” ch. 22