9781644135945

The Light of the World
Christ the King, the Lord! Divine Wisdom, Adonai, the powerful God, is at the same time man
with flesh and blood of the house of Jesse, the father of King David. Verily, the right of kingship
has now passed from the house of David. The glory that once clothed the royal family has
faded and withered, leaving only a blighted and withered root. But from this root is to spring a
glorious blossom, the King of the world. “He shall rule from sea to sea and from the river unto
the ends of the earth. Before Him the Ethiopians shall fall down and His enemies shall lick the
ground. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents: . . . all nations shall serve Him”
(Ps 71:8–11). To Him God has said, “Thou art My Son. . . . I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy
inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession” (Ps 2:7 f.).
“He shall be great, . . . and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His
father, and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever. And of His kingdom there shall be no
end” (Lk 1:32 f.). In the face of Roman power He shall declare, “I am a King” ( Jn 18:37). On
the throne of the cross they shall proclaim His kingship in the three universal languages of the
time: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” ( Jn 19:19). He will send forth apostles, for all
power is given Him “in heaven and in earth. Going, therefore, teach ye all nations, . . . teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mt 28:18–20). Before Him a
Herod, a Domitian, and a Diocletian shall tremble. A Julian will be obliged to confess, “Galilean,
Thou hast conquered.”
He will establish His kingdom in the world, a kingdom of truth, of justice, and of grace.
He who was cast off by men and fastened to the cross, will make that cross a throne. The Lord
rules as a king from His cross. He is remembered gratefully and loved by millions who leave all
earthly things, father and mother and all else, to follow Him. They devote their health and their
life, even their blood, to His service. Root of Jesse, Thou standest as an ensign of the nations,
and kings are silent in reverence before Thee.
“Come to deliver us and tarry not.” The world cries out for Christ its King, who shall
cast out the Prince of this world ( Jn 12:31). The prince of this world established his power
over men as a result of Original Sin. He exercises his lordship very efficiently, and has led
many men into apostasy and idolatry, and has brought them into the temples where he
himself is adored. He even dared to approach our Lord, after His fast of forty days in the
desert, to tempt Him to fall down before him and adore him. Even after we had been delivered
from the servitude of Satan through the death of Christ on the cross, the prince of
this world attempts to exercise his power over us. “The devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about
seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pt 5:8). Like a bird of prey he hovers above us waiting
for a favorable opportunity to seize us and lead us into sin. Often enough he transforms
“himself into an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). The sworn enemy and adversary of Christ
and of all that is good, he devotes his entire energy and his great intelligence to the task of
establishing a kingdom of sin and darkness which is opposed to God and to Christianity.
Satan establishes his power over deluded men in a way that is perfectly obvious. When
he has gained control over the body of a man, he uses it for his own purposes, as though it
were he who actually controls and animates the body in place of the human soul. He often
exerts his influence over men by harassing them and hindering them by his external works,
as is so evident in the lives of some holy men and women. In these trying times, when faith
in Christ and in God has largely disappeared, when the propaganda of a pagan culture is
broadcast everywhere, and the forces of evil and falsehood rise up to cast God from His
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