His Imperial majesty the Emperor Akihito has been on the throne since his father Emperor Hirohito died in 1989. The Emperor is called the Tenno in Japanese, literally meaning “Heavenly King”, also referred to as Son of Heaven.
Many people in the world believe that Jesus was only a prophet, in the same breath as Mohammed, the father of Islam.
But the Bible states that Jesus is the Son of God, the true Son of Heaven.
[Luke 1:35,38 NIV]
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
[John 1:47-49 NIV]
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
• Jesus himself acknowledging that he was the Son of God
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.
67 "If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me,
68 and if I asked you, you would not answer.
69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
70 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am."
Be encouraged to know that, if you exercise your leadership according to God’s teachings, as a parent, a teacher, a leader in the workplace, a leader in government or a church leader, the people under you will be blessed!
It would be fantastic if all Christians do reflect God’s glory on earth. I will try!
It is true that “the LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me…….The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall……He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great…….Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.” [Ps 18:20-50 NIV]
Throughout the ages, God has used His prophets to speak His mind. Although kings sought the counsel of prophets, very often they only listen to what they want to hear. “Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the LORD. "I am going to ask you something," the king said to Jeremiah. "Do not hide anything from me." Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me." But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who are seeking your life." Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from their hands.'" King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me." "They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. [Jer 38:14-20 NIV] As a result, the kings or leaders brought upon themselves and their people God’s wrath instead of God’s blessings.
The Son of God Jesus will one day come back to judge the world. Let us respond to God’s grace now, rather respond to His wrath later. “…if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" Why not say-as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say-"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved…….As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." [Rom 3:1-12 NIV]
Be sure to know that “The righteous man is rescued from trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead……When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy……The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death…..The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath……The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner! [Prov 11:8-10,19,23,28,30,31 NIV]
Amen and amen!
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