As we approach Christmas Day, which I will present (spoiler alert!) as an invasion – an act of war – it’s useful to remember that Jesus came to set up a Kingdom. We noticed in Saturday’s blog on Psalm 145 that the prophet Daniel’s word to Nebuchadnezzar was clear:

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2.44, ESV)

God clarifies the vision to Daniel, and he reports in chapter 7:

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7.13, 14, ESV)

And that is precisely what the angel Gabriel told Mary:

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1.30 – 33, ESV)

It is a Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed. Stay tuned.