Is there any historical evidence that Jesus existed? Part 2

Part 1 dealt with hostile non-Biblical pagan accounts of Jesus existence. In this post I will write about some non-Biblical Jewish accounts, some that are also hostile, but also that describe Jesus as existing. Here I will show some writings of historical writings by Jewish theologians, historians and leaders who were in no way sympathetic to the Christian cause or the rising of Christianity. Some of these writings are critical, demeaning and very harsh towards Jesus. But as I will show you they although they are very critical to Jesus, we can still learn a lot from them.

1. One of the most well known Jewish writers who wrote about Jesus was Flavius Josephus. Josephus wrote about Jesus in his “the antiquities of the Jews” in 93 AD. What we know about Josephus is that he was born only four years after the crucifixion. At an early age he was a Jewish consultant and he became a Galilean military commander by the age of sixteen. He was an eyewitness to much of what he recorded in the first century AD. He was allowed to write a history of the Jews and he did this while under the rule of Roman emperor Vespasian. In this history he included 3 pages on Christians, one in which he describes the death of John the Baptist, one in where he mentions the death of James and also describes him as the brother of Jesus the Christ, and finally he describes Jesus as a wise man and the Messiah. There is also some controversy about the writing of Josephus, because the first discoveries of his writings are late enough to have been re-written by Christians who were accused of making additions to the text. Here is some of the text from Josephus, that also has been found to be true by many history scholars:

“Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared”

There is so many other writings by Josephus that also speak on miracles performed by Jesus, His life and status as Christ and as I wrote earlier he wrote of James the brother of Jesus. Here is part of the text:

“But this younger Ananus, who, as we told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent. . . . He assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus the so-called Messiah-Christ, whose name was James, and some others. When he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them over to be stoned.”

Despite some trying to disprove him, Josephus’s works are credible and a lot of his works provide an insight and understanding of early Jewish life in the first century and the Jewish war. Through the writings of Josephus we can see a few things. Jesus lived in Palestine, He was a wise man and a teacher, was accused by the Jews after working amazing deeds, He was crucified before Pontius Pilate, and He had followers that were called Christians. Since this is one of the more important readings and probably the more skeptic denied writings I invite you to find a copy of the writings online and read them for yourself, but also find some good scholar historian books on the subject and you will find that not only has it not been proven that early Christians may have added to it, but Josephus in his writings also mentions many other Biblical-relevant occurrences that are not in dispute. The areas of his writings that are not disputed only adds validity to the claims that Josephus knew about and wrote about Jesus, as well as writing about other New Testament occurrences.  Many historians were able to reconstruct what may have been in the original writing. Two of the best researchers I have found on the subject are Edwin Yamauchi and John Meier.

2. The Jewish Talmud (400-700 AD) The word Talmud in Hebrew means learning or instruction. The Jewish Talmud is collections of extra-Biblical Jewish religious writings that is basically a collections of collections of teachings, laws and interpretations based on the Old Testament Torah. The earliest Talmudic writings of Jewish Rabbis appear in the 5th century, the tradition of these Rabbinic authors indicates they are faithful transmitted teachings from the early Tannaitic (group of Jewish scholars in 1st and 2nd century) period. Many scholars believe there are a number of Talmudic writings that refer to Jesus. Many of these writings are said to use code words, such as “Balaam, Ben Stada, and a certain one.” But because I try to keep these posts as short as I can with the most amount of information I will only show some quotations that refer to Jesus in a more direct way. If you are interested in seeing the other quotes please look them up it will help you in your journey and study immensely.

“Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray” (b. Sanhedrin 43a; cf. t. Shabbat 11.15; b. Shabbat 104b)

“Rabbi Hisda (d. 309) said that Rabbi Jeremiah bar Abba said, ‘What is that which is written, ‘No evil will befall you, nor shall any plague come near your house’? (Psalm 91:10)… ‘No evil will befall you’ (means) that evil dreams and evil thoughts will not tempt you; ‘nor shall any plague come near your house’ (means) that you will not have a son or a disciple who burns his food like Jesus of Nazareth.” (b. Sanhedrin 103a; cf. b. Berakhot 17b)

“Our rabbis have taught that Jesus had five disciples: Matthai, Nakai, Nezer, Buni and Todah. They brought Matthai to (to trial). He said, ‘Must Matthai be killed? For it is written, ‘When (mathai) shall I come and appear before God?’” (Psalm 92:2) They said to him, “Yes Matthai must be killed, for it is written, ‘When (mathai) he dies his name will perish’” (Psalm 41:5). They brought Nakai. He said to them, “Must Nakai be killed? For it is written, “The innocent (naqi) and the righteous will not slay’” (Exodus 23:7). They said to him, “Yes, Nakai must be kille, for it is written, ‘In secret places he slays the innocent (naqi)’” (Psalm 10:8). (b. Sanhedrin 43a; the passage continues in a similar way for Nezer, Buni and Todah)

And this, perhaps the most famous of Talmudic passages about Jesus:

“It was taught: On the day before the Passover they hanged Jesus. A herald went before him for forty days (proclaiming), “He will be stoned, because he practiced magic and enticed Israel to go astray. Let anyone who knows anything in his favor come forward and plead for him.” But nothing was found in his favor, and they hanged him on the day before the Passover. (b. Sanhedrin 43a)

We see that these passages reference Jesus by name, and we see He had magical powers, He led the Jews away from their beliefs, He had disciples (one named Matthai) who were martyred for their faith, and He was executed the day before the Passover.

3. The Toledot Yeshu (1000 AD) is a medieval Jewish retelling of the life of Jesus. It is very anti-Christian and there are many versions of these retelling’s. Because of the transmitted oral and written tradition of the Jews, we can presume their original place in antiquity, dating back to the time of Jesus’ first appearance as an influential leader who was drawing Jews away from their faith that they had in the Law. The Toledot Yeshu also tries to explain away the miracles of Jesus and also denies the virgin birth. This is as I mentioned a very hostile and anti-Christian account, and sometimes is very vicious. All that being said, it still confirms many elements of the New Testament writings. Here is a part of the text, in which Jesus is called “Yehoshua”:

“In the year 3671 (in Jewish reckonging, it being ca 90 B.C.) in the days of King Jannaeus, a great misfortune befell Israel, when there arose a certain disreputable man of the tribe of Judah, whose name was Joseph Pandera. He lived at Bethlehem, in Judah. Near his house dwelt a widow and her lovely and chaste daughter named Miriam. Miriam was betrothed to Yohanan, of the royal house of David, a man learned in the Torah and God-fearing. At the close of a certain Sabbath, Joseph Pandera, attractive and like a warrior in appearance, having gazed lustfully upon Miriam, knocked upon the door of her room and betrayed her by pretending that he was her betrothed husband, Yohanan. Even so, she was amazed at this improper conduct and submitted only against her will. Thereafter, when Yohanan came to her, Miriam expressed astonishment at behavior so foreign to his character. It was thus that they both came to know the crime of Joseph Pandera and the terrible mistake on the part of Miriam… Miriam gave birth to a son and named him Yehoshua, after her brother. This name later deteriorated to Yeshu (“Yeshu” is the Jewish “name” for Jesus. It means “May His Name Be Blotted Out”). On the eighth day he was circumcised. When he was old enough the lad was taken by Miriam to the house of study to be instructed in the Jewish tradition. One day Yeshu walked in front of the Sages with his head uncovered, showing shameful disrespect. At this, the discussion arose as to whether this behavior did not truly indicate that Yeshu was an illegitimate child and the son of a niddah. Moreover, the story tells that while the rabbis were discussing the Tractate Nezikin, he gave his own impudent interpretation of the law and in an ensuing debate he held that Moses could not be the greatest of the prophets if he had to receive counsel from Jethro. This led to further inquiry as to the antecedents of Yeshu, and it was discovered through Rabban Shimeon ben Shetah that he was the illegitimate son of Joseph Pandera. Miriam admitted it. After this became known, it was necessary for Yeshu to flee to Upper Galilee. After King Jannaeus, his wife Helene ruled over all Israel. In the Temple was to be found the Foundation Stone on which were engraven the letters of God’s Ineffable Name. Whoever learned the secret of the Name and its use would be able to do whatever he wished. Therefore, the Sages took measures so that no one should gain this knowledge. Lions of brass were bound to two iron pillars at the gate of the place of burnt offerings. Should anyone enter and learn the Name, when he left the lions would roar at him and immediately the valuable secret would be forgotten. Yeshu came and learned the letters of the Name; he wrote them upon the parchment which he placed in an open cut on his thigh and then drew the flesh over the parchment. As he left, the lions roared and he forgot the secret. But when he came to his house he reopened the cut in his flesh with a knife an lifted out the writing. Then he remembered and obtained the use of the letters. He gathered about himself three hundred and ten young men of Israel and accused those who spoke ill of his birth of being people who desired greatness and power for themselves. Yeshu proclaimed, “I am the Messiah; and concerning me Isaiah prophesied and said, ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’” He quoted other messianic texts, insisting, “David my ancestor prophesied concerning me: ‘The Lord said to me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.’” The insurgents with him replied that if Yeshu was the Messiah he should give them a convincing sign. They therefore, brought to him a lame man, who had never walked. Yeshu spoke over the man the letters of the Ineffable Name, and the leper was healed. Thereupon, they worshipped him as the Messiah, Son of the Highest. When word of these happenings came to Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin decided to bring about the capture of Yeshu. They sent messengers, Annanui and Ahaziah, who, pretending to be his disciples, said that they brought him an invitation from the leaders of Jerusalem to visit them. Yeshu consented on condition the members of the Sanhedrin receive him as a lord. He started out toward Jerusalem and, arriving at Knob, acquired an ass on which he rode into Jerusalem, as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah. The Sages bound him and led him before Queen Helene, with the accusation: “This man is a sorcerer and entices everyone.” Yeshu replied, “The prophets long ago prophesied my coming: ‘And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,’ and I am he; but as for them, Scripture says ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.’” Queen Helene asked the Sages: “What he says, is it in your Torah?” They replied: “It is in our Torah, but it is not applicable to him, for it is in Scripture: ‘And that prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.’ He has not fulfilled the signs and conditions of the Messiah.” Yeshu spoke up: “Madam, I am the Messiah and I revive the dead.” A dead body was brought in; he pronounced the letters of the Ineffable Name and the corpse came to life. The Queen was greatly moved and said: “This is a true sign.” She reprimanded the Sages and sent them humiliated from her presence. Yeshu’s dissident followers increased and there was controversy in Israel. Yeshu went to Upper Galilee. the Sages came before the Queen, complaining that Yeshu practiced sorcery and was leading everyone astray. Therefore she sent Annanui and Ahaziah to fetch him. The found him in Upper Galilee, proclaiming himself the Son of God. When they tried to take him there was a struggle, but Yeshu said to the men of Upper Galilee: “Wage no battle.” He would prove himself by the power which came to him from his Father in heaven. He spoke the Ineffable Name over the birds of clay and they flew into the air. He spoke the same letters over a millstone that had been placed upon the waters. He sat in it and it floated like a boat. When they saw this the people marveled. At the behest of Yeshu, the emissaries departed and reported these wonders to the Queen. She trembled with astonishment. Then the Sages selected a man named Judah Iskarioto and brought him to the Sanctuary where he learned the letters of the Ineffable Name as Yeshu had done. When Yeshu was summoned before the queen, this time there were present also the Sages and Judah Iskarioto. Yeshu said: “It is spoken of me, ‘I will ascend into heaven.’” He lifted his arms like the wings of an eagle and he flew between heaven and earth, to the amazement of everyone…Yeshu was seized. His head was covered with a garment and he was smitten with pomegranate staves; but he could do nothing, for he no longer had the Ineffable Name. Yeshu was taken prisoner to the synagogue of Tiberias, and they bound him to a pillar. To allay his thirst they gave him vinegar to drink. On his head they set a crown of thorns. There was strife and wrangling between the elders and the unrestrained followers of Yeshu, as a result of which the followers escaped with Yeshu to the region of Antioch; there Yeshu remained until the eve of the Passover. Yeshu then resolved to go the Temple to acquire again the secret of the Name. That year the Passover came on a Sabbath day. On the eve of the Passover, Yeshu, accompanied by his disciples, came to Jerusalem riding upon an ass. Many bowed down before him. He entered the Temple with his three hundred and ten followers. One of them, Judah Iskarioto apprised the Sages that Yeshu was to be found in the Temple, that the disciples had taken a vow by the Ten Commandments not to reveal his identity but that he would point him out by bowing to him. So it was done and Yeshu was seized. Asked his name, he replied to the question by several times giving the names Mattai, Nakki, Buni, Netzer, each time with a verse quoted by him and a counter-verse by the Sages. Yeshu was put to death on the sixth hour on the eve of the Passover and of the Sabbath. When they tried to hang him on a tree it broke, for when he had possessed the power he had pronounced by the Ineffable Name that no tree should hold him. He had failed to pronounce the prohibition over the carob-stalk, for it was a plant more than a tree, and on it he was hanged until the hour for afternoon prayer, for it is written in Scripture, “His body shall not remain all night upon the tree.” They buried him outside the city. On the first day of the week his bold followers came to Queen Helene with the report that he who was slain was truly the Messiah and that he was not in his grave; he had ascended to heaven as he prophesied. Diligent search was made and he was not found in the grave where he had been buried. A gardener had taken him from the grave and had brought him into his garden and buried him in the sand over which the waters flowed into the garden. Queen Helene demanded, on threat of a severe penalty, that the body of Yeshu be shown to her within a period of three days. There was a great distress. When the keeper of the garden saw Rabbi Tanhuma walking in the field and lamenting over the ultimatum of the Queen, the gardener related what he had done, in order that Yeshu’s followers should not steal the body and then claim that he had ascended into heaven. The Sages removed the body, tied it to the tail of a horse and transported it to the Queen, with the words, “This is Yeshu who is said to have ascended to heaven.” Realizing that Yeshu was a false prophet who enticed the people and led them astray, she mocked the followers but praised the Sages.

The ancient Jews who wrote this did their best to argue for another interpretation of the life of Christ, in doing this they did make several claims about Jesus. The above as well as several others from the writings confirm Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, healed the lame, told of Isaiah’s foretelling of His life, was worshiped as God, was arrested by the Jews, beaten with rods, given vinegar to drink, wore a crown of thorns, rode a donkey into Jerusalem, was betrayed by a man named Judah Iskarioto, and had followers who claimed He was resurrected and ascended which left an empty tomb.

In these two posts I have given writings from the past that are sources outside of the Bible that show that the man Jesus existed. I know that many unbelievers will do all they can do discredit, and try to disprove these accounts but the truth is these accounts only strengthen the Bible as being a historical source as well as the true Word of God.

December 1, 2014

Well here we are, December 1 time to get out the Christmas lights, decorations, shopping lists and all the other stresses that come during Christmas time. Christmas is a very special time of the year it seems to bring families a little closer together, friends reconnect, children come home from being away at school. The Christmas season also brings on many attacks from atheists, people who are struggling with their faith, and those of other religions. This is one of the main reasons why I stress that we as Christians need to be strong in our faith, strong in our study of the Bible, and strong in apologetic’s (defending the Christian faith).

I will throughout this month write about different attacks that you may encounter, maybe in your real life but especially in the social media world. In this post though I want to speak to Bible believing Christians. I want to write about different ways we as Christians can celebrate Christmas.

The first and foremost way we as Christians can celebrate and enjoy the Christmas season is by keeping Christ in Christ(mas). In this secular, politically correct world we live in it seems like it is harder and harder to do this, but as followers of Jesus keeping Christ in the center of our lives always (not only at Christmas) is the key to having a great holiday with family and friends. I don’t believe it is wrong to decorate, put up trees and lights and give cards and gifts, I just believe all this should be secondary to acknowledging that our great and mighty Savior was born (not on December 25). If we start in our home we can raise a generation of children who will one day grow up and pass it on to their generation. When we start in our own home then we will not be ashamed (Romans 1:16) when we are at work, at school, at the shopping centers, on social media.

A second way is by decorating our house with Christ centered themes, like a nativity set, have Christ centered music playing throughout your home, invite family and friends to church (not just your Christmas services) or serve and share Christ with those around you. There are many ways to serve others around you, you can make treats for neighbors, family or friends and put a little tag with Scripture verses on them, you can help the elderly with their snow or leaves, you can find a soup kitchen and help with people in need, there are so many ways for you to show the servant heart that Jesus also showed us. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Spend family time doing an advent calendar or wreath, this is a great time to start doing Bible studies and devotionals with your family. This is an important aspect to molding your child’s life and teaching them that Bible reading, study and devotions are not just for church, but should be a daily part of our lives. Do not rely on the church, Sunday school teachers or your Pastors for the only teaching of spiritual matters in your children’s lives. They are all very important, but this needs to start at home.

Watch good Christian Biblical based Christmas shows and movies. There is nothing wrong with watching Rudolph, Frosty and Charlie Brown, but while you are watching theses shows also look for good family Christians shows and movies as well. It is so hard sometimes not to get caught up in all the Christmas hype that we lose the real reason of what we are celebrating. We need to keep our focus on Christ, and Christ alone.

A great way to keep Christ the center of your home during the holiday season is to seek out Bible verses about the birth of Christ and read them and discover together as a family the meaning and words that are spoken in each verse. Talk about it, ask questions you will discover so much if you simply take the time to read, study and understand.

Here are a few verses from both the Old and New Testament that are great for starting this in your home:

1. Isaiah 7:14- This is a wonderful verse that is also quoted in Matthew 1:23 that shows the fulfillment of this prophecy in Isaiah that a virgin would conceive and bear a son, Immanuel, The Christ.

2. Luke 1:30-35- God showed favor on Mary and blessed her, but these verses also show us that God’s favor does not automatically bring us success or good times. Mary was ridiculed by the people around her, Joseph wanted to quietly leave her, and I am sure she felt so much rejection and pain and did not understand all that was happening. But in spite of all that she chose to trust God, because through her would come the world’s only hope, she realized this was all God’s plan and I am thankful for that plan, because through God’s plan we can now have salvation.

I love reading the account in Luke, and as we know Luke was a doctor so he knew how babies were made I firmly believe that being a doctor it would have been so hard for him to believe that a virgin could be pregnant and give birth to a child, but he was a great researcher and he based his gospel on eyewitness accounts, and it is even noted that he had talked to Mary about some of the events that are recorded in his first two chapters so this is not a fictional account, and through all of this research he was convinced enough to have these facts reported in his writings.

3. Matthew 1:18-25- Many people only read one gospel account of the birth of Jesus, but it is important that we read and study them all. The reason is because the gospel writers all have there own writing style and perspective on the account and happenings that we learn so much from reading them all. In these accounts we realize how important the virgin birth is. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had to be free from the sinful nature that was passed on to every human being by Adam. Jesus being born of a woman means He was a human being, but being the Son of God meant that He was born without sin, because He is God Himself. (Hypostatic Union) Jesus is both fully human and fully God (Divine) and this is such an important belief to our faith. While reading these verses in Matthew put yourself in the situation Joseph was placed in and how difficult it must have been for him, and how confused he must have been with all that was happening. He had to make a difficult decision after he found that Mary was pregnant, he knew they both would be humiliated and that Mary could have been killed. But like Mary, Joseph had faith that this was all God’s plan and we should be so thankful that they had that faith.

4. Isaiah 9:6-7- This is one of the more popular verses for the prophecy of Christ’s birth. In a time of great darkness God promised to send a light who would shine on everyone living in the shadow of death. He is both Wonderful Counselor and a Mighty God. This is a message of hope that as fulfilled in the birth of Christ, and which established His eternal Kingdom.

These are just a few wonderful verses in the Bible of the birth of Jesus, in my next post I will give a few more and also start writing about some of the attacks on your faith you may run into on this Christmas season and try and help a little in answering and refuting the attacks.

I hope you all have a great week, and remember to keep Christ in your everyday life not only in the Christ(mas) season.

Hebrews 2:5-9

Continuing in the study of Hebrews, I know it has been a few weeks and I apologize for anyone who has been reading these studies. School has started up again and am in a dreaded philosophy class that is drawing most of my intention away from getting to this. Today we are reading Hebrews 2:5-9, which in the verses before we see the author talking about and explaining the superiority of Jesus over everything and everyone including the angels.

Here after stating his clear warning the author returns to the theme he began to write about in Hebrews 1, the superiority of Jesus Christ to the angels. This is the general theme of the first couple chapters of Hebrews, it was so important for the writer to show the Jewish people of that time that Jesus was more and better than the angels, and that yes the angels are and were important in bringing God’s message but Jesus is and was so much more.

In Hebrews 2:5, he wants the readers to consider the world to come, and he makes it clear that this is what he has been talking about all along. I was blessed to be given a wonderful book called, “A Glorious High Throne” written by a great man of God from England, and my friend Edgar Andrews. When he heard I was doing a study on Hebrews he sent me his book which is a beautifully written book on the book of Hebrews. It is very easy to read and goes verse by verse in explaining the book. I will quote and give some of his insight in some of my writings, and will reference him and his writings from time to time.

In his book, Andrews writes about Hebrews 2:5, “The great salvation made available in Christ is a privilege beyond description- that much is made clear in 2:3. But now the writer unveils a further aspect of God’s eternal and cosmic purpose. The redeemed, we are told, will inherit the world to come.” So we see that not only does Christ surpass the angels, but the humblest believer also enjoys a status higher than theirs. So if the Hebrew believers were being influenced by members of the Essene communities, they would be presented with teachings that included the exhalation of angels in the end times.

The Essene’s were a branch of Pharisee’s who conformed to the most rigid rules of Levitical purity while aspiring to the highest degree of holiness. The name usually means the modest, humble or pious ones. You can imagine how hard it was for these Jewish Christians to live their faith and how much persecution they must have endured form the religious Jews who continued to practice the “old law.”

The author never differentiates any of the angels either good or bad, he simply raises the issue that God did not appoint the angels to rule in the world to come.

In Hebrews 2:6-8, the writer quotes from Psalm 8:4-6. The Psalm can be read as a description of how human beings fit into God’s creation. Man is God’s special creation, designed to serve Him and enjoy an eternal destiny of glory. This destiny is fulfilled in Christ. (Andrews) Jesus is the quintessential human being. Jesus frequently referred to Himself as “Son of Man”, in this authors interpretation of the Psalm, the title has a double meaning referring both to human beings in general, and then to Jesus as the fulfillment of humanity’s destiny. All people have been created a little lower than the angels, but because of the fallen state this high status is not seen today. Through the perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus reversed the results of the fall and achieved this glorified status predicted in the Psalm. (Philippians 2:6-11) In Christ the true dignity and destiny of humankind is fulfilled.

In his books Andrews writes this, ” So man is higher than the angels because of the glorious destiny God has purposed for him, in the form of the church of Christ. But at the same time he has been made a little lower than the angels. (2:7) How are we to resolve this paradox? Firstly the words “a little” are better translated “for a little while.” They refer not so much to a degree of man’s present subjection as to its duration (it will last until Christ returns in triumph Romans 8:21). In God’s sovereign purpose, man did not step immediately from Eden’s garden to eternal glory. Why not? Because then God’s purpose for mankind would have usurped His purpose for His Son, namely, that he might have the pre-eminence, be glorified as the Redeemer of the lost, and become heir of all things (1:2). As a result, man’s potential is hidden in this present age, obscured by the ravages of sin and the curse of death. Thus “now we do not yet see all things put under him” (2:8). But all is not darkness. The man Christ Jesus, having died for his elect and risen from the dead, has entered into glory as their forerunner. He thus demonstrates what ultimately awaits the whole church in glory.

God put Jesus in charge of everything, and Jesus revealed Himself to us. Although we do not see Jesus reigning on earth, we can picture Him in His heavenly glory. So when we are confused about what is happening on our earth now, or we feel anxious about what our future may hold we need to stop and remember that Jesus is still in control, and He is in His true position  and has complete authority over all things. He is the Lord of all and one day He will rule on earth as He does now in heaven.