The Righteous Conqueror

               History is filled with those who came, saw, and conquered. Some of the most renowned conquerors were men like Alexander the Great. Genghis Kahn, Cortez, Napoleon Bonapart, and of course Adolf Hitler.  All of these great conquerors are now dead, and their lands assumed by others.  Their conquests involved violence, bloodshed, and the taking of land from others.  Even the settling of our own country involved some not so righteous conquests.

            However, we as God’s people, are followers of The Righteous Conqueror.  The Apostle John introduces us to this Righteous Conqueror in 1 John 3:5: “You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him”.  Jesus invaded Satan’s domain and conquered sin by His death on the cross.  Verse 8 of 1 John 3 also says: “The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works”.  The enemy of our soul is the Devil, and he desires to keep us bound in the slavery of sin.  Yet Jesus came as The Righteous Conqueror and destroyed the work of Satan.  By His death on the cross, He paid the price to redeem us.  Redeem is a word that was used to describe paying the price of a slave and setting them free. 

            History’s conquerors were known for their ruthlessness and violence.  1 John 3:5 tells us that there is no sin in Jesus.  He conquered through love.  When we trust Him as our Savior we become part of His kingdom.  We are set free from the dominion of our enemy and have become “more than conquerors” through Him. 

Conquerors and their kingdoms rise and fall.  But the territory of Christ’s kingdom will never give way to another. The last book of the Bible contains a powerful verse, Rev. 11:15: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever”.