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“In the Name of Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, and Ruler of the Realm…”
If you enjoy political, medieval period dramas, then surely, you’ve heard of or seen HBO’s Game of Thrones. It’s based on the book series by George R.R. Martin entitled, A Song of Ice and Fire. In that show, we see all kinds of twists and turns as four major families in the land of Westeros fight over control of the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms.
Like any medieval setting, you have a royal family where the king is the ruler of the realm. As the king cannot oversee all the affairs of his kingdom all the time, there is a small council of ministers to oversee those things (finances, economics, military, etc.). All those positions are important, but there is one that stands above them. That position is the “Hand of the King”. The Hand’s job is like that of an ambassador or emissary. He’s someone who speaks and acts on behalf of the king. Here’s an example:
When the Hand gives any judgment, he doesn’t speak his own words. He uses the king’s name and authority granted to him. So, when those who hear the Hand’s words, they’re not hearing the Hand’s own words, but the king’s words. Obeying the commands of the king’s Hand is the same as obeying the commands of the king. Conversely, disobeying the commands of the Hand is the same as disobeying the King. Here’s an example of that:
In this scene, Ned Stark was named the “Protector of the Realm” until Prince Geoffry comes of age as King Robert’s dying wish in the prior scene. In other words, Ned was supposed to be the acting king for a short time as commanded by the King before he died. But Cersei, the recently widowed queen, didn’t accept her late husband’s final written command (with his seal and all). Instead, she disregarded that last command and insisted on putting her son, Geoffry, on the throne immediately (and if you’ve seen the show, then you know how that turns out).
What does this have to do with the Bible?
This is a question you may be thinking about. In the Bible, God is called the king over all the earth.
For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.Psalms 47:2-3
God created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. So, God being called the “king over all the earth” is correct according to the Bible. But as we saw in the example above, the king doesn’t always give commands directly. He chooses a messenger to deliver His words and commands to the people.
For the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.Amos 3:7
The words God’s servants receive and preach aren’t their own, but God’s, just as the Hand’s words aren’t his own, but the king’s. Let’s see an example from the Old Testament:
You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
Exodus 4:15-16
God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Moses refuses saying he can’t speak well. God tells Moses that He will give him and also Aaron (Moses’s brother) the words to speak. We see the order of delivery: God gives Moses the words to say; Moses tells Aaron; Aaron will tell the Israelites. Another way to think of it is like the President giving a military general an order; the general passes it down to the colonel, down to the captain, and so on and so forth until the privates hear that command. The point is, what is given isn’t the messenger’s own words, but they come from someone higher up.
What would happen if those words were changed in the process?
Have you ever played that game, “telephone”, as a child? If you don’t know it, all the children line up in a single line. The first person whispers a sentence or word to the person behind him/her. That person passes down what they heard to the next, and so on until it reaches the last person. When the last person in line hears the word or phrase, they say it aloud, so everyone hears it. If the word/phrase is the same from beginning to end, then everyone wins. But if it changes by the end, no one wins.
Thinking about this Biblically, in 2 Timothy 3:16 it says all Scripture is God-breathed, meaning God is the author of the Bible. In 2 Peter 1:20-21 it also says how no prophecy was made by man’s own will or interpretation but carried along by the Holy Spirit.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16
knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:20-21
If you understand this correctly, then God is the ultimate author of the Bible and men were used as God’s pen, so to speak. God had His servants write down what He wanted us to know for salvation. Since the Bible is God’s Word, then we shouldn’t add to it or take things out of it – otherwise it would no longer be God’s Word.
Every word of God proves true;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.Proverbs 30:5-6
The One Who Speaks on Behalf
When God’s messenger speaks, that person speaks on God’s behalf. Even Jesus spoke God’s words on His behalf, yet the Pharisees and Jews didn’t believe or accept Jesus’s words.
I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
John 5:43
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
John 14:10, 24
Why does Jesus say that? Well in John 1:1 it says God is the Word. When Jesus was baptized in Matthew 3, God’s Spirit came down and became part of Jesus. When that happened, it wasn’t just God’s spirit but also God’s Word. Shortly after that, Jesus begins preaching. It’s not a coincidence that it happens like that. We see that happen in the Old Testament through Moses, Joshua, prophets like Samuel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, and even King David (see 2 Samuel 23:2).
The Messenger Who Speaks on Behalf Today
Just as Jesus was God’s messenger who spoke on God’s behalf at the first coming (God’s “Hand of the King”). Jesus promised to send someone at the second coming to speak on his behalf (Jesus’s “Hand of the King”). This person is someone Jesus chose and gave his words to, and that person comes and speaks to us on Jesus’s behalf.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
John 16:13-15
While Jesus says the “Spirit of Truth”, we know we can’t see or hear spirits. We can see and hear people, however. This Spirit of Truth promised by Jesus comes to a person (also chosen by Jesus) and testifies the words Jesus gave.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Revelation 22:16
Do you know who this person is? Is he even here? How can you tell this person is the one sent by Jesus and not just some random guy speaking on his own?
If you want to find the answers to these questions, then you should study the Bible. Only by studying God’s word and understanding it correctly, can we tell the truth from the lies, the real deal from the fakes (1 John 4:1-6). I hope you can come and study (sign up here), so you are able to find this person sent by Jesus when he appears and listen to his words – since they are not his own, but Jesus’s words.
Written by Kenny
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