Origin Of The Term – Jesus Christ is King
December 25 is almost upon us. Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Have you ever heard the phrase “Jesus Christ is King”? The message of Jesus Christ as King can be observed in several Bible verses. One is John 18:37 – ” Therefore Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘ You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” Another is found in Revelation 19:11 where it is stated that the title given to Jesus Christ is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Christ the King is frequently used as a name for churches, schools, seminaries, hospitals and religious institutions. There is even celebrated a Feast of Christ the King in the liturgical calendar. The feast is a relatively recent addition to the liturgical calendar instituted in 1925 for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Lutheran, Anglican, Moravian, Methodist, Nazarene, Reformed and United Protestant churches also celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.
My beliefs over the course of my life have always been grounded in the Christian faith. The phrase “Jesus Christ is King” is a phrase that I was familiar with but had never actually spoken. That abruptly changed some 25 years ago. At that time, the words “Jesus Christ is King” came forth without thinking from my mouth and from my soul. Those words provided me with a shield of protection against an approaching and ominous evil spiritual entity.
Dream Number One
I had been sprawled out on the living room sofa late at night watching college basketball on television. Using the remote, I remember turning off the tv. It was one of those situations where I was so very tired that I did not even feel like getting up. I just said to myself “I’m just gonna rest my eyes here for ten minutes and then I’ll head up to bed”. Of course, I promptly dozed off.
I rarely remember my dreams. The dream that I had that night however is burned into my memory. In my dream I was laying on the living room sofa where I had fallen asleep. Everything in the house was quiet. I was awake in my dream.
A Cold Chill Down My Spine
All at once I got an icy cold chill shooting down my spine, from neck to tail bone. I looked over to my right to the stairs that led to the second level of the house. My eyes saw a grey luminous mist. It had the general outline of a human being but without any real definition or features. You can call it a presence or an entity or an energy source or any of a dozen different things. Call it whatever you want. It was there and it was real. It was midway down the steps and was slowly heading toward me. The entity made no sound whatsoever. It moved without any movement of arms or legs.
Deep Doo-Doo
Whatever it was, it was pure malevolence in nature. I intuitively knew immediately that I was in deep doo-doo. I felt the essence of its total contempt for me. My body was literally frozen in fear. I could not physically move. I was paralyzed. It is difficult to imagine that something such a luminous mist can emit such an evil presence but I felt an intense hatred directed at me from the entity. I knew it was coming for me. Whatever its intent, it was not going to be anything good. I knew if it reached me it would have been bad for me. Very, very bad. Like maybe dying from a heart attack caused by terror.
Since I was frozen, I could not run away. It was a nightmare’s nightmare. I have actually had nightmares where aliens were chasing me. In these dreams I would have one close call after another (ala Indiana Jones). At some point in the dream I finally said “Alright, enough of this bullshit” and I actually woke up, thus escaping my dilemma.
No Escape Route
In this dream there was no such escape route. I was truly fucked. Then, as the malevolent being reached the next to last step at the bottom of the stairs, there came out of my heart and out of my mouth, from the depths of my soul, the words, “Jesus Christ is King”. I had no thoughts beforehand of saying it. I did not think “what should I do”. The phrase just came out of me and just barely at that. Even my vocal chords were partially frozen in fear. However feebly I whispered the words “Jesus….. Christ….. is….. King”, I spoke them with conviction..
At the sound of those words, the evil presence stopped in its tracks. Then, in a more pronounced manner I immediately followed up with the same spoken phrase, “Jesus Christ is King”. This caused the entity to shrink backward and begin to lose presence. Without even thinking, I immediately followed up with a third even more forceful, almost shouting “Jesus Christ is King” intuitively knowing that I was in possession of the kryptonite of the malevolent entity. After the third pronouncement, it vacated the scene and was gone.
Dream And Reality – There Was No Difference
At the same moment that the malevolent force departed, I opened my eyes and immediately woke up from my “dream”. It hit me at once however that I was in the exact same position on the living room couch as I was in my dream. I was wearing the exact same clothes and everything in the living room was in the exact same place as in the dream. Even the light from the street lamp outside shining through the living room window was exactly the same as in the dream. I was somewhat shaken by the experience and turned on a living room lamp and walked to the adjacent kitchen to get a glass of water.
As I passed the stairs, I just stopped for a moment and stared at the spot where “it” was. I sat on the couch for about fifteen minutes pondering what I had just experienced. Then I prayed a succinct “Thank you Lord” before going up to bed. My conclusion was quite simple yet profound – the dream was no dream. It was as real as real ever gets.
Dream Number Two
Flash forward some twenty years later to 2016. I was now living in a different house. It was a one story house. I slept in one bedroom. My son slept in the second bedroom. I always left a small 40 watt lamp on in the living room at night. I slept with my bedroom door open. The door led to a hallway which led to the bathroom. I knew that at some point during the night that tag team duo of prostate and bladder would be sending me to the bathroom at least once, maybe twice. In those intervening 20 years, I never forgot my encounter with the unseen malevolent energy. I kept a crucifix on the wall above my bed that had been in my mother’s bedroom when she was alive. I figured it couldn’t hurt to have it there if a vampire decided to show up one night.
Anyway, it’s the middle of the night and I am in bed. I look over to the bedroom doorway. Standing there is the very same evil entity that I encountered 20 years ago. The same grey luminescence You may wonder how I could possibly know that to be a fact. I can only tell you that I knew. I just knew. It was an intuitive knowing. I have no idea how I was able to know, but I knew.
The Second Time – A Different Response
This time however, I reacted differently than my first encounter some twenty years prior. As before, it seemed to be just standing there, observing me with hatred and contempt. I sensed that it was about to head toward me as I lay in my bed. This time however, my response was different. I was not frozen with fear. I just said out loud, “Oh it’s you again.” Then I followed that up with the same phrase that I had used twenty years before, “Jesus Christ is King.” At the sound of those words, the entity froze. I followed up with a second “Jesus Christ is King”. At that second salvo, it started backing away. I could sense it was losing energy. One more time I repeated loudly, “Jesus Christ is King”. With that final pronouncement, the malevolent entity departed – poof- gone. The difference this time was that I knew right from the start that the power of Jesus Christ would protect me.
A Peaceful Sleep – Free of Fear
I was aware of the pure essence of malevolence of the being. However this time I did not fear. In fact, in this second dream, after the departure of the entity, I said aloud to myself, “And that takes care of that”. I turned on my side, back to the hallway and went back to sleep. And then I opened my eyes and woke up. Everything around me in my bedroom was exactly the same as the dream. The bed, my position on the bed, the bedsheet and blanket, my bed clothes, the wall hangings, the bureau, the light from the living room lamp, the quiet of the house. This time however I understood. My shield of protection “Jesus Christ is King” was something that the evil presence could not overcome. I then said, “Thank you Lord, now I’m goin’ back to sleep” and proceeded to do just that.
To anyone reading this – Merry Christmas to you and a Very Happy New Year!
Conceive. Believe. Receive.