The Story of the World--An Allegory of God's Reign

[Note: This sermon was written to tell the story of the Bible--and consequently, the story of the world--in a true story format. My desire is that it would give you the "big picture" understanding of what the story of Scripture is all about.]

            This is the story of a king—a great king. In fact, he is The Great King-Over-All, the one who created all that you see and all that you don’t see. The Great King-Over-All ruled over his creation with his son, Prince Immanuel, and the Great Comforter, who shared one spirit with the King. The King also created for himself a royal court of messengers and ministers to live in his presence.

            Now the King was also a kind, gracious, and generous king, and he desired to create servants to whom he would entrust the care of part of his kingdom, so he created human beings. He placed them in a part of his kingdom called Eretz, which he had made especially for them, and said, “You shall serve under me as rulers over this part of my kingdom. Care for it, enjoy it, and make it produce all the beauty that I have placed within it.”

            So men and women lived in Eretz, and they saw that it was just as pleasant as The Great King-Over-All had said. But The Great King knew that if the men and women were to rule well, they would have to learn to trust him completely, so he gave them a test. “You may eat freely from any of the trees around you,” he said, “but you must not eat from The Sacred Tree, under penalty of death.”

            The test would serve The Great King’s servants well—for a while. But trouble was brewing in the royal court. A rebellion had been launched, led by The Prime Minister himself. In his pride and jealousy, the prime minister desired The Great King’s throne for himself, and he convinced a portion of the royal court to join him in his rebellion. His attempt was not successful, but the prime minister was not one to give up easily. He began to look for another opportunity to gain power, and he saw Eretz as a place where he could do it.

            So one day, the prime minister disguised himself and travelled to Eretz. With calculated cunning, he turned humanity’s attention toward The Sacred Tree and convinced them that The Great King did not, in fact, have their best interests in mind. Instead, he told them, The Great King was selfish and had deceived them, and if they would eat the fruit of the tree, they would come to know the truth as he had.

            But as the humans would later be told, the Prime Minister was the father of lies, and his deception became their doom. They ate from The Sacred Tree, and soon after they did, they heard their sentence from The Great King. “Death,” he said. “I cannot tolerate treason in my kingdom, so your lives in this beautiful place will no longer last forever, because you have rebelled against me.” So The Great King cast humanity out of the Garden of Fellowship, where he used to come and meet with them, and they were cursed to live out the rest of their days in Eretz not as lords and ladies, but as wanderers and vagabonds. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister took control of Eretz as a stronghold for his rebellion—not openly, but quietly, with continued deception.

            You must remember, though, that The Great King-Over-All was a kind, gracious, and generous king. As he looked on the pitiful condition of his servants, the humans, he was moved with compassion toward them, and he decided to act. They could not escape death, because it was already doing its work in their bodies, but they would not have to remain estranged from him forever. The Great King would see to it that they could be reconciled to him so that one day, they could rule over Eretz as he had always intended.

            So The Great King went to work to carry out his plan, but it was not the kind of plan you might expect. The kings we know among the humans might have put on a great display of power, but The Great King went to work in a far more subtle way. He went to work not through an army, but through a family.

            Among the humans, there was a man named Emmett. One day, The Great King-Over-All spoke to Emmett and said, “I am going to bless your family, Emmett, so much so that when the people of Eretz want to bless each other, they will say, ‘May your family be like the family of Emmett!’” I will give you many descendants, and I will give them a land to call their own. If anyone curses your family, I will curse them; and if anyone blesses your family, I will bless them.”

            Though Emmett could hardly comprehend what he had been told, in his heart he believed that The Great King would keep his promise, and that’s exactly what he did! He was faithful to keep his promise, though Emmett’s family was not always faithful to obey him. At times, The Great King led them through adversity to turn them back to obedience, and little by little, he told them more about his plan for Eretz.

            Many years after Emmett died, his family had settled into the land that The Great King-Over-All gave to them, and through his blessing they became a great nation with a mighty king named King Rowan the Brave. King Rowan had been just a boy when The Great King took note of him, because he had a heart like Emmett and a will to obey. One day, as King Rowan considered a monument that he could build to The Great King-Over-All, The Great King spoke to him and said, “Rowan, I have made you a mighty king, and I’ve given you peace on all sides of your kingdom. But one day, I will make one of your descendants even greater than you, and he will be king over all of Eretz.”

            The Great King repeated this promise many times to the family of Emmett and the sons of Rowan, but the truth behind it was far greater than they could imagine. This promised king would not be just an ordinary man—he would be The Great King’s own son, Prince Immanuel! The Prince would be born into the human race to reclaim the role that humanity had lost at The Sacred Tree and to put an end to The Prime Minister’s rebellion once and for all.

            Many years after King Rowan died, when The Great King-Over-All was ready to enact his plan, he took notice of a young girl named Doule, who had a heart like Emmett and a will to obey. One day, he sent a messenger to her from his royal court, who said, “Doule, you have found favor with The Great King-Over-All. Though you have no husband, he will cause you to have a son. Your son will be the promised king. He will reign on the throne of Rowan, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

            Doule was greatly surprised to hear this news, but nine months later, her son arrived, just as the messenger had said. Prince Immanuel had been born as a human. The Prince grew, and though he was the son of The Great King-Over-All, you would not have known it from his surroundings. His life had humble beginnings, and humility would mark his life all his days.

            When Prince Immanuel grew into a man, he began to announce that the time had come—The Great King would take back Eretz for himself. His kingdom would once again rule that land, but if the humans wanted a pardon from The Great King, they would have to renounce their own rebellion against him. Though Immanuel displayed The Great King’s goodwill and compassion by healing many who were sick, his message was not warmly welcomed by all.

            The Prime Minister had long been at work through his deceptions to solidify his rebellion in the hearts of mankind, and he had succeeded in particular with the leaders of Emmett’s family—the very ones who had received the promises from The Great King-Over-All! In their anger over The Prince’s accusation of rebellion, they accused him of being an agent of The Prime Minister, and they had him put to death.

            What had become of The Great King’s plan? Did The Prime Minister’s rebellion succeed after all? Though it may have seemed that way to some, in reality, The Great King’s plan was unfolding exactly as he had laid it out! In the law of his kingdom, humanity’s treason required that a sacrifice be made—one without blemish. But no animal could be sacrificed for all of their sins, and the humans could not sacrifice themselves because they were rebellious. But the Prince’s death was an acceptable substitute for the humans. Now, The Great King’s justice was fully satisfied, and he could offer a pardon to mankind on the basis of Immanuel’s sacrifice, so that men and women could be fully reunited with him.

            The Great King had used The Prime Minister’s own work against him, and to prove it once and for all, he raised Immanuel from the dead to spread the good news. Immanuel gathered his closest friends and said to them, “Take the news far and wide, to every corner of Eretz! The laws of The Great King are fully satisfied, and now he offers men and women a pardon once again. I am leaving for a time, but I will return to reign upon the throne of Rowan over all of Eretz. Those who accept the pardon from The Great King will be adopted into his family, and my new brothers and sisters will join me in my kingdom. But those who do not accept the pardon will pay for their treason themselves. Tell them!”

            And that’s just what Immanuel’s friends did! They began to spread the news far and wide, but as you can imagine, The Prime Minister was furious when he saw that his control over Eretz was hanging in the balance. So, he re-doubled his efforts at deception and began to lead men and women to oppose the new children of The Great King—those who had accepted his pardon. But he could not keep them from spreading The Prince’s message, for Immanuel had told them, “Stay faithful to me, and I will reward you when I return.”

            So The Prime Minister saw that the time had come to raise the stakes of his rebellion. He would have to lower his mask of deception somewhat to give the humans a clear choice between Prince Immanuel and another man whom The Prime Minister would empower. This bold step would bring The Prime Minister’s rebellion to its peak and force the humans to declare their loyalty.

            The Great King-Over-All knew that Eretz was about to become the stage for the final battle between himself and The Prime Minister. This knowledge grieved his heart, for he knew that he would have to bring severe opposition against The Prime Minister and the man who would do The Prime Minister’s bidding. The people of Eretz would endure The Great King’s opposition as well, so out of love for his adopted children, The Great King took them out of Eretz to his own palace before the showdown began.

            When The Prime Minister saw The Great King’s actions, he knew the time had come to advance his plan. So The Prime Minister empowered a man named Therion and made him a great ruler among the humans. Therion offered the people of Eretz a drastic choice—they could receive a mark of loyalty to him on their bodies, or they would be cast out of society and left to die. Many did receive Therion’s mark, but some declared that their hearts were for Immanuel. Many people from the family of Emmett decided to accept The Great King’s pardon through Immanuel, but they faced bitter retribution from Therion.

            When Therion saw their opposition to him, he gathered his armies together to wipe out the family of Emmett once and for all. So he made war against them, but as he circled his armies to make the decisive blow, the sky itself opened, and there, coming on the clouds of heaven, was Prince Immanuel! He was riding on a white horse, and the armies of The Great King were with him. His eyes were like a flaming fire, and his robe was dipped in blood.

            With Immanuel’s battle cry ringing in their ears, the armies of Therion were annihilated, and the family of Emmett received with joy their promised king, Prince Immanuel, the heir of King Rowan the Brave. Immanuel ordered The Prime Minister to be bound and imprisoned, so that he could deceive the people of Eretz no more. And The Prince became king over all Eretz, and he selected his brothers and sisters—the adopted children of The Great King—to be his governors.

            The Great King-Over-All took delight in the reign of The Prince and in the land of Eretz, but there was just one problem—the land still bore some of the marks and memories of The Prime Minister’s rebellion. So The Great King decided that he would remake the land of Eretz, to renew it and restore it to the glory that he had planned for it all along, so that death would be no more, neither would there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain.

            And that’s just what The Great King did! He remade Eretz for his servants, the humans, but now, they were no longer just his servants—they were his children! The Great King established his palace among them in the land of Eretz, much to their delight. And there, in the New Eretz, the dream you have heard of so many times before finally became a reality—they all lived happily ever after!