Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
Potentate is a person who possesses incredible power, authority, and influence and is sovereign as king and ruler.
Throughout history men have found rallying points for faith, religion and beliefs. In the old Greek mythology you find such gods as Zeus, Apollos, Hermes etc. In the Yoruba mythology you find such gods as Sango, Oya, Ogun etc.
Looking through history however, a few things separate Jesus of Nazareth and his father- Jehovah God from all other native gods.
One, by practical experience there is one name that has consistently confronted evil and overcome. The Bible says ?Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved? (Heb 4:12). Again and again, people have used the name of Jesus in very diverse ways in bringing succor where help is desperately needed. Zeus, Appollos, Ogun, Oya etc have never been able to live up to this name.
Secondly, all other gods are dead. Many of them once lived and their graves are known. Interestingly, the grave of our Lord and master Jesus Christ is empty. The bible says ?Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it?. Death could not hold him captive. Other gods, known to men have been permanently captured by death but not our God.
Thirdly, there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. This is for me the most important differentiator. The Bible says without the shedding of blood.... there cannot be remission... None of the other gods were even willing to shed their blood for their followers. And in reality too they were products of sin themselves so if they venture the cross their blood could never have sufficed to cleanse the sins of mankind. Jesus, in contrast went to the cross as a lamb, weathered the shame of it and won for us dignity, dominion and remission of sins.
On the day when Elijah challenged the Prophets of Baal and Asherah to contest the supremacy of the God of Abraham was proved with all finality. A bull was prepared and laid on the altar and 450 Prophets of Baal in conjunction with 400 Prophets of Asherah called on their gods to send fire to consume the sacrifice. Nothing happened. They did so morning to night shouting several times, wailing in the process, nothing happened.
It was time to demonstrate the supremacy of the God of Israel. After preparing the sacrifice, hear what he did. 1 Kings 18: 36-38 recorded:
36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, ?O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.?
38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!
Our God is one God who responds to his own when they come face to face with reproach and danger. He never leaves his own stranded. He will respond to you today like he did to Elijah on Mount Carmel.
Happy new month.
