Crowning the King of Kings

Immediately following the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord, God’s firstfruits will present David’s throne to Jesus Christ. But what about the actual coronation? When is He crowned “King of kings”? The Bible gives us the answer.

This topic has confused mankind for at least 2,000 years. At Jesus Christ’s first coming, after witnessing His many miracles, the Jews sought to make Him king (John 6:15). However, Christ fled to the mountains because it was not yet time for Him to be crowned.

God the Father is a master planner. He has a precise time order for all things. We need to be aware of this time order and eagerly anticipate the ultimate fulfillment of these prophecies.

Let’s study the details of Jesus Christ’s coronation.

High Priest

One parable Jesus gave during His ministry, the parable of the pounds, pictures the time when the Kingdom of God will come and Christ will rule (Luke 19:12-27). Christ gave this parable to correct the erroneous notion “that the kingdom of God should immediately appear” (verse 11).

In the parable, Christ is pictured as a nobleman who “went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (verse 12). Where is this “far country” that would actually have the authority to make Christ King of kings? No earthly sovereign or government. This portrays the fact that Jesus Christ would go to heaven to receive the Kingdom. And He returned to heaven only after He was crucified and resurrected.

Jesus Christ made clear that His “kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). It was never God’s intention that Christ be made ruler at His first coming.

In fact, even when Christ was resurrected after His crucifixion, it was not yet time for Him to be crowned.

Nearly 60 years after Christ’s resurrection, the Apostle John had a vision of the glorified Christ. He described Him in Revelation 1:13-16: “[O]ne like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”

Even in this vivid, detailed vision of Jesus Christ’s glorified, resurrected appearance, there is no mention of Him wearing a crown!

The Apostle Paul wrote that Christ is “crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9), yet this describes a figurative crown, not a literal adornment on the head signifying rulership.

Rather than ruling as King of kings, Jesus Christ is currently fulfilling the role of High Priest (Hebrews 3:1). When Christ was resurrected, God the Father placed Him into this priestly role. (For more information, request my free booklet The Book of Hebrews: What Jesus Christ Is Doing Today.)

So the Bible reveals that Jesus Christ has not yet been crowned King of kings. It also reveals when He will be crowned.

King of Kings

Daniel 7 contains a detailed account of the coronation of Jesus Christ: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (verses 13-14).

The “Ancient of days” is God the Father. At the time Daniel wrote this prophecy, Jesus Christ had not yet been begotten by the Father; rather Daniel referred to “the Word” of the Old Testament not as “the Son of God,” but as being “like the Son of man.” But when that coronation occurs, they will be Father and Son. This passage makes plain that Jesus Christ will be brought before God the Father for His coronation.

Go back to the book of Revelation. We saw at the beginning of the book a vision of Christ without a crown. But in the flow of end-time events described in this book, notice Revelation 11:15-17: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” Yes, there is coming a point when Christ will receive a kingdom—and will reign as King!

A little further on is a description of Jesus Christ in the heavens, preparing to execute judgment on a sinful world. In Revelation 14:14 the Apostle John wrote, “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown ….” At that time, then, Christ will have been crowned!

These prophecies reveal that Jesus Christ’s coronation will occur in the heavens just before His Second Coming. He will return to this Earth as a King, ruling over the nations.

At that time, “on his head were many crowns” (Revelation 19:12)—here, diadems would be a better translation, smaller crowns or headbands signifying lesser royal offices. “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (verse 16).

Why King “of kings”? Because as many scriptures tell us, just as the Father crowned Jesus Christ in heaven, Christ will come to Earth and crown His loyal saints, making them kings as well! (Daniel 7:18, 27; Isaiah 40:10; Revelation 3:21; 5:10). Those who overcome will themselves receive crowns (Revelation 3:11; 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4).

Jesus Christ will then truly be “King of kings and Lord of lords”!