As a child’s game mirrors the real world, God’s holy days show us what’s going to change!
The kids I grew up with lacked a lot of fancy toys, but we never lacked a lot of fun. Some of our greatest entertainment was on a neighbor’s big dirt pile that stood probably six feet high. There we had all that boys need for a perfect game—a chance to get dirty and something competitive.
We called this game king of the hill, and I suppose kids around the world still play some version of it today.
The rules are simple: the king is whoever stands atop the dirt pile, and the object for everyone else is to do whatever it takes to be the king. So if five boys are playing and you’re on top, the other four will be doing anything they can to get you off.
The king’s advantage is that being on top he can more easily repel those coming at him, since they have to scramble up steep slopes. His disadvantage is being greatly outnumbered. Against such odds no one stays king for long!
Inevitably, the king is pushed off, at which point his assailants instantly turn against each other until one claws his way to the top. Then the new foursome unites to topple the new king.
This rough-and-tumble contest was great fun until, predictably, it ended with someone getting hurt.
But life is not a game
A pile of dirt and human nature—that’s all you need for a great kids’ game … and a great metaphor for humanity!
Our world’s history is one of nations and leaders, politicians and people, playing king of the hill—always trying to overthrow the powers that be.
But this has been anything but a game. How many millions of people have suffered immensely and lost their lives in this continual, often violent, quest for power?
Coming: a new king of the hill
Discern readers know that we often point out the astounding gap between the practices of today’s Christian churches and those of the New Testament Church. Chief among these are the Sabbath and annual holy days.
It’s a shame that these biblical observances were rejected and replaced by secular holidays, and it also caused a great loss of understanding. In one of these festivals in particular—the Feast of Trumpets—God addresses the king of the hill problem. This day points to Christ’s promise to return (literally to a hill—Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives) and assume His position over all the governments of the earth.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.”
Mountains in the Bible commonly picture governments. Yes, Jesus will be King of the Hill—ruling over all the earth.
But instead of trying to overthrow Him, this remarkable prophecy in Isaiah 2:2-3 shows, “Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.”
Several articles in this issue highlight these biblical holy days and festivals that picture and explain the events leading up to and following the coming of Jesus Christ. The Temple Mount article describes the important history and prophesied future of the actual location to which Christ returns. “The Holy Day Satan Hates Most” explains the fate of the spirit who is currently clinging to his temporary stand atop this world. And the article titled “Zombie Movies: What Do They Get Right?” is really about the eventual fate of all humanity, also portrayed through God’s holy days.
May God speed the day when humanity’s cruel and fruitless king of the hill game ends, and the perfect King of Kings returns to stand forever over this earth!
