One of the most memorable moments of our late Queen’s funeral was when the orb and sceptre which had been given to her at her Coronation were removed from her coffin and placed on the table in St George’s Chapel.
While evangelicals would rightly quibble at some of the ceremonial, the basic theological point is true: ‘There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God’ (Rom.13:2). Queen Elizabeth’s authority to reign was granted to her (symbolised by the sceptre) by Christ, who has been given all authority in heaven and earth (symbolised by the orb topped with a cross). God the Father has placed all things under his feet (Eph.1:20-22). All earthly rulers derive their authority solely from Him; they hold it for a time, and in time it is removed from them by Him again.
This is a basic New Testament doctrine. The Son of God came announcing the Kingdom of God. The reign of the risen and ascended Christ over all human affairs, at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, with all things in subjection under His feet, is everywhere in the New Testament. And so all human rulers receive their authority from Him, and owe their allegiance to Him; for all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him (Matt.28:18).
The sacrament of sacrilege
Many people were understandably horrified when the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics included sacrilegious mockery of our Lord’s Last …