Psalm 2:2
echoes throughout all of time
The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ. (Psalm 2:2 DR)
Continuing in the thought of the previous verse, the Psalmist once again prophetically foresees the coming of the Messiah and the rulers aligned against Him. The act of “standing” is suggestive, for in biblical imagery those who rule are generally depicted as sitting upon their thrones from which they rule. To stand up thus seems indicative of being threatened in one’s rule, for if the king could command that the threat be eliminated, he would not have to get up from his throne. Hence Jesus says that if His kingdom was of this world His servants would fight to protect Him.
However, although Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (cf. John 18:36), His kingship was still perceived as an existential threat to worldly reigns, which is why He had to be put to death. This prophetic witness to Christ was not lost on the apostles, who recognize in the Psalmist’s words the very events they had just witnessed:
Who, by the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, hast said: Why did the Gentiles rage, and the people meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes assembled together against the Lord and his Christ. For of a truth there assembled together in this city against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do what thy hand and thy counsel decreed to be done. (Acts 4:25-28 DR)
The meeting together of Herod and Pilate, of Jews and Gentiles is an interesting inversion of St. Paul’s words that in Christ “[t]here is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:23 DR). This alliance against Christ is bring the Jews and pagans together against, as it were, a common enemy, whereas in Christ’s kingdom they are brought together as a common family under one head, themselves being adopted sons of God. The rage and vanity of the peoples against the Messiah is countered by the peace and and bind of unity in charity that is found in the Messiah. As noted at the end of the passage in Acts, all these things came to pass according to what God had “decreed to be done.” The prophetic witness of the Psalmist thus embraces both the Messiah himself and those who opposed Him, for it was all according to God’s plan.
And while the prophetic fulfillment is found in Christ’s Passion as he was opposed by rulers of His day, this prophecy perhaps echoes and resounds into the future, as St. John will foresee at the end of days when the kings once again assemble themselves against the Lord’s Anointed:
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse, and with his army. (Apocalypse 19:19 DR)
When Jesus walked among us the kings of the earth stood up against Him, inspired by a diabolical spirit to oppose the Holy One of God. In the garden this same infernal spirit lurked in the shadows, tempting Earth’s first rulers to oppose God. Now at the end of days the ancient serpent lays aside his proxies and sets his face openly against Christ, drawing those who follow him into the fray, only to be defeated by the sword which issues forth from the mouth of the Lord. The Psalmist’s prophetic words thus perhaps resound throughout all of history, plucking a common chord that weaves in and out of salvation history to find their fulfillment in Christ who is the culmination of all history.
In this animation I was again inspired by some of the Beatus apocalypses which always have fascinating imagery. I found one of the Agnus Dei holding a cross and then a similar yet separate manuscript with a number of the kings mentioned in the apocalypse.
I cut out each figure in Photoshop and brought it into After Effects. I rigged up the lamb with the Puppet tool so that the cross could move around, and then I animated in the kings to surround the lamb and “rage” by means of hopping up and down. I finally had them get blown away by the power of the cross, which I thought was a nice touch. I also cut out the lamb’s eye so I could animate that a bit as a nice little final detail.
Enjoy.
The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ.
(Psalm 2:2 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: