“Now I address myself to the King; and offer dutifully yet it no formal sense my faithful service and my heartfelt wishes that a reign which has so nobly begun may be blessed with peace and true glory ….” Churchill wrote this note to the new king, Edward viii, on February 2, 1936. Shortly thereafter would begin a crisis that nearly ripped the British Empire apart and nearly ruined Churchill’s career.

Churchill was a close friend of Edward viii, having written speeches for him and having known him many years. Rumors abounded that Edward was in love with American Wallis Simpson, the soon to be two-time divorcee. In July 1936, the king’s legal counsel asked for Churchill’s advice, and Churchill came down strongly on making any show that the king was interested in Mrs. Simpson. This offended Mrs. Simpson, and unfortunately Churchill was cut off from the king during the ensuing abdication crisis.

When Edward made clear his intention to marry Mrs. Simpson, the government of Stanley Baldwin made it clear that this was unacceptable and threatened to resign if the king proceeded. This left the country in a dangerously unstable condition while Germany was rearming.

Churchill was firm in believing that under no circumstances should the king marry Mrs. Simpson and believed that the king had to sacrifice his personal desires as so many men sacrificed everything in the Great War. But he believed the king should be given more time to be persuaded to change his mind. Churchill was compelled to defend the honor and reputation of the monarchy, knowing that an abdication would forever tarnish the royal family. While discussing the crisis with a friend, Churchill fell silent and said, “I will defend him. I think it is my duty.”

In an age when most politicians were too timid to confront epic problems, Churchill was willing to risk his reputation and any chance at a cabinet post in the Conservative Party. Churchill’s loyalty seems to be more fitting for the age of chivalry. His oath of loyalty to the throne was not just lip service; it defined most of Churchill’s life.

Churchill endeavored to convince the government to give more time to the king, while trying to dissuade the king from any thought of marrying Mrs. Simpson. Churchill spent painstaking time working on a constitutional solution at Chartwell to reconcile the government and king, and save the Empire from a shameful abdication. Sadly, neither side supported Churchill’s noble efforts.

Near the end of the crisis, Edward called for a private audience with Churchill. It was during this meeting that Churchill’s love and passion for the throne was evident. Martin Gilbert wrote in The Prophet of Truth: “The king himself later recalled several other aspects of the evening’s discussion. ‘When Mr. Baldwin had talked to me about the Monarchy,’ he wrote in his memoirs, ‘it had seemed a dry and lifeless thing. But when Mr. Churchill spoke it lived, it grew, it became suffused with light.’” To Churchill, the throne was a living and inspiring institution, and it was worth dying for.

As true Christians today, we must also have this loyalty for God’s throne. Churchill was a defender of the old throne of David in the British Royal Family, which was the continuation of the promise God made to David, fulfilling the scepterpromise (Genesis 49:10, 2 Samuel 7, Jeremiah 33:17). Christ will rule from the throne of David forever (Isaiah 9:6-7). But as Gerald Flurry explains in The New Throne of David, that promise is now continued in God’s Church! The first fruits will rule from that throne with Christ, as co-heirs (Revelation 1:6; Romans 8:17).

Churchill was loyal to the throne, and to a very flawed man in Edward viii. We are loyal to the throne and to a perfect King, Jesus Christ! We must be defenders of that throne and should have more passion! God calls the throne of David a lamp because it fills the world and our life with light (1 Kings 11:36)!

“Herbert W. Armstrong’s work and the Philadelphia Church of God today have added fiery brilliance to that lamp of David’s throne—spiritually!” writes Mr. Flurry in The Former Prophets—How to Become a King, “God has empowered the pcg to do so today by revealing an even deeper understanding of God’s promise to David … That lamp continues to burn until Christ returns and rules this world from that throne!”

In a dangerous world facing epic problems, we must remain loyal to God’s throne. We must be its faithful defenders. “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

This throne will unite the entire world in the God Family Empire. First, it must inspire and unite true Christians today.