A Kingdom of Priests
Christ’s present reign is based on his past death and resurrection, and his disciples participate in his rule. And like him, their position is paradoxical since it is characterized by self-sacrificial service. The shedding of his lifeblood is what consecrated them as “priests” for God. And priestly service IS what it means to reign with him, and this is in fulfillment of the mission given to Israel at Sinai - “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
That role has
now fallen to the followers of Jesus Christ, in the book of Revelation, the
“slain Lamb,” and this theme is especially prominent in that book - (Exodus
19:6).
- (Revelation 1:5-6) – “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him who loves us and loosed us from our sins by his blood; and he made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father.”
PRIESTLY SERVICE
In the Greek text of the preceding
passage, “kingdom” is in apposition to “priests” - the
latter term defines the former. It is a priestly kingdom, therefore, its
members execute their royal duties AS “priests.” There is one
group in view, not two; “priestly kings,” not “priests” and “kings.”
In the book’s opening vision, Jesus is the
glorious “Son of Man,” a priestly figure who serves in the sanctuary and
walks among the “seven golden lampstands.” This reflects the ancient
Tabernacle that featured a seven-branched lampstand. And he is clothed with the
full-length linen robe of the high priest that is held together by a “golden
girdle.”
In the sanctuary, Jesus tends the seven “lampstands,”
trimming their wicks and replenishing oil as needed. The “golden lampstands”
represent the “seven churches of Asia” overseen by him from the heavenly
Tabernacle – (Revelation 1:12-20).
To the saint who “overcomes,” this same Son
of Man promises to “grant
him to sit down with me in my throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with
my Father in his throne.”
But to rise to such a high honor, the disciple must “overcome” in the same manner that he did, the one who became the “faithful witness” who loved us and “loosed us from our sins by his blood.”
Disciples
do not attain regal status by conquering their persecutors or enslaving other men,
but by overcoming sin, Satan, perseverance, and bearing faithful testimony to
the surrounding community – (Revelation 3:21).
THE REIGNING LAMB
In the vision of the throne,
only the “slain Lamb” is declared “worthy” to open the “sealed
scroll.” Though he is the “lion of the tribe of Judah,” the Messiah
destined to “rule the nations of the earth with a rod of iron,” he fulfills
that role as the sacrificial “Lamb” - (Revelation 5:9-12).
The
call of ancient Israel is applied to the men redeemed by the “Lamb,” who
are constituted “by his blood” as a “kingdom and priests.” Therefore,
“they are reigning on the earth,” present tense. And as priests, they mediate
his light on the earth.
In the
vision of the “innumerable multitude,” John sees men “clothed in white robes” coming out of the “Great Tribulation.” They have washed their priestly
robes and made them white “in the blood of the Lamb.” They are
standing before the “Lamb” in the sanctuary, and “He that sits on the
throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.”
The “white robes” worn by the saints are based on the ones worn by Aaron and his sons when they were installed as priests. Thus, overcoming saints are pictured as priests at worship in the Tabernacle – (Leviticus 8:6-7, Revelation 7:9-17).
This priestly company is “rendering
divine service” before the “throne.” This translates the Greek verb latreuô,
the same one applied to the service of the Levitical priests in the ancient
Greek version of Leviticus, the Septuagint. And present-tense
verbs are used - “they ARE SERVING him day and night” in the sanctuary.
The priestly
role of the saints becomes clearer when John “measures” the “sanctuary,”
the “altar,” and “those who were rendering divine service” in it (latreuô).
That is, the priests conduct their duties before the “altar.” After he “measures”
the “sanctuary,” the entire “holy city” is handed over to the
nations and “trampled underfoot forty-two months” – (Revelation 11:1-2).
This same reality
is portrayed in the vision of the “Beast ascending from the sea.” It is
given a “mouth speaking great things” with which it “slanders the tabernacle, those that dwell in the heaven.” In the Greek clause,
there is no conjunction between “tabernacle” and “they who tabernacle.”
The two terms are in apposition and the latter identifies the former.
This understanding is confirmed by the
next verse - “it was given to it to make war with the saints, and to
overcome them.”
The “Beast” wages war on the
priestly company that is “rendering divine service” (latreuô) before
the “Lamb.” This is in deliberate contrast to the “inhabitants of the
earth” who are “rendering homage” (proskeneô) to the image of
the “Beast” – (Revelation 13:4-7).
KINGS AND PRIESTS
The “kingdom of
priests” is presented once more at the start of the “thousand years.”
After Satan is banished to the “Abyss,” judgment is given FOR the
martyrs who die for the “testimony of Jesus and the word of God, and such
as did not render homage to the beast.”
They “lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years… Over
these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of
Christ, and reign with him a thousand years.” Thus, they qualify to reign
with him because they willingly give their lives in service to him.
In Revelation,
Jesus is a priestly figure. His sacrifice redeems men, and he now reigns as
their high priest. And his lifeblood consecrates his saints as “priests”
who rule with him on the earth, and they do so in the same manner that he did
and does – through self-sacrificial priestly service.
The “priests
of God” overcome their enemies by the “blood of the Lamb, the word of
their testimony, and because they love not their life unto death.” In other
words, through service on behalf of their high priest. And that is what it
means to reign with Christ on the earth.
