John begins his delivery of the Revelation of Jesus Christ by communicating to seven specific churches in Asia Minor. As I will show in a later lesson, these churches are prototypes for all churches. The message, then is for the entire body of Christ.
Jesus Christ has all authority as the Lord of the Earth
In verses 4-5, John identifies the source of. The one “which is, and which was, and which is to come” is a reference to the Self-Existent One, the Great I AM (Ex 3:14). The seven spirits before the throne is a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit, who reveals the mysteries of God to humanity (John 16; 1 Cor 2:11-16). Jesus Christ is identified by name. He is the faithful witness to the things of God, who is the first to come back from the dead. He is identified as “the prince of the kings of the earth.” Jesus Christ is the ruler of the planet.
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Revelation 1:4-5 |
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“4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth…” |
Jesus Christ is here identified as the ruler of the planet, and as such is about to reveal His plan for government. When Christ came the first time, He came to offer grace; the former rain was to start an age of grace – a period of amnesty where the enemies of God could be reconciled to Him. We were all once enemies, but Christ shed His blood to redeems us (Romans 3-6).
We are Redeemed to be Kings and Priests.
Those of us who were washed by His blood received much more than the forgiveness of sins. We were made “kings and priests unto God and his Father(verse 6).” We were made kings and priests because we a a kingly and priestly role to fulfill in God’s plan.
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Revelation 1:5-8 |
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5… Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. |
We were made kings and priests the moment we came into Christ. We were recreated in Christ and seated in heavenly places with Him. According to Ephesians 2:4-9, God has already seated us on a throne with Christ. This does not mean we cease to live upon the earth, but it does mean that we have priestly and royal access to God’s throne. We were given this access for two reasons. God wants to bless us and He has work for us to do that requires this empowerment.
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Ephesians 2:4-9 |
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“4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9Not of works, lest any man should boast.10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. ” |
Ordained as Kings and Priests to battle Spiritually, not after the flesh.
We were put in royal and priestly positions so that we could rule as kings and priests. We are not to use the tools of the flesh that people conceive as belonging to kings and priests. Gods has not sent us to wage holy war to conquer the earth by military force. He has not sent us to subvert the global politics to conquer. There are many who think of dominion in these terms and promote various dominionist theologies along these lines. We are to conquer through spiritual weapons.
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2 Corinthians 10:3-5 |
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“3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” |
Revelation a Primer on Winning Spiritual Warfare.
The book of Revelation is an outline for precisely this type of conquest. Just as soldiers are prepared through training, God’s people are also prepared. As I will show, conquest is done through praise, prayer, and proclamation. As God’s people do these things, God reveals Himself with power and great signs and wonders.