The Ruler of Kings

Jesus, the Faithful Witness, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations to the Holy City of New Jerusalem.

Jesus is named the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” by the Book of Revelation. His present sovereignty is based on his past Death and Resurrection. He does not rule by hereditary right or military might, but because of his redeeming death. It is the Slain Lamb who sits on the Throne, and his authority extends even over Death and Hades.

At times in Revelation, “the Kings of the Earth” are allied with “the Beast from the Sea,” and they often do the bidding of the Dragon. Nevertheless, the Lamb uses their plots to achieve his redemptive purposes for humanity, and this is what it means to reign over the Kings of the Earth.

[Photo by Gaël Gaborel - OrbisTerrae (Cognac) on Unsplash]

Even the enemies of Jesus cannot move against him without his consent. His authority is absolute. By the end of the Book, the same group of kings is found in the Holy City of New Jerusalem, where they praise the Lamb:

• “John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the Seven Spirits that are before his throne, and from 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. To him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever” - (Revelation 1:4-6).

• “And the nations will walk amidst the light. And the kings of the earth bring their glory into it” - (Revelation 21:24).

Jesus is “the Faithful Witness” and “the Firstborn of the Dead.” The former refers to his sacrificial death, and the latter clause to his resurrection. All three labels - “Faithful Witness,” “Firstborn of the Dead,” and “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth,” are based on the Eighty-Ninth Psalm:

• “I also will make him my first-born, the higher than the kings of the earth <…> His seed will endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It will be established forever as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven” - (Psalm 89:27, 37).

Christ’s testimony was given in his self-sacrificial death; therefore, the God of Israel made him the Firstborn and the Highest of the Kings of the Earth. In the Hebrew text of Psalm 89, the Hebrew noun ‘elyôn’ is used comparatively with the sense of “higher.” It denotes the idea of “supreme, lofty, highest,” namely, of absolute supremacy.

The Book of Revelation combines this Psalm with words of the Second Psalm, and the verbal link for doing so is the clause, “Kings of the Earth.” In the Second Psalm, kings conspire against the anointed Son of God, but their conspiracy backfires because Yahweh gave the nations to the Son for an inheritance:

• “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against Yahweh, and against his anointed one <…> Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me: You are my son! This day, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You will shepherd them with a rod of iron. You will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel” - (Psalm 2:2, 6-9).

Rather than use the Greek comparative adjective for “highest” in Revelation 1:5, the Greek text calls him the ‘archôn’ (αρχων) or “ruler” over the Kings of the Earth. This Greek noun does not mean “king,” though kings certainly rule. However, Jesus Christ holds a far higher rank than any king, dictator, prime minister, congressman, or president.

This Greek noun, ‘archôn’, often denotes someone who is a “prince,” a “chief magistrate,” or a supreme sovereign and overlord, and this is the sense of the passage in Revelation 1:5. The intent is not to contradict the Book’s later declaration that Jesus is the “King of Kings,” but to highlight just how much higher he is than any of the political rulers of this present age.

HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION

The extent of Christ’s sovereignty is stressed in the first vision of the Book, as well as the basis of his right to rule, namely, his Death and Resurrection. Because he sacrificed his life for humanity and God raised him from the dead, not even the realm of the dead is beyond his authority:

• “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not! I am the first and the last, and the Living One. And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades”- (Revelation 1:17-18).

The right of Jesus to reign over all things is emphasized in Chapter 5 of Revelation when Heaven and Earth declare the Lamb worthy to receive all power and authority:

• “And they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals, for you were slain, and purchased with your blood for God men from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and you made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they reign upon the earth. And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,  saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing! And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, I heard saying, Unto him who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever” – (Revelation 5:9-13).

The reign of Jesus extends even over his mortal enemies. For example, Satan was bound and prevented from “deceiving the nations” after the enthronement of the Messianic Son. The Dragon cannot deceive the nations again in the same manner as before until he is “released from the Abyss.” Similarly, “the Beast from the Sea” cannot wage war on the saints until he is authorized to do so (“It was given to him to make war against the saints” – Revelation 12:9, 13:7-10, 20:1-10).

The present reign of the Messiah does not immediately negate the hostility of nations and kings. For example, when “the Sixth Bowl of Wrath” is emptied, “the kings of the east” are gathered for the final battle against the Lamb on “the Great Day of God Almighty” at the place called Armageddon - (Revelation 16:12-16, 17:10-18, 19:19-21).

THE SHEPHERD

The Second Psalm is alluded to in several more passages of the Book of Revelation where the original Hebrew verb traditionally translated as “rule” is replaced by the Greek verb for “shepherd.” Thus, the Messianic Son is destined “to shepherd the nations” rather than destroy them – (Revelation 2:27, 7:17, 19:15).

• “And she was delivered of a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God, and to his throne” – (Revelation 12:5).

What it means “to be the shepherd of the nations” is demonstrated in the vision of the Innumerable Multitude of Chapter 7. John sees the Lamb shepherding the men redeemed by the death of Christ from every nation to the life-giving waters of New Jerusalem (“and he loosed us from our sins by his blood”).

• “These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his sanctuary. And he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. They will hunger no more, neither thirst any longer, neither will the sun strike upon them, nor any heat. For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to fountains of waters of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes” – (Revelation 7:14-17).

• “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any longer. The first things are passed away” – (Revelation 21:2-4).

• “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of the street. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” – (Revelation 22:1-2).

In the vision of the “Rider on the White Horse,” the royal figure riding across the heavens uses his iron scepter to shepherd the nations, not to pound them to dust. He wages war by the “sword” of his mouth, the Word of God:

• “And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood. And his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should shepherd the nations” – (Revelation 19:13-15).

The change in imagery from that of a conqueror executing his enemies to a benevolent ruler who shepherds his flock is unexpected and paradoxical. Jesus may still wield an iron scepter and a great sword, but he uses these “weapons” to guide the nations to something other than everlasting destruction, and ultimately, to deliver them from the authority of the Dragon.

The idea of a more positive fate for the political opponents of the Messiah was indicated centuries earlier by the Second Psalm:

• “Now, therefore, be wise, O you kings! Be instructed, you judges of the earth! Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him” – (Psalm 2:10-12).

The image of the sacrificial Lamb and King who shepherds the nations begins to explain how the nations and kings of the earth find themselves in New Jerusalem. What kind of shepherd would Jesus be if he only abandoned men and women to death and destruction? Only a twisted and tyrannical king destroys his own subjects!

Thus, the Supreme Ruler of nations and kings, “the King of kings” and the Lamb of God, will lead many rulers and nations to life and salvation. They will be found praising God and the Lamb in the Holy City of New Jerusalem. Jesus of Nazareth is a King like no other!

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SEE ALSO:

• Shepherding the Nations - (Jesus is the promised ruler from the line of David, the King who is shepherding the nations to New Jerusalem – Revelation 12:5)

• Jesus is the True Emperor - (Jesus, the Slain Lamb, is the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth, the King of Kings who now reigns over all the nations of the Earth)

• Why do the Nations Rage? - (The conspiracy of the kings of the earth to unseat the Messiah is applied in the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6)

• Le Souverain des Rois - (Jésus, le Témoin Fidèle, règne maintenant en maître sur les Rois de la Terre, et il conduit les nations vers la Ville Sainte de la Nouvelle Jérusalem)