Supremacy over the Earth
Because of his “faithful witness,” Jesus reigns supreme over the kings of the earth and even over his enemies.
At times, the “kings
of the earth” are allied with the “Beast” and do the bidding of the
“Dragon,” yet Jesus uses their plots to achieve his purposes. Even his
enemies cannot move against him without his consent, and by the end of the
book, the same group is found in “New Jerusalem,” where they give honor to the “slain Lamb.”
- “John to the seven churches in Asia: Grace to you and peace from…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from 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 to his God and Father” - (Revelation 1:4-6).
WITNESS AND FIRSTBORN
In addition to the “ruler of the kings of the earth,”
Jesus is also the “faithful witness” and the “firstborn
of the dead.” The former refers to his death, and the latter to his
resurrection. All three designations are derived from the eighty-ninth psalm:
- (Psalm 89:27, 37) - “I also will make him my first-born, the higher than the kings of the earth… His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.”
Because of his “faithful
testimony” in death, Yahweh made him the “firstborn” and the “highest
of the kings of the earth.” In the Hebrew text, the Psalm uses the noun ‘elyôn
for “higher,” which is used comparatively with the sense of “supreme, lofty,
highest.”
But Revelation has
combined this passage with words from the second Psalm. The verbal link for
doing so is the clause “kings of the earth” who rebel and conspire
against Yahweh’s anointed king in the Psalm. But their plot backfires since God
gave the nations to His Son for “his inheritance” and the “ends of
the earth” for his “possession,” and he thus “ruled
over them with his iron scepter” - (Psalm
2:1-11).
In Revelation,
rather than use the Greek comparative adjective for “highest,” the text calls
Jesus the archôn or “ruler” over the "kings
of the earth." The term does not mean “king,” though kings certainly
do “rule.” The point is not that he is the “king” or even a king among kings,
but that he holds a far higher rank.
HIS SUPREMACY
Moreover,
the noun archôn often denotes someone who is a
“prince,” “chief magistrate,” the supreme sovereign,
and that is the sense here. The intent is not to contradict the book’s later
declaration that Jesus is the “King of kings,” but to highlight just
much higher he is than the political rulers of this age.
The
extent of his sovereignty is stressed in the book’s first vision when Jesus
calls himself the “living one who was dead and lives forevermore,” and he
now holds the “keys of death and Hades.” Not even the realm of the dead
is beyond his reach. And that absolute authority is based on his past death and
resurrection.
His authority extends even over his mortal enemies. For example,
Satan is bound from “deceiving the nations” and cannot do so until he is
“released from the Abyss.” The “Beast from the sea” is unable to
wage “war” against the saints until he is authorized to do so - (“and
it was given to him to make war against the saints” – Revelation 13:7,
20:1-3).
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| [Starry Sky - Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash] |
But his sovereignty over the earth does not immediately negate the hostility of the “kings of the earth.” For example, when the “sixth bowl of wrath” is emptied, the “kings of the earth” are gathered for the “great day of God Almighty” at the “place called Armageddon,” though the text does not say what happens to them once there.
At this great battle, the “kings of the earth” and their “armies”
are gathered along with the “Beast” and the “false prophet” to
wage war against the one who is “riding on a white horse.” However, the
“Lamb” overcomes them because he is “king of kings and Lord of lords”
- (Revelation 16:12-16. 17:10-18, 19:19-21).
At the end of “Armageddon,” the “Beast” and the “False
Prophet” are “cast alive into the lake of fire.” But that is not the
fate of the “kings of the earth.” The “rest were killed with the
sword of the one who was riding on the white horse,” which the vision
identifies as the “word of God” that is “proceeding out of his mouth.”
While this suggests their deaths, that is not necessarily the case.
SHEPHERD
In the book’s salutation, the second Psalm was alluded to (“ruler
of the kings of the earth”), but it is echoed more clearly in three
additional passages where the original Hebrew verb for “rule” has been changed
to the Greek verb meaning “shepherd.”
Thus, the messianic “son” is the one destined to “shepherd
the nations.” And what this means is demonstrated in the vision of the “innumerable
multitude” when the “Lamb shepherds” the men who have
been redeemed from every nation to the “living waters” in New Jerusalem.
Moreover, in the vision of the “rider on the white horse” the royal
figure uses his “iron scepter” to “shepherd the
nations,” not to grind them into powder – (Revelation 2:27, 7:17, 12:5,
19:15).
The change from the image of a conqueror who destroys his enemies to the benevolent ruler who “shepherds” them is unexpected and paradoxical. While he still wields an “iron scepter” and the “great sword,” he uses them to guide the nations and the “kings of the earth” to something other than their destruction.
The idea of a more
benevolent future was hinted at in the second Psalm. After warning the “kings
of the earth” of dire consequences if they continue in their rebellion, the
Psalmist exhorts them to fear Yahweh and “kiss His son, lest he be
angry, and you perish in the way” – (Psalm 2:9-11).
The presentation of Jesus
as the sacrificial “Lamb” who now “shepherds the nations” begins
to explain how the “nations” and the “kings of the earth” are found later enjoying the glories of “New
Jerusalem.” And what kind of sovereign and shepherd would he be if he only
leads his subjects to their destruction?
In
the holy city, the “nations walk amidst
its light, the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.” And in
the city, John saw the “tree of life” that “healed the nations”
and removed the original “curse” caused by Adam’s disobedience. Thus, the
“Lamb” shepherds the nations and leads many to safety and salvation in the New
Creation.
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