Redeeming Kings and Nations

The Lamb is also the Shepherd of the nations, sent to redeem kings, nations and a vast multitude of men, women and children.

Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth, the Messiah who cleansed us from our sins and made us his people. He is the Lamb who purchased men and women from every nation for his Father's kingdom, and he is the Shepherd who guides kings, nations and peoples to New Jerusalem.

The Book of Revelation illustrates the width and depth of the salvation achieved by Jesus Christ. The sacrificial Lamb brings God's redemptive plan to a dazzling conclusion as he leads nations, kings and peoples to everlasting life in the holy city, New Jerusalem.

The Book does not teach that the entire population of a nation will be redeemed or that all existing nation-states will be reconstituted in the New Creation. John does not declare that every man, woman and child will be saved in the end. He uses Old Testament passages to construct his prophetic picture, which influences the selection of terms John uses.

[Photo by Duangphorn Wiriya on Unsplash]

For example, John's description of “peoples, nations, and tongues” is based on Daniel 7:14 (“And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, and tongues should serve him”). However, John modifies his sources as needed to explain his visions.

In Revelation 5:9, for example, John adds “tribes” to this clause, which creates a fourfold declaration that highlights the universal scope of salvation. There is no nation or people that remains untouched by the testimony of Jesus. Similarly, we read of four living creatures and the four corners of the earth - (“You purchased with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” – Compare Revelation 5:14, 7:1).

Men are redeemed from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue to form one nation and people. And so, in Chapter 5, men of every nationality and ethnicity are purchased by the Lamb's blood to become the priestly kingdom of God. In Chapter 7, men from every nation and tribe are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and become the new Israel.

This does not mean that every nation, king, man and woman is saved. We read of kings and the inhabitants of the earth who oppose the Lamb. On the Day of the Lord, men from every level of society attempt to escape the wrath of God, including kings. What determines whether a man enters New Jerusalem is how he responds to Jesus – (Revelation 6:15-17).

The Lamb “conquers” kings and nations by the Word of God and “the testimony of Jesus.” He redeems humanity by sacrificing his own life, not the lives of his enemies, and by sending his “priests” to carry his testimony before the world.

At the end of the Book, we find nations, kings and countless multitudes of men and women inhabiting New Jerusalem, where they worship the Lamb and “he who sits on the throne”:

• “And THE NATIONS WILL WALK AMIDST THE LIGHT of the city, and THE KINGS OF THE EARTH WILL BRING THEIR GLORY INTO IT. And THE CITY’S GATES WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE SHUT BY DAY, for THERE WILL BE NO NIGHT THERE. And THEY WILL BRING THE GLORY and the honour of the nations INTO THE CITY” – (Revelation 21:24-26. Note well the verbal allusions to Isaiah 60:3, 60:11, 60:20. Compare Revelation 1:5-6, Psalm 2:2, 89:27).

• “And he showed me a RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, bright as crystal, FLOWING FROM THE THRONE of God and of the Lamb in the midst of the street. And ON THIS SIDE OF THE RIVER AND THAT was THE TREE OF LIFE, PRODUCING TWELVE KINDS OF FRUIT, YIELDING ITS FRUIT EVERY MONTH. And THE LEAVES OF THE TREE WERE FOR THE HEALING of the nations” – (Revelation 22:1-2. Note the allusions to Genesis 2:9-10, Ezekiel 47:1-12, Zechariah 14:8).

Salvation is not limited to the small nation of Israel or a tiny remnant of Christians. The dimensions of the city are impossibly large. New Jerusalem will be fully populated, and its boundaries are coterminous with “the new heaven and the new earth” – (Revelation 21:1, 21:15-21).

THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS

The Book of Revelation describes its contents as “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” The latter term refers, in the first place, to the testimony given by Jesus in his sacrificial death – (Revelation 1:2).

Secondly, the saints bear witness to this salvation before men, kings, and nations. This is how the “one like a Son of Man” uses the “sharp two-edged sword” to defeat his enemies – (Revelation 1:16, 2:16, 19:15 [“And out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations”]).

John was on the isle of Patmos “because of the testimony of Jesus.” The souls seen under the altar were killed “for their testimony.” The Beast from the Abyss killed the two witnesses after they completed their testimony. The Dragon waged war on the men who had “the testimony of Jesus.” And the saints overcome the Dragon “by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” – (Revelation 1:2, 1:9-10, 6:9, 11:7, 12:11, 12:17. See also Revelation 2:13, “Antipas, my faithful witness”).

The prologue of Revelation provides a summary statement of the redemptive activities of Christ. This includes verbal allusions to Old Testament passages, demonstrating that Jesus fulfills the messianic promises given originally to Israel:

• “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 CLEANSES 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 forever and ever” – (Revelation 1:5-6. Note the allusions to Exodus 19:5-6, Leviticus 16:30, Psalm 89:27, 89:37. Compare 1 Peter 2:5-10, Revelation 5:9-10, 20:4-6).

In his death, Jesus bore testimony to the mercy of God (“the faithful witness”). God vindicated his faithfulness by raising him from the dead (“the firstborn of the dead”), and He exalted Christ to reign from the divine throne (“the ruler of the kings of the earth.” And Jesus made us a priestly kingdom that proclaims his salvation to the nations.

In Chapter 5, Jesus is presented as the sacrificial Lamb. By his death, the Lamb “overcame” and qualified to open the sealed scroll and begin his reign on the divine throne. His sacrifice redeemed men and women “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,” and made them a kingdom of priests for his God and Father – (Revelation 5:5-10).

Because he gave his life to ransom humanity from sin, all of creation declares the Lamb worthy to receive all power and authority:

• “Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power and riches and wisdom and might, and honour 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 to the Lamb is the blessing and the honour and the glory and the dominion forever and ever” – (Revelation 5:12-13).

In Chapter 7, John sees a vast multitude of men from every nation and ethnic group coming out of the great tribulation. They stand and worship before the Lamb and God in His Tabernacle:

• “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER, FROM EVERY NATION AND TRIBE AND PEOPLE AND TONGUE, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. <…> 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 RIVERS OF LIVING WATERS. And GOD WILL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES” – (Revelation 7:9, 14-17. Note the allusions to Genesis 13:16, Exodus 19:10-14, Isaiah 4:5-6, Daniel 7:14, 12:1. Compare Isaiah 2:2-3, 49:10, Revelation 21:22-27, 22:1-2).

The description of the multitude uses language from Genesis 13:16, “And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may your seed also be numbered.” Jesus is bringing the covenant promises to fruition, including the promise to Abraham of innumerable descendants. The city of New Jerusalem will be fully populated.

In the preceding passage, not only is Jesus called ‘the Lamb’, but he is now identified as ‘the shepherd’ who guides countless men and women to “living waters” in the City of God – (Compare Revelation 12:5, 19:15, 21:6 [“I will give him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely”]).

John does not provide information about how many men will be saved, only that the number will be incalculable. Whether the number of redeemed men will be larger than the number of the condemned is not stated, but we do not find a similar description of the company of men whose names are not written in the book of life.

The Gospel is for all humanity. But what about the men and women who will be excluded from the Holy City? Jesus has human enemies, men whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. This is not a matter of “predestination,” but the result of human decisions - how men respond to the Lamb and to the Beast.

The term used for the opponents of Christ is ‘the inhabitants of the earth’. This group will face the “hour of trial, which will come to try the inhabitants of the earth.” The martyrs “under the altar” pleaded with God to avenge their blood on the inhabitants of the earth. Similarly, the inhabitants of the earth rejoice over the deaths of the two witnesses - (Revelation 3:10, 6:9-11, 11:10).

This group consists of men who take the mark of the Beast, which is why their names are omitted from the book of life. They come from all walks of life and every nation, including “the kings of the earth, princes, chief captains, the rich, the strong, and every slave and freeman” – (Revelation 6:14, 13:16).

The inhabitants of the earth embrace the Beast and the Dragon. They refuse to follow the Lamb wherever he goes, and instead, they “take” the mark of the Beast. The Greek verb translated as “take” or “receive” is in the active voice, which means the subject performs the action. These men are condemned to everlasting destruction by their own decisions:

• “And the rest of humanity, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. And they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” - (Revelation 9:20-21).

• “If any man renders homage to the beast and his image and takes a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger” - (Revelation 14:9).

Members of this group are not recognizable by their national origin, race or native tongue, but by their allegiance to the Beast. The ‘inhabitants of the earth’ are never presented in a positive light in Revelation, and they are not found in the Holy City - (“There will certainly not enter into the city anything unclean” - Revelation 21:27).

Humanity is divided into two groups:  the men who follow the Lamb, and those who bow to the Beast. Members of the former group have their names inscribed in the book of life. They will reside forever in New Jerusalem. The names of the members of the latter group are not found in the book, and they will not enter the Holy City.

This does not mean that men and women are predestined by divine decree to belong to one or the other group, or that an individual cannot leave one group and join the other. The fact that Jesus sends his priestly kingdom to proclaim his gospel to the nations indicates that a follower of the Beast may choose to repent and become a follower of the Lamb.

Likewise, exhortations to believers to persevere in the faith and the warnings about the consequences of failure to do so indicate that Christians can lose their salvation by taking the mark of the Beast. If a believer apostatizes, his or her name could be erased from the book of life – (“He that overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will certainly not blot his name out of the book of life” – Revelation 3:5).

And so, to find ourselves living forever in New Jerusalem, we must follow the Lamb wherever he leads, even if doing so results in persecution and death - (Revelation 12:11, “They overcame the Dragon by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their life unto death”).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• Light to the Nations - (Jesus Christ fulfills God’s promise to bless all nations through His Covenant with Abraham. He is the Light and source of Salvation for the nations)

• The Age of Salvation - (Jesus came upon the last of these days to provide salvation to men, women, and children of every nation, and life in the coming age)

• New Jerusalem Descends - (Following the final judgment, John sees the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from heaven to the earth – Revelation 21:1-8)

• The Son of Man - (Revelation’s first vision presents Jesus as the Son of Man, the high priest who watches over his people – Revelation 1:9-20)