End-Time Insights

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 . Foundational to the biblical doctrine of redemption is the Covenant that God made with Abraham, and with his “ seed ” after him, including the promises to bless all nations and to grant the Patriarch innumerable descendants. But how and when are the nations blessed? And who is Abaham’s “ seed ” destined to inherit the promises?

Jesus is the promised King from the Line of David who guides the Nations of the Earth to the Holy City, New Jerusalem – Revelation 12:5. The “ Son ” pictured in the twelfth chapter of the  Book of Revelation  is the Messianic figure of the  Second Psalm  who is destined to “ Shepherd the Nations .” Following his Enthronement, Heaven declared, “ Now is come the Kingdom of God and the authority of His Messiah .” His reign commenced following his “ Faithful Testimony ” given in his Death, and his victory through his Resurrection. He is also, therefore, the “ Firstborn of the Dead .”

Nach seiner Auferstehung erklärte Jesus: “ Mir ist alle Gewalt im Himmel und auf Erden gegeben worden, darum geh und mache alle Völker zu Jüngern! ” Dann sandte er seine Jünger aus, um sein Heil bis an die “ Enden der Erde ” zu verkünden. Die Ära der Erlösung begann mit seinem Tod und seiner Auferstehung; Daher muss seine lebensspendende Botschaft allen Menschen verkündet werden.

New Jerusalem will be populated in fulfillment of the promise to bless all nations through Abraham and his seed – Revelation 21:24-22:5. The Book of Revelation  concludes with an image of the immense and glorious city of “ New Jerusalem ” populated by the “ innumerable multitude ” of men redeemed from every nation and people by Jesus. It represents the fulfillment of the covenant promises to Abraham of “ land ” and “ blessings to all nations .” All this has been accomplished through the shed “ blood of the Lamb .”

The national sins of Israel culminated in her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. However, all was not lost. God foresaw her failure and determined to restore the nation by instituting His New Covenant that would include the nations of the Earth, the “ Gentiles .” Moreover, the New Creation would become the ultimate Promised Land and the true inheritance of His people.

The kings and nations of the Earth are found in New Jerusalem because of the Lamb’s redemptive work . The Apostle Paul describes the proclamation of “ Christ crucified ” as “ God’s wisdom and power .” The proposition that God overthrew Sin, Satan, and Death through the execution of a lowly man from the small village of Nazareth is “ foolishness ” to men and contrary to this world’s “wisdom” and ideologies. Even the spiritual “ powers and principalities ” did not understand what God was doing and sealed their fate by crucifying the “ Lord of Glory .”

The “ Son ” in the twelfth chapter of  Revelation  represents the Messianic figure in the  Second Psalm  who “ shepherds the nations .” Following the enthronement of the “ Lamb ,” heaven declared, “ Now is come the Kingdom of God and the authority of His Christ .” His “ faithful testimony ” in death and his victory through resurrection marked the start of his reign. However, he rules by “ shepherding the nations ,” not destroying them.

The reign of Jesus on the Divine Throne is based on his sacrificial death and resurrection, the unshakable basis of his universal authority . The Death, Resurrection, and the Exaltation of Jesus are all linked in the  Book of Revelation . Christ reigns supreme over the Earth because of his obedient death and subsequent resurrection, and he therefore is authorized to reveal and put the contents of the “ Sealed Scroll ” into action. He does not tyrannize his subjects; instead, he is “ the Shepherd of the nations ” who redeems men and women from every nation.