Jesus reigns! This is the ultimate revelation of the book of Revelation. Sure, the book’s study is a challenge often surrounded by a multitude of concepts regarding the interpretation of the message it contains. It seems that you have to be an expert in history or archaeology to understand it. Some talk only about conflict, strife, and persecutions.
But what if we see it from a more simple and positive outlook? John praised God when he understood the purpose of the book. That purpose is to show that Jesus conquered history by His blood. He reigns. And purchased by the blood He shed and the victory of love thus gained, the redeemed are constituted into a kingdom of priests to serve God: Jesus reigns, and we reign with Him (Rev. 1:5, 6).
The book’s disclosures are best appreciated when we study them in the light of Christ’s mediatorial ministry. The context of the sanctuary/temple and God’s covenant of salvation are the literary, historical, and theological backdrop to everything in the book.
1 The book is a vision with several major scenarios.2 But its goal is not to distract readers with exotic images, or bog down students striving to decipher obscure word pictures or ideas. Rather, it is to send a message of hope for those who await Christ’s coming in a world of intense conflict. The struggles of the saints may be great. The opposition of the enemy is strong. But Jesus’ victory is our hope. It is our guarantee. He reigns, and He will have us reign with Him. This is what we find as we tour the scenes of the book. Our exploration will take us through the following stages:
| Stage | Text |
| Stage I | 2:1-3:22 |
| Stage II | 4:1-7:17 |
| Stage III | 8:1-11:18 |
| Stage IV | 11:19-14:20 |
The writers of the Gospels emphasize the coming of the Messiah in His mediating role as a sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
In the book of Revelation Christ appears conducting His mediatorial ministry in another phase, as high priest in the heavenly temple. This is precisely how He presents Himself in the messages to the seven churches: as a faithful go-between who knows His people and can represent them before God’s throne.
He surely knows His followers: to the Ephesian leaders He says, “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance” (Rev. 2:2);
3 and to Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)” (verse 9); and to the angel of the church in Pergamum, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name” (verse 13); He knows Thyatira’s “love and faith and service and perseverance,” and that its later deeds are greater than its earlier ones (verse 19); He knows that Sardis has a name and fakes life, but is dead (Rev. 3:1); He knows Philadelphia’s faithfulness (verse 8); and Laodicea’s lukewarmness (verses 15, 16). He knows them all. He knows us all.
Jesus reigns! And we shall reign with Him.
He knows and calls us to repentance; He is determined to take us higher. He wants the transforming power of His blood to act on us; He is bringing us up to the measure of the stature of His own fullness (see Eph. 4:13). He wants to apply to our individual and corporate experience His righteousness, made available by His substitutionary death on the cross (Rev. 1:9-3:22). He means to present us soon to Himself and His Father and the entire universe, “having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but . . . holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27).
Given His perfect substitutionary sacrifice, crucified with Him we may live; yet not we, but He in and through us, to the praise and glory of His name (see Gal. 2:20; Eph. 1). His reproof and chastening are not for the sake of condemnation. Denunciation of Ephesus’ increasing coldness and Laodicea’s lukewarmness, of immorality in Pergamum or heresy in Thyatira, is not an end in itself. He is revealing our true state to us, and reminding us of the hope of His calling, presenting to us “the riches of the glory of His inheritance” (Eph. 1:18). He want us, needs us, to experience the “surpassing greatness of [God’s] power” “in accordance with the working of thestrength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come” (verses 19-21). He reigns, and we shall reign with Him.
Every promise Christ makes to the victors in the conflict who are part of His church points to the very moment they will join Him in His functions of universal government in heaven. There is a growing progress from the promise made to the first church to that made to the last one. The last church, Laodicea, is the one that receives the promise that “he who overcomes, I will grant him to sit down with Me on My throne” (Rev. 3:21). God wants humans to be near Him in the government of the universe, as John notes in his introductory statement of praise.
The promise to Laodicea opens the book’s second stage, Revelation 4:1-7:17, with a glimpse of the throne of God and the opening of the seals. It is remarkable how the scene shows beings who surround the throne in a concentric description. The first circle is made up of four living creatures. Christ is also at the throne as the sacrificial Lamb and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Beyond the four living creatures come the seven Spirits of God, followed by elders, angels, and, in the last circle, the great multitude of all the redeemed from the earth (Rev. 7:9-17). The scene of the great multitude before the throne is a vision and a promise that God will keep.
God wants beside Him those whom the blood of the Lamb has redeemed. The Lamb has won. The Lamb reigns; and they will reign with Him. The fifth seal describes the closeness God maintains with His brutalized witnesses. He keeps before the altar of His throne the memory of the blood shed by His faithful servants (Rev. 6:9-11). This blood is crying out to God for justice, like the blood of the first martyr, Abel (Gen. 4:10). In the third stage God will answer the cry of “How long” that goes up from these silenced souls (Rev. 6:10).
The third stage runs from Revelation 8:1 to 11:18, and presents the execution of the final judgment against those who persecute God’s faithful ones. Trumpets announce the approach of the final stage of Christ’s mediatorial ministry before the throne of God in response to the cry of the martyrs. The difficulties that trigger God’s judgments arise from humans’ rejection of God and His Word. The darkness is caused by the lack of the light.
God’s Word indicates that humans have moved away from God and are under the ruling power of dark forces that oppose the domain of divine government. These difficulties increase with the sound of each trumpet.
The last trumpet is the opening of the fourth stage, which runs from Revelation 11:19 to 14:20. It is introduced with a scene in the sanctuary before the very throne of God (Rev. 11:19).
This scenario describes in more detail the tricks, deception, and persecution of the opponents of God against His faithful children. Under the symbolism of three signs,
4 God shows the reasons to execute His judgments. But even in the heat of the conflict He again presents the beautiful security of redemption in Him.
He does this through a parenthesis that refers again to the 144,000 (Rev. 14:1-6), whom God acts to take to Himself. Then, having presented the company of the saved and announced the message of their salvation, the chapter concludes with a description of the second coming of Christ, the action that will gather in the sheaves of the saved. That sequence and its climactic action underline the thrust of the book: Christ coming as conquering king to vindicate His name and claim His own. He reigns. And they will reign with Him (Rev. 14:17-20).
The result of Christ’s coming is shown in an anticipatory scene: it is the “great multitude” of the redeemed, and it is presented alongside the vision of the third sign, that of the angels who will administer God’s wrath (Rev. 15:1-5). The outpouring of the cups of the wrath proclaims that Christ ceases His mediatorial work in heavenly places to return to earth.
The last of those plagues contains a conclusive statement: “It is done” (Rev. 16:17). The end of opposition to God is considered a fact. Brief mention is made of Armageddon, the last battle in the cosmic conflict. But in the next scene, God gives more details about this battle and the fall of His opponents.
The praises of the great multitude of the redeemed (Rev. 19:1-21:1) celebrate the happiness produced by the end of the conflict. These rejoicing ones are those who take part in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6) and see fulfilled the promise that answers the earlier “How long” (Rev. 6:10). But like the exultant scene of Revelation 15:2-5, the joy that introduces Revelation 19 is in fact a glimpse that anticipates the end of the scenario.
That introductory glimpse inspires readers to follow confidently the description of scenes that must take place prior to that end. Heaven celebrates that Christ has come to reign. He comes and prepares to return for the third time, when He will put the ultimate and utter end to all conflict, and restore the full government of God in the universe.
He will reign, and we shall reign with Him. He is the Lamb, and we are His people (Rev. 19:7). In Revelation 19-21 we see the reviewing and executing aspects of the trial that brings to an end the conflict between good and evil. We also receive more details about the battle of Armageddon.
At the end of the book of Revelation God has fully restored humanity as part of the family of His creation. The circle of those God wants to be near His throne is complete. The redeemed officiate as priests and kings of God and Christ (Rev. 20:6), as announced in Revelation 1:6, 5:10, and 7:15.
God renews all things (Rev. 21:5)! And John is given the privilege to see in detail the wonderful moments that await the redeemed in the New Jerusalem prepared by God and coming down from heaven. There is no temple there, because God Himself is the temple (verse 22). He is the living tabernacle (verse 3) whose sacrifice, righteousness, and judgment provide the perfect mediation that redeems those whom the conflict had once separated from Him.
5 Revelation 7:15-17 and 21:4 emphasize that the redeemed will no longer experience any situations that cause pain: they will never know thirst; the sun will not bother them; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Thus God finally reveals to John all that He has done so that the great multitude of the redeemed might finally gather before His throne (Rev. 7:15) and rejoice in His presence with the rest of His creation.
The epilogue of Revelation concludes, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be [there], and His bond-servants will serve Him; and they will see His face, and His name
will be on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:3, 4).
Revelation’s scenes all point to a final climax emphasizing the fulfillment of a promise of God: the “great multitude” of the redeemed of earth will stand before the throne of God; they will be kings and priests; they will serve in the universal government of God. Jesus reigns, and we shall reign with Him.
A most inspiring message! God is actively working to have with Him those He has redeemed from the earth: Jesus reigns, and we shall reign with Him.
