People of God: A covenantal view of belonging

People of God: A covenantal view of belonging Jesus will come for His suffering people and deliver to them His eternal kingdom.

Jesus will come for His suffering people and deliver to them His eternal kingdom.

The book of Revelation shows us the privilege and care in being called His people, the Bride, the New Jerusalem, the covenant-multitude surrounding the throne of God almighty. From every tongue and tribe and nation we have been bought and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

The book of Revelation shows us the privilege and care in being called His people, the Bride, the New Jerusalem, the covenant-multitude surrounding the throne of God almighty. From every tongue and tribe and nation we have been bought and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

The book of Revelation shows us the privilege and care in being called His people, the Bride, the New Jerusalem, the covenant-multitude surrounding the throne of God almighty. From every tongue and tribe and nation, we have been bought and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

This is a work of both salvation and judgment. As we shall see, salvation and judgment are inevitably the two sides of a single coin. It is also a process which begins with Jesus’ earthly life and death and ends with his second coming.

The victory Jesus has already achieved in his death and resurrection is decisive, but needs to be continued by his Christian followers in the present and completed at his second coming in the future. THIS IS HOW OUR LIFE BECOMES A WITNESS JUST AS CHRIST’S WAS AND IS.

The 7 Benedictions of Revelation

Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation (New Testament Theology) (p. 67). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud, hears, and keeps the words of this prophecy. -

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. -

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. -

Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on. -

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. -

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. -

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. -

Blessed are those who wash their robes. -

- Write to the 7 churches (for all churches to hear).

Ephesus - Repent and return to your first love for Jesus is waiting.

Smyrna - Endure because Jesus has secured you.

Pergamum - Endure and stay pure and accept your invitation to the wedding banquet.

Thyatira - Keep the faith because authority is yours.

Sardis - Even the faithful few amidst disaster will be protected.

Philadelphia - Hold fast and conquer because you are about to be made a pillar in the temple.

Laodicea - Though your efforts fall short, God’s grace is sufficient. Accept his gift and take your seat at the throne alongside Christ.

- The redemption of a special people from all the peoples is not an end in itself, but has a further purpose: to bring all the peoples to acknowledge and worship God.

5:13–14 Finally, every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea () offers a fourfold doxology (blessing, honor, glory, might) to God and to the Lamb. Eventually, every knee “in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” will bow and “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” ().

- The 144,000 and the great multitude

Possibly two separate groups symbolizing the people of God (ethnic Israel may be the 144k but that is up for debate).

Likely this is symbolic of God’s people as they are first,

experiencing tribulation throughout the Church age (144k) and then,

experiencing the finality of Christ’s victory (great multitude in white robes)

- The two witnesses

Scripture requires two witnesses to confirm testimony (; ). The two witnesses here may symbolize the saints, as the parallel between and 13:7 suggests. Wearing the sackcloth of repentance (cf. ; ; ) to symbolize their message, they prophesy while the holy city suffers trampling (), the Messiah’s mother is nourished in the wilderness (12:6, 14), and the beast wields its authority (13:5)

These are the two olive trees. In Zechariah’s vision, the “two olive trees” symbolized “two anointed ones” (, ): a royal leader to rebuild God’s temple () and a high priest to lead worship in it (). Thus the witnesses of aptly represent all whom the Lamb has redeemed to serve as priests and rule as kings (1:6; 5:10).

The witnesses especially fulfill the church’s prophetic role, pouring God’s word as fiery judgment from their mouth (cf. ), announcing drought like Elijah (), and turning waters … into blood like Moses ().

Although the witnesses are invincible until they have finished their testimony, when their mission is accomplished the beast from the bottomless pit (13:1) will conquer them, not through spiritual seduction (God will soon vindicate them) but through martyrdom (11:7; cf. 13:7). The great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt is identified as the site of the martyrs’ death and their Lord’s crucifixion. It is likely that John has merged Rome and Jerusalem here into one combined symbol. “The great city” is further identified symbolically (or “spiritually”; see ESV footnote) as “Sodom” (known for its depravity and rebellion against God) and as “Egypt” (known for its persecution of God’s people), both of which again correspond to the city of Jerusalem, both in its persecution and martyrdom of the prophets and its rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. Thus the symbol of “the great city” had broad significance in John’s day, but it also stands as a representative symbol for every empire that grasps after divine glory and afflicts Christ’s church even in this present day. three and a half days. The celebration of the rebellious over the church’s apparent demise through persecution will be short-lived.

- The harvest of the earth

14:15–16 The harvest of the earth refers to wheat or barley. Christ’s harvest, of which the martyrs were firstfruits (v. 4), is gathered safely into his barns ().

14:17–20 The second harvest involves not only cutting grape clusters from the vine but also crushing them in God’s winepress.

The Lord will trample nations that have trampled God’s holy city, as Isaiah foretold (). Their blood is shed outside the city, where all defiled things belong (cf. )

- The marriage supper of the Lamb

19:9–10 Blessed are those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. They are believers who belong to his beloved bride, the church, who have been called through the gospel of grace (; ). This “marriage supper of the Lamb” was anticipated in the predictions of a messianic banquet in ; ; ; .

- Believers who have died and are now reigning with Christ

20:6 Second death. When the wicked are returned to bodily existence and condemned for evil deeds, they will be cast eternally into the lake of fire (vv. 12–15). The victors, who maintain their testimony of Jesus and resist the beast, worship as priests and reign as kings with Christ throughout the era of Satan’s binding.

- All things are new for God’s people

21:2 The holy city, new Jerusalem (cf. ; ), the church redeemed by Jesus Christ, will no longer be trampled by nations () but rather, will be adorned as a bride.

21:7 The one who conquers. The promises to conquerors (2:7, 11, 17; etc.) are summed up in this assurance that the new heaven and earth are their heritage as God’s children. he will be my son. This promise to David’s descendants (), fulfilled preeminently in Jesus (), also includes those who belong to him ().

God’s redemptive purpose completed

God’s ultimate purpose in redemptive history is to create a people to dwell in his presence, glorifying him through numerous varied activities and enjoying him forever. The story begins with God in eternal glory, and it ends with God and his people in eternal glory. At the center stands the cross, where God revealed his glory through his Son.