Revelation 5:7-10 “Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. (8) Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (9) And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; for You were slain, And have redeemed to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, (10) And have made them kings and priests to our God; And they shall reign on the earth.”
As we have already mentioned, there are the two main roles that the saints will perform in the New Jerusalem. The first is the role of a king and the second is the role of a priest, for in the above passage of scripture, we see that our Lord Jesus has made us both kings and priests to God our Father. And so, in this section we want to discuss our roles as kings in the age to come.
Luke 22:25-27 “And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' (26) But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. (27) For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”
Many view what our Lord taught in the above passage of scripture, as pertaining to this life only. In other words, their viewpoint is that we are to serve in this life but in the life to come we will be served. In essence that viewpoint is correct, but not entirely so. For as we will see in this section, that specifically with regards to the children of God, that the saints will reign over in the age to come, that our reigning will be more similar to that of shepherding them than of exercising lordship over them.
Michael E.B. Maher
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