Kingdom And Priesthood Of God

Multiple mention of a certain topic in Scripture is of particular, inspired emphasis by God. For example, God moved on John's spirit to write twice in the book of Revelation on the subject of true Christians belonging to the Kingdom and Priesthood of God.

In Revelation 1:6 it says,

"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."

Then in Revelation 5:10, this declaration of Kingdom and Priesthood is found in a song that is sung by the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders that stay before God's throne. The lyrics picture a future time when Jesus and those He bought with His blood will reign on earth, but first Christ must bring forth the judgments found in scrolls that He alone is worthy to open the seals to. The words of the song are - 

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10)

Kingdoms refer to regions of property, inhabited by people and governed by a king. Priesthoods refer to a group of people in a leadership role who worship the kingdom's god and assist the people in their worship of the kingdom's god.

In order to grasp a better understanding of these verses and what it means for believers in Christ to be a kingdom and priesthood of God, some Covenant history has to be covered and some Prophetic passages have to be considered.

Covenants are arrangements or agreements between two parties usually on matters of existence between each other. 

God begins with the unconditional Covenant He made with Abraham and his descendants. Within this Abrahamic Covenant, God would be the sole provider of promises for land (Genesis 15:18-21), king (2 Samuel 7:10-16) and the people being blessed (Jeremiah 31:31-37).

Many years later, God established His Covenant through the laws, rules and regulations with Moses known as the Mosaic Covenant. These arrangements with His people were straight calls for obedience. Some commands were special If...then statements or conditional statements. 

However, the first law had no wiggle room, it was a condition that Israel would belong uniquely to Yahweh and would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God says to His people through Moses in Exodus 20:3 - 

"You shall have no other gods before me."

Hindsight and insight has proven The Mosaic Covenant was a doomed Covenant with all its impossible laws to follow full-time (Jeremiah 31:32). This Mosaic Covenant was always going to be a pre-cursor Kingdom Covenant to the Messianic Covenant, the following New Testament established through Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:24; Romans 3:20; Eph. 2:8-9).

The Messianic Kingdom Covenant is what believers in Christ live under now. Since Christ visited and completed the plan of Salvation, then ascended to the right hand of Father God, Christians have entered what many have deemed The Church Age, The Age of Grace or The Messianic Kingdom. Colossians 1:13 states - 

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,". 

In the past, The Priesthood consisted of a set number of men from the Tribe of Levi and one man within that tribe was the High Priest, the individual allowed to go into the Holy of Holies once every year to atone for all the mistakes of the people. There was no access to God except through this one Priest. 

However, there has been a change. God's Son, Jesus visited and not only took the role of High Priest permanently from the Tribe of Levi or any other person, but was our one-time sacrifice for all sin as the spotless Lamb of God presented before Father God in the Holy of Holies. 

This means the old priesthood is gone, there are no other priests to stand in for humanity. Access to God is now through the Redeemer and Mediator Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Timothy 2:5).

Therefore, the Christian's Purpose is now found in what Hebrews 13:15-16 states as continually offering up spiritual sacrifices or "a sacrifice of praise". The passage reads - 

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

The writer of Hebrews grants believers three life applications in this passage that can be immediately implemented - 

1. Praise God through our word selections but especially words that "openly profess His name".
2. Keep remembering to do good.
3. Share with others.

That was the Covenant history that needed to be covered, now let me reveal some prophetic considerations that go toward understanding the Christian in the Kingdom and Priesthood of God.

Today, individual nations rule their own people. In the future, Scripture prophesies an evil world ruler that especially is destructive toward God's people (Rev. 13:1-8) and will rule for seven years. Afterward, Christ will return with His Bride, the Church which He had raptured seven years or more prior (1 Thess. 4:13-18) and begin His Millennial Reign on Earth (Rev. 19:11 - 20:6). The Old Testament prophet Zechariah prophetically saw this day coming and writes - 

"The Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord and His name the only name." (Zechariah 14:9)

With the future tense references of Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10 mentioned at the beginning of this teaching is there any doubt Christians belong to a better government and superior ministry by God and of God? 

The Messianic Covenant/Kingdom proves the Mosaic Covenant can only be fulfilled by the perfect God-man, Christ Jesus. But wait there is more. The Messianic Covenant/Kingdom honors the Abrahamic Covenant to set-up a fully glorified Christ-centered kingdom and priesthood that is being developed in believers today. 

The holy Covenants in history have been established not only to bring us to this point but to have us look forward to an awesome future with The Lord. This is the purpose of Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10.

Within past kingdoms and priesthoods, people were divided or segregated into one or the other of these categories - kingdoms or priesthoods. If you were a priest, you certainly were a citizen of the kingdom. However, being a citizen of the kingdom did not mean you were a priest. Not every citizen was a priest. God’s sacrificial blood makes His believers, not only citizens of His kingdom but priests or sacred representatives. What do believers represent? A holy government and a holy lifestyle ruled by The Holy Lord – Christ Jesus.

This is what it means to be a part of the family of God, a part of the Kingdom And Priesthood Of God.