“Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10). To some the “reigning” in this verse applies to some future event, in which Christ will rule from his throne and we, as Christians, will serve as world rulers and administrators, with our capitol in Jerusalem. This millennial thinking manifests itself in many facets of our culture – everything from government policy to pop culture. Our politicians show support for one country over another in the hopes of preserving the nation of Israel. We flock in droves to the book store to get the latest millennial science fiction novels. There are bumper stickers and t-shirts that all claim, often indirectly, that Christians will one day rule the world.
Yet the problem in all of this is that it strips verses like the above of their true meaning. This thinking cheapens the Bible and reverts Christianity to a religion of pettiness and worldly thinking. Ideally, our thinking is to be “other-worldly” (Romans 12:2). Beyond that, it is simply not consistent with the rest of the Bible to argue that Christians will someday rule the physical world. How can this be reconciled with Colossians 1:12-14 or Revelation 1:9, in which we are described presently as a kingdom. We are currently priests (1 Peter 2:5-10). In the first century, Christ was already reigning (Ephesians 1:20-23, 1 Peter 3:22). The victory that Christians experience is not one that will one day come about, but is seen in the scriptures as having already been fulfilled. “Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
So how are we to reign in the world, then, if it is not some future, physical event? Perhaps there is a better way to approach the subject, without getting caught up in the hype of our culture’s obsession with all things millennial.
We Shall Reign?
When we talk about reigning in the context of the book of Revelation, or any other Bible book for that matter, there are numerous other verses that help us identify what the victory is and is not. It is not, first of all, political triumph, for even Christ Himself states that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). There is simply no way to get around this verse for the Premillenialist. Either Christ means it or He does not. If His kingdom was not a physical one, then the claim that He will one day come back and reign in Jerusalem on a physical throne for one thousand years is specious and highly incongruent with His other statements. The biggest problem with Premillenialism is that it focuses our faith on the things of the world (thousand years of peace, physical throne in geographic location, manipulating world politics, holy wars, etc.). “If then you have been raised up with Christ Jesus, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). Paul warns of those who “set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:19-20).
The victory that we experience is more than just the sci-fi version of Armageddon, but a victory over circumstances (John 16:33). It is a victory over sin, as we strive to enter by the narrow gate. Victory in Christ is not measured in church size, winning of elections, or never seeing problems in life. Appearances do not prove anything, because it appears from the outside that the saints do not reign, that our faith does not protect us from worldly pains, that we are a vexed and pathetic people, and that Jesus is just a historical figure who is dead. Appearances prove to the skeptic that we do not reign!
What This Means For Us
When we misunderstand the rule of Christ’s kingdom in this world, we misunderstand church success. If the kingdom for which we strive is physical, then the church is measured by purely physical standards as well. For many religions, being successful means having building projects in the works, having prestigious church members such as politicians and celebrities, having a great deal of money, and (the ever popular) attendance figures. The unconscious focus of many churches, therefore, is on reaching worldly people by worldly means. “The George Fox Journal contained an article in its Winter 2008 issue on the topic of ‘Rethinking Evangelism’. The article was an interview with Todd Hunter, who is the national director of Alpha USA. In the article he notes that all the research he has gathered concerning church growth agrees that the marketing approaches to evangelism have not really worked, not in terms of making genuine disciples. He bemoans the fact that all studies indicate that people in the denominations do not live any differently than non-Christians. Slogans, bumper-stickers, marketing campaigns, and advertising is not the answer. What is the answer is a community of Christians living as if they believe the gospel is actually true. He observes among the denominations that there are many churches that are not really practicing Christianity (something that members of the Lord’s church have been saying for centuries), and what many non-Christians are really interested in is, ‘Does Christianity make one a better person? Does it work?” To the unbeliever, if something does not appear to work then it must not be ‘true’. In addition, he notes, ‘If Christians do not begin to pursue spiritual formation into Christlikeness, we will completely lose our voice in our culture’ (p. 12)” (“We Reign Upon The Earth”, Dunagan).
To reign, therefore, means more than just selling a product or hocking free t-shirts to people who enter the building. Reigning means more than just following some physical, carnal guidelines for church success. To truly reign as we are expected, we must ignore our culture’s definition and live like Christ. Consider the paradox: Christ accomplished all things and reigns at the right hand of God, in spite of the fact that He never held public office, never made a fortune, and was executed as a common criminal. We reign when we convert people with the pure Gospel – one person at a time – and live humbly. After all, it is the meek who shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
God’s Definition
As valuable as the above research is, the Bible already makes these things clear. God has been reminding us through the scriptures for centuries that cheap marketing campaigns do nothing to truly further the Gospel – it is not news for us to consider that earthly standards are not how we measure church growth (or kingdom reigning). The world will never take us seriously unless we live transformed, changed, and converted lives, and it is by our godly examples and consistently applied morals (not smooth and flattering speech [Romans 16:18]) that we will influence people. We reign when we prove to doubters and unbelievers that we overwhelmingly conquer our trials by the gospel of Christ. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loves us” (Romans 8:35-39). Other verses make it clear that our examples, not our gimmicks, will convert others and prove that Christ reigns in us:
- “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
- “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).
- “That you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
- “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders” (Colossians 4:5).
- “So that you may behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need” (1 Thessalonians 4:12).
- “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles” (1 Peter 2:12).
We Are More Than Just Bumper Sticker Slogans
It is a tragedy that our consumerist culture has pervaded church thinking to such a sickening extent. Essentially, we have become the product of a reductionist line of thinking that has made Christianity no more than bumper sticker slogans and marketing campaigns. A kingdom that is reigning does not do so with minimalist influence, or trite proclamation. Rather, a kingdom that reigns speaks boldly about all things. It is not afraid to say what is needed. It is not afraid to stand up for truths. The Gospel got sucked into the reductionism of American marketing, however, and is now no more than cheap “Sinner’s Prayer” booklets that say, “Read this prayer so that when you die you can go to heaven.” We have Christian themes reduced to no more than empty bumper stickers like, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” Really? That is all we are? We are just forgiven? We are not a kingdom of priests? We are not a holy nation? We are not God’s children? We are not Christ’s brothers? We are not just a little lower than the angels? Forgiveness is not the sum total of what Christianity stands for, and it is a sad sign that that is the perception that people today have about God’s religion.
We reign! We do not just survive – we thrive! The world will be converted to Christ only if we do not malign the precious way with worldly ideas. The world will be converted when they see us reigning over lust, impurity, and anger (1 John 2:13). They will be converted when they see us reigning over evil men by our stout and resilient hearts. They will be converted when they see us reigning because of the way we completely model ourselves after Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Just the same as Christ, our Lord and Savior, we do not need money, power, prestige, or a throne to know in our hearts and be fully assured that we reign in this earth (Revelation 5:9-10).
