KINGS: THE FIRST OFFICE HOLDERS OF THE KINGDOM

Last week I began an attempt at interpreting the heavenly pattern of the Armies of Heaven, comprising Christ and His redeemed saints, that will establish and rule over the promised kingdom. Our focus was on the reason why John saw twenty-four, and not twelve, crowned and enthroned Elders in the pattern. This, we learnt, was an indication of the global extent of the kingdom, encompassing Jews and Gentiles. The twelve thrones that the Lord mentioned, while His ministry was still restricted to the Jews, had been multiplied by two to incorporate the Gentiles. This global kingdom was captured as The Commonwealth of Israel.
Now, here’s my broader revelation of the implication of the heavenly pattern that John saw. Inasmuch as the twenty-four Elders are crowned and enthroned, they are the literal kingthe testimony of redeemed “kings and priests” to “reign on the earth” in the kingdom – that is, the literal kings under Christ the “King of kings.” They represent the first-office holders of the kingdom among the redeemed. They are symbolic of the commanders, under Christ the Commander-in-Chief, of the Armies of Heaven. They are kings, the political leaders of the promised kingdom! element of
Do you see it? Although all the redeemed saints – represented in the twenty-four Elders and four Beasts of the heavenly scene that John saw – will “reign” with Christ in the kingdom, it is those represented in the crowned and enthroned Elders that would actually and directly wield the iron rod of political power. Recall the Lord’s post Ascension version of The Golden Promise: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron” (Revelation 2:26,27). As I noted in closing that article, there are different dimensions to this promised power of the saints over the nations. Those represented in the Elders are the ones who inherit the political aspect of it!
The idea is not too different from what we mean when we say the “Democrats” are in power, or reigning. In that context, the Democratic Party, a type of the Armies of Heaven, would normally supply all the specialized personnel needed to effect that government and execute its programs in the different areas of society, but it is the revered folks of the “Executive Cabinet,” a type of the twenty-four Elders, that are the actual kings!
Of course, when we couple this to what we learnt last week, the basic idea is that there will be a distinguished company of twelve Jewish and twelve Gentile saints who, under Christ, will constitute the “Supreme Governing Council” of the entire global kingdom of the Millennium. Magnificent! But there’s more to this pattern of the twenty-four Elders. It’s unlikely that just twenty-four saints are all that the Lord would use to oversee a kingdom that encompasses all nations of the earth. The foregoing is the indication of the twenty-four Elders when viewed from afar, but as we close in on the scene a more detailed picture emerges.
In a nutshell, I can also see in the pattern of the Elders an indication of certain secondary, or subordinate, “kings” operating in councils of twenty-four. Once again, the thought is in continuity with the trend of present day governments. Take the United States for instance. Not only does its federal government have an executive cabinet, but each of the constituting states of the Union is also overseen by a similar cabinet. In other words, the twenty-four Elders of the heavenly scene that John saw do not only project the twenty-four-man “Supreme Governing Council” that will, under Christ, oversee the entire millennial kingdom from Mount Zion, Jerusalem, “the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:2), but they also symbolize the twenty-four-man governing council that will more directly oversee each of the constituting nations of the global kingdom.
These nations are the same ones that the Lord spoke of in His promise: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron.” If we consider these constituting nations the provinces of the kingdom, as typical of world kingdoms, the twenty-four Elders would therefore also be a depiction of each of the several “Provincial Governing Councils” – or “Provincial Councils of Bishops,” as would become more apparent as we proceed in our investigation of the kingdom on this site. We could also think of these subordinate Elders as the commanders of the several formations of the Armies [plural] of Heaven that would be dispersed throughout the provinces of the kingdom.
This secondary implication of the twenty-four Elders raises the question of the full number of those represented in them, and by implication the full number of the nations, or provinces, that will constitute the promised kingdom. Understandably, this would imply that we might be able to accurately predict the number of formations that constitute the Armies of Heaven. Such definite numbers could be expected, for as we noted last week, the millennial kingdom – that is, The Commonwealth of Israel – would be one of divine order, as was the original nation of Israel. This orderliness of the kingdom and of the saints that will rule over it is depicted in the “foursquare” layout of the New Jerusalem City that John also saw (Revelation 21:16; for more about the relationship between the city and the kingdom, see In My Father’s House).
An attempt to determine this full number of the subordinate kings, and of the millennial nations that they will oversee, would require our tracing the promise of the kingdom back to the covenant that God made with “Father Abraham,” that in him would all nations of the earth be blessed. This we will do next week. So keep the faith, and remain posted. And remember me in your prayers.
God bless you always.
In the King’s Service,
David Olagoke Olawoyin.


I have just published a new article, KINGS. It’s in continuation of an ongoing exploration of the promised earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read it at www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com.

I have just published KINGS, in continuation of an ongoing exploration of the promised kingdom of the Lord Jesus http://snipurl.com/m81ks                                       


A new article, KINGS, has been published by THE KINGDOM HERALD. It’s in continuation of an ongoing exploration of the promised earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read it at www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com


“And I appoint unto you a kingdom , as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom” (Luke 22:29-30). Be posted at www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com


[The Kingdom Herald] KINGS
Dear Kingdom Citizen,
I have published the article, KINGS: THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF THE KINGDOM, on THE KINGDOM HERALD website. It’s in continuation of our ongoing exploration of the promised earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our awareness and insight into these wonderful things that the Lord has prepared for us can only encourage us to keep the faith in the present testy times and strengthen our witness to a dying world. Read the article at www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com.
God bless you always.
In the King’s Service,
David Olagoke Olawoyin.
www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com

KINGS
Beloved,
I have published a new article, KINGS, on THE KINGDOM HERALD website. It’s in continuation of an ongoing exploration of the promised earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to know the wonderful things that the Lord has prepared for His saints for effective witnessing in these testy times. Read the article at www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com.
God bless you always.
In the King’s Service,
David Olagoke Olawoyin.
www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com


“The idea is not too different from what we mean when we say the ‘Democrats’ are in power, or reigning. In that context, the Democratic Party, a type of the Armies of Heaven, would normally supply all the specialized personnel needed to effect that government and execute its programs in the different areas of society, but it is the revered folks of the “Executive Cabinet,” a type of the twenty-four Elders, that are the actual kings!” (From KINGS.) www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com


“Do you see it? Although all the redeemed saints – represented in the twenty-four Elders and four Beasts of the heavenly scene that John saw – will ‘reign’ with Christ in the kingdom, it is the crowned and enthroned Elders that actually and directly wield the iron rod of political power. Recall the latter version of The Golden Promise: ‘And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron’ (Revelation 2:26,27). As I noted in closing that article, there are different dimensions to this promised power of the saints over the nations. Those represented in the Elders are the ones who inherit the political aspect of it.” (From KINGS.)  www.thekingdomherald.blogspot.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Comment on this article here.

Popular posts from this blog

KINGS AND PRIESTS – THE POWERBROKERS OF THE COMING KINGDOM

Image
During the Revelation on Patmos, the apostle John was given the invitation, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” He went on to write, “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne ... And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting... and they had on their heads crowns of gold... And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts ... And the first beast was like a lion , and the second beast like a calf , and the third beast had a face as a man , and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle . And they [elders and beasts] sung a new song, saying... For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth ” (see Revelation 4:1-5:10). This heavenly scene that
Read more

SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING NEW (2)

Image
(NB: This is in continuation of a personal testimony begun last week, prompted by the Facebook page I recently put up . We will pick it up right where I stopped. To read the first part of the article, click here .) Since my early years, there had been the indication of this Christian writing ministry I have been called to. Not only were my writing and expository gifts noted and commended by my teachers, but the first explicit signal of where I was headed for might have been given during my second year in the university, when I wrote and posted copies of a Christian article on notice boards on campus. Then it got to where I formed the habit of writing messages on lecture room boards, especially at night, to welcome the students in the morning! So consistent and secretive were these night ‘missions’ that my closest friend, who was in a different faculty, was surprised when I eventually revealed myself as the culprit. I continued my writing and free distribution of articles after gradua
Read more

LANGUAGE NATIONS – THE 6,000 PROVINCES OF THE KINGDOM

Image
Last week , I proposed a twofold significance of the twenty-four Elders of the heavenly pattern of the Armies of Heaven , comprising Christ and His redeemed saints, that will establish and rule over the promised kingdom . First was their representation of the twenty-four-man “Supreme Governing Council,” under Christ, of the entire kingdom. And second was their representation of the twenty-four-man “Provincial Governing Council” of each of the constituting provinces, or nations, of the global kingdom. This latter perspective of the Elders raised the question of the full number of those represented in them, and by implication the full number of the nations that will constitute the kingdom. This article will attempt to answer that question by tracing the promise of the kingdom back to the promise God made to “Father Abraham.” God said to Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all familie
Read more