Disciples Global Network

The Book of Revelation applies several terms to the saints who are under assault from without and within. The men who were redeemed by the “ Lamb ” form a single company that transcends all national, social, and cultural boundaries, and for them, persecution and “ tribulation ” are neither aberrations nor things to be feared. Persevering through trials while bearing witness is what it means to follow the “ Lamb wherever he goes .”

The death of Jesus inaugurated the messianic age with consequent changes in the status of God’s people . In his epistle to the Assembly in Galatia, Paul declares that his apostleship originated from the same God who raised Jesus from the dead, the Messiah of Israel who gave his life to “ deliver us from this evil age .” His declaration anticipates his proposition in the body of the Letter that the arrival of Jesus changed the status of the Law for the people of God, the “ children of Abraham .”

The kings and nations of the Earth are found in New Jerusalem because of the Lamb’s redemptive work . The Apostle Paul describes the proclamation of “ Christ crucified ” as “ God’s wisdom and power .” The proposition that God overthrew Sin, Satan, and Death through the execution of a lowly man from the small village of Nazareth is “ foolishness ” to men and contrary to this world’s “wisdom” and ideologies. Even the spiritual “ powers and principalities ” did not understand what God was doing and sealed their fate by crucifying the “ Lord of Glory .”

Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to his people, empowering them to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to the Nations of the Earth . The Messiah is identified in the  Second Psalm  as the Son and King destined to reign over the nations. In the New Testament, he is anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, equipping him to proclaim the “ Kingdom of God ” to Israel. He gave his disciples the Gift of the Spirit to enable them to announce his message and sovereignty to all the nations and peoples of the Earth.

In the  Book of Genesis , God implemented His plan to redeem humanity by establishing His covenant with Abraham, beginning with the summons for the Patriarch to leave his homeland and journey to the “ land I will show you .” Yahweh would produce a “ great nation ” from him, and the covenant would bless all the “ Tribes of the Earth .” From the start, the promise of territory was central to the Abrahamic Covenant.

Foundational to our future hope is bodily Resurrection when Jesus arrives in glory at the End of the Age . Paul’s description of the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus in his first letter to the Thessalonians was written to comfort believers over the fate of their compatriots who die before Christ’s return. We need not sorrow “ like the others ” since   the righteous dead will be resurrected when the Lord “ arrives ” from Heaven.