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 .”

In the Second Psalm, the Messiah is identified as the Son of God and the ideal king who is anointed by Yahweh to rule over the nations, the one to whom the “ Kings of the Earth ” pay homage. In the four gospel accounts, he is anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism in the Jordan River, equipping him for the proclamation of the “ Kingdom of God ” to the people of Israel. In turn, he grants the Spirit to his disciples, empowering them to announce His Good News and sovereignty to all nations.

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.

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, namely, Death  - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Certain members of the congregation in Corinth denied the future resurrection of the righteous. Paul responded by stressing how necessary our resurrection is and by appealing to the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection was and remains the precedent for our future resurrection and life in the coming age. We will be raised bodily when he “ arrives ,” and his appearance will mean nothing less than the end of Death itself.