Disciples Global Network

The Book of Revelation applies several terms to the  “ assemblies of Asia ”  that are under assault from without and within. The men and women who have been redeemed by Jesus form a company that transcends all national, social, geographical, and cultural boundaries. For them, “ tribulation ” is not an aberration to be avoided at all costs. Persevering through trials while faithfully bearing witness is what it means to follow the “ Lamb wherever he goes .”

The conspiracy by the Earth’s kings to unseat God’s Son is applied by the New Testament to the plot to kill Jesus . The  Second Psalm  is a key messianic passage applied to Jesus several times in the New Testament. But precisely when were its predictions fulfilled, and is the Messiah reigning now on David’s Throne? Or is the world still waiting for his accession to God’s Throne at a future date? What about the “ revolt ” of nations and kings against Yahweh’s “anointed one”? Is this a prediction of a future conflict between Jesus and the government of the Earth - (Psalm 2:1-6)?

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 Book of Revelation presents images that are often jarring and paradoxical, visions that do not conform to popular expectations about how God works or where His redemptive purposes will end. His goals in subjugating His enemies and judging the nations differ radically from many traditional notions and so-called “ human wisdom .” Just as his contemporaries did not understand Jesus of Nazareth, so, too, we often fail to comprehend the “ Slain Lamb ” and how he reigns from the Throne of God.

In the Second Psalm , the Messiah is identified as the Son of God and the ideal king who is anointed by God to rule over the nations, the one to whom the “ Kings of the Earth ” will 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 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 sojourn to the “ land that I will show you .” Yahweh would produce a “ great nation ” from him, and the Covenant would bless all the “ tribes of the Earth .” Moreover, from its start, the promise of territory was and remains central to the Abrahamic Covenant.