The Crucified Messiah

Jesus is the glorious Son of Man, the High Priest of his people, and the Lamb who redeemed us by his blood  – Revelation 1:9-20. Jesus is the faithful High Priest who oversees the churches of Asia. He is the exalted Son of Man who will return at the end of the age to gather and vindicate his saints. And he is the reigning Lamb who purchased men and women by his blood and made them priests for his God.

The Sovereignty of Jesus is based on his Death and Resurrection, the immovable foundation of his present reign and the Gospel . The death and exaltation of Jesus are inextricably linked in the Book of Revelation . Its visions unveil the plan to redeem humanity, and God implements it through Christ’s sacrificial death, resurrection, and enthronement.  However, this Jesus is no tyrant. He does not subjugate his enemies through force.

The New Testament applies messianic promises from the Hebrew Bible to the present reign of Jesus. He is Christ the King! Christus Rex – Christ is King! Ever since his ascension, Jesus has reigned as King. He is seated on the Messianic Throne of David and rules from the right hand of God. Because of his “ obedience until death ,” the man from the small village of Nazareth has become “ the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth ” – (Matthew 28:18-20).

Humanity is divided into two and only two groups – the followers of the Lamb and the subjects of the Beast . In the Book of Revelation , every man either “ Tabernacles in Heaven ” or is an “ Inhabitant of the Earth .” The terms are not geographical or spatial. They identify which Master we serve. Men either belong to “ Heaven ” or the “ Earth .” Those who follow the Lamb, “ Tabernacle in Heaven .” The “ Inhabitants of the Earth ” submit to the “ Dragon ” and his “ Beast ,” and therefore await a grim fate.

Jesus is the Lamb and the true Messiah of Israel. He was sent by God to redeem men from every nation by his sacrificial death . Jesus is the Faithful Witness and the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth, and these designations are inextricably linked. The first establishes how he obtained the second, his sovereignty. Through his death, Jesus redeemed his people, and because of his “ obedience unto death ,” God exalted Christ and made him Lord over all things:

Because he sacrificed his life for others, God resurrected and exalted Jesus and installed him as Absolute Lord over all things . Jesus is the only one who unveils the “ mysteries of God ,” only he is qualified to reveal the “ unseen God .” Only in Christ are all the promises of God fulfilled. He unlocks the Hebrew Bible and discloses the “ times and seasons .” The Crucified Messiah is the Absolute Sovereign over all things, and he reigns from the Divine Throne as “ Lord ” – (Revelation 5:9-14).

The Slain Lamb is the Messiah in Revelation who overcomes and reigns over the Nations and the Kings of the Earth . In popular preaching, Jesus has become the “ Roaring Lion of Judah ” who will soon unleash his predatory cry as he slays his enemies. Unlike the man from Nazareth, this warrior-king will destroy everyone who resists him as he imposes his kingdom on the willing and the unwilling. No longer is he the savior who submitted to an unjust death to save the world. Does not the  Book of Revelation  tell us that he is the Messianic Lion?

Jesus was exalted to reign from the divine throne because of his obedient death and following his resurrection from the dead . The Book of Revelation portrays Jesus as the Lord of the Cosmos, and he alone reigns over all things. The Book never disconnects Christ Jesus and his present reign from his past death and resurrection. God installed the sacrificial Lamb on His throne. The Nazarene is the only Lord, Savior, Messiah, and King.

The Lamb’s reign began with his Death and Resurrection. Since then, he has been shepherding the nations toward New Jerusalem . The  Book of Revelation  declares Jesus is the “ Ruler of the Kings of the Earth .” When it describes how he reigns over the “ nations ,” it presents a King of an entirely different nature than Caesar or the political rulers of this evil age. Christ is the “ Lamb ” who was slain to redeem men from every nation, and now, he is “ shepherding ” the “ nations ” so that the city of “ New Jerusalem ” will be fully inhabited.

When certain “ super-apostles ” began undermining his authority, the Apostle Paul warned the Assembly in Corinth not to heed anyone who “ proclaimed another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or a different spirit, or a different Gospel .” He pointed to the same Jesus that he first proclaimed, the “ Crucified Messiah ,” the Jesus who is the measuring rod against which all other messianic claimants must be evaluated.