Revelation 1:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

NIV: and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

NASB: and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

CSB: and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father--to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

NLT: He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

KJV: And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

NKJV: and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Once we were helpless sinners, but now, as John explains in this verse, we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Once we served sin; now we worship and serve God. We are a kingdom of priests. In Old Testament times, priests offered sacrifices on behalf of the people of Israel and stood as mediators between the people and God. Now we come directly to God through Jesus, and we offer ourselves and spiritual sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5). Once we were in Satan's domain; now we are in Jesus' domain. Ephesians 2:2, 5 remind us that once we were followers of the prince of the power of the air—Satan—but our merciful and loving God made us alive together with Christ.

As John contemplates what God has done for believers by making us a kingdom and priests, he spontaneously offers praise to God. He ascribes glory and dominion. He concludes his doxology by saying, "Amen," meaning, "Let it be so!" A similar praise for God's grace and power on our behalf should arise from our hearts and lips.

Revelation 1:4–8 identifies John's audience as the seven churches in Asia. John addresses these churches with a greeting from the triune God, and he ascribes praise to Jesus. Jesus is coming in glory, John declares, and His coming will be visible to everyone. At that time, the tribes of Israel will express remorse because of His crucifixion. John concludes this passage by quoting Jesus as saying He is the beginning, the eternal Almighty One.

The Roman government had banished John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. While John was at Patmos, the risen, glorified Son of God appeared to him and commanded him to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). John pronounces blessings to those who read and obey Revelation, and then he greets his readers warmly and describes Jesus' appearance.

The apostle John begins this chapter by stating that he received the revelation of Jesus Christ by divine activity. God sent this vision to John while he was on the island of Patmos, likely as a punishment from the Roman government. This book follows John's four prior messages contained in the New Testament: the Gospel of John and the letters 1, 2, and 3 John. Chapters 2 and 3 tell what Jesus dictated to seven churches in Asia Minor, while the rest of John's message concerns future events.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/2/2024 3:17:49 PM