The New Priesthood
Revelation
opens with a declaration that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth who
frees the believers from their sins by his blood and “made us to be a Kingdom,
priests serving his God and Father” (1:6). Later, the living creatures sing to
the Lamb: “You have made them [the saints from every tribe and language and
people and nation] to be a Kingdom and priests [basilian kai hiereis]
serving our God, and they will reign on earth” (5:10). Here John thinks that all
Christians are included in the new priesthood. This idea is also found in 1
Pet. 2:9, where the author argues, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts
of him.” These passages follow Ex 19:6, according to which all Israel are “a
priestly Kingdom, a holy people.” The notion that the believers become priests
means that, just as the priests are chosen from the Israelites, they too are
chosen from other humans and subsequently are separated by God to become holy
people.
After
the fall of Babylon and the capture of the dragon, John sees the divine
judgment and the martyrs’ souls reigning with Christ (20:4-5). Then he adds
his own message about their status as priests: “Blessed and holy are those who
share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a
thousand years” (20:6). The idea that the people of God will be redeemed, their
enemies will be punished, and they will be called Priests for the Lord and
servants of God is found in Isa 61:6. In both passages victory and ruling are
connected with the official role of serving God. John’s proclamation of their priestly
status is certainly related to the fulfillment of messianic promises. The
priesthood reflects perfect closeness to the Lord.
It is
commonly argued that the believers’ priesthood is implied earlier in a number
of passages. The angels, living creatures, or martyrs execute cultic,
priestlike acts, serving and worshipping God in the heavenly Temple as if they
are priests. Nevertheless, although these elements have some common ground with
priest and priesthood, they are not designated as priestly markets.
There
are exegetical and theological difficulties in understanding the relationship
between the concepts of priesthood in these passages. In 1:6 and 5:10 the
believers are already priests, since the author uses the past tense. In
contrast, in 20:6 they will become priests in the future. There seem to be two
different types of priesthood in Revelation. The priesthood in the present is
not related to the heavenly Temple. The Kingdom of priests modelled after Ex
19:6 is merely a designation for the people of God. Nothing in Rev 1:6 and 5:10
or their literary context suggests that the believers are acting as priests.
Like the people of Israel in the wilderness, they are designated as priests
only as a means of demonstrating that they are the chosen ones—priesthood is a
metaphor. This priestly designation or metaphor should be contrasted with the
believers’ priesthood in 1 Pet 2:5, where the author tells his readers, “Let
yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood [hierateuma],
to offer spiritual sacrifices.” Unlike Rev 1:6 and 5:10, in 1 Pet 2:5, the
author does not merely refer to the priestly status but instructs the
addressees to act as spiritual priests—to offer sacrifices—even though
this seems to amount to belief and the telling of God’s glory (1 Pet 2:9).
In
contrast to Rev 1:6 and 5:10, where only the holy status of the priest is at
stake, in Rev 20:5-6 believers in Jesus are found in heaven. They are nominated
as priests of God and Christ (and not merely a “Kingdom of priests,” which
originally refers to the entire people of Israel) and reign with Christ for a
thousand years. It therefore appears that they actually serve as priests by
the throne. Thus the difference between the two priestly types not only is a
matter of present-future but also concerns the identity of the new priests and
the essence of their priesthood. In addition, those ministering as priests in
the heavenly Temple cannot be traditional Aaronite priests, since the latter
serve only on earth. Heavenly priesthood is “new”; namely, these priests are
different from those in the Jerusalem Temple because they are chosen by merit,
not by descent. By comparison, on the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifices the
ministering angels in heaven serve as priests (4Q400ShirShab 1 I, 3, , 12; 2
6-7, where they praise God and give Him glory, quite like Revelation).
In all
of these passages the new priesthood of the believers or martyrs is interwoven with
a complimentary one: their being like rulers. Rev 20:6 refers to priests who
reign for a thousand years, and this is mentioned in the context of their refusal
to serve the beast and its image (20:4), implying the Roman ruler cult. This may
hint that they rule instead of the emperor. The concept of reign is also
implied by the designation of “a Kingdom of priests” in 1:6 and 5:10. This
slogan is not only confined to the priestly domain but also contains the aspect
of the Kingdom (basilea)—the power to rule and the freedom from subordination
to foreign kings and rulers. Thus I suggest that by using the term “a Kingdom
of priests” John claims that the believers are already sovereign and free in spirit
and that the martyrs will join God and the Lamb in heavenly rule. (Eyal Regev, The
Temple in Early Christianity: Experiencing the Sacred [The Anchor Yale
Bible Reference Library; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019], 234-36)
