Thursday, April 29, 2021

Eyal Regev on the New Priesthood in the Book of Revelation

 

 

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)

 

Further Reading


After the Order of the Son of God: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Latter-day Saint Theology of the Priesthood