Revelation Chapter 17 Verses 12-18

12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast; 14 they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” 15 And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

Again, we discussed these verses at length in our study of Chapter 13. We discussed several views regarding the 10 horns and the 10 kings, which we will not repeat here.

Whatever they represent, verse 14 tells us something important about the 10 horns: “the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Did Jesus’ victory over these 10 horns make Jesus Lord of lords and King of kings? No. We are told that he conquered them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Jesus’ victory over Rome and Rome’s minions did not make Jesus king. Jesus was already king!

And there is a lesson in that for us. How often do we hear denominational preachers tell people that they need to make Jesus lord of their life? How often do denominational songs (some sadly in our own songbook) tell people they they need to crown Jesus king? There is not a shred of support in the Bible for such a notion — and yet we continue to hear it and sing it. When Peter was asked “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” in Acts 2:37, he did not tell them they needed to make Jesus lord of their life. In fact, that would have made absolutely no sense. Why? Because he had just told them in Acts 2:36 that “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Instead, Peter told them that they needed to obey their Lord; they needed to “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38) Jesus is Lord of lords, which means he is everyone’s Lord. Jesus is King of kings, which means he is everyone’s King. The next time you see the word “king” or “lord” in a song, pause and consider just what it is you are being asked to sing!

Nowhere in Revelation does Jesus begin to rule over something new. He has all authority when the book begins, and he has all authority when the book ends. He reigns over the entire universe when the book begins, and he reigns over the entire universe when the book ends. He is King of kings and Lord of lords when the book begins, and he is King of kings and Lord of lords when the book ends. Do we see new expressions of that reign in this book? Yes. But do we see in this book Christ reigning over something or someone that he he did not previously reign over? No.

Last week we discussed the false denominational notion that people somehow make Jesus Lord or crown Jesus King. As we saw, people obey him because he is already Lord and King — not to make him Lord and King. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the reign of Christ, and much of it comes from misunderstandings about the book of Revelation.

Sadly, many denominational interpretations of this book belittle the church and belittle Christ. To them, the church is just a mistake and just an afterthought. They tell us that Jesus failed to set up his kingdom during the first century, and that he is not ruling now. Here is how the Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology describes premillennialism —

It is held that the Old Testament prophets predicted the re-establishment of David’s kingdom and that Christ himself intended to bring this about. It is alleged however, that because the Jews refused his person and work he postponed the establishment of his kingdom until the time of his return. Meanwhile, it is argued, the Lord gathered together ‘the church’ as a kind of interim measure.

How anyone could read the Bible and believe that Jesus failed in anything he intended to do is inconceivable! How anyone can read the Bible and conclude that the church is a mistake or an afterthought or “a kind of interim measure” is likewise inconceivable! Premillennialism is not simply a matter of opinion on which we can agree to disagree. Rather, it is a false doctrine that runs counter to the gospel of Jesus Christ, belittles the work of Christ, and belittles the church of Christ. We discussed these issues in our introductory classes, and we will have more to say about this dangerous heresy when we get to Chapter 20.

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