Tag Archives: Prince of the Kings of the Earth

The Faithful Witness

Revelation 1:5: “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.”

In this passage Christ is shown to be The New Covenant, The Seed of David, The New Creation, and the King of Israel. He is “the faithful witness” which title is also claimed by Christ Himself in 3:14: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness.”

The word faithful translates the Hebrew word ’âman, other meanings of which are: “to sustain, support, as to support or carry a child, to found or build up a building; to be faithful, trustworthy, sure, certain; to be of long continuance, perennial, as of a covenant.”

As a noun it means “a workman, artificer.” As an exclamation it indicates confirmation of the word of another and expresses a wish that that word be fulfilled. [1]

The word witness has been dealt with above, (verse 2). There is again, however, a difference in John as a “witness to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” and Jesus Christ as “The Faithful Witness, the Amen,” as John testifies of Christ, but Christ testifies of God because He is God.

The phrase faithful witness is also used in Psalm 89. The promise to The Seed of David was:
“(29)His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (36) His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. (37) It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.”

 “First-Begotten of the Dead”

Psalm 89:27 is a referent for this phrase and may be a partial quote: “And I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.” This Psalm is a hymn concerning God’s faithfulness to the covenant with David. The Psalm abounds with such words as faithfulness, steadfast love, established, firm, founded, foundation.

Christ as the First-born of the Dead probably is similar in meaning to “the beginning of God’s creation” in 3:14. The resurrection for the Christians meant the beginning of the new creation. Although Christ was indeed the beginning of the original creation in Genesis 1:2 as Light, He is now the beginning of the new creation as the Second Adam, Whose flesh has been translated into immortality. (See Romans 8:19-23; I1 Cor. 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:15.)

“Prince of the Kings of the Earth”

Christ is here proclaimed to be that promised Seed of David and His throne is established in the heavens as the vision of Revelation 1:12-20 shows.

In Isaiah 55:3-4 the covenant with David is reaffirmed:

“I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure [a form of ’âman is used here] love for David. Behold I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.” RSV

The Christian convert has been buried with Christ and raised from the dead, (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:12-13). Since Christ is the Seed of Promise, (Galatians 3:16), He is the eternal “Israel of God.” By participation in His resurrected Body, we are heirs together with Him of this reborn nation, Galatians 3:29 .

[1] Ges. Lexicon, 58-9.