Who rules the world

The book of Revelation gives us a very mixed picture of who rules the world. On the one hand there is Satan who seems to be in full control and destroying all resistance, but there is also the Church who seems to be in control. What is going on here and what does it mean to be in control?

The question

When Jesus died on the cross, the devil was defeated. So we were told. But it seems that nothing has changed. You might say it got worse.

• Jesus’ teachings looked like unattainable ideals.
• Evil empires still rule the world, contrary to prophecy.
• The world has not become more Christian, but Christians have become more worldly.
• The church often doesn’t look like the solution, but rather the problem.

So what is going on? Has something gone terribly wrong? Well, we need to take a closer look.

The story of Israel

Israel was called by the covenant of Abraham to be a blessing to all people. God gave them a law that was unique at that time to make a difference, but it did not work and they went into exile. When Israel returned from exile, they expected God to intervene and establish His kingdom.

So the Jews expected the so-called Messiah to make a visible change, like a revolution.

But this did not happen when Jesus came. He made more statements about the present (evil) time and the (good) time to come in Mark, Luke or the Epistles.

But the power of the coming age is already available, identified by the giving of the Holy Spirit and working out by living in the Holy Spirit. This coming age is hidden, making its owner and us miserable.

We can look at it in the following way.

There are two parallel realms between the first and second coming of Jesus. They coexist. God’s kingdom is there, but not fully.

Overemphasizing the “already” of the coming leads to

• Rejection of medicine, counseling, working through our past
• Insisting that everyone has a right to healing, prosperity and well-being if we believe and proclaim that we can live without sin.
• Believing that we can live without sin

Overemphasis on the “not yet” of the coming results in

• Glorifying suffering and poverty
• Rejection of the gift of the Spirit
• Expectation that only a few will make it to the kingdom.

We must hold the tension.

The working out

This tension is described in the book of Revelation in the parallel account of the description of the believers as kings and the ultimate power of the two witnesses, while on the other hand the beasts rule unchallenged and even overcome the church.

The key element is that they rule differently. The devil and the beasts rule with oppression, while the witnesses rule with their testimony, even to the point of death.

The devil forces people to submit, the witnesses influence people to change their lives deeply.

This is clearly stated in the 1,000-year kingdom that the Witnesses are the ones who actually rule.