What Will Priests Do?

Prayer – Lord. please give us wisdom and understanding as we study your words. Give us insight as to what Your priests in the Kingdom will do. 

He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. Revelation 1:6

 

Meditate. Consider what it means to be a priest for God.

 

What does it mean to be a priest for God? What did priests do in the Old Testament…or in the New Testament times? During the time of the Exodus, when God gave the instructions for the Tabernacle, the priests were assigned to offer sacrifices and to carry the Ark of the Covenant from place to place. The priests were all descendants of the tribe of Levi. Their duties within the community centered on offering sacrifices for their sins and the sins of the others. Later in the Temple, the priests offered the annual sacrifice to God in the Holy of Holies, as well as daily on the altar. They were also responsible to keep the Menorah lit continually (Exodus 27:20-22), putting fresh loaves of bread on the table (Leviticus 24:5-9), and burning incense (Exodus 30:7-9.) At times, the priests also had to act as judges.

 

In New Testament times, priests were only active in the Temple doing the daily and annual sacrifices, and continuing the rituals of their ancestors until the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. According to David H. Stern, author of “Jewish New Testament Commentary,” since the Temple was demolished the non-Messianic Jews teach that neither sacrifice nor priesthood is necessary for God to forgive sins. The Jews currently seek forgiveness of sin annually during their observance of Yom Kippur. No animal sacrifices have been made for over 2,000 years, which has resulted in the priesthood vanishing. Of course, in our Christian viewpoint Jesus who was without sin was the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. He is our priest, as well obediently giving up His own life to redeem those who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. Without Him as the payment for our sins, we would all be doomed to eternity in Hell. He has saved us from that and provided us with an infinite time to spend with Him in Heaven.

 

How will we serve…what will we do…as a Kingdom of priests for God? There is no doubt that it will be an honor to serve as a priest for God—whether in Heaven or on earth. John mentions that the priests will reign on earth.

Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth." Revelation 5:6-10 (Underlined for emphasis.)

As we study Revelation, we can see that Kingdom of priests will serve Christ during His Millennial Reign.

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6

Will you be serving Christ as a priest someday? The choice is yours. Choose today whom you will serve…Christ or if not then, Satan. We can only have one master. Personally, I choose Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Lamb of God--and worthy of our praise. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. 

 

Verse of Salvation ~ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, "Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!" Revelation 7:9-10

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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