Still More On The Martyrs

Q

I read your response to “More on Tribulation Martyrs” and I think your statement “notice that while they will reign with Christ they are not called kings” is a stretch. Rev 5:10 says (speaking of the church) “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Is the word “reign” used in Rev 20:4 and Rev 5:10 the same in Greek? If so, to say they are not kings because of omission is a weak argument.

A

The tribulation martyrs of Rev. 20:4 can’t be part of the Church, because the Church Age ends at the rapture, seven years earlier. And they can’t be Kings or Priests because only the Church is described that way. The word reign appears 162 times in the New Testament and refers to everyone who rules, whether men, raptured saints, or the Lord Himself.

Think of it like this. One of the dictionary meanings of the verb to reign is to exert dominating power or influence over an entity. Mayors reign over their cities, but they are not the same as governors. Governors reign over their states, but they are not the same as the President, who reigns over the nation. They all reign but they’re all different. The use of the same word to describe the role of each does not make them equivalent.