Firstborn

Beale points out that the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:5 is drawn from Psalm 89:27-28, 37. All three phrases – firstborn, ruler of the kings of the earth, faithful witness – are found in the Psalm.

One important modification of Psalm 89 is that the Jesus is not just designated as firstborn, but is the firstborn from the dead. Given the roots of this phrase in Psalm 89, this is not just a reference to the resurrection, but a reference to the restoration of the Davidic dynasty that took place in the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is testimony to the Lord’s faithfulness to His promises to David, His determination to keep a scion of David’s line on the throne. Firstborn from the dead is like “branch from the stump of Jesse,” a sign of new life coming from the dead stump of Jesse. Psalm 89 is again relevant here, since it is not only a review of Yahweh’s promise and oath to David, but also a lament over the destruction and casting off of the David line (vv 38-51). Where is the former lovingkindness to David? The Psalm asks, but never answers. That lovingkindness is what Revelation is about, the faithfulness of Israel’s God to Israel’s King, His Son.

The other important modification is the identity of the faithful witness. In Psalm 89, Yahweh says that He has sworn to David to put His seed on the throne. David’s throne will be high, hot, and glorious as the sun, established like the moon. Sun and moon, day and night, David’s throne is exalted above both. Verse 37 makes the sky-rulers the witnesses, that is, the throne of David is as permanent as sun and moon, as well-established as the heavens. In Revelation, though, the “faithful witness” is not the sun and moon, but the Davidic king himself, Jesus. He is the “faithful witness in the heavens,” and not surprisingly His face is as bright as the sun (1:16). Before Jesus, God could point to the sun and moon as sky-witnesses to His promise to David; now that Jesus has been raised, Jesus Himself is the sky-witness. And this moves smoothly into verse 7, with its allusion to the Son of Man coming on the clouds.