Apocalipsis 1:6

And he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

And he made us ... a kingdom ... priests unto his God and Father ... The first step in understanding this passage is to get rid of the two verbs in the future tense that have been added to the passage by the translators. (Note the italicized words in the ASV text.) There is a world of difference in the statements, "God made us a kingdom" and "God made us to be a kingdom." John was not writing of what Christians were to be, but of what they already were. Beckwith, like many others, applied these words to the future, saying that, "The reference is not to the saints as forming the kingdom which Christ now rules."[19] The teaching of the entire New Testament, however, makes it absolutely certain that Christians are now in Christ's kingdom (Colossians 1:13), the precise terminology of this verse being found in Paul's words there. This passage reflects Exodus 19:6, where it is revealed that God's purpose for Israel was that, "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests." 1 Peter 2:9 is also parallel to this. Therefore, our text means that, "Christ has made us a kingdom, each member of which is a priest unto god."[20] This is not some far-off thing that will happen in some so-called millennium; it is the status of things now in Christ's church. As Earle said, "This is not only a great privilege, but a great responsibility."[21] All the members of Christ's kingdom, which as far as we are concerned is synonymous with his church, should be constantly engaged in offering up the spiritual sacrifices appropriate for a kingdom of priests. For a list of the sacrifices, as outlined in the New Testament, see in my Commentary on James, pp. 196-198.

The glory and the dominion ... John here breaks into a noble doxology, using words which imply the present and eternal dominion of the Son of God. The New Testament doxologies invariably ascribe the same power, honor, and glory which belong to God to his Son, Jesus Christ. See Revelation 5:12,13; Revelation 7:10; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11; 2 Peter 3:18; and Jude 1:1:24.

[19] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 429.

[20] R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, "International Critical Commentary" (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1920), p. 16.

[21] Ralph Earle, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 474.