Post Five:
From the First to the Last — The Head, the Feet, and the Household That Follows
In our previous studies, we began with the male and female in Genesis, examined the Last Adam and the heavenly image, and followed the provision of life through the garden, the wilderness, and the promise of restoration. Along the way, one distinction kept returning: what begins first is not necessarily what reaches completion first, and what follows must not be confused with what came before it.
Now I want to examine that distinction through Christ's enthronement.
Scripture describes Christ seated at God's right hand. Yet it also describes him waiting, his enemies being subjected, and a kingdom that will ultimately be delivered to the Father. How do these passages fit together? And could the distinction between the head and the feet help us recognize what is being completed before the wider household is built?
The Son Seated at the Right Hand
Hebrews opens by describing how God formerly spoke through the prophets, but in these last days has spoken through His Son. After making purification of sins, the Son sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Read Hebrews 1:1–4.
Later in the same chapter, the writer recalls the words of Psalm 110:1, where the Son is told to sit at God's right hand until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. Read Hebrews 1:13 and Psalm 110:1.
Notice what these passages place before us. Christ is seated, yet something remains to be accomplished. His position at God's right hand is established, but the subjection of his enemies is spoken of as an ongoing matter.
Why would Scripture describe him waiting if every part of his appointed work had already reached completion?
Being enthroned and having every enemy subjected are not necessarily the same moment.
This matters when we begin examining the thousand years in Revelation, the First and the Last, and the completion of what God has appointed.
A Reign Already Begun — A Completion Still Awaited
Hebrews 10 again describes Christ seated at God's right hand, waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. Read Hebrews 10:12–13.
Now compare Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15. He speaks of Christ as the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to him, and then the end, when the kingdom is delivered to God the Father after every opposing rule and authority has been abolished. The last enemy to be abolished is death. Read 1 Corinthians 15:20–28.
The order deserves our attention. Christ is First, yet others follow. He reigns, yet enemies remain until they are subjected. The end includes the destruction of death and the delivery of the kingdom to the Father, so that God may be all in all.
When Revelation 20 speaks of a thousand years, must we immediately assume that its measurement describes a literal period beginning only after every preceding vision has occurred? We have already examined how Revelation presents overlapping events through different perspectives. Peter also reminds us that one day is with YHWH (יהוה) as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Read 2 Peter 3:8–9.
Rather than beginning with a fixed calendar, I want to consider the larger relationship between reign, waiting, restraint, completion, and the restoration that follows. The thousand years may serve as a time marker within that picture, but the pattern must be examined through the passages describing what Christ is accomplishing.
The Head and the Feet
Paul identifies Christ as the head of the body, and Colossians describes him as the beginning and the Firstborn from the dead, so that he might have first place in everything. Read Colossians 1:15–20.
Yet Psalm 110 and Hebrews speak of his feet, and of enemies being made his footstool. Paul likewise describes all things being subjected beneath his feet. Read 1 Corinthians 15:25–27.
Why do these descriptions matter when we are considering the First and the Last?
In our earlier studies, we examined Christ as the head and the final joined one as completing the union before the wider body and household develop. This brings us back to the distinction between what is accomplished in the joining of two and what follows through the growth of many.
We should not assume that because Scripture describes Christ as head, every person who follows occupies the same place in that relationship. Nor should we erase the difference between the joined two and the household that is subsequently built.
The head comes first. The completed union establishes the relationship. The growing household follows.
That is the pattern we have been tracing from Genesis toward restoration.
The Two Become One
Ephesians 2 describes Christ as our peace, making the two one, breaking down the dividing wall, and creating one new man. Paul then speaks of reconciliation in one body, access to the Father in one Spirit, and the developing household and dwelling of God. Read Ephesians 2:14–22.
Notice how the passage develops. There is the making of the two into one, the establishment of peace, and then the wider description of those who are no longer strangers and foreigners but members of God's household.
This distinction is central to our study. We have been examining the union of Christ the head with the Last, the singular Bride, followed by those who are gathered and built together in the same Spirit.
Why would we treat the act of joining as though it were indistinguishable from everything that follows?
And if the household is still being built, should we assume the complete dwelling was already present at the moment its foundation was established?
Paul's description of a building growing into a holy temple invites us to pay attention to the difference between foundation, joining, and increase.
Two Sticks — One in His Hand
Ezekiel 37 provides another account involving two becoming one. YHWH (יהוה) instructs Ezekiel to take one stick for Judah and another for Joseph, associated with Ephraim, and bring them together. The prophet is then told that YHWH (יהוה) will make them one in His hand. Read Ezekiel 37:15–22.
The Hebrew word used for the sticks is etz, a word also used for wood or tree. That becomes interesting when compared with the two olive trees in Zechariah 4 and the two witnesses in Revelation 11.
But for now, notice what follows the joining in Ezekiel.
One king and one shepherd are described. The people are cleansed, a covenant of peace is established, they are multiplied, and YHWH (יהוה) places His sanctuary and dwelling among them. Read Ezekiel 37:23–28.
The joining is not the end of the account. It becomes part of a larger picture of peace, multiplication, and God's dwelling.
What is joined becomes one; what follows becomes a growing household under one shepherd.
That brings us directly to John 10, where Jesus speaks of his sheep hearing his voice and of other sheep whom he must also bring, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. Read John 10:14–16.
Are these passages describing unrelated relationships, or are we seeing the same purpose of gathering and unity through different prophetic images?
The Bride and Those Who Follow
Psalm 45 describes a royal woman and the virgins who follow her. The relationship is not presented as though the woman and those accompanying her are identical. Read Psalm 45:9–15.
This distinction has been important throughout our studies. We have examined the singular Bride as distinct from the virgins, the remnant, and the great crowd, even though all may have relationships within the wider restoration.
The existence of a growing family does not require us to turn the mother into all her children. Nor does a household of many erase the particular relationship through which the household begins.
That brings us back to Genesis 1, where male and female are presented before the blessing to multiply, and to Isaiah 54, where the barren woman is promised numerous children. Read Genesis 1:26–28 and Isaiah 54:1–5.
Could the joining of the two be followed by the multiplication of life, just as these recurring images suggest?
This is why we must preserve the difference between the Bride and those who follow her. When those identities are combined prematurely, the relationships Scripture describes become difficult to recognize.
The Beginning and the Completion
Now return to the question with which we began.
Christ sits at the right hand of God. He is the head, the Firstborn, and the one through whom reconciliation is accomplished. Yet Scripture also speaks of what remains to be completed, the enemies to be subjected, and the household still being built.
In our prophetic landscape, we are examining the possibility that Christ's enthronement marks the beginning of the reign, while the completion of his union with the Bride belongs to its culmination and opens the way for the gathering that follows.
That relationship brings together the First and the Last without requiring us to force every prophetic vision into a simple chapter-by-chapter chronology.
Revelation 11 presents the witnesses, their testimony, their standing again, and the proclamation of the kingdom. Revelation 12 reveals the woman, the dragon, and the conflict involving her seed. Revelation 13 presents the beastly opposition. These visions can be examined as different views of related events rather than as an uninterrupted list of successive happenings.
As we continue, the question will not simply be when Christ began to reign, but what is accomplished before the wider restoration reaches completion.
Where the Word Leads
Hebrews presents Christ seated at God's right hand and waiting. Paul describes his reign, the subjection of enemies, and the final delivery of the kingdom to the Father. Ephesians describes the two becoming one, followed by the household built together in the Spirit. Ezekiel likewise presents the joining of two before the covenant, multiplication, and dwelling among God's people.
These passages give us a pattern worth examining: the beginning of a work and its completion are distinguishable, and those who follow are not automatically identical with the two who are joined.
For now, I leave this question:
If Christ is already enthroned, what remains to be accomplished before the completed union gives way to the gathering and restoration of the many?
Perhaps the answer begins with the distinction we have so often overlooked: the First, the Last, and those who follow.
Threads to Follow
- Christ enthroned and waiting: Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:1–13; Hebrews 10:12–13.
- The reign and its completion: 1 Corinthians 15:20–28; 2 Peter 3:8–9; Revelation 20:1–10.
- The head and the joined one: Colossians 1:15–20; Ephesians 2:14–22; Ephesians 5:25–32.
- The two sticks and one shepherd: Ezekiel 37:15–28; Zechariah 4:1–14; John 10:14–16.
- The Bride and those who follow: Genesis 1:26–28; Psalm 45:9–15; Song of Songs 6:9; Isaiah 54:1–5.
- The overlapping visions: Revelation 10–13; Revelation 16; Revelation 20.
The books were opened…
🌿 Studies by Maria Emilia ~ 🗺️ Continue exploring: Visit Bible Books to find studies organized by book of the Bible, along with related studies and links.
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