Christ About Himself
Those Who Hold that Jesus Christ WASN’T God and that He Never Made Such a Claim
Need to Consider the Many Amazing Direct Statements Spoken to and through
the Beloved Elder Apostle John in the Book of Revelation.
© Rich Traver, 81520-1411
8-8-10 [ 178 ]
www.goldensheaves.org
The full identity
of the Person of the Son of Man is as much a part of the ‘Nature of
God’ issue as is any consideration regarding His Divinity.
Recently, I
became aware of a Protestant organiza-tion which is non-Trinitarian,
but which is so due to being un-accepting of the premise that Jesus
is or at any time was God. Their position is that to believe so
would establish that there are TWO Gods! Like various Judaic persuasions,
they hold to the strict monotheistic view which disallows any but God
the Father as being the One True God.
What we need
to consider are the many potent and clear statements made by Christ
Himself in His late era revelation to the elderly and much beloved Apostle
John in the late 90’s AD. Had the under-standing that there
was but one Being in the God-head been the prevalent opinion in the
first century, you’d think that John would have been deferential toward
that position. But apparently such was not the case! The following
quotes are compilations of the many revealing and unequivocal statements
Christ made about Himself, as quoted by John, just within in the last-written
book of the Bible.
Who IS the
Son of Man?
“I saw …one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. (Compare this with Daniel 10:5-6) And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. Revelation 1:13-16, “Fear not; I am the first and the last: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1:17-18
“Jesus
Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the
first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings
of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood, And hath made us
kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh
with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced
him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Revelation
1:5-7
Who IS the
Alpha and Omega?
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8.
“I am
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: Rev. 1:11. Concluding the book, He again
states: “And he said unto me, It is done. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of
life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he shall
be my son. Rev. 21:6-7. (Consider also John 1:12) “I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Rev. 22:13.
The Alpha and
Omega states plainly that He will be our God! That
leaves us with either of two possibilities: That He IS God, or that
He is making a false claim, one His contemporaries perceived, as they saw
it and reacted to it as being, blatant blasphemy! (Matt. 26:65)
Regarding ‘inheriting all things’, in His benediction to the Church of Laodicea He states: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame , and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Christ also has a Throne!
To the Seven
Churches:
In each of
the messages to the seven churches, we are given a glimpse into the
many faceted aspects of Christ’s identity.
To Ephesus
He says: “He…holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh
in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;” Rev.
2:1,
To Smyrna He says: “These things saith the first and
the last, which was dead, and is alive;” Rev. 2:8,
To Pergamos He says:
“These things saith he which
hath the sharp sword with two edges;” Rev. 2:12,
To Thyatira
He says: “These things saith the
Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of
fire, and his feet are like fine brass;” Rev. 2:18,
To Sardis
He says: “He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven
stars;” Rev. 3:1,
To Philadelphia
He says: “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true,
he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth;
and shutteth, and no man openeth;” Rev. 3:7,
And to
Laodicea He says: “These things saith the Amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation
of God;” Rev. 3:14.
In each of
these we are introduced to an aspect of Christ’s varied characteristics:
He holds the seven churches in His right hand and walks among them;
He is the first and the last, who was resurrected from the dead; He
wields a two-edged sharp sword; being the Son of God, He exactly fits
the descrip-tion of the Being in chapter 1, verses 13-16; He has unto
Himself the seven Spirits of God and God’s Churches, controlling their
doors of opportunity to evangelize. He, the Amen, presents Himself as ‘the beginning
of the creation of God’!
(What is this
final statement revealing to us? Is He saying that in the process
of God creating more beings for the God Family, that He is the first?
Would Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:18, James 1:18 and Revelation 14:4 help
answer the question?
Some translations have the word ‘beginner’ in place of beginning. Does that change the question? Is God being created? If so, created out of what? (John 1:12 & 2nd Pet. 1:4) Are we empowered to become the sons of God, partaking of His Divine Nature?)
A Certain
Identity
“…behold,
the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to
open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in
the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of
the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been
slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth. Rev. 5:5-6, “Thou art worthy
… for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation; And hast made
us unto our God
kings and priests: and
we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard
the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the
elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Rev. 5:9-12,
God
Placed Rulership with His Son
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; (This is the Christ! See Rev. 1:8) because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. Rev. 11:15-17, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. Rev. 15:3-4 Here, the Lord’s Christ is called “Lord God Almighty”! (See also Isaiah 9:6. The Son is there called “the Mighty God”.)
In establishing
His Throne on Earth, the Son, Christ, must first subdue all rebelliousness
in the nations! “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a
white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful
and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and
he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God.1 And
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron:
and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 2 And he hath on his
vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS. Rev. 19:11-16 “These shall make war
with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:
for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and
they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. Rev. 17:14
His Many
NAMES:
Just within
this one book, we are introduced to these many names, titles or attributes
directly and in most cases uniquely referring to Christ.
Son of man:
1:13, 12:5, 14:14
Son of God:
2:18
Word of God:
19:13
Beginning of
the creation of God: 3:14
God:
11:4, 14:7, 21:7
Lord God Almighty:
1:8, 4:8, 11:15,
15:3, 16:7&14 (see also Isaiah 9:6)
Alpha and Omega:
1:11, 1:8, 21:6 & 22:13
First and last:
1:11, 1:17, 2:8 & 22:13
Beginning and end: 1:8
Lamb (slain):
1:5, 5:5, 5:6&12,
5:12, 6:1&16, 7:14&17,
13:8, 14:1&4,
17:14, 19:7&9, 21:27, 22:3
One who Was
dead: 1:18 & 2:8
First begotten
of the dead: 1:5,
Faithful and
True witness: 1:5,
3:14, 19:11
Is, was, and
is to come: 1:4, 1:8, 4:8, 16:5
Prince of earthly
kings: 1:5
King of Saints:
15:3
King of kings
/ Lord of lords: 17:14 & 19:16
The
‘Strict’ Monotheist’s Enigma
How many of
these names or titles can we find that apply to God the Father exclusively
or at all? Where is the Father identified as being the One who will
reign over all the nations on Earth, its kings and its lords?
The Father was never dead, so all references to having been slain, or
dead or resurrected from the dead must refer to Christ only.
John 5:22 tells
us all judgment is committed unto the Son. May we then conclude
that any execution of God’s judgment and wrath is to be Christ’s
purview? If that is the case, then those verses which refer to
judgment being carried out also refer to Christ’s actions!
Some examples we find are: 6:16, 11:18, 16:7,
18:8, 19:2 &
11 &
15 &
21.
Many of these
are internally cross-referenced, such as Revelation 2:18 with verses
1:14 and 19:12. (Daniel 10:5-6 appears to be this same Being as
is described in Revelation 1:13-16.) This One with eyes like flames
of fire is in 19:13 identified as the Word, and in 19:16 as the King
of kings and Lord of lords. The Word, of course, is identified
in John 1:1-2 & 14 as the Being who was God in the beginning, and
was with God, who became flesh.
A
Profound Conclusion
In light of all of these, it’s difficult to draw any other conclusion than that the Son of God also was and is God. That there are two Beings in the God-head, both having shared an existence “in glory” as John 17:5 so clearly establishes. It’s inescapably clear that all these references frustrate the viability of a single Being God concept. &
Daniel 10:5-6 “Then I
lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in
linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the
appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms
and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his
words like the voice of a multitude.”
Revelation 1:13-16 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.”
Romans 16:25-27 “Now to him that is of power
to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus
Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret
since the world began,
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according
to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations
for the obedience of faith:
To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.”
John 17:3-5 “And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do.
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was.”
1st Timothy
1:17 “Now
unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour
and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
1st Timothy
6:15-16 “Which
in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach
unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and
power everlasting. Amen.”
Jude 4 “For there are certain
men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying
the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Revelation
15:3-4 “And
they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the
Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty;
just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only
art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy
judgments are made manifest.”
Revelation
21:6-7 “And
he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the
water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son.”