Purpose
Most Christians believe that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct Persons, meaning three distinct minds. However, perhaps unbeknown to many, most denominations formally subscribe to the Roman doctrine of God, namely, that the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind, will, and consciousness. Scholars who explain this view avoid the term “Person” but describe the Father, Son, and Spirit as three modes or ways God exists. In this view, since the Son of God is also the “Almighty” uncaused Cause of all creation, He cannot become a human being, and He cannot and did not die. Only His human nature died. (See here) The purpose of this article is to determine which view of the Trinity the Book of Revelation presents.
God
| Revelation consistently distinguishes between God and Jesus, meaning that Jesus is not God. |
The title “God” appears about 100 times in Revelation. In most instances, nobody else is mentioned in the context, so it is not immediately clear whether “God” refers to the Father, to the Son, or to both (e.g., Rev 14:19). However, 17 instances mention both the Father and the Son. In these instances, “God” always refers to the Father alone. Revelation NEVER refers to Jesus as “God. In other words, in the way that Revelation uses the title “God,” the Son is NOT God. God is one Person, and Jesus is somebody else. For example:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him” (Rev 1:1). [Show More]
Therefore, when the angel instructs John to “worship God” (Rev 19:10; 22:9), and when God’s end-time people are commanded to worship “God” (Rev 14:7), it is a command to worship the Father.
Titles
| Revelation’s titles for the Father describe Him as transcendent over the Son. |
Revelation uses certain titles for the Father alone, such as:
-
- He “Who Was and Who Is and Who Is to Come” (Rev 4:8),
- “The Almighty” (Rev 4:8),
- “Him who sits on the throne” (Rev 4:9), and
- “Him who lives forever and ever” (Rev 4:9).
Revelation 4 uses all four of these titles to describe the Being on the throne. Since Jesus enters the throne room only in the next chapter (Rev 5:5-6), the Being on the throne is the Father, and these titles describe Him. The following analysis shows that, wherever Revelation uses these titles, they always describe the Father, never the Son:
Throne
| The Father alone is “Him who sits on the throne.” |
Revelation 4 may be called the throne room chapter because the word “throne” appears at least 10 times in that one chapter alone. [Show More]
God is introduced as the “One sitting on the throne” (Rev 4:2). There-after, subsequent chapters often refer to Him as “Him who sits on the throne” (Rev 4:9, 10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16). For the following reasons, the “One sitting on the throne” always describes the Father alone and never to the Son:
1) Since Jesus is absent from Revelation 4 and only enters the throne room in Revelation 5:6, the “One sitting on the throne” in that chapter is the Father.
2) The “One sitting on the throne” is also called “God” (Rev 4:8, 11; 19:4), and, as shown above, Revelation uses the title “God” only for the Father.
3) Several verses make an explicit distinction between “Him who sits on the throne” and Christ. For example:
“The Lamb” (Jesus) “came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (Rev 5:6-7). [Show More]
Therefore, saying that beings are before “the throne” (e.g., 7:11; 20:12) means that they are before the Father.
| The Son sits on the Father’s throne, meaning that God shares His authority with Him. |
The Lamb also sits on the throne. For example:
John saw “a river of the water of life …
coming from the throne of God
and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:1). [Show More]
Nevertheless, it remains the Father’s throne, for Jesus said: “I … sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:21). [Show More]
Humans may also sit with Jesus on His throne: “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne” (Rev 3:21).
This is not a literal throne. A throne symbolizes authority. Since it is the Father’s throne, He is the Supreme Ruler of all creation. Christ and the overcomers will also sit on God’s throne, meaning that God will share His authority with them (Matt 28:18; Phil 2:9-11): They will rule with God. However, since Jesus is contrasted with “Him who sits on the throne” (Rev 5:7; 12:5), the Father will always remain the ultimate Ruler.
Lives Forever
| The Father alone is “Him who lives forever.” |
This title appears four times in Revelation:
It appears twice in chapter 4 (Rev 4:9-10), where Jesus is not present and, therefore, describes the Father.
Revelation 15:7 identifies this Being as “God” and, as discussed, Revelation uses the title “God” only for the Father.
The fourth instance (Rev 10:6) identifies “Him who lives forever” as the Creator, which, according to Revelation 4:11, is the Father:
“Swore by Him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven … and the earth … and the sea“
(Rev 10:6). [Show More]
All four instances, therefore, identify the One “who lives forever and ever” as the Father. Paul also stated that the Father “alone possesses immortality” (1 Tim 6:16). The immortality of all other beings, including the Son depends on the Father’s immortality. He, alone, has inherent (essential) immortality.
While Jesus was dead (Rev 1:18), the Father “lives forever and ever,” which implies that He never was dead and will never die. This makes a huge distinction between God and Jesus.
Is / Was / Will Come
| The Father alone is He “Who Is and who Was and is To come.” |
1) He is the one sitting on the throne (Rev 4:8), who has been interpreted above as the Father.
2) He is also called “God” (Rev 1:8; 11:17), a title Revelation reserves for the Father alone. [Show More]
3) In the opening verses of the book, John mentions the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together. In these verses, John describes the Father as, “Him who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev 1:4-5):
“From Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:4-5). [Show More]
This title may be related to Exodus 3:14, where YHVH (Yahweh or Jehovah) identified Himself as “I AM WHO I AM.” Both titles may be understood to mean the One who exists without cause. [Show More]
Almighty
| The Father alone is “the Almighty.” |
This title appears 17 times in the Old Testament (OT), once in the New Testament outside Revelation in a quote from the OT (2 Cor 6:18), and 9 times in Revelation. Therefore, if we want to understand what this term means for the church, we need to study it in Revelation.
In Revelation, “the Almighty” is identified as “God” and as Him “who is and who was and who is to come.” For example:
“The war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev 16:14).
“Holy, Holy, Holy is The Lord God, The Almighty, Who Was and Who Is and Who Is To Come” (Rev 4:8; cf. 1:8).
“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were” (Rev 11:16-17; cf. 15:2-3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 13-15; 21:22).
Since, as discussed above, both the titles “God” and “who is and who was and who is to come” refer to the Father alone, the Father alone is the “Almighty.” Revelation never uses the title “Almighty” for Jesus. On the contrary, it makes an explicit distinction between Christ and “the Almighty:”
“His name is called The Word of God. … and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev 19:13-15).
“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev 21:22).
Therefore, Jesus is not the Almighty; only the Father is. See here for a more detailed discussion of the title “Almighty.”
Creator
| The Father is the Creator. |
Elsewhere in the New Testament, we read that God created all things “THROUGH” His Son. For example:
“There is but one God, the Father, FROM WHOM are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, BY WHOM are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Cor 8:6). [Show More]
The Son, therefore, was God’s agent through whom God created all things. Similarly, in Revelation, the beings in the heavenly throne room worship the “One sitting on the throne” (the Father) because He has “created all things” (Rev 4:11). Later, “Him who lives forever and ever,” already identified as the Father, is also identified as the Creator (Rev 10:6). Therefore, the Father alone is the uncaused Cause of all things. When God’s end-time people are warned to worship the Creator (Rev 14:7); it is a command to worship the Father.
Subordinate
| Jesus is subordinate to the Father. |
For example:
1) As stated, Revelation refers to the Father alone as “God,” “the Almighty,” “Him who sits on the throne,” and as the Creator. These titles mean that the Father is the ultimate Ruler.
2) Jesus received the Book of Revelation from God (Rev 1:1). When He was on earth, Jesus similarly said that the Father gave Him “what to say” (John 12:49). Revelation 1:1 shows that 60 years after His resurrection and ascension, Jesus still received the words of this prophecy from God. [Show More]
3) God is also Jesus’ God. After His resurrection, Jesus said, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). Sixty years later, Jesus still referred to the Father as His God: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God” (Rev 3:12, 13; cf. 3:2). John, in the introduction of the book, in which he interprets some of the things in the visions, similarly described the Father as Jesus’ God: “His God and Father” (Rev 1:6). [Show More]
See here for evidence that the Son is subordinate to the Father in the entire New Testament. Similarly, the seven Spirits are before God’s throne, in apparent subordination (Rev 1:4; 4:5).
Worship
| The Father alone is worshiped. The Son is never worshiped. |
The Father is worshiped. For example:
“Worship Him who lives forever and ever” (Rev 4:10).
“O Lord God, the Almighty … all the nations will come and worship before you” (Rev 15:3-4).
“Worshiped God who sits on the throne” (Rev 19:4).
“Worship God” (Rev 19:10).
The Son is never worshiped. In a number of places, both the Father and Son are mentioned, but only the Father is worshiped (Rev 5:13-14; 7:10-11; 11:15-16):
5:14 does not say who is worshiped, but the parallels to the similar instances (7:10-11; 11:15-16) imply that the Father alone is worshiped. Furthermore, in some translations of 5:14, they worship “Him who lives forever and ever” (e.g., KJV), a phrase that always refers to the Father. (See here for a more detailed discussion of this verse.)
Trinity Doctrine
| In the Trinity doctrine, the Son cannot die, but Jesus said He was dead. |
In the version of the Trinity doctrine taught by the Roman Church, the Son does not exist as a distinct entity because the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind, will, and consciousness. Therefore, the Son cannot become a human being. Furthermore, since God is immortal, the Son cannot die. In this version of the Trinity doctrine, only the human nature of the Son died. In contrast, Jesus said, “I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” (Rev 1:17; 2:8). The God of the Roman Trinity doctrine can never say that He was dead because He cannot die. [Show More]
If we accept that the seven Spirits refer to the Holy Spirit, John did refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Rev 1:4). However, in the Book of Revelation, there is no sign of the teaching that the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind.
With God
| The Son has many divine attributes but He is not God Almighty. |
Revelation also shows that God and His unique Son belong together. For example:
Jesus is the Judge because the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). We also see evidence of this in Revelation. [Show More]
Jesus will resurrect God’s people (John 6:40). Similarly, in Revelation, He says: “I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev 1:17)
He received from the Father authority over the nations (Rev 2:26-27).
Both the Father and the Son are the temple and the light of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:22-23). [Show More]
Both are “first and the last,” “the beginning and the end” (Rev 1:17; 2:8; 21:5-6), meaning that both always existed and will always exist. [Show More]
The saved belong to both God and Christ (Rev 14:4; 20:6). [Show More]
They are praised together (Rev 5:13-14) and share a single throne (Rev 22:1, 3).
These verses imply an extremely close relationship between God and His Son. Elsewhere in the Bible, we often read that the Son is at the right hand of God, which puts Jesus with God but also subordinate to Him. People who regard Jesus as God Almighty tend to focus on texts that show His divinity and ignore the evidence of His subordination. They seem to forget that He is the divine Son of God. God brought Him forth in an indescribable manner to share some of God’s divine attributes. But His divine attributes and closeness to God do not mean that He is God Himself.
Holy Spirit
| Revelation says little about the Spirit, who seems to be subordinate to God. |
The debate among Christians is not whether the Spirit is divine but whether He is a distinct Person, meaning a distinct consciousness, mind, and will. Right at the beginning of the letter, in John’s own introduction of the visions, he mentions the Spirit with the Father and the Son (Rev 1:4, 5), implying that the Spirit is a distinct Person.
However, we do not hear much about the Spirit in the visions. The Spirit of God is never praised or worshiped and never sits on a throne. The Spirit is described as seven Spirits “before the throne” (Rev 4:5), as the seven eyes of the Lamb, and as “sent out into all the earth” (Rev 5:6; cf. Rev 3:1), indicating subordination to the One on the throne and perhaps also subordination to the Son.
On the other hand, each of the letters to the seven churches ends with the words, “Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:7, 11, etc.). When John receives a new vision, he says, “I was in the Spirit” (Rev 4:2; cf. Rev 17:3; 21:10; 22:17). Therefore, this entire vision of Revelation seems to be the work of the Holy Spirit (Rev 14:13; 19:10).
Who is the Son?
So, if the Bible refers to the Father alone as God, and if the Son is distinct from and subordinate to God, but also belongs with God, who is the Son? Perhaps it will be arrogant to attempt to explain things humans are unable to explain.
| God is like the sun, and the Son is like the rays of the sun. |
I like Tertullian’s analogy in which he compared God to the sun and His Son to the rays of the sun. In that metaphor, the Father is the Source of all things, and the Son is the link between God and the created universe. Just like the rays of the sun bring us warmth and life from the sun, the Son is the Means through whom God gives us everything we need, including creation, knowledge of God, a Savior, redemption, restoration, and eternal life. However, the analogy seems to say that the Son is part of the Father, which was what Tertullian believed. (See here) But Revelation seems to present the Father and Son as two distinct Beings.
| The Son has always existed. |
Since the Son is “the Beginning of the creation of God” (Rev 3:14) and “the first and the last” (Rev 1:17; 2:8), the Son has always existed, that is, for as long as the creation has existed. However, the creation did not cause itself. The energy and intelligence that brought the creation into being came from beyond this universe. That incomprehensible Reality is God. Compared to God, this universe is like nothing. Therefore, to say that the Son has existed as long as the universe does not mean that He is equal to God.
| Everything that God does in and for the creation, He does “through” the Son. |
Like the rays of the Sun bring life and earth to the earth:
God created all things through him (Col 1:16; John 1:2; 1 Cor 8:6).
God saved the world through the Son (John 3:17; 1 John 4:9 Rom. 5:9; Heb 7:24-25).
Through Him, the Father reconciled all things to Himself (Col 1:19-20), disarmed the rulers and authorities (Col 2:15), and rendered powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb 2:14).
Through Him, we have access to the Father (Eph 2:18), and through Him, we give thanks to God the Father (Phil 2:11; Heb 13:15).
Conclusion
In the Trinity doctrine, Jesus is God Almighty, the uncaused Cause of all creation, but Revelation describes the Father alone as Immortal, God, Almighty, Creator, and Ruler of heaven and earth, indicating that the Son is subordinate to the Father. He has many divine attributes, but He is not God Almighty. Similar to the analogy of the sun and its rays, the Father is the Source, and the Son is the Means through Whom God gives the creation everything it needs.
Overview
Revelation consistently distinguishes between God and Jesus, meaning that Jesus is not God. Therefore, when God’s end-time people are commanded to worship “God,” it is a command to worship the Father.
In Revelation, the Father alone is “Him who sits on the throne.” The Son sits on the Father’s throne, but it remains the Father’s throne, symbolizing that God will share His authority with His Son.
The Father alone is “Him who lives forever.” He “alone possesses immortality,” namely, inherent immortality. While Jesus “was dead” (Rev 1:18), the Father “lives forever and ever,” which implies that He never was dead and will never die.
In Revelation, the Father alone is He “Who Is and Who Was and is To come.” This title may be related to Yahweh’s statement, “I AM WHO I AM.”
The title “Almighty” appears 9 times in Revelation. It always describes the Father, never the Son. On the contrary, Revelation makes an explicit distinction between “the Almighty” and Christ (e.g., Rev 21:22).
In Revelation, the Father alone is the Creator. Therefore, when God’s end-time people are commanded to worship the Creator (Rev 14:7), it is a command to worship the Father.
Revelation’s titles for the Father describe Him as transcendent over the Son. Similarly, Jesus described the Father as His God (Rev 3:2, 12).
In Revelation, the Father alone is worshiped. Some argue that Jesus is worshiped in Revelation 5, but this is not so.
In the Trinity doctrine, the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind, will, and consciousness. Therefore, the Son does not exist as a distinct entity and cannot die. In contrast, Jesus said, “I was dead” (Rev 1:17).
Christ has many divine attributes. He is the Judge, will resurrect God’s people, and has authority over the nations. Both He and the Father are the temple and the light of the New Jerusalem and “the first and the last.” They are praised together and share a single throne, meaning they will rule together. He is the divine Son of God, but His divine attributes do not mean that He is God Himself.
Revelation does not mention the Spirit much. The Spirit of God is never praised or worshiped and never sits on a throne. The Spirit is described as seven Spirits “before the throne,” implying subordination to the One on the throne.
In conclusion, while the Trinity doctrine describes Jesus as God Almighty, Revelation describes the Father alone as Immortal, God, Almighty, Creator, and Ruler of heaven and earth, meaning that the Son is subordinate to the Father.