Is Jesus God? Part 9: Scripture in Context- 1 John and Revelation

1 John

1.     1 John 3:20

“…for whenever our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

Matthew 24:36

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

If Jesus is God, why doesn’t he know everything, specifically when he will return?

God does not lie. He says he knows everything. Jesus does not know everything, so this shows Jesus is not God.

2.     1 John 4:12

“No one has ever seen God.”

This shows John’s theology. He has seen Jesus – thousands of people have seen Jesus – but no one has seen God.

John does not believe that Jesus is God.

3.     1 John 5:7-8

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” (KJV)

“The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost” was an addition in favor of the Trinity over original texts centuries after the Bible was written. This does not support the Trinity in the original texts. 1 John 5:7-8 in the NIV reads, “For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” There is no mention of the Trinity in the NIV or the ESV, for example. Most modern translations omit this addition given the understanding that this sentence was added.

(Common Verses, 2010)

4.     1 John 5:20

“And we know that the Son of God has come and given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

If Jesus isn’t God, why is he called “the true God” in this verse?

Given that both Jesus and God are mentioned, this final sentence could refer to Jesus or God. The context, not the closest noun or pronoun, should show what “this” is referring to. One example of this is Acts 7:18. Pronouns do not always refer to the closest noun. What is more, the phrase “true God” is used in 4 other places in Scripture and are all talking about God the Father. Finally, not even all Trinitarians are united in thinking that this is talking about Jesus.

(Common Verses, 2010)

1 John, 2 John, and 3 John give no evidence that Jesus is God.

Revelation

1.     Revelation 1:5-6, 8

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever… ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”  

Jesus has a God – his Father. This God, the Lord God, speaks in verse 8. This person is not Jesus. This is Jesus’ God, the only God there is. God is called Almighty. Jesus never is. In contrast, Jesus is completely dependent on this God.

Jesus is not God.

2.     Revelation 1:17-18

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’”

If Jesus isn’t God, why did John fall at his feet as though dead?

This does not mean Jesus is God. Perhaps seeing the glorified Jesus was terrifying. Humans fell at someone’s feet terrified in other parts of Scriptures just due to angels. Per Hebrews 1, Jesus is greater than the angels.

(Common Verses, 2010)

3.     Revelation 2:8

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’” [words of Jesus]

If Jesus isn’t God, why does he call himself the first and the last, the same title God uses for Himself?

God calls himself “the first and the last” in this verse. Some Trinitarians argue that because Jesus also calls himself the “first and the last”, Jesus must be God. However, just because two persons have the same title does not make them the same.  For example, in Ezra 7:12, King Artaxerxes is called “king of kings”. Obviously, he is neither God nor Jesus, but the same title is used for him that was used for them (see in point 3 in 1 Timothy 6:14-16 where God is called “King of kings”). Additionally, when Jesus quotes “the first and the last”, he omits the next part of the verse in Isaiah 44:6, “besides me there is no god.” Jesus’ declaration, it seems, does not need to mean he is God. 

(Common Verses, 2010)

4.     Revelation 2:18

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.’”

In case there was any confusion, this verse clarifies that Jesus is the Son of God, not the Lord God from chapter 1 verse 8. He is not God.

5.     Revelation 3:12

“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

God does not have a God. Jesus does, and he has the same God we do. Jesus is not God.

6.     Revelation 3:14

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.’”

Jesus is the beginning of God’s creation, which means that he is part of God’s creation. The beginning of something is part of that thing. He is a creature. He is the not the Creator. This will be addressed more later.

7.     Revelation 4-5, Hymns to God and the Lamb

“’Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is to come!’ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’”

Revelation 4:8-11

This chapter is clearly talking about God, the creator of all things. Revelation 5 moves on to talking about the Lamb, “And between the throne [where the Lord God is, explained in Revelation 4] and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as thought it had been slain… And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”

Revelation 5:6-10

The living creatures and twenty-four elders do not believe that the Lamb is God. They say the Lamb ransomed people for God, for “our God”. The Lamb and the Lord God are distinct, and they are worthy for different reasons. Further, the “Lord God” described in chapter 4 is none other than Jesus’ own God that he refers to in Revelation 1-3.

Jesus is not God.

Then the twenty-four elders, angels, and living creatures sing,

“’Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’

And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and worshipped.”

Revelation 5:12-14

Jesus is worthy of praise, honor, glory, and might. But this does not mean he is God. Other godly men and women are honored throughout the Bible – perhaps not to the extent of Jesus, but Jesus’ worthiness of these things is not inherent proof that he is God, especially given these chapters distinguish God and the Lamb from each other.

The Lord God loves His Son, Jesus, and Jesus has overcome by dying on the cross for our sins. He IS worthy of all these things. 1 Peter 1:7 indicates that Christians will also receive “praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” as they overcome in all kinds of trials. Jesus is the first one to receive these things but not the last, and praise of Jesus does not mean he is God.

These 2 chapters show Jesus is not God, not that He is. God and the Lamb are distinct, and God is the Lamb’s God. God does not have a God.

Regarding Jesus worship not meaning he is God please see: Is Jesus God? Part 5: What about Jesus worship? I explain in more detail in that post why Revelation 4-5 in particular are not proof of Jesus deity despite his exaltation.

8.     Revelation 7:17

“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Again, the Lamb and God are different persons doing different things. The Lamb is not God, he is the shepherd of the people who leads people to God.

9.     Revelation 12:10

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

This verse is so clear. God and “his Christ” are distinct. They are not the same. Christ is not God.

10.  Revelation 19:16

“On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” 

God the Father has the same title:

1 Timothy 6:15-16

“…which he will display at the proper time – he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

If Jesus isn’t God, why does he have the same title as God, King of kings and Lord of lords?

See previous argument in point 3 of the “Revelation” section. Additionally, Jesus was made King (Messiah) and Lord by God (Acts 2:36), he was not these things inherently or eternally. Therefore, these titles mean something very different for Jesus than for God.

11.  Revelation 20:6

“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”

God and Christ are distinct. Christ is not God. Jesus is never referred to as God in all of Revelation, and he calls God his God.

12.  Revelation 21:22-23

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

The Lamb, Jesus, is clearly not the Lord God the Almighty. They are distinct. John, the author of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation, believes that Jesus has a God, the Almighty God, and that God is not the Lamb. These verses at the end of the Bible also indicate that this is the eternal state of Jesus – being completely distinct from the Almighty God.

13.  Revelation 22:1

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb…” 

Again, God and the Lamb are distinct. The Lamb is not God.

Note: Some argue that the distinction between the Lamb and God throughout the New Testament is not good proof that Jesus is not God. God, Trinitarians argue, refers to the Father and the Lamb is God the Son. This is adding to the Bible. The Bible never says that the Lamb, or Christ, is "God the Son", rather, he is the Son of God. Revelation in particular simply calls the Father "God" - Jesus' God - without John making any distinction between God and Jesus as God the Father and God the Son. Ultimately, the greatest proof in Revelation that Jesus is not God is that he has a God, the Lord God Almighty. God does not have a God. As Isaiah 45:5 says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God."

Conclusion: There is no evidence in Revelation that Jesus is God.