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When I first had the idea to do this series on Trinitarian theology in Revelation, I was not aware of Brandon D. Smith’s book on just this subject.1 It was inspired more by my own studies of Revelation and its fascinating theological presentation. Even so, I think Smith’s work is a worthwhile volume that explores how traditional patristic theology that built up to and built upon the creeds is helpful for articulating the “theological pressures” that Revelation itself puts on the reader to make certain theological declarations about the Trinity. He does well at engaging with critics of his views, the broader world of biblical scholarship, and the history of theological debates, especially from the early Church, including how Revelation itself made an impact on those debates. If there is a weakness I want to note, it is that the chapter on the Father is too mixed. It is almost inevitable that a book seeking to outline theology concerning all three persons of the Trinity will involve some “peeking ahead” to talk about the other persons of the Trinity, and my own work will involve such moving back and forth to a lesser extent. But I think what Revelation has to say about the First Person in the Trinity is underexplored because Smith is too busy noting what the text he examines says about the Son and the Spirit. This is an all-too-common tendency I have seen in relatively recent Trinitarian theologies. Still, I recommend this book to my readers. My own approach differs from his in that I tend to work more inductively, but this is complementary to Smith’s work, not a competitive alternative.
The theological presentation of God in Revelation is fascinating because John does not convey it in any sort of didactic discourse that might be apropos for creeds, apologetic literature, homilies, doctrinal treatises and so on. Rather, the teaching is implicit in the imagery, the descriptions, and the larger story that John appeals to not only in the course of his text, but also in the many “tags” of abbreviated references to the OT and the gospel events that we will explore here and elsewhere this month. Smith summarizes the Trinitarian character of John’s presentation as follows:
John’s trinitarian theology can be summed up this way: the Holy Spirit has shown him the purposes of the eternal Father, who has sent his divine Son—slain as the Lamb and exalted as King—in order to inaugurate and then finally to complete the triune God’s plan of making all things new. Thus, any meaningful interpretation of Revelation must be undergirded by and subservient to its portrayal of the Father, Son, and Spirit’s identity and activity.2
This highlights how interwoven John’s presentation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is throughout Revelation. To explore this for ourselves, we will first consider what the text says about the Trinity in their “threeness,” meaning that the first three parts will have individual foci on the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But this analysis can also not be properly Trinitarian if we do not also consider how the text conveys the “oneness” of the Trinity. Thus, the last part will be dedicated to how the Revelation presents Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together as one God, meaning that the focus will be on where two or all three are referenced in such ways as to signify that they are one.
The Father
Our first concern is about paterology or theology proper. The theology of the Father is sometimes called “theology proper” in recognition of the traditional description of the Father as the “fount of divinity” in relation to God the Son (who is eternally “begotten/generated” of the Father) and God the Holy Spirit (who eternally “proceeds” from the Father), as well as how the NT tends to refer to “God.” The general tendency in the NT is that most of the time when the term “God” is used, the primary referent is God the Father, whereas when the term “Lord” is used, the primary referent is Jesus Christ, God the Son. There are exceptions to both tendencies, but Revelation is special in this regard in how often there are explicit exceptions or cases where referents are ambiguous. Even so, despite the greater quantity of exceptions, Revelation fits the general tendency as well. This is often signified by how John (and other authors) refers to “God” in one grammatical construction and “Jesus” in another parallel grammatical construction, as we will see in the course of this study.
From the outset, we are told that the revelation being given is ultimately from God. While it is the “revelation of Jesus Christ,” it is said that God gave it to him (1:1). John is likewise said to testify to “the word of God” and “the testimony of Jesus Christ” (1:2). The same pair appears in 1:9 and 20:4 and the phrase “word of God” by itself also appears with a similar sense in 6:9. In each of these cases, it is a reference to the gospel (cf. Luke 5:1; 8:11–15, 21; 11:28; Acts 4:29, 31; 6:2, 7; 8:14, 25; 11:1; 12:24; 13:5, 7, 44, 46, 48–49; 15:35–36; 16:32; 17:13; 18:11; 19:10, 20; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; Phil 1:14; Col 1:25; 1 Thess 1:8; 2:13 [2x]; 2 Thess 3:1; 2 Tim 2:9; Titus 1:3; 2:5; Heb 13:7; 1 Pet 1:23). (See here for more.) This phrase identifies God as the source of the gospel, as it is his life-giving word, the story through which he gives everlasting life that goes beyond his initial gift of life. God is also the source of this word in that the word that is the gospel is the execution of his will by the executor of his will that he sent into the world. What we proclaim in the gospel comes from the will, plan, and promise of God, and the achievement of the same is nothing other than the faithful, loving fulfillment of God’s word by God’s Word.
The Father is also distinguished by direct reference to him as “Father,” specifically as the Father of Jesus Christ (1:6; 2:28; 3:5, 21; 14:1). Jesus is said to have made his people a kingdom and priests dedicated to God, that is, his Father (1:6). As Jesus said he received authority from his Father, he promises this also to his faithful followers (2:28). As I have noted in my work on Hebrews, a frequent point in the paterology/theology proper of the NT is presenting the Father as in some way the “source” of the Son (as the one from whom the Son is generated) and his work (in terms of the external operations in salvation history, or what is called the economic work of the Trinity). Revelation tends to express this in terms of the economy/order of the Trinity’s work in history. In this case, the Father is identified as the source of the Son’s authority that he received at his exaltation. He has this authority by virtue of his triune union in the Godhead, and believers will receive authority by virtue of their analogous union with Christ. That is also why Christ can promise that the one who conquers in faithful obedience he will give to that one the authorization to sit with him on his throne as he sat with his Father on his throne (3:21). The union with Christ is such that the union of the faithful with him will have his Father’s name written on their heads (14:1). To be Christ’s is to be the Father’s. This is so because both are God, even if they are not the same person.
We are also introduced in this opening chapter to one of Revelation’s distinctive emphases in theological presentation of God as the one who sits on the throne (1:4; 3:21; 4:2–3, 5, 9–10; 5:1, 6–7, 11, 13; 6:16; 7:9–11, 15; 8:3–4; 12:5; 14:3; 16:17; 19:4; 20:11; 21:5–7; 22:1, 3; cf. Acts 7:49; Heb 1:8; 4:16; 8:1; 12:2). Because it is such a widespread way of referring to God, I will not address all the uses at once, as I tend to do with themes and motifs. I will also not cover extensively how the Son and the Spirit are linked with the throne this time, but that is something else to pay attention to as this series goes on. In particular, the Son, usually referenced as the Lamb in such contexts, is also said to share the divine throne, but the Spirit’s orientation to the throne will also be worth noting.
Indeed, v. 4 is the earliest indication of how John both distinguishes the Father from Jesus, in that they are different persons, and also speaks of them interchangeably, in that they are the same God. In the standard NT letter writing form that we see reflected in vv. 4–6, God and Jesus are distinguished (cf. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:2; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; Titus 1:4; Phlm 3; 1 Pet 1:2; 2 Pet 1:2; 2 John 3). John wishes grace and peace “from the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ” (1:4–5). The syntax naturally distinguishes “the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming” from Jesus, but this is not a watertight reference kept consistent throughout Revelation, as we will see later. The phrase (with the first part taken from Exod 3:14 as something of a proper name)3 conveys the eternality of God as the one who encompasses past, present, and future, because he has always has been (even before there was time), always is, and always will be, although the way the future tense is stated also stresses his personal coming to consummate his will for the world. That is, of course, where the narrative of Revelation will arrive. It also thus conveys that he is the unifier of salvation history, being the one who encompasses the grand story as its Author who is faithful to his promises of how he will bring the story to its conclusion. He was there at work from the beginning—that is, from creation—and he will be there to bring about the completion of it all. He is also referred to in contexts like this (though not here specifically) as “Almighty,” which conveys that he not only has the will and fidelity to the same to bring his promises to pass, but he also has the omnipotence to make his will effective. At the same time, not long after this John applies the same phrase to Jesus (1:7–8). This same text also provides an exception of referring to Jesus as not only “Lord,” but “Lord God,” as well as “Alpha and Omega” and “Almighty One.” The next use of the key phrase then shifts back to referring to God the Father as the one who sits on the throne (4:8), and in this text he is also referred to as “Lord God Almighty” (for cases where “Lord God” refers to the Father, see 4:8, 11; 15:3; 16:7; 18:8; 19:6; 21:22; for cases where simply “Lord” refers to the Father, see 11:15; 15:4). Similar phrases, without reference to the future “coming,” also appear in reference to the Father in 11:17 and 16:5.
In the seven letters in Rev 2–3, while Jesus is the speaker, the Father is also, quite naturally, invoked. The reference to Jesus as the “Son of God” in 2:18 at once distinguishes the Son from the Father, identifies Jesus’s unique relation to the Father (and vice versa), and exemplifies how the term for “God” most often most directly applies to the Father. By the same token, John refers to “the seven spirits of God” in reference to the Holy Spirit in 3:1 (cf. 4:5; 5:6), and the Son refers to the Father as “my God” in 3:2 and 12. And since I have already commented on the reference to the Father and his relation with the Son in 2:28, I will skip reiterating the point here.
The first promise given to the one who conquers is that they will be able to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. As the tree of life is linked to everlasting life, this promise is a reminder of how God is not only the source of life that we have, since he is the Creator, but also the source of the eschatological everlasting life, since he is the Redeemer who is also the Creator. To that point, the reference to the tree of life being in the paradise of God—which by the end of the book is identified with the city of the new Jerusalem with the tree of life being there—further evokes the Genesis narrative and the original creation, and thus evokes that God is the Creator and that he will be the one who redeems creation to make it the new creation.
The promise to the one who conquers that is conveyed to the church in Pergamum is more implicit in its reference to the Father. Jesus refers to the giving of the manna “which has been hidden” (2:17). This is a case where the use of the passive implies the agent without stating it. In this case, the context makes it clear that the one who hid the manna is none other than God. After all, it was God who provided the manna to Israel in the wilderness.
The promise to the one who conquers that is conveyed to the church in Sardis refers to Jesus confessing that one’s name “in the presence of my Father and his angels” (3:5). I have already noted this text as an example of how it distinguishes the Father from the Son. But it is also notable for the reference to “his” angels, as this fits with how the OT sometimes refers to angels as “his” or “God’s” (cf. Gen 24:7, 40; Job 4:18; Pss 91:11; 103:20; 148:2; Dan 3:28; 6:22). Most notably, there are frequently references to “angels of the Lord” or, most often, “the angel of the Lord” who in some way is God’s primary agent. Moreover, the setting implied here is one of everlasting judgment that only God can dispense, where those Jesus confesses will be saved and those who are denied will be condemned (cf. Matt 25:31–46; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 12:8). The last two promises highlight the Father as the “source” of the kingdom/new creation. This is fitting in light of how creation is said to be God’s creation in 3:14, and the new Jerusalem is likewise said to come down out of heaven “from” God in 3:12 (the promise of having God’s name written on the one who conquers is similar to what we see in 14:1 and 22:4). And the exalted authority and power that Jesus is able to give to the one who conquers in order to sit with him on his throne ultimately comes from his sharing in the Godhead with the Father, whose throne the Son also occupies (3:21). That is, the reign believers are to receive will be for the new creation and will ultimately be participatory in God’s reign, as is also signified in 1:6; 5:10; 20:4–6; and 22:5, which are future tense (the promise of reign is not explicit in 1:6 and so it does not have the future tense either).
These references to the rule of the saints as participating in the rule of God are likely meant to fulfill Dan 7:18 and 27, which present the promise that believers will participate in the reign of God in the kingdom of God. If this imagery is a deliberate allusion to Dan 7, it would be unsurprising given the frequent allusions to Dan 7 throughout Revelation (1:6–7, 13–15; 5:11; 12:14; 13:1–7; 17:3, 7, 12; 20:10; 22:5). It could also be that this promise is reminiscent of Ps 110, the most common text used to refer to Christ’s triumphant enthronement because of its reference to the one sitting at the Lord’s right hand (Matt 22:43–45 // Mark 12:35–37 // Luke 20:41–44; Matt 26:64 // Mark 14:62 // Luke 22:69; Acts 2:33–36; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20–23; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:21b–22).4 Timothy Decker observes that this possible subtle allusion, “is a universalization of this messianic Psalm applied to the saints, something very similar to Rev 2:26-27 with Ps 2:8-9 and the theme of reigning.”5 Given that this text fits with the participatory nature of the believers’ victory and reign as shown in the rest of Revelation, such an allusion would make functional sense to convey that Jesus’s people participate in the rule that fulfills this text.
When the scene transitions to heaven in ch. 4, the Father becomes more prominent in the picture. The voice of Jesus calls John, he is then “in the Spirit,” and the first thing he sees in heaven is the one sitting on the throne (4:2). The description of God’s appearance in ch. 4 is not exactly the same as Ezek 1 (the Merkabah), but it is reminiscent of it enough to evoke it, using these cues of glorious appearance to convey that this one that John is seeing is the same God who overwhelmed the senses of Ezekiel and gave him his great prophecies, to which Revelation has had and will have extensive recourse. Likewise, the four living creatures harken back to the same vision in Ezekiel, with some elements drawn from the other famous prophetic theophany in Isa 6. In fact, what the four creatures sing in praise of God is a new rendition of Isa 6:3. Many have suggested that the twenty-four elders on the twenty-four thrones signify the combination of the twelve fathers of Israel and the twelve apostles, emphasizing the continuity of the true and faithful old and new covenant communities and the unity of salvation history before and after the earthly incarnation of Jesus. In all of these ways, John shows that the God whose glory he glimpsed and who revealed to him what is to come is the same God whose glory was glimpsed in the famous theophanies of the past and whose promises are continuous with and expansive upon the promises given to these great prophets and ancestors. And this God has one people throughout salvation history, just as his acts across salvation history form a unity, which is part of what is signified by referring to the Lord God Almighty as “the one who was and is and is coming” (4:8).
The declaration that God is holy is one of his fundamental identifiers, one of the foundations of worship, which the heavenly witnesses are engaging in during this scene. His holiness—both in terms of his being “set apart” from creation and in his being whole so as to make his creation whole—expresses his transcendence. Indeed, his immanence, that he is accessible to all, that he is omnipresent, and that all things hold together in him is because of his transcendence in that he is beyond what he has created. That he is the one who can make whole is foundational to the fact that he alone is Savior. It also encapsulates the fact that he gives life, including to the dead, thereby making whole what death disintegrates. After all, he is “the one who lives forever and ever” (4:9; cf. 10:6; 15:7), for he transcends death and is able to give such transcendent, everlasting life to others. Referring to God as “holy” brings with it all of these associations and more, hence why it is a fundamental expression of worship.
It is a fundamental expression of worship because of what worship is. As I have said elsewhere, the best overall definition of “worship” is the submission and orientation of one’s entire self/life according to an object/subject (i.e., what/who is “worshiped”). This definition also highlights that the shape of worship is determined by the object/subject of worship. Whatever is worshiped is acknowledged as being central to one’s worldview and will thus form the stories told, the symbols used, the praxis performed, the theory used as a framework, the aims guiding the trajectory of life, the motivations for actions, and beliefs espoused. And so it is with God, who is also called the Lord, the only one properly worshiped. We see how the first two of the Ten Commandments are about not worshiping other gods. There were and are clearly plenty of other objects to which one could submit and orient their entire selves and entire life, and for Israel’s neighboring nations, such submission and orientation could be divided among many gods. But for Israel, there is only one God, meaning that there is only one whom they worship. Whatever else may be said about other beings called “gods,” they are not “God” in the way that God is God because they are not to receive worship as he does.
This theme about worship will be revisited at points throughout Revelation, but what can be noted for now is that the constant portrayal of God as the one who sits on the throne contributes to this image of him being the only one who properly receives worship. Others have their own thrones, and we have seen that the faithful are promised to participate in the reign of God, but in the end, there is only one throne above all occupied by the one who alone is to be worshiped. As we have seen already and will continue to see over the course of the series, the fact is that one God occupies this throne, but it is not only the Father in distinction from the Son and the Spirit. The fact that they also occupy this unique throne indicates that worshiping them is inextricably interwoven in the activity of worshiping one God. John imagistically conveys this point not by announcing that there is another throne or multiple other thrones in heaven given the same reverence as the one who sits on this throne. Rather, he conveys they all occupy this throne that is the unique marker of God.
As part of this worship, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders give him glory, honor, and thanksgiving, and declare that he is worthy to receive (or more specifically, be ascribed) glory, honor, and power (4:10–11; cf. 5:13–14 with reference to “praise, honor, glory, and power forever and ever”). (In case there is any confusion, the point of the previous sentence is not that God is lacking in these things and will receive them; it is rather that he is worthy to be ascribed these things and to be recognized for them in worship.) These are all basic exercises in the “ascription of worth” or the specific kind that we call “worship.” The ground of these declarations of God’s Lordship and worshipfulness is that he created all things and because of his will they exist and were created. This is one of many examples we have seen elsewhere of how God as Lord (as well as Judge and Savior) is linked to him being the Creator. After all, one of the clearest signals of God’s worshipfulness and transcendence is the fact that he is the Creator (cf. 14:7).
Once the vision of the setting of heaven and of the ruler of heaven are established, ch. 5 incites the plot of the rest of Revelation with the question of who will open the scroll that is in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. This is yet another indicator of the Father as “source.” In this case, he is the source of the scroll that will set the rest of the story in motion because the scroll contains the proclamation of God’s will for the future. In fact, the Lamb is said to take the scroll from the one who sits on the throne (5:7), even as he is said to occupy the throne himself. This fits with how the Lamb here and elsewhere in the NT is described in terms of the executor of God’s will. This is further communicated through the fact that the Lamb is said to have “purchased for God by your blood from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, and made them to our God a kingdom and priests” (5:9–10; cf. 20:6). There is no competition of wills in the Trinity, for the persons share God’s will and implement the singular will, as Jesus does here in constituting the people of God for God. Furthermore, in making them a kingdom and priests, we see the execution of God’s will for establishing his holy kingdom, making it a kingdom of priests (cf. Exod 19:6) and bringing to completion his will for humans to be priestly kings as the bearers of his image and likeness.
The text referring to the opening of the fifth seal (6:9–10) gives us an ambiguous referent to the Lord. We have seen in Revelation that there are cases where this name refers primarily to the Father, and in other cases it refers primarily to the Son. It could be that the Son is in implied focus here, since he is at the forefront of ch. 6 in being the one who opens the seals, he is described as “holy and true” in ch. 3, and white clothes are associated with his work in chs. 3 and 7. Or it could that the Father is in implied focus here, since they may be asking of this of the one whose “word” (6:9) they have given their lives for, and naturally he has been called holy and true, in one way or another, many times over in the OT. But I am inclined to think that the ambiguity is for a reason (as notably in 1 Cor 15). Since both the Father and the Son are one God, and “Lord” applies to both of them throughout Revelation, it could just as well refer to both of them here, and there is no reason to be more specific.
The more direct reference to the Father, also in connection with the Son/Lamb, appears in 6:16–17, where the people are declaring that they are facing the wrath of the one who sits on the throne and the Lamb. This case also highlights that “the one who sits on the throne” is not just a fill-in for “God” or “the Father.” The description or some variation thereof is used many times in Revelation (the more direct phrasing appears 4:2–3, 9–10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:10, 15; 19:4; 20:11; 21:5; but, as noted earlier, references to him in relation to his throne appear much more often), but in no case is it apropos of nothing. Something in the context calls for reiterating this identification. In chs. 4 and 5 especially, it signified his reign/authority and worshipfulness. By implication, though this will be more apparent later, it has also signified that he is mighty to save, and that he can and will act decisively as Deliverer/Redeemer to establish his everlasting kingdom. But in this case, it highlights how his throne is more broadly a throne of judgment. Salvation is an outcome of judgment, after all, as it is part of God’s work of setting the world aright. But with that work also comes wrath against sin and sinners who deny (implicitly and/or explicitly by their participation in sin) that he is God and that they are the bearers of his image and likeness with all the responsibilities pertaining thereto.
Chapter 7 brings with it a vision of the faithful who are described as the “slaves/servants of our God” (7:3). The first group of these are those designated as the 144,000 who are to be sealed on their forehead. The notion of angels being authorized to mark the faithful with seals on their foreheads links to Ezek 9:4, where an angel marks the faithful on their foreheads to prevent them from being swept up in the destruction. The seal has a similar function here, though it also serves as the positive contrast to the mark of the beast in 13:16–18. Moreover, the angel who calls for this sealing is said to have “the seal of the living God” himself (7:2). It is quite traditional to refer to God as “the living God,” often in contexts distinguishing him from idols/false gods (Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26, 36; 2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Pss 42:2; 84:2; Isa 37:4, 17; Jer 10:10; 23:36; Dan 6:20, 26; Hos 1:10; Matt 16:16; 26:63; Acts 14:15; Rom 9:26 [Hos 1:10]; 2 Cor 3:3; 6:16; 1 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 3:15; 4:10; Heb 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22), though it also signifies that he is the only one who has life in himself and others have it only because he gives it to them (e.g., John 5:26; Acts 17:25; 1 Tim 6:13–16). The faithful are thus identified by their exclusive allegiance to the only living God and by having the life he gives, which is his own eternal life. Indeed, 14:1 and 22:4 will show that the seal is the name of God.
The next part of the vision involves an uncountable multitude of faithful ones who are said to stand before the throne and before the Lamb (7:9). God’s throne again signifies his reign over these people who are constituted as his from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. Of course, the fact that they are constituted salvifically also indicates that his throne is linked with his work as Redeemer/Deliverer of this people. That is indeed why the multitude declares “Salvation [belongs] to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” (7:10). (The word “belongs” has to be inferred, but it fits with these other declarations calling for God to be ascribed all these qualities they recognize from his work.) The one who sits on the throne is Creator, Redeemer, Judge, and King, and these identifications are clearly intertwined, as revealed by the history of his work and self-revelation. And his throne also signifies his worshipfulness, hence why the response of the faithful multitude and the heavenly attendants already identified in ch. 4 is to fall before the throne and worship God (7:11). They express their worship through reprising what has been ascribed to God and the Lamb already in terms of “praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever” (7:12).
In a hint of what is to come, we are told that the uncountable multitude of the faithful are before the throne of God and that they serve/worship (the term λατρεύω has both senses) in his sanctuary/temple (7:15). God’s throne room is also the sanctuary (cf. 8:2–4; 16:17). But as we will see by the end of the book, the throne and sanctuary where the one who sits on the throne “will live with them” (7:15) is the new Jerusalem, where a separate temple will not be needed because God is there like never before. The promises that the uncountable multitude will hunger and thirst no more, the sun and scorching wind will not strike them, and the Lamb will lead them to springs of the water of life are expansions on Isa 49:10. Likewise, in anticipation of its fulfillment in 21:4, the promise presented here that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes is straight from Isa 25:8, where the promise is in the context of the eschatological feast of which God’s people partake. Also interesting is that this promise follows immediately after the promise of swallowing up death, a hint to God’s consummate victory over death by resurrection and giving everlasting life (which in Isaiah appears in 26:19). Though that idea is not explicitly present here in Revelation, since it is well enough shown elsewhere in Revelation, the notion of participating in God’s victory in Christ naturally implies the conquest of death as a fait accompli (7:14).
The references to God in chs. 8–10 are sparse and can be treated together. The references in 8:2–4 further reinforce the portrayal of God’s throne room as the heavenly sanctuary through the references to the altar and the angels standing before him like lesser priests, one bearing a censer of prayers and seven receiving trumpets to sound (cf. 9:13). There is also a reference to the seal of God introduced in ch. 7, this time in the context of judgment coming upon those who are not sealed, as was true of the Ezekiel text that is the source of this imagery. Finally, in 10:7 we are told that “the mystery of God will be completed.” This once again conveys that God the Father is the source of revelation, for it is his will that is unveiled and brought to completion in what follows.
Chapter 11 focuses on God’s two witnesses who are said to have stood “before the Lord of the earth” (11:4). The imagery of them being olive trees and lampstands draws from Zech 4, since there was no antecedent for this imagery in Revelation itself. As for who the Lord is, this is another ambiguous case, wherein it is not clear if “Lord” is directly referring to God the Father or God the Son. And like the other ambiguous case from Rev 6:10, I think the ambiguity is purposeful, as there is no need to be more specific here. The name simply refers to God, rather than primarily to one of the persons of the Trinity.
As God has already shown in raising Jesus, he shows in this chapter that he is the God who raises the dead. He does this by sending a spirit/the Spirit of life into them and causing them to stand on their feet (11:11). The description recalls Ezek 37 with God causing the valley of dry bones to resurrect by reconstituting them and sending his Spirit into them to cause them to live. Here, there is no need for such reconstituting work because the witnesses are only dead for three-and-a-half days. But in any case, this raising and exaltation fits both with the pattern of Christ who was killed in the same city as them, and with the promise of resurrection and exaltation for the faithful that is still in the future.
Fittingly, the rest of the chapter speaks of how the Lord God will rule forever and ever, God is worshiped, the dead will be judged, and the sanctuary of God in heaven is opened (11:15–19). The declarations are built off what God has accomplished in Christ in the gospel story, as shown in chs. 1–5. This is now reaffirmed after the imitation of the same with the two witnesses. These declarations also show how God’s throne of rule is also a throne of judgment, since the time is coming when he will judge the dead, in the process vindicating his servants, prophets, and saints, the small and the great who fear his name. Of course, this has been signaled by the fact that God has raised Jesus (cf. Acts 17:31) and reminded people of the same with raising the two witnesses. The God who raised Jesus will also raise us and give us everlasting life with him. Finally, the temple of God in heaven (11:19; which, I think, is set up in distinction from the temple of God referenced in 11:1), we must remember, is also his throne room (cf. 13:6).
Chapter 12 shows us more of what we have already seen, but it requires its own comments because of the combination of the elements. First, we see God act as Savior/Deliverer in rescuing the woman and her son from the devil (12:5–6). God’s throne is referenced in this context to connote his reigning authority and his power to deliver. Second, after the battle in heaven, a great voice declares the coming of salvation and power, which is the kingdom of our God (12:10). Three, the faithful are said to keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus (12:17; cf. 14:12). One element that is new in the course of Revelation is saying that the devil is “the accuser of our brothers and sisters … the one who accuses them before our God day and night” (12:10). This is reminiscent of Satan’s role in Job 1–2, and both texts ultimately remind us that even our chief adversary and the forces he uses against us are ultimately subject to and accountable to the sovereignty of God. But now Revelation makes clear that even Satan, the adversary himself will be subject to God’s judgment.
Chapter 14 also provides some reiteration of what we have already seen. Most notably in this regard, this text reminds us of God’s wrath (14:7, 10, 19; cf. 15:1; 16:1, 5, 7), using imagery from promises of the same in the OT (esp. Isa 63:1–6; Jer 25:15–29; cf. Isa 49:26; 51:17, 22; Joel 3:13). The 144,000 from ch. 7 reappear and they are described as “first fruits to God and to the Lamb” (14:4). This naturally invokes the first fruits offering seen in the OT (Exod 23:16, 19a; Lev 23:10–15; Num 18:11–18; Deut 18:4; 26:2, 10; 2 Chr 31:5; Prov 3:9), including in its renewal after the Babylonian exile (Neh 10:35–37; cf. Tob 1:6–7; Jdt 11:13; Sir 7:31; 35:10; 45:20; Josephus, Ant. 12.50; 16.172–173) and in eschatological hopes (Ezek 44:30; 11QTa XVIII–XIX). God receives such offerings because he is the one who provided them in the first place, and in the case of both the offerings and the people, they both represent what they are taken from and serve as a promise/pledge of more to come. And because people are involved here, we are speaking both of sanctification in terms of their being set apart and of their being devoted in allegiance to God as the only one who is to receive such allegiance of worship (cf. 14:7).
Chapter 15 is interesting for its focus on worship. As shown throughout Revelation, God is worshipful, as signified here by his being King of all (15:3), being just and true and marvelous in his works (15:3–4), being holy (15:4, 8; cf. 16:5), and revealing his glory and righteous deeds (15:4, 8). He is also the “source” of worship, not only because he is Creator, but because he further enables people to participate in worship, here signified by giving them harps (15:2), as the Lamb is also identified as the source of worship by virtue of giving the worshipers a song (15:3).
Chapter 16, focusing as it does on the outpouring of the bowls of God’s wrath (16:1) prior to his manifestation on earth, naturally makes declarations about God’s wrath and judgment several times over. As the plagues that come with the outpouring of the bowls are the expressions of God’s wrath, we are reminded in the midst of it all that the angels declare that God is just and holy in how he has judged in setting the world aright (16:5, 7). The current world order has poured out the blood of the saints and prophets, and so the people who adhere to it are given blood to drink (16:6). But instead of the people who are assimilated to the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (ch. 13) realizing that the severity of judgments they face is as escalation of the consequences of their own continued unjust actions, they unrepentantly blaspheme the God who has power over the plagues, and thus they bring further judgment upon themselves (16:9, 11, 19, 21). They even gather together for battle against God Almighty (16:14), for their senses are so dulled by their idolatry that they do not realize how foolish this is. Such is the corrupting effect of idolatry on beings who were made in the image and likeness of God when they instead worship something else.
Chapter 17 features one theological element that is interesting for our purposes. As the angel tells John about how the harlot of Babylon will be destroyed by turning the beast and his horns against her, he says, “for God put it into their hearts to do his purpose, and to perform one purpose, even to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are completed” (17:17). This note conveys God’s providence in making even hostile powers the instruments of his will. Their purposes may be realized for a time, but in the end, God’s purposes triumph, for it is his word that will be completed, and his will that will be done on earth as it is in heaven (cf. 18:5, 8, 20).
Chapter 19 is not yet the crescendo of the story of Revelation, but it is a rather decisive turning point, and thus it is saturated with praise for God (“Hallelujah” is shouted four times in vv. 1, 3, 4, and 6). The victory that is coming is described as “the salvation, glory, and power of our God” (19:1), which is to be effected through his just judgments, destroying evil on the one hand and vindicating the faithful on the other (19:2). In this context, God is again worshiped and described as the God “who sits on the throne” (19:4). This identification is invoked to signify his worshipfulness (cf. 19:7, 10; 22:9), his reign/Lordship (cf. 19:6), his judgment, and his power to save. At various points in Revelation, one or more of these has been signified in reference to God sitting on his throne, but this case crystallizes the various uses. And with the Lord’s reign comes cause for rejoicing and the time for the wedding feast of the Lamb (19:7).
While Jesus is foregrounded for the rest of the chapter, it should be noted that he is presented as the executor of God’s will. After all, he is the one who will “squeeze out the grapes of the wine of the wrath of the anger of God Almighty” (19:15). When he comes to earth, he is coming to execute the judgment of God (cf. 19:17). This is intrinsic to who he is as the Word of God (19:13). He is the one through whom God’s will for creation was first implemented. He is the revealer of God, especially in his incarnate life and his return. And ultimately, he is the one who will fulfill the plan of God by bringing his salvific will to fruition in raising the dead, executing the final judgment, and establishing the new creation. He is the executor of God’s will from creation to eschaton and beyond.
The only point to note here about ch. 20, since we have noted the other relevant references elsewhere, concerns who sits on the throne in 20:11. Given the larger tendencies of Revelation, it might be expected that the one sitting on the throne here is the Father. However, given Revelation’s other references to the Son executing God’s judgment, it could be that he is the one sitting on the throne here. If I had to pick, I would think the former is the referent here, but maybe it is wrongheaded to think that one needs to be picked. Perhaps the ambiguity is the point, and this is simply a general reference to God in the final judgment.
With ch. 21, we see the ultimate fruition of God’s promises in the coming of the new Jerusalem and the new creation. It is described as “descending out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband” (21:2, 10), which once again signifies the Father as the source of creation, salvation, and new creation. Moreover, God says this signifies how the dwelling of God is to be with humans, that he will dwell with them, and “they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God” (21:3; cf. 21:7). This brings to fruition the ultimate promise of the exodus, though now the dwelling with them, the union with them, will be everlasting (Exod 6:7; 29:45–46; Lev 26:12; Deut 26:18–19; Jer 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 31:1, 33; 32:38; Ezek 11:20; 14:11; 34:30; 36:28; 37:23, 27; Hos 1:9; 2:23, 25; Zech 8:8; 13:9). The tabernacle and the temple after it were foreshadows of the reality that God had intended for creation from the beginning. Jesus then came and fulfilled the function of these sacred spaces, and the new creation is made according to his blueprint, which makes it a dwelling place fit for God, fit for the proper joining of heaven and earth. Now that the full reality has come, the old expectations for the new temple are ultimately fulfilled but in a surprising fashion. There is no need for a temple building because God and the Lamb are its temple (21:22). While new temple expectations are fulfilled in this surprising way, there is another strand of OT hope that is also consummately fulfilled in this new Jerusalem, a strand which also framed how Jesus acted and how his disciples would see him. That is, many OT texts express the hope that God would come to dwell among his people in a new way, amplified from the original dwelling in sacred space (Pss 50:3–4; 96:12–13; 98:8–9; Isa 4:2–5; 24:21–23; 25:6–10; 31:4–5; 35:3–6, 10; 40:3–5, 9–11; 52:7–10; 59:15–21; 60:1–3, 19–20; 62:10–11; 63:1, 3, 5, 9; 64:1; 66:12, 14–16, 18–20; Ezek 43:1–7; 48:35; Joel 3:16–21; Zeph 3:14–20; Hag 2:7, 9; Zech 1:16–17; 2:4–5, 10–12; 8; 14:1–5, 9, 16, 20–21; Mal 3:1–4). This consummate reality will also fulfill the covenant formula (“They will be my people and I will be their God”) present throughout the OT in a new way because it is re-conceptualized through Jesus. After all, God has raised the righteous to everlasting life and destroyed death in the previous chapter, and these promises come to fruition in a new creation of resurrection and transformation, hence why promises attached to the destruction of death in Isa 25:8 are repeated and expanded here (21:4; cf. Isa 25:8).
God is once again referred to as “the one who sits on the throne” in 21:5, and it is probably primarily a reference to the Father at this stage in the vision, as distinctions tend to hold in the case of speech. His throne is connected with the establishment of his kingdom and his worshipfulness in making all things new (him being the Creator of the new creation) and thus complete (him being the Holy one that makes whole). He also confirms that the words he says are “trustworthy and true,” which derive from OT words and phrases meant to convey God’s fidelity and integrity in staying true to his word (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Deut 32:4; Pss 19:7–9; 86:15; 145:13; Isa 65:16; Dan 2:45). This is the middle term that connects him being the source and Creator with him being the completer, Savior, and King, for his faithful love connects the beginning of history to its completion, it connects protology and eschatology. This is why he describes himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (with the latter term having the sense of “goal”).
The Father is further described as the source in multiple ways. One, he is the source of the water of life (21:6), which signifies the everlasting life given to those who enter his kingdom of the new creation. It is even said to flow from the throne of God and the Lamb (22:1, 3). Two, in line with what we have heard earlier in Revelation, the tree of life is present is present in the new Jerusalem (22:2), and this also signifies the everlasting life that comes from God (cf. 22:19). Three, the glory of the new Jerusalem is said to be God’s glory (21:11), which fits with what we have seen from several resurrection texts of God’s promise to allow the faithful to participate in his glory. Four, this glory of God is said to be the light of the new Jerusalem, and thus it has no need for the sun or the moon (21:23; 22:5). Five, God is reaffirmed as the source of this prophecy, as he is indeed the “source” from whom the Spirit proceeds to give prophecy (22:6, 18–19).
The promise that God’s people will see his face (22:4) is especially significant in light of the OT, where people expressed amazement or fear at seeing the angel of the Lord face to face (Gen 32:30; Num 14:14; Judg 6:22; cf. Gen 16:13; Judg 13:22), thus theophanies and seeing God’s glory at a remove would replace seeing God’s true face, lest the prophet should die (in addition to the theophanies already noted, see Exod 33:20–23). But in the new creation, there will no longer be a need for this mediation of appearance since, to use Paul’s language, we will see face to face and know fully even as we are fully known (1 Cor 13:12). All the wonder described at a remove, even in this book, will be seen and experienced firsthand.
The note that the saints will reign forever and ever (22:5) brings to a crescendo notes that have been sounded in 1:6; 3:21; 5:10; and 20:4–6. Clearly, this reign is participatory in God’s own reign in his eternal kingdom and does not exist apart from his throne (cf. Exod 15:18; Pss 10:16; 45:6). As noted previously, a similar connection between God’s everlasting reign, the coming kingdom of God, and the reign of the saints appears in Daniel (7:14, 18, 27: 12:2–3). The saints are those who fulfill the fundamental human vocation God designated in Gen 1:26–30, that humans should be priestly kings who rule over the earth as representative stewards of God’s own rule over creation and their eternal fate is thus reflective of that image-bearingness. As this promise of 22:5 is the supreme fulfillment of God’s creative purpose for humanity, it is fitting that it should be the last promise of this vision of the new creation as its counterpart in the old creation was the last part of the Gen 1 creation narrative.
Brandon D. Smith, The Trinity in the Book of Revelation: Seeing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in John’s Apocalypse, Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022).
Ibid., 3–4.
Ibid., 50–53.
One could perhaps add this to the list of texts that draw the allusions of Dan 7 and Ps 110 together in the NT, but it would just be the most indirect of them all.
Timothy L. Decker, “‘Live Long in the Land’: The Covenantal Character of the Old Testament Allusions in the Message to Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22),” Neot 48 (2014): 427. Cf. Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 215.