The point becomes clear in the scene of worship in heaven in chapters 4–5. It seems rather that the worship of Jesus must be understood as indicating the inclusion of Jesus in the being of the one God defined by monotheistic worship. Since the issue of monotheistic worship is so clear in Revelation, it cannot be that the worship of Jesus is represented in Revelation through the neglect of this issue. John presents the universe as worshipping God and the lamb with equal honour, glory, and dignity.īauckham reflects on the implications of this Christ worship on monotheism: Finally, John records a final scene of worship, “And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Rev 5:14). Then earth adds its voice to heaven and says, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Rev 5:13). Next, all heaven breaks into praise, saying: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:12). They then sing a new song to the lamb (5:9–10). After the lamb proves himself worthy to open the Scroll, the four creatures and twenty-four elders worship him (5:8). In Revelation 4, the four creatures say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (4:8), and the twenty-four elders say, “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” (4:11).Ĭhapter 5 moves from the worship of God to the worship of the lamb. In both passages, the setting is God’s heavenly throne room. In Revelation 4 and 5, John portrays two scenes of worship. As Bauckham notes, Revelation applies Isaiah’s identification of Yahweh to God and the lamb who together are the first and the last (See Isa 44:6 48:12 41:4 Bauckham, Revelation, 27). In other words, God and Jesus make the same claims about themselves.
Revelation 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 1:17: “Fear not, I am the first and the last” God says, “And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end'” (Rev 21:6). God only speaks directly twice in the Book of Revelation (Bauckham, Revelation, 1993: 25), and the second time also includes a claim to a title (21:5–8 the first is in Rev 1:8). In Revelation 1:8, God says, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'” So there it is: God is the Alpha and the Omega. Consider the title The Alpha and the Omega.
In a real sense, the Book of Revelation includes the lamb in the being of God Almighty by giving both of them the same titles and the same worship. Same Divine Title: The Alpha and The Omega The text underscores the unity of divine titles for God and the lamb and the worship of God Almighty and the lamb with co-equal honour, glory, and dignity. One place to start is the Book of Revelation (but certainly not the only place to start!). To answer these questions, we need to listen to the testimony of Jesus’ disciples or to a record of their testimony of Jesus. So how does this Jewish man become an object of Christian devotion and the centre of a faith to which billions of people subscribe? Put another way, how did intensely monotheistic Jewish men and women come to worship the man Jesus Christ? Added to this question, did early Christians (i.e., those in the first century) worship Jesus as God? And yet: Jesus was a Jewish person who lived during the first century in Palestine. Christians place their trust in Jesus and shape their life around him. Jesus stands at the centre of the Christian faith.