Refuting All Trinitarian ‘Proof-Texts’
The Book of Revelation
Revelation 1:17-18: Jesus declares, “I am the First and the Last, and the Living One.” Elsewhere in the book of Revelation, the statement that “I am the First and the Last” is attributed to the One sitting on the throne, Who is unambiguously the Father (Rev. 1:11). However, even if “the First and the Last” is a title that can be applied to Jesus as a non-God being, as unitarians argue (despite the fact that this title in Isa. 44:6 is a claim to being the absolute one and only God), the title of “the Living One” is absolutely unique to Yahweh alone, the Living God in Whom is all life. This is the climax of the “Life” statements throughout the Johannine literature (cf. Jn. 11:25; 14:6; 1 Jn. 1:1-2; 5:11-12; 5:20).
Revelation 2:8: Jesus once again claims to be “the First and the Last.”
See my response to the note on Revelation 1:17-18.
Revelation 2:23: Jesus declares that all of the churches will come to know that “I am the One searching minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” This brings together two frequent OT statements about Yahweh’s role in judgment (for which see 1 Chron. 28:9; Ps. 7:9; Jer. 17:10 cf. Acts 1:24; Rom. 8:27; along with Ps. 28:4; 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Ezek. 33:20 cf. Rom. 2:6). Even if unitarians argue that this refers to the fact that God has given all judgment to Jesus (Jn. 5:22; Acts 17:31) this still would not warrant Jesus’ declaration of Himself as “the One searching minds and hearts”; only Yahweh could refer to Himself as such.
It is correct that Jesus, as the primary agent of God, has been given the authority to judge by his Father (Acts 17:31). In fact, the Father “judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). Both Jesus and Yahweh can correctly claim to be “the one searching minds and hearts” — neither of them ever claimed to be the only one who can search minds and hearts.
Revelation 3:7: Jesus is said to be “the One Who is Holy and TRUE,” both of which are titles applicable to Yahweh God alone.
“Holy” is a title that is applied to many humans in the New Testament (Mark 6:20; Luke 1:70; Acts 3:21), including all believers (Rom. 1:7; Eph. 1:4), so it’s no surprise that this title should be applied to Jesus, who is completely sinless. Jesus is “true” not in and of himself, but by virtue of having been sent and taught by the Father, who is the only true God (John 7:18, 28; 8:26, 40; 17:3; 1 John 5:20).
Revelation 5:6: The Lamb (Jesus), despite being distinguished from the One sitting on the throne (the Father), is nevertheless said to stand “in the center of the throne.” This shows that He is personally distinguished from the Father, while also deserving the same divine honor and prerogatives as the Father Himself.
Jesus does sit on the throne of God, and the same is true of the other Davidic kings of Israel including Solomon (1 Cor. 29:23). Jesus sat down on the throne of the Father only after overcoming death and sitting at the right hand of God (Luke 22:69; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 1 Pet. 3:22; Rev. 3:21). This doesn’t support the idea that Jesus is God, especially since he had to earn his place on the throne.
Revelation 5:9: The elders “sing a new song” to the Lamb Who was slain, to praise Him for His salvation. In the OT, the exhortation to “sing a new song” is only ever directed at Yahweh Elohim Himself, and always in the context of His lovingkindness and salvation (Ps. 33:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10).
In the Old Testament, the Davidic king was worshiped alongside Yahweh and given songs of praise (1 Chron. 29:20; Psa. 45:1-2). This merely reinforces the theme throughout Revelation that Jesus is the “root and descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16), rather than showing that he is Yahweh.
Revelation 5:11-14: The multitudes before the throne worship the Lamb, using almost the exact same song that they sang to the One on the throne (the Father) in the previous chapter. Combined with v. 6, this shows that the Lamb not only sits upon God’s throne, but is worthy of equal worship with the Father (cf. Jn. 5:23); and this despite the fact that worshiping any derivative being, even a messenger of God, is condemned (Col. 2:18 cf. Rev. 19:10; 22:9-10).
Worshiping angels is forbidden, but worshiping the Messiah and anointed Davidic king is most certainly not forbidden. In the Old Testament, the Davidic king was worshiped alongside Yahweh (1 Chron. 29:20; Psa. 2:11-12; 72:9). Furthermore, all worship to Jesus ultimately goes to the glory of the Father (Phil. 2:10-11). Thus, the fact that Jesus is worshiped alongside Yahweh simply reinforces that he is the “root and descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16), rather than showing that he is Yahweh.
Revelation 7:17: See note on Revelation 5:6.
See my response to the note on Revelation 5:6.
Revelation 11:15: The author uses a singular verb - “He will reign” - despite the fact that both the Father and “His Christ” are the object of this verb.
Alternatively, “he will reign for the ages of the ages” refers to “His Messiah” alone. There is no reason to think that this singular verb must have two objects, which would be highly counterintuitive, especially since God and the Messiah are consistently distinguished as separate individuals throughout the book of Revelation.
Revelation 17:14; 19:16: “The Lamb… is Lord of lords and King of kings.” This reflects a name of God which came to be used in Judaism, Melech Malchei HaMelachim, meaning “King of kings of kings.” However, this is likely not a statement of Christ’s deity, since King of kings was also a title of some human kings during this period.
Yes, the title “King of kings” was used by human kings in the Bible (Ezra 7:12; Ezek. 26:7; Dan. 2:37), as was the title “Lord of lords,” [1] so this isn’t evidence of Christ’s deity.
Revelation 20:6: The priests of God are said to also be the priests of Christ, despite the fact that Yahweh’s priests were absolutely forbidden from acting as priest for any derivative ‘god’ or mere human.
The very fact that “the God” (ho theos) is distinguished from Jesus in this verse shows that Jesus cannot be ho theos. Believers serve both the one God, the Father, and the one Lord, Jesus the Messiah, but this doesn’t mean that Jesus is also the one God (1 Cor. 8:6; Jas. 1:1).
Revelation 21:9: New Jerusalem is said to be the bride of the Lamb. Per the OT imagery of Israel and Judah as the brides of God, the marriage of Jerusalem to any not-God entity is adultery (see esp. Jer. 3:1-10; Hos. 1:2). However, here the marriage of Jerusalem to the Lamb is presented as good and ideal.
In the Old Testament, the one who was figuratively married to Israel and Judah was specifically said to be the Father (Jer. 3:4, 14, 19; Hos. 9:1-2; 11:1-4; Mal. 2:10-11). In contrast, in the New Testament, the one who is married to Israel is the Son (Rev. 21:9). Yes, adultery was condemned in the Old Testament, but it was also forbidden for a son to marry the wife of his father and vice versa (Lev. 18:8, 15; 20:11-12), so the same 'problem' exists for trinitarians as unitarians. These ‘marriages’ are purely figurative, representative of the close relationship that Israel has with both God and the Messiah.
Revelation 21:22: Both “the Lord God the Almighty” and “the Lamb” are said to constitute the ‘temple’ — that is, the physical presence of God — in the New Jerusalem. It would not make sense to include the Lamb in the ‘temple’ if the Lamb were not God.
As in Rev. 20:6, the fact that “the Lord God the Almighty” is distinguished from the Lamb shows that Jesus is not “the Lord God the Almighty.” Jesus is the temple of the New Jerusalem by virtue of being the physical representative of God on earth, the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15 cf. 2 Cor. 5:19). In fact, all believers are considered ‘temples’ due to the presence of God within us (1 Cor. 6:19).
Revelation 22:1, 3: God and the Lamb are said to share a (singular) throne, reaffirming that Jesus shares the divine honor and prerogatives of the Father.
See my response to the note on Revelation 5:6.
Revelation 22:3-5: Of both God and the Lamb, it is said that “His servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” (cf. Rev. 11:15). This shows that singular pronouns can be used of these two Persons together.
The singular pronouns are almost certainly not being used of both God and the Lamb, as that would be very counterintuitive, especially given the fact that God and Jesus are consistently distinguished throughout the book of Revelation. Instead, it is referring to God alone, as it is God’s face which has not been seen before (Exod. 33:20-23; John 5:37).
Revelation 22:6-7, 16: The messenger speaking to John says that it was “the Lord God of spirits” Who sent him, yet it is later said that it was Jesus Who sent the messenger (v. 16). Thus, it is Jesus Who is referred to as “the Lord God of spirits” in v. 6.
According to Rev. 1:1, God first gave the revelation to Jesus, who then relayed this message to John through his messenger. Both God and Jesus sent the messenger, so this is not identifying Jesus as God.
Revelation 22:12: See notes on Matthew 16:27 and Revelation 2:23.
See my response to the note on Revelation 2:23.
Revelation 22:13: The One Who states, “I am coming quickly,” in the previous verse (i.e. Jesus) now claims, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” In Isa. 44:6, the title “the First and the Last” is a claim to being the absolute one and only God of monotheism. Furthermore, elsewhere in the book of Revelation, the claim to being “the Alpha and the Omega” and “the Beginning and the End” is only made by the Father (1:8, 21:6).
See my response to the note on Revelation 1:17-18. “The First and the Last” refers to one who is unique in their category, which is true of both God (who is the only God) and Jesus (who is the firstborn from the dead). “The Alpha and the Omega” and “the Beginning and the End” probably have the same meaning. The fact that Jesus and God share certain titles does not make Jesus God.
Alternatively, it may not be Jesus who is speaking in Rev. 22:12-13, but God. The speaker repeatedly changes throughout Rev. 22:6-21, often without warning, so the speaker in vv. 12-13 may not be the same as the speaker of v. 16 (Jesus). This may be contested because the speaker in v. 12 states, “I am coming [erchomai] quickly,” which is what Jesus says in v. 20. However, throughout the book of Revelation, God also claims to be “the One who is coming [erchomai]” (1:4, 8; 4:8; 11:17), so this is inconclusive.
Refuting All Trinitarian ‘Proof-Texts’
The Book of Revelation
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[1] Craig S. Keener and John H. Walton, NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019), 314.
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