The book of Revelation is one of the most interesting books of the New Testament. Besides being the only book in the New Testament without the plan of salvation mentioned in it, it is very pregnant with verses that directly call Jesus Christ, God! It consistently speaks of the Risen Lord in terms of God. Revelations never speaks of Christ in the days of His sojourn in the human body in which He tabernacled, it tells of the victorious Lord with the seven golden lamp-stands, robed to His feet, with a golden girdle around His breast with hair as snow-white wool whose eyes were as flaming fire with feet as burning brass refined in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of rushing waters. This is the description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 10:5-7 and the voice of God in Ezekiel 43:2. To put it another way John described the Risen Christ in precisely the same terms as the Old Testament writers used to describe GOD!!
In 1 John 5:7, a verse considered spurious by most so-called scholars of our time, the Witnesses make a big play. They build it up as one of the major texts used by “Trinitarians”: Hebrews 1:8 is another. “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” The Witnesses point out that it should be translated “Thy throne is God”. This rendering makes God the throne upon which Jesus sat, which is both nonsense and out of harmony with passages that put Jesus at the “right hand of God”. “Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father…” Galatians 1:1 This passage shows that Christ is not of, from, through man or men and is definitely not classified as man! It was THROUGH both Jesus and the Father; Jesus is ranked alongside the Father as the source-hence equal-to the Father.
Worship is a common word in the New Testament. It is found some 60 times, we are told, and are applied to a variety of things. It means to pay homage, reverence to anything. The only lawful receiver of worship is God: “The saith Jesus unto him, ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” When Cornelius met Peter for the first time, Cornelius “fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I myself also am a man.” Acts 10:25-26 In the book of Revelation the John falls down twice in an attempt to worship the speaker and both times is reprimanded. Revelations 19:10, 22:9 Jesus received and accepted worship of Himself!! Read Matthew 2:11, 6:2, 9:18, 14:33, 15:25, 20:20, 28:9, 28:17; John 9:38, and Hebrews 1:6
It has been argued that since Jesus is referred to as the Begotten Son of God, or the Only Begotten Son of God, that it means He was not Deity, but created in some age of the past. The Hebrew word yalad and the Greek word gennao are the words called into question. Psalms 2:7 and Hebrews 1:5 are examples of these words being used. The term only begotten is found several times and is used in reference to Christ and Isaac. See John 1:14, 18, 3:16, 18. When referencing Isaac see Hebrews 11:17. Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, nor his eldest. Ishmael was born before Isaac. Isaac, however, occupied the position of firstborn, and claimed title to the Only Begotten because he was the one of promise and purpose. The same is true in regard to Jesus. He came uniquely by promise with the purpose of human redemption. In this sense He is both Firstborn and Only Begotten. It helps us understand the uniqueness of both Jesus and Isaac when we understand Jesus and Isaac were the Only Promised Sons!! This is a term of uniqueness, not origin!! If the Jews had no trouble with Isaac being the only begotten then the Russellites should have no trouble with Christ being “only begotten”!
