Jesus Christ the Almighty! Pt. 2
Table of Contents
This post is meant to be a continuation of the following article: Christ: The Almighty Who Comes.
In the New Testament God is called Almighty:
“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,” who was, and is, and is to come.’” Revelation 4:8
“And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.’” Revelation 15:2-3
“And I heard the altar respond: ‘Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.’... They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:7, 14
“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns... Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” Revelation 19:6, 15
“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” Revelation 21:22
The Greek term employed in these passages refer to God possessing absolute, perfect authority and control over all creation. It points to God being the supreme, sovereign ruler over all things:
Strong's Greek 3841
pantokratór: Almighty, All-Powerful
Original Word: παντοκράτωρPart of Speech: Noun, MasculineTransliteration: pantokratórPronunciation: pan-tok-rah'-torPhonetic Spelling: (pan-tok-rat'-ore)KJV: Almighty, OmnipotentNASB: Almighty
Word Origin: [from G3956 (πᾶς - all) and G2904 (κράτος - dominion)]1. the all-ruling, i.e. God (as absolute and universal sovereign)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Almighty, Omnipotent.
From pas and kratos; the all-ruling, i.e. God (as absolute and universal sovereign) – Almighty, Omnipotent.see GREEK
see GREEK kratos...
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3841: παντοκράτωρ
παντοκράτωρ, παντοκράτορος, ὁ (πᾶς and κρατέω), he who holds sway over all things; the ruler of all; almighty: of God, 2 Corinthians 6:18 (from Jeremiah 38:35 ()); Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8; Revelation 11:17; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 16:7, 14; Revelation 19:6, 15; Revelation 21:22. (The Sept. for צְבָאות in the phrase צְבָאות יְהוָה or צְבָאות אֱלֹהֵי, Jehovah or God of hosts; also for שַׁדַי; Wis. 7:25; Sir. 42:17 Sir. 50:14; often in Judith () and 2 Maccabees (circa ) and 3 Maccabees (circa?); Anthol. Gr. iv., p. 151, Jacobs edition; Inscriptions; ecclesiastical writings (e. g. Teaching etc. 10, 3 [ET]; cf. Harnack's notes on Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. at the beginning and the Symb. Rom. (Patr. apost. Works, i. 2, p. 134)).) (Underline emphasis mine)
Here's a NT text where the word Almighty is used in association with God’s dominion and rulership:
“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.’” Revelation 11:15-17
According to the NT, Jesus is also the Almighty King:
“‘Look, he is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’....
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’” Revelation 1:7-8, 17-18
In the context, the Almighty who is coming is the same One who is said to have been pierced, and who is called the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, that died but now lives forever. He is also the One who has the keys, meaning power, over the realm of the dead, e.g., death and hades.
John is obviously describing Jesus at this point, a fact which is further confirmed by the bookend to this chapter:
“‘Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End... I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.’... He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22: 12-13, 16, 20
The Apostle reiterates the point made at the start of his writing, e.g., Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last who is coming to judge the living and the dead.
That Jesus is the One identifying himself as the Alpha and Omega etc., who comes to judge mankind, can be seen from John explicitly identifying the Speaker as Jesus.
It is further corroborated by what John wrote elsewhere:
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,” John 5:22
Note that the Son is the One who does all the judging, not the Father, which confirms that Jesus is the One speaking as the Almighty in Revelation.
Matthew also describes the Son as the One coming to repay each person for what they have earned:
“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” Matthew 16:27
This in itself proves that Jesus must be the Almighty since he comes to do what the Hebrew Bible describes YHWH as doing:
“Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.” Isaiah 40:10 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
“Behold, Yahweh has announced to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.’” Isaiah 62:11 LSB
“Let the congregation of the peoples encompass You, And over them return on high. Yahweh judges the peoples; Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me. O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.” Psalm 7:7-9 LSB
“And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness, For You repay a man according to his work.” Psalm 62:12 LSB
“Before Yahweh, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.” Psalm 96:13 LSB
It is YHWH that comes to judge the world in order to repay every person for what they’ve earned, not a creature!
Now seeing that YHWH is Almighty, and seeing that Jesus is identified as YHWH, Jesus must therefore be the Almighty God.
There’s more.
Jesus is said to be Lord over all lords and the supreme King over every king:
“They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:14 – Cf. 19:13-16
“and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6
“that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and ONLY Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who ALONE has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:14-16 LSB
The Son is further said to possess absolute, supreme power over all creation, which is the same power that enables him to control all things and to transform the mortal bodies of believers into immortal, indestructible and glorious bodies:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” Matthew 28:18
“and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, FAR ABOVE ALL rule and authority, power and dominion, and EVERY NAME that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed ALL THINGS under his feet and appointed him to be HEAD OVER EVERYTHING for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:19-23
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over EVERY power and authority... Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 2:9-10; 3:1
“and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” 1 Peter 3:21-22
Since this is the literal definition of the Greek term for Almighty, Jesus must therefore be the Almighty God.
Moreover, Christ exercised and continues to exercise his divine power to create and sustain the entire creation:
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He IS before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Colossians 1:13-18
“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:2-3
“But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’ He also says, ‘In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:8-12
Remarkably, the Father takes the following Psalm describing YHWH Almighty as the unchangeable Creator and Sustainer of all creation,
“A Prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before Yahweh. O Yahweh, hear my prayer! And let my cry for help come to You... But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation... Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” Psalm 102:1, 12, 25-27 LSB
And applies it to his risen and beloved Son!
In fact, the risen Lord is described in the same way and with the same language, which the OT portrays YHWH, just as the following verses show:
“So David blessed Yahweh in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, ‘Blessed are You, O Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the kingdom, O Yahweh, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. So now, our God, we are thanking You and praising Your glorious name.
“‘But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as willingly as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and foreign residents, like all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours.’” 1 Chronicles 29:10-17 LSB
“For You are Yahweh Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.” Psalm 97:9 LSB
YHWH is the head over all creation, and he is the One who is exalted above all rule and dominion. And it is from him that all riches flow, something which the NT ascribes to Jesus!
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9
“Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ,” Ephesians 3:8
Again, since only the Almighty God is capable of creating and sustaining the entire creation, Jesus must therefore be the Almighty.
I will have more evidence for Jesus being the Almighty of Rev. 1:8 in the next installment.
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