THE FATHER’S GOD? A UNITARIAN DILEMMA
The book of Revelation presents God, specifically the Father, as the One seated on the throne:
“John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 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,” Revelation 1:4-5
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
“Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 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.’ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’” Revelation 4:1-11
According to the next chapter, the Lamb who is Christ is personally distinguished from the One whom John saw enthroned in glory:
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals…Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.” Revelation 5:1, 6-7
This distinction between Jesus the Lamb and the One on the throne is seen all throughout John’s vision:
“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?’” Revelation 6:15-17
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!’
“Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, ‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,” nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; “he will lead them to springs of living water.” “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”’” Revelation 7:9-17
In light of the foregoing, it is apparent that whenever John mentions a voice speaking from the throne that this indisputably refers to God the Father:
“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’” Revelation 16:17
This next example makes it explicitly clear that it is God’s voice which speaks from the throne:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” Revelation 21:3-7
Here is where it gets rather interesting, in fact perplexing.
The voice from the throne summons believers to praise his God and theirs!
“The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: ‘Amen, Hallelujah!’ Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘Praise OUR God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!’” Revelation 19:4-5
The speaker refers to God with the same expression that the great multitude in heaven had just used in reference to their God:
“After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to OUR God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.” Revelation 19:1-3
Now since the One seated on the throne is undoubtedly God the Father this means that it is the Father who speaks of praising his God!
The God-Man Who Reigns!
One possibly way for an anti-Trinitarian to get around this is by arguing that it is the Lamb’s voice which speaks from the throne, since John states elsewhere that Christ is also seated on God’s throne along with his Father:
“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:21
“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who ‘will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.’ And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.” Revelation 12:1-5
This explains why John speaks of the throne (singular) of God and of the Lamb:
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” Revelation 22:1-3
God and Christ sit enthroned together forever over all creation, and hence the reference to their singular throne, not thrones (plural).
In fact, Revelation even refers to the Father being Jesus’ God:
“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, 6 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
“Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God… The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels… The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 3:2, 5, 12
In light of this, the anti-Trinitarian will want to argue that it is the Lamb who in Rev. 19:5 refers to having a God in solidarity with the rest of God’s servants.
Unfortunately for the anti-Trinitarian this reply doesn’t help their case but raises insurmountable problems for their view that Jesus is a mere created being.
In the first place, this means that Christ completely shares in the unique divine sovereignty over all creation, which belongs uniquely to YHWH. As such, this depicts the risen Son of God as being coequal to the Father in glory, dominion, power and honor, a fact confirmed by the following texts:
“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.’” Revelation 11:15
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.’” Revelation 12:10
“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6
Note that both God and Jesus have priests that serve them, which again affirms the essential co-equality of the Father and Son. After all, the Hebrew is explicitly clear in stating that believers are to be the priests of God alone, and are to serve YHWH only:
“But you will be called the priests of Yahweh; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their glories you will boast.” Isaiah 61:6 LSB
This explains why the glorified Christ is depicted as having the likeness and possessing the characteristics of YHWH God:
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” Revelation 2:8
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
“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 1:12-18
Here, our risen Lord takes on the appearances and voice of the Ancient of Days, the likeness of the glory of YHWH, and the divine Being that appeared to Daniel (Cf. Ezekiel 1:24-28; 2:1-10; Dan. 7:9-10, 13-14; 10:5-6).
Jesus even refers to himself by a title, which is attributed to YHWH in the book of Isaiah:
“Who has worked and done it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, Yahweh, am the first; and with the last, I am He.’” Isaiah 41:4 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
“Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” Isaiah 48:12 LSB
Other places in Revelation where the Son ascribes the names and functions of YHWH to himself include:
“To the Church in Thyatira To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze… ‘I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.’” Revelation 2:18, 23
“‘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
In these passages, Christ has deliberately portrayed himself as that very same YHWH God that knows the hearts and minds of all individuals, and who shall personally come to repay each individual for what s/he has earned:
“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 LSB
“I, Yahweh, search the heart; I test the inmost being, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10 LSB
Revelation is, therefore, explicitly identifying Jesus as the human Incarnation, the very human appearance of YHWH God Almighty, while also personally distinguishing him from both the Father and the Holy Spirit.
It is little wonder, then, that John beholds every created thing throughout all of creation giving the Lamb the exact same worship that God the Father receives, and for the exact same duration!
“And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’
“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’
“Then I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and ALL THAT IS IN THEM, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” Revelation 5:8-14
I.e., the risen Jesus isn’t a created human person, but is rather the uncreated Son of God who became a human being for the redemption of mankind.
At the same time, since he became and remains truly human (albeit a glorified and immortal Man who reigns in heaven), the Father has become his God.
After all, the Scriptures do teach that YHWH is the God of all flesh,
“Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?’” Jeremiah 32:26-27 LSB
And also proclaim that the uncreated Word and uniquely begotten Son of God became flesh at a specific point in time:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14
As such, the Father who is also YHWH Almighty became the God of the Word Incarnate, which is why Jesus honors the Father as his God.
The Anti-Trinitarian’s Dilemma
The rejecters of the Deity of Christ are faced with an insurmountable problem. They often appeal to scriptural references where the Father is said to be Jesus’ God to disprove the Trinity and the Son’s essential coequality to the Father. Yet as I have shown from Rev. 19:5, the Father himself speaks of the God that both he and the believers share in common. Note the text once again:
“And from the throne came a voice saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.’” English Standard Version (ESV)
Therefore, if Jesus cannot be God in the absolute sense since he has a God, then neither can the Father be truly God since he also has a God whom believers are to praise.
Now if the anti-Trinitarian responds by saying that the Father is merely speaking in solidarity with believers, referring to their God as his own for the express purpose of identifying himself with them, then the same logic applies to Christ.
The Son, in becoming a Man, not only identifies with humanity, but has now become an actual part and member of the human race:
“But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.’ And again, ‘I will put my trust in him.’ And again he says, ‘Here am I, and the children God has given me.’
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Hebrews 2:9-18
Therefore, how much more would the Son speak of and refer to the God of all flesh as being his God also seeing that he too has become and remains flesh forever and ever?
Either way, the anti-Trinitarian is left with a dilemma that s/he cannot escape if s/he continue to reject the Trinity and the human incarnation the unique, divine Son of God.
Unless indicated otherwise, biblical citations taken from the New International Version (NIV).