The Nugget:
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (KJV)
My Comment:
Revelation 1:8 was brought up in a recent discussion on Facebook.
I said:
PixelMistakePicasso Study the Bible a bit more accurately and you will learn that John in the book of Revelation calls Jesus God Almighty.
PixelMistakePicasso replied:
You’re referring to Revelation 1:8, right? Let’s quote it:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)
But here’s the thing — that verse is not Jesus speaking. It’s God the Father. Just look at the context:
Revelation 1:1 says this entire revelation was given by God to Jesus.
Verse 4 says: “Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come…” — clearly referring to God, not Jesus.
Verse 5 then says: “…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness…”
So the “Almighty” in verse 8 refers to the same God who gave the revelation to Jesus, not Jesus himself. The Greek clearly separates the speaker as “the Lord God”, not the “Son”.
Let’s be clear: Nowhere in the Book of Revelation does Jesus say “I am God Almighty.” That’s an assumption, not a quote.
In fact, even in Revelation 3:12, Jesus says:
“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God… I will write on them the name of my God.”
How can Jesus be God Almighty and still say “my God” four times?
That’s not divine identity — that’s servant and subordinate language.
So no, Revelation doesn’t call Jesus “God Almighty.” The more you study it, the clearer it becomes: Jesus is distinct from God and never once claims to be Him.
Try again.
Quote me a verse where Jesus says “I am God Almighty.” I’ll wait.
I replied:
PixelMistakePicasso You ask,
Try again.
Quote me a verse where Jesus says “I am God Almighty.” I’ll wait.
I reply:
Not so fast, my dear friend!
I believe that even Muslims, not to mention Jehovah Witnesses (who also use these arguments) can actually learn to do what I call Real Bible Study.
You correctly identified one of the major texts in Scripture that support my claim, not yours:
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Note that:
This is Jesus who is speaking.
In my Bible commentary, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury, I include the following information to demonstrate that this verse (Revelation 1:8) is spoken by Jesus and applies to Him:
I am. This text, according to Daniel Waterland, “is to be interpreted (with all antiquity) of God the Son,” which he proves (1) from the context; (2) from antiquity; (3) from the weaknesses of the reasons for applying this text to the Father.
As to the context, all acknowledge that verse 7 applies to the Son; there is insufficient contextual warrant for making a sudden shift in this verse to avoid the application of divine titles to the Son, as the Arians argue for.
As to antiquity, both Ante-Nicene and Post-Nicene writers concur in applying this text to Christ, such that “never were men more unanimous than the ancients were in this matter; there being no one exception, on record, against it.”
As to reasons for applying this text to the Father, some argue that since in verse 4 the title “which is, which was, and which is to come” applies to the Father, the same title used here must likewise. But this fails to recognize that the same titles are often given to both, as the title “Alpha and Omega” most certainly is (Rev 1:11; Rev 1:17; Rev 2:8; Rev 22:13. See related note on Rev 3:14).
The objection that the title “the Almighty” is always in Scripture applied to the Father, never the Son, is mistaken, for:
(1) “it is mere groundless presumption to suppose that as often as that title is applied to the one God in the Old Testament, it is applied to the Father only: since it may often be understood indifferently either of Father, or Son, or of the whole Trinity”;
(2) “there are several texts of the Old Testament, which we have good reason to believe are to be understood particularly of God the Son. Psalms 24 has by the primitive Fathers been interpreted of Christ. The title Lord of hosts (Kurios dunameon), applied to Christ in that Psalm, is equivalent to Almighty (Kurios pantokrator), as the LXX Interpreters render the same words indifferently by one or other, as may easily be seen in a multitude of instances, by looking into Trommius’s Concordance.” John himself in his Apocalypse, Rev 4:8, alluding to Isa 6:3, where it reads “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,” gives not Kurios dunameon, (or sabaoth), but Kurios o Theos o pantokrator, Lord God Almighty. John likewise applies the title “Lord of hosts” to Christ, as can be seen by comparing Jhn 12:41 with Isa 6:5. Compare Zec 2:8; Zec 12:5; Zec 12:10 with Jhn 19:34; Jhn 19:37. “These instances are sufficient to check the confidence of such as roundly affirm, without a syllable of proof, that the title of pantokrator, Almighty, is in holy Scripture applied always to the Father only” (Waterland, Works, vol. 2, Sermon VI, “Christ’s Divinity proved from his Titles,” pp. 141-143; “A Second Defence of Some Queries,” pp. 562-565).
In reference to the title “the Almighty” note carefully the explanatory notes and the supporting CROSS REFERENCES I have given in the Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
the Almighty. Gr. pantokratōr (S# G3841, 2Co 6:18). The Apocalypse is the only portion of the NT in which pantokratōr occurs, except in 2Co 6:18. It is, however, of frequent occurrence in the Septuagint, and to that book we must look for the determination of its meaning. In Job it is used to translate shadday (S# H7706), the Almighty [Job 8:5]; elsewhere it is employed as the second member of the compound expression kurios pantokratōr which most frequently represents—not translates—the Hebrew compound Jehovah of hosts (see further in Craven, who concludes: From all these facts it is natural to conclude that pantokratōr was used as a term expressive of infinite supremacy, including the two coordinated ideas of universal dominion—God of hosts—and almighty power). The group of titles represents “the Lord Jehovah the God of Hosts,” a combination of Hos 12:5 and Amos 9:5 (Simcox). Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 16:14; *Rev 19:6; *Rev 19:15; *Rev 21:22; Rev 22:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, **+Gen 17:1 with **Gen 19:24 note; Gen 28:3; Gen 35:11; Gen 43:14; Gen 48:3; +Gen 49:25, +*Exo 6:3, Num 24:4, Ruth 1:20, Job 8:5 g. **Psa 50:1 note. Psa 147:5, +*Isa 9:6; Isa 40:26, Hos 12:5, **+>Amos 4:13, LXX. Mat 28:18, Jhn 1:3; Jhn 8:56, Act 7:38, *2Co 6:18 g. Php 3:21.
NOTE PARTICULARLY THE CROSS REFERENCE TO AMOS 4:13, LXX.:
Amos 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name. (KJV)
Amos 4:13
he that. Note: This is a most powerful description of the majesty of Jehovah, the God of hosts. Job 38:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Psa 65:6, *Isa 40:12; Isa 42:5, +*Zec 12:1 note.
and createth. Heb. bara, Gen 1:1. Some modern critics allege that this word was not used before the time of Jeremiah; but it is used, besides the Pentateuch, in Psa 51:10; Psa 89:12; Psa 89:47; Psa 102:18; Psa 104:30; Psa 148:5, Ecc 12:1; and in Isaiah frequently (CB). Psa 135:7; Psa 147:18, +Isa 45:18 (*S# H1254). Jer 10:13; Jer 51:16.
wind. or, spirit. Heb. ruach, +Gen 3:8, Pro 30:4, Ecc 3:21, Ezk 37:9 mg. **Jhn 3:8.
and declareth. Psa 7:9; *Psa 139:2, +*Jer 17:10, Dan 2:28, Mat 9:4, Luk 7:39, 40, +*Jhn 2:25.
[CAREFULLY NOTE THE LXX RENDERING CITED NEXT:]
unto men. LXX. adds, “his Christ.” The LXX reads for Amos 4:13, “For behold, I am he that strengthens the thunder, and creates the wind, and proclaims to men his Christ, forming the morning and the darkness, and mounting on the high places of the earth, The Lord God Almighty is his name” (Bagster, Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English, p. 1088).
that maketh. *Amos 5:8; Amos 8:9, Exo 10:22; Exo 14:20, Isa 5:30, Jer 13:16.
darkness. +Exo 10:22, +Pro 20:20.
and treadeth. Deut 32:13 <rp. Deut 33:29 <rp. *Mic 1:3, Hab 3:19.
The Lord. Amos 3:13; Amos 5:8; Amos 6:8; Amos 9:6, *Isa 47:4; Isa 48:2, *Jer 10:16; Jer 51:19.
The God of hosts. LXX. renders, “The Lord God Almighty.” 2Sa 7:26, 27; Jer 31:35; Jer 50:34; Hos 12:5; Zec 2:8, 9; Zec 2:11; Zec 3:7; Zec 3:9, 10; Zec 13:7; Mal 3:1 all have “Lord (or Lord God) Almighty” where the Hebrew reads “Lord of Hosts” (+Psa 24:10). The Watchtower claim that Jesus is called “the mighty God” (Isa 9:6) but never “Almighty God” is proven false for John cites this very passage (Amos 5:13) from the LXX. in Rev 1:8 and applies this title to our Lord Jesus Christ. The LXX. usage and renderings show that “Almighty God” and “Lord of Hosts” were by them considered equivalent. >Rev 1:8 note.
is his name. +*Exo 6:3 note. Exo 15:3 <rp. +Psa 68:4; +*Psa 83:18.
LINK:
LINK TO RELATED REAL BIBLE STUDY PRIOR POST:
https://www.realbiblestudy.com/?p=1718