John the Revelator on the Godhead

The Two-edged Sword is Sharpening!

Rev 22:16   I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star. 

Ellen White on BEGOTTEN: “The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave his only begotten Son, tore from his bosom Him who was made in the express image of his person, and sent him down to earth to reveal how greatly he loved mankind.” (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 9, 1895)

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John the Revelator points out some astounding facts regarding the Godhead, that are totally countermanded by many SDA Independent ministries. It is the objective of this manuscript to reveal some of the most powerful documentation on the Godhead issue that you will ever read, and that “should” clear up any division on this issue, but that will never happen.

 

I submit to you that what you are about to discover will totally disprove the teachings of Smyrna Ministries of Virginia; Maranatha Media Ministries, and many others on the Godhead. Many individuals are teaching antichrist error on this all important doctrine which is so fundamental to all truth concerning God and our responsibility to Him.

First of all, I want to establish exactly who is delivering the messages to John in all his messages. Revelation 22:16 makes this as clear as it could be. Jesus sent His angel to testify unto John. Jesus is the root and the offspring of David. So in the following verses of Revelation, an angel is quoting Jesus as the speaker. It is crucial to remember this while reading these poignant and powerful verses. I will intersperse my commentary under some of the verses.

Rev 22:16   I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star. 

 

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 

 

Rev 15:2   And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 

 

 Rev 15:3   And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.

 

Ron’s commentary: I fully realize that Ellen White says that Jesus is not the Lord God Almighty, but if we interpret her words so as to not contradict Scripture, as she said we should do in her weight of evidence formula statement, her meaning must have been to point out that the Father and Jesus were not the same person; that they are two distinct persons.

 

Some independent ministries are saying the God is God and Jesus is Lord. But what shall they say when they discover that the Bible has scores of references to “LORD GOD.” What then? Who is Lord God? We will discover that in this manuscript.

 

·       The song is to the Lamb, Jesus.

·       The Lamb, in context, is referred to as Lord God Almighty.

·       Jesus is the King of saints.

 

 Rev 15:4   Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. 

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       The context is speaking of Jesus, King of saints.

·       All nations shall worship Jesus.

·       According to the Word, Jesus is the only Judge.

 

 Rev 15:5   And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 

 

 Rev 15:6   And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 

 

 Rev 15:7   And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 

 

 Rev 15:8   And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

 

 Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

 

Ron’s Commentary: The throne of God and of the Lamb are the same.

 

 Rev 22:2   In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations. 

 

 Rev 22:3   And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       It is important to recognize that the throne of God is shared by the Lamb.

·       Whose servants shall serve who? Who is “him?” when the verse mentions the throne of God and of the Lamb?

 

 Rev 22:4   And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads. 

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       See whose face? The verse mentions the throne of God and of the Lamb.

·       Why does it say “see his face” when the verse these words refer to, Rev. 22:3, mention the throne of God and the Lamb?

·       Whose name shall be in their foreheads when the verse referred to mentions both the throne of God and the Lamb? So which name do we get?

·       The point is that you should see the equality between God and the Lamb—the ONENESS, the ONE GODness!

 

 Rev 22:5   And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

 

Ron’s Commentary: Who is the Lord God that gives them light? Could it be the light of the world, Jesus?

 

·       Some of the ministries mentioned teach that God is God, and only Jesus is Lord. So who is “LORD GOD?”

·       If you will search the words “Lord God,” in parenthesis, in any Bible program, you will get scores of references to “Lord God.” This fully dispels the errant notion that God is God and Jesus is the only Lord.

 

 Rev 22:6  And he said unto me, These sayings [are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

 

Ron’s Commentary: What?! Jesus is calling Himself LORD GOD!!!!!!! Smyrna and Maranatha Ministries declare that there is only ONE GOD—THE FATHER!!!!!!! Their teaching is antichrist because they are directly contradicting Jesus’ own words in calling Himself LORD GOD.

 

·       We established at the beginning of this manuscript that the Lord GOD, JESUS, is speaking through His angel to John, to wit:

 

Rev 22:16   I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star. 

 

 Rev 22:7   Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 

 

Ron’s Commentary: We know who is coming quickly—the speaker, through His angel, is Jesus Christ.

 

 Rev 22:8   And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 

 

 Rev 22:9   Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       John falls at the angel’s feet to worship him, but the angel instructs John to worship God. The context is the new heaven and the new earth.

 

·       In Revelation 15:4, we found that the Lord’s name is glorified and all nations will come to WORSHIP before Him.

 

·       Rev 15:4   Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. 

 

 Rev 22:10   And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 

 

 Rev 22:11   He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 

 

 Rev 22:12 ¶ And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

 

 Rev 22:13   I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       What? Who is coming quickly? Jesus!

·       What? What? What? Jesus is calling Himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the FIRST and the LAST. Does GOD get any more GOD than that?

 

 Rev 22:14   Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       Do whose commandments? God the Father’s or God the Son? Ellen White said they both delivered the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai!

 

 Rev 22:15   For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 

 

 Rev 22:16   I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star. 

 

·       Again for important emphasis, Jesus, through His angel, is speaking to John.

 

 Rev 22:17   And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

 

 Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 

 

 Rev 22:19   And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.

 

Ron’s Commentary:

 

·       Has Maranatha Media Ministries and Smyrna Ministries added and taken away unto these things by saying there is only ONE GOD, and ONE LORD?

·       Have those ministries added to these things by saying that we should worship only GOD?

·       Is the ministry you are supporting adding to and taking away from these things?

 

Rev 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

 

Rev 22:21   The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen.

 

I believe I have established my objective, but if you don’t, just study the following references on  the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. If these facts won’t convince those who are teaching antichrist doctrine on the Godhead, NOTHING WILL, and sadly, NOTHING WILL:

 

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.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

 

What John the Revelator proves is that the SDA Bible Commentary is correct on the meaning of “begotten” and “brought forth.”

 

What John the Revelator proves is that Ellen White is correct on the eternal Godhead of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of “came/brought forth/torn from the bosom of the Father.”

 

Ellen White on BEGOTTEN: “The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave his only begotten Son, tore from his bosom Him who was made in the express image of his person, and sent him down to earth to reveal how greatly he loved mankind.” (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 9, 1895)

 

Here is what the SDA Bible Commentary says on the meaning of “only begotten” and “brought forth,/come forth.”

 

The only begotten. Gr. monogenēs, from two words meaning “only” and “kind,” and thus properly translated “unique,” “only,” “only one of a kind.” As with the title Logos (see on v. 1), only John uses the word monogenēs of Christ (see John 1:18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). Absence of the definite article in the Greek either makes monogenēs indefinite, “an only one,” or makes it an expression of quality, in which case John would be saying, “glory as of an only one [who had come] from beside the Father.” This seems evidently the sense here. See on Luke 7:12; 8:42, where monogenēs is translated “only.”

In Heb. 11:17 monogenēs is used of Isaac, who was by no means Abraham’s “only begotten,” or even his first-born. But he was the son of the promise, and as such, the one destined to succeed his father as heir to the birthright (Gen. 25:1–6; Gal. 4:22, 23). “Similarly in respect to the five texts in John’s writings of Christ, the translation should be one of the following: ‘unique,’ ‘precious,’ ‘only,’ ‘sole,’ ‘the only one of his kind,’ but not ‘only begotten’” (Problems in Bible Translation, p. 198).

The translation “only begotten,” here and elsewhere, apparently originated with the early Fathers of the Catholic Church, and entered early English translations of the Bible under the influence of the Latin Vulgate, the official Bible of the Catholic Church. Accurately reflecting the Greek, various Old Latin manuscripts which antedate the Vulgate read “only” rather than “only begotten.” The idea that Christ “was born of the Father before all creation” appears first in the writings of Origen, about a.d. 230. Arius, nearly a century later, is the first to use gegennemenon, the correct Greek word for “begotten,” when speaking of Christ, and to affirm that He was “begotten of God before all ages” (see Additional Note at end of chapter). This Greek word is never used in the Bible concerning the preincarnate Christ. The idea that Christ was “begotten” by the Father at some time in eternity past is altogether foreign to the Scriptures. For a detailed discussion of this subject see Problems in Bible Translation, pp. 197–204.

Properly understood of Christ’s unique status as the Son of God, the word monogenēs distinguishes between Him and all others who, through faith in Him, are given “power to become the sons of God” (v. 12), and who are specifically declared to be “born … of God” (v. 13). Christ is, and always has been, very “God” (see on v. 1), and by virtue of this fact we “become the sons of God” when we receive Christ and believe on His name.

The statement of v. 14 obviously deals with the incarnation, and its purpose is to emphasize the fact that the incarnate Word retained the divine nature, as evidenced by the manifestation of the preincarnate divine glory (see ch. 17:5). Although the word monogenēs means strictly “unique,” or “only,” rather than “only begotten,” John nevertheless here applies it to Christ at His incarnation, to the time when “the Word was made flesh” in order to dwell among us. Paul confirms this application in Heb. 1:5, 6, where he links the words gegenneka, “have I begotten” (from gennaō, “to beget”), and prōtotoktos, “first-born” (from pro, “before,” and tiktō, “to beget”), to the time “when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world.” It seems therefore wholly unwarranted to understand monogenēs as referring to a mysterious begetting of “the Word” at some point of time in eternity past. For a discussion of Christ as the Son of God see on Luke 1:35; and as the Son of man, see on Matt. 1:1; Mark 2:10; see also EGW Supplementary Material on Phil. 2:6–8; Col. 2:9.

Of the Father. Gr. para theou, literally “with the Father,” or “beside the Father,” here probably with the force of “from beside the Father.” The Greek preposition para sometimes has the force of ek, “out of,” “from,” which here agrees best with the context. The incarnate Logos had come forth from the presence of the Father when He entered this world. See on ch. 6:46.

Full of. This clearly applies to the Word incarnate. Dwelling on earth as a man among men, the Word was “full of grace and truth.”[1][1]  SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, pp. 902, 903.

 

If anyone can read this and conclude that Jesus is not God, and co-equal with God, AS GOD ALMIGHTY, he/she has no spiritual discernment, and has been given a delusion so strong he/she believes an antichrist lie imbued by the spirit of Satan. Why are some given such a delusion by God? Because somewhere along the line they have rejected clear and present truth and God’s agencies that have delivered that truth, and that is an affront to the Holy Spirit; that is a rejection of the Holy Spirit.

 

2Th 2:10   And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

 

 2Th 2:11   And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 

 

 2Th 2:12   That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

 

 2Th 2:13  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 

 

 2Th 2:14   Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

Since Jesus calls Himself God Almighty in these verses, when Ellen White said Jesus is not God Almighty, she had to mean that Jesus was a distinct person from God Almighty while being in fact God Almighty. The persons of the heavenly Trio are not THREE PERSONS IN ONE PERSON. They are three distinct persons. We were admonished by Ellen White to interpret so that nothing contradicts, and that is exactly what I have done wi the aid of the Holy Spirit Divine Nature of Jesus Christ.

 

—rwb