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Jesus and Latreuo Does the Bible Teach that Christ Receives Sacred Service? Sam Shamoun
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The
Holy Bible emphatically states that God alone is to receive sacred
service or latreuo: "Again, the devil took him to a very high
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and
worship me.' Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written:
"Worship the Lord your God, and
serve him only (kai auto
mono latreuseis)."'" Matthew 4:8-10 cf. Luke 4:8 This
word is also used in the Greek OT called the Septuagint (LXX): �And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God
require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and to walk in all his
ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God (kai
latreuein Kurio to Theo) with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul.� Deuteronomy 10:12 Brenton �And now fear the Lord, and serve him in
righteousness and justice (kai
latreusate auto en euthuteti kai en dikaiosune); and remove the
strange gods which our fathers served
(elatreusan) beyond the
river, and in Egypt; and serve the Lord (kai
latreusate Kurio). But if it seem not good to you to serve the Lord (latreuein
Kurio), choose to yourselves this day whom you will serve
(latreusete), whether the
gods of your fathers that were on the other side of the river, or the
gods of the Amorites; among whom ye dwell upon their land: bit I and my
house will serve the Lord (latreusomen
Kurio), for he is holy.� Joshua 24:14-15 Brenton Strong's
defines the term as: Strong's
Number 3000 from latris (a hired menial); As
Strong�s noted, the term is used in relation to the priestly service
rendered in the Tabernacle/Temple: "The point of what we are saying is this: We do
have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true
tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Every high priest is
appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary
for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he
would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts
prescribed by the law. They serve
(latreuousin) at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in
heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the
tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern
shown you on the mountain.'" Hebrews 8:1-5 "When everything had been arranged like this,
the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their
ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only
once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and
for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was
showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been
disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. This is an
illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and
sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the
conscience of the worshiper (latreuonta). They
are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial
washings-external regulations applying until the time of the new
order." Hebrews 9:6-10 What
makes this interesting is that Jesus is given sacred service or latreuo:
"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 (latreusousin)
him. They will see his face (to
prosopon autou), and his name will be on their foreheads. There
will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the
light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever
and ever." Revelation 22:1-5 This
proves that Jesus God. Let us break this down logically: 1.
God alone receives sacred service or latreuo. 2.
Jesus receives sacred service or latreuo. 3.
Therefore Jesus is God! Knowing
this, Anti-Trinitarians such as Jehovah�s Witnesses must deny that
Jesus receives sacred service. They must argue that Revelation 22:3 is
not speaking of Christ but of the Father. One such example of a Jehovah
Witness who seeks to disprove that Jesus receives sacred service is Greg
Stafford. Stafford writes: �Yet, he (Jesus) still showed that only Jehovah was to be given absolute, religious worship when he told Satan, �It is Jehovah God you worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service [... latreuo].�- Mt. 4:10 �Bowman asserts that �Jesus also receives...
sacred service (Rev. 22:3).� Is this true? Does Revelation 22:3 teach
that Jesus receives latreuo? The NIV reads: �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 [form of latreuo] him� (emphasis added).
Revelation speaks of two individuals, �God� and the �Lamb.� In
referring to the one who would receive latreuo, John uses the third
person singular pronoun (�his,� �him�), showing that it has
reference to but one of the two individuals mentioned. If John wanted
his readers to know that both God and the Lamb (Jesus Christ) were to
receive latreuo, he would have simply used the third person plural
pronoun (for example, �and their servants will serve them�) instead
of the singular. �If it is argued that latreuo here refers to the
�Lamb,� then we must indeed wonder why it does not refer to God, the
One to whom it is elsewhere restricted. Also, there would be no evidence
other than mere opinion to support such a theory that Jesus here
receives latreuo and God does not. Thus, we may safely conclude that
latreuo is here given to the same individual who receives it in
Revelation 7:15, and elsewhere in the Bible.� (Greg Stafford, Jehovah�s
Witnesses Defended-An Answer To Scholars And Critics [Huntington
Beach, CA; Elihu Books, first edition 1998], pp. 85-86) Stafford�s
footnote found on the same page states: �Revelation 7:15 speaks of the great crowd that comes out of tribulation rendering latreuo to the �One seated on the throne,� referring to Jehovah. Whereas Jesus is clearly distinguished from the One seated on the throne, as he is said to be �in the midst of the throne,� according to verse 17.� (Ibid., f. 37) As
I shall shortly demonstrate, Stafford�s claim that John would have
used the third personal plural pronoun if wanted to show that both God
and Jesus received latreuo has little substance behind it. I first want
to address Stafford�s claim that Jesus is distinguished from the One
seated on the throne, as if this somehow proves anything. Even though
Revelation 7:15 shows that Jesus is in the midst of the throne, we are
told elsewhere that Jesus is actually sitting on the very same throne of
God: �� But the
throne (singular) of God and of
the Lamb will be in [the city]��
Revelation 22:3 NWT John speaks of the throne of God and the Lamb, not thrones, affirming that Jesus also sits on God�s throne. Furthermore, in Revelation 20:11-15 the One seated on the throne will judge the dead. The NT clearly teaches that the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. (Cf. Mat. 25:31-46; John 5:22-23, 27; Acts 10:42, 17:30-31; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:5- cf. 1:7-8; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Hebrews 9:28) This again proves that Jesus is also sitting on the very throne of the Father. Secondly,
Stafford erroneously assumes that since
latreuo is elsewhere restricted to God, this therefore means that
Jesus cannot be the object of latreuo.
Stafford is simply begging the question here since he assumes what he
has yet to prove. Stafford assumes that the Father alone is God in the
absolute sense and that Jesus is one of many lesser gods. In light of
this presupposition it is little wonder that Stafford believes that
Jesus cannot be the recipient of sacred service.
Yet,
if this passage does teach that Jesus receives latreuo this would then prove that Jesus is not a god, but the true
God Jehovah! This would further prove that the Father is not the only
Person who is the true God since the data would show that the true God
is actually multi-personal, the very thing that Stafford has already
assumed cannot be the case. In
light of this, we now set forth to present the arguments which we feel
conclusively proves that Revelation 22:3 does refer to the Lord Jesus
Christ receiving latreuo. To
begin with, we note that the One receiving latreuo: 1.
Has servants serving him. 2.
His face will be seen. 3.
His name will be on his servants� foreheads. Let
us contrast this with what is said of Christ elsewhere in the NT: 1.
Has servants serving him "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 know your deeds, your love
and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing
more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You
tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her
teaching she misleads MY SERVANTS
into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to
idols." Revelation 2:18-20 2.
His face will be seen "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and
every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the
peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be!
Amen." Revelation 1:7 "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and
what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he
appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him
purifies himself, just as he is pure." 1 John 3:2-3 That
this last passage is speaking of Christ can be seen from the following
citations: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:29 "So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a
living being'; the last Adam, a lifegiving spirit. The spiritual did not
come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man
was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the
earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from
heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne
the likeness of the earthly man, so
shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." 1
Corinthians 15:45-49 �The god of this age has blinded the minds of
unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ, who is the image
of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord,
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus� sake. For God, who said,
�Let light shine out of darkness,� made his light shine in our
hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Christ (en prosopo
Christou).� 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 Paul
states that God reveals himself in the person of Christ. In other words
to see the visible Christ is to see the invisible God. (Cf. Colossians
1:15) "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 The
NT is clear that it is the Son who shall be seen, and believers shall
behold his face. 3.
His name will be on his servants� foreheads "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the
temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him 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 him MY NEW NAME." Revelation 3:12 �And I saw, and, look! The Lamb standing upon the
Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having HIS NAME and the name of his Father on their foreheads.�
Revelation 14:1 "These are those who did not defile themselves
with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever
he goes. They were purchased from
among men and offered as firstfruits to God AND THE LAMB."
Revelation 14:4 These
passages state that believers will have the name of both the Father and
the Son on their foreheads. Revelation also shows that the 144,000 are
firstfruits of the Father AND OF THE SON. Compare this to the following
Old Testament citations: "The LORD said to Moses,
'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: "When you enter
the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the
priest a sheaf of the first grain
you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be
accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the
Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt
offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, together with its
grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil-an
offering made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma-and its drink
offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or
roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your
God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,
wherever you live."'" Leviticus 23:9-14 "'Israel
was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who
devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,' declares the
LORD." Jeremiah 2:3 Jesus
also has priests serving him: "I saw thrones on which were seated those who
had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had
been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the
word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not
received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned WITH CHRIST a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did
not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first
resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part 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 20:4-6 "I have written you quite boldly on some points,
as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to
be a minister of Christ Jesus (leitourgon
Christou 'Iesou) to the Gentiles with the
priestly duty (hierourgounta) of proclaiming the gospel of God, so
that the Gentiles might become an
offering (prosphora) acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy
Spirit." Romans 15:15-16 Again,
contrast this with the following OT citation: "And you will be called PRIESTS OF THE LORD, you will be named MINISTERS OF OUR GOD. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in
their riches you will boast." Isaiah 61:6 Christ
having priests and firstfruits clearly demonstrates that he too receives
sacred service since he is Yahweh God Almighty (yet not the Father or
the Holy Spirit)! John
also tells us that the Kingdom belongs to both God and Christ: �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 CHRIST, and HE will reign for ever and ever.�
Revelation 11:15 These
last two passages serve as excellent parallels to Revelation 22:3, since
John states that resurrected believers will reign with "HIM"
and �HE� will reign forever and ever (third person singular pronoun)
despite there being two referents (i.e., "God/Lord" and
"Christ"). The "HIM" of 20:6 is explicitly
identified as Christ in verse 5, further implying that the �HE� of
11:15 who is said to reign for ever is also Christ. This provides a
solid case for taking the singular subject of 22:3 (i.e.,
"His" and "Him") as a reference to Christ even
though there are clearly two referents in the context, God and the Lamb.
Finally,
the LXX ascribes latreuo to
the Apocalyptic Son of Man: �I beheld in the night vision, and, lo, [one] coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of man, and he came on to the Ancient of days, and was brought near to him. And to him was given the dominion, and the honour, and the kingdom; and all nations, tribes, and languages, shall serve him (auto latreuousa): his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed.� Daniel 7:13-14 The
NT identifies this Son of Man as the Lord Jesus: "When the
Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as
a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on
his right and the goats on his left." Matthew 25:31-33 "But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of
the Blessed One?' 'I am,' said Jesus. 'And
you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One
and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" Mark 14:61-62 �But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to
heaven and saw the glory of God, and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God. �Look,� he said, �I
see heaven open and the Son of
Man standing at the right hand of God.�� Acts 7:55-56 "Look, he
is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those
who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of
him. So shall it be! Amen." Revelation 1:7 "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.His head and hair were 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 out of his
mouth came 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 behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the
keys of death and Hades.'" Revelation 1:12-18 "I looked, and there before me was a white
cloud, and seated on the cloud
was one 'like a son of man' with a crown of gold on his head and a
sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and
called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, 'Take your
sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of
the earth is ripe.' So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle
over the earth, and the earth was harvested." Revelation 14:14-16 These
preceding passages demonstrate that Jesus does receive sacred service.
Nothing in the context of Revelation 22:3 rules this interpretation out.
It is only the presuppositions of biased individuals who deny that
Christ receives the same exact worship given to the Father that
disallows for such an interpretation. Interestingly,
there may be another valid interpretation of Revelation 22:3. John may
in fact be referring to both the Father and the Son as the objects of
sacred service. For instance, John tells us that: 1.
Both the Father's name and the Lamb's name will be placed on the
foreheads of the believers. Yet Revelation 22:4 says that HIS (singular)
name will be on their foreheads! (Cf. Revelation 3:12; 14:1) 2.
As we have seen, the Father and the Son sit on one throne not two. (Cf.
Rev. 3:21; 22:1-3) 3.
Both the Father and the Son are the one Temple/Sanctuary of believers
and their one light: �I did not see a temple in the city, because
the Lord God Almighty AND THE LAMB ARE ITS TEMPLE. The city does not
need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for
the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb IS ITS LAMP. The nations
will walk by ITS LIGHT, and the kings of the earth will bring their
splendor into it.� Revelation 21:22-24 Compare
this to the following OT citations: "The sun will no more be your light by day, nor
will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be
your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no
more; the LORD will be your
everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end." Isaiah
60:19-20 �You are MY
LAMP, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.� 2 Samuel
22:29 "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it
will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase
their numbers, and I will put MY
SANCTUARY among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I
will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will
know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when
MY SANCTUARY is among them forever." Ezekiel 37:26-28 John
ascribes to Jesus what the OT ascribes to Yahweh God! Other places where
John does this include the following: "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
know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and
that you are now doing more than you did at first... 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 2:18-19, 23 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who
holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your
deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead."
Revelation 3:1 "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been
slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four
living creatures and the elders. He
had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent
out into all the earth." Revelation 5:6 The
symbols of the Lamb, the seven horns, the seven eyes and the holding of
the seven stars signify that Jesus is omnipotent and omniscient. The
number seven represents completeness and perfection while horns
symbolize power and eyes symbolize knowledge. This means that Jesus has
perfect power and discernment. In other words, Jesus is Almighty and
All-knowing! Continuing
further: �And they cried out in a loud voice: �Salvation
belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, AND
TO 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 spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never
again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon 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 7:10, 15-17 Now
compare the preceding statements with the following OT passages: "then hear from heaven, your dwelling place.
Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since
you know his heart (for you ALONE know the hearts of all men),"
1 Kings 8:39 "For the
eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those
whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing,
and from now on you will be at war." 2 Chronicles 16:9 "The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on
his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them." Psalm 11:4 �From the
LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.
Selah� Psalm 3:8 "and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely
you will reward each person according to what he has done."
Psalm 62:12 "See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and
his arm rules for him. See, his
reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have
young." Isaiah 40:10-11 "The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of
the earth: �Say to the Daughter of Zion, "See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense
accompanies him."�" Isaiah 62:11 "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to
his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." Jeremiah 17:10 "Because that they have done folly in Israel,
and commit adultery with the wives of their neighbours, and speak a word
in My name falsely that I have not commanded them, and I [AM] HE who knoweth and a witness - an affirmation of
Jehovah." Jeremiah 29:23 Young�s Literal Translation �But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice
to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.� Jonah 2:9 "Who despises the day of small things? Men will
rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. (These
seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth.)"
Zechariah 4:10 For
John to apply OT descriptions of Yahweh to Christ demonstrates beyond
any reasonable doubt that the Evangelist truly believed that Jesus is
Yahweh God Almighty (yet not the Father or the Holy Spirit)! John
also distinguishes Jesus from all creation: "And EVERY
CREATED THING which is in heaven and on the earth and under the
earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, �To Him who sits on the throne, AND TO THE LAMB, be blessing and honor
and glory and dominion forever and ever.� And the four living
creatures kept saying, �Amen.� And
the elders fell down and worshiped." Revelation 5:13-14 NASB John
has the entire creation worshiping both God and the Lamb! This
conclusively demonstrates that Jesus is not a creature since if he were
he too would be worshiping God, as all creatures are supposed to. Yet
instead of worshiping God, Jesus is being worshiped! John
tells us what happens when a person worships a creature: "Then the angel said to me, �Write:
"Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the
Lamb!"� And he added, �These are the true words of God.� At
this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, �Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who
hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.�" Revelation 19:9-10 "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these
things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at
the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to
me, �Do not do it! I am a
fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all
who keep the words of this book. Worship God!�" Revelation
22:8-9 Again
for Christ to be worshiped by all creation proves that he is God
Almighty since John is specifically told not to worship anyone but God. To
summarize, John explicitly states that both the Father and the Son sit
on the same throne, are the believers one temple and light, are the one
source of salvation, will have both their names on the foreheads of
believers, have priests serving them, and are worshiped by all creation!
It is little wonder that John links the two together with singular
pronouns as opposed to plural pronouns! John could use singular pronouns
to describe the Father and the Son since it is evident that the
Evangelist obviously believed that the two distinct Persons are co-equal
and co-eternal. John is clearly presenting both the Father and the Son
as the one true eternal God. The following citations further prove this:
And: "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." Revelation 22:16 The
Lord God who sent his angel to the churches is none other than our Lord
Jesus Christ! John
is not the only one to link both the Father and the Son together. Paul
does the same thing through his use of singular verbs to describe the
work of the Father and the Son: "Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord
Jesus clear (kateuthunai) the
way for us to come to you." 1 Thessalonians 3:11 "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our
Father, who loved (ho agapesas) us
and by HIS grace gave (dous) us eternal
encouragement and good hope, encourage
(parakalesai) your
hearts and strengthen (sterixai) you
in every good deed and word." 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NT
Commentator G.K. Beale, in his commentary on Revelation, notes: "... There are not two thrones but only one, as
is clear from 3:21: 'I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his
throne' (cf. similarly 5:11-13; 7:17; see likewise 1
En. 51:3). All who enter the city have access to the presence of God
and the Lamb. They respond to this presence by becoming 'servants' who
'will serve' (latreuo) before
the throne. The observation that in 7:15 the saints 'serve' (latreuo) God as priests in his heavenly temple shows that here also
they are performing priestly service in the temple of the end-time city.
This echoes the prophecy in Isa. 61:6 ('you will be called priests of
the LORD, ministers of God'), which will be fulfilled in the new cosmic
temple. That Isa. 61:6 is in mind is evident from the allusions to
Isaiah woven in throughout 21:1-22:5 (esp. Isaiah 61:10 in 21:2 and
allusions to Isaiah 60 in 21:23-26 and 22:5). "That 'they will serve him' likely does not refer only to God or only to the Lamb. The
two are conceived so much as a unit that the singular pronoun can refer
to both� That both are sitting on only one throne and together
form one temple (21:22) enhances their perceived unity. Also, this unity is highlighted by
both having the titles 'Alpha and Omega' (1:8; 21:6; 22:13). Such
statements as these in 21:22 and 22:3 were
among those that gave rise to later trinitarian formulas."
(Beale, The New International
Greek Testament Commentary- The Book of Revelation [Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co. & Paternoster Press, 1999], p. 1113; bold emphasis
ours)
�Therefore prepare for action and serve
(douleusate) God in fear� and truth, leaving behind the empty and
meaningless talk and the error of the crowd, and �believing in him who
raised� our Lord Jesus Christ �from the dead and gave him glory�
and a throne at his right hand; to whom all things in heaven and on
earth were subjected, WHOM EVERY
BREATHING CREATURE SERVES (latreuei),
who is coming as �Judge of the living and the dead,� for whose blood
God will hold responsible those who disobey him� (The Apostolic Fathers, Greek Texts And English Translations, edited
and revised by Michael W. Holmes [Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 1999],
pp. 207, 209; bold and capital emphasis ours) CONCLUSION We
have seen that there are two valid interpretations of Revelation 22:3.
The first is that Christ is the subject and is receiving sacred service
or latreuo. The second is that
both the Father and the Son are the subjects, which again proves that
the Son (along with the Father) receives sacred service or latreuo. Either
interpretation still leaves us with Jesus receiving sacred service. This
should come as no surprise when we recall that according to the book of
Revelation Christ is worshiped by all creation, has priests serving him,
has firstfruits, and is pictured as having all the qualities of Yahweh.
In light of all this, it would be shocking to find Jesus not receiving
sacred service! |
