Worship Jesus (Revelation 5)

[Faber]

Revelation 5:6-14
(6) And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
(7) And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
(8) When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
(9) And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
(10) “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.�
(11) Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,
(12) saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.�[*1]
(13) 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.�
(14) And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.� And the elders fell down and worshiped. (NASB)

Revelation 5:6
The seven horns refers to the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus while His seven eyes refers to His omniscience.
1. G. K. Beale: The consensus is that the last phrase of v 6 ("having seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God having been sent out into all the earth") is dependent on Zechariah 3 and 4. In Zech. 3:9 the "seven eyes" are bound up with a divine inscription set before Jesus, the high priest, concerning the "removal of iniquity of the land in one day." In Zechariah 4 the symbols of the "seven lamps" (v 2) and the "seven eyes" (v 10) are associated with Yahweh's omnipotent Spirit. Indeed, in 2 Chron. 16:9 the statement "the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth" highlights not only omniscience but especially divine sovereignty, "that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his." The preceding mention of "seven horns" underscores further the notion of omnipotence (The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, page 355).
2. J. Jeremias: But the Lamb overcame death (5:5-6) and is omnipotent and omniscient (5:6) (TDNT 1:341, Lamb).
3. A. T. Robertson: Fulness of power (the All-powerful one) is symbolized by seven. Seven eyes...Like Zechariah 3:9; Zechariah 4:10 and denotes here, as there, omniscience.
http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ ... ion-5.html

Revelation 5:8-10
1. A. T. Robertson (Revelation 5:9): The blood of Christ as the price of our redemption runs all through the Apocalypse. This is the reason why Christ is worthy to “take the book and open its seals.� That is, he is worthy to receive adoration and worship (Revelation 4:11) as the Father does.
http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ ... ion-5.html

Revelation 5:12-14
1. William Mounce: In a remarkable attestation to the deity of Jesus Christ, the apostle John records two doxologies in which what is ascribed to God (the Father) is also ascribed to the Lamb, who is Jesus the Son (Rev. 5:12, "Worthy is the Lamb to receive...strength"; 7:12, "Praise and...strength be to our God forever") (Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Strength, page 688).
2. H. H. Esser: He who sits upon the throne is worthy to receive glory, honour and power, for he has created all things and they owe their existence to his will (4:11). This worship of every creature (ktisma) belongs (5:13) not only to him, but also the Lamb (a metaphor for the crucified and exalted One) (NIDNTT 1:386, Creation).
3. Samuel Slocock: Do we read that in this universal bust of adoration, supreme blessing, supreme honor, supreme glory, and power, are ascribed to the Father, and that subordinate blessing, honour, and glory are presented to the Lamb. No: the same unqualified terms are used in describing the homage paid to the Eternal, and that presented to the Lamb (A Vindication of the Supreme Divinity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, So Far as That Doctrine Is Impugned, in "a Critical Examination of the Remarkable Prediction Contained in Isaiah 9:6, a Sermon by J. Kitcat", page 162).
4. Gerhard Kittel: The attribution of doxa to God - doxa en hypsistois the�, Lk. 2:14; 19:38; Rev. 4:9 - finds parallels in relation to Christ: Hb. 13:21; 1 Pt. 4:11; Rev. 5:12f (TDNT 2:248, doxa).[*2]
5. The BDAG (3rd Edition): Concerning Revelation 5:12 the Greek word for "wisdom" is sophia and it is used "of the exalted Christ" (page 935) but when defining "might" (ischys) which appears in the very same passage it is "used with dynamis and similar words as attributes of God" (page 484). Since the Lord Jesus has the "attributes of God" it follows that even though proskyne� refers to the worship of the singular "deity in monotheistic cult" (page 882-883) both the Father and the Lord Jesus are being worshiped (Revelation 5:13-14).[*3]

In view of the evidence presented above the following by Charles Spurgeon is quite appropriate:
Depend upon it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus Christ as God. They are all doing it there: you will have to come to it, and if you entertain the notion that he is a mere man, or that he is anything less than God, I am afraid you will have to begin at the beginning and learn what true religion means. You have a poor foundation to rest upon.
http://www.thedailyspurgeon.com/2012/01 ... e-god.html

[*1] By ascribing to the Lord Jesus "glory" and "honor" (which employs the same Greek word in the LXX for "strength" in Psalm 29:1) echoes what is to be ascribed unto the Lord (YHWH) in the Old Testament. This was done so in worship.
Psalm 29:1-2
(1) Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
(2) Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name:
Worship the LORD in holy array. (NASB)

[*2] "Glory to God in the highest" is thus appropriately applied to the Lord Jesus as "the Most High God." In fact, the BDAG (3rd Edition) defines hypsistos as "pertaining to being the highest in status, � ὕψιστος, the Most High of God, distinguished from lesser deities and other objects of cultic devotion" (page 1045).
The fact that the Lord Jesus is the proper recipient of cultic devotion (religious worship) in equality with the Father demonstrates that He is not at all distinguished from the Father as a lesser object of cultic devotion. This proves the Lord Jesus is "the Most High God."

[*3] Amen (ἀμήν): liturgical formula at the end of the liturgy, spoken by the congregation...Rv 5:14 (BDAG, 3rd Edition, page 53).

Since the Lord Jesus is properly worshiped in Revelation 5 why do some deny that He is God?
viewtopic.php?t=32480

[Elijah John]

Since the Lord Jesus is properly worshiped in Revelation 5 why do some deny that He is God?
viewtopic.php?t=32480

Because even Paul and the Synoptic Gospels conflict with evidence from the book of Revelation.

Jesus himself teaches that we are to worship none but YHVH, and serve only Him.

And Jesus taught that we are to pray to YHVH, not himself. Where is "Jesus-worship" in the Lord's prayer? "Hallowed be THY name" not "hallowed be my name".

And Paul's apostolic salutations continually affirm the Father alone as God.

Yes, you can find the occasional verse that supports Jesus-worship. But they conflict with others that teach the worship of YHVH alone.

Do you honestly believe that the real, historical Jesus, the first-century preacher and Jew, taught anyone to worship himself, the preacher?

Isn't it more reasonable to suppose that the real Jesus's own teachings align more with the verses which support YHVH-only worship, as opposed to any that might support Jesus-worship?

[Faber]

Since the Lord Jesus is properly worshiped in Revelation 5 why do some deny that He is God?
viewtopic.php?t=32480

Yes, you can find the occasional verse that supports Jesus-worship. But they conflict with others that teach the worship of YHVH alone.

Your position forces you to pit Scripture against Scripture.

That's sad.

[Elijah John]

Since the Lord Jesus is properly worshiped in Revelation 5 why do some deny that He is God?
viewtopic.php?t=32480

Yes, you can find the occasional verse that supports Jesus-worship. But they conflict with others that teach the worship of YHVH alone.

Your position forces you to pit Scripture against Scripture.

That's sad.

Spare me. The fact of the matter is that Scripture does conflict with Scripture and in some signifcant ways.

(that is demonstrated repeatedly here on these boards)

And where Scripture conflicts, we are compelled to choose sides. The most reasonable or the most barbaric/superstitious.

I choose the most reasonable side.

[Faber]

Thanks for pointing out how clear it is that Revelation 5 teaches the Lord Jesus is worshiped in equality with the Father. Those who claim they believe all the words of the Bible are true have no justification for denying the Lord Jesus is God. No wonder many Unitarians chose the route you did it.

It's still sad.

[tigger2]

“And all the assembly blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and worshiped [shachah] Jehovah and the king [David].� - 1 Chron. 29:20, ASV - cf. Septuagint (proskuneo).

[onewithhim]

Since the Lord Jesus is properly worshiped in Revelation 5 why do some deny that He is God?
viewtopic.php?t=32480

Yes, you can find the occasional verse that supports Jesus-worship. But they conflict with others that teach the worship of YHVH alone.

Your position forces you to pit Scripture against Scripture.

That's sad.

No. What is sad is your non-resilience to bend to the obvious facts of the matter, and much evidence to dispute your position, which others have contributed here AND in other threads. There is NOTHING that supports the worship of Jesus as equal to Jehovah God the Most High. "Worship" has been explained to you over and over, yet you disregard any evidence to the contrary of what you have stuck in your mind.


.

[onewithhim]

Thanks for pointing out how clear it is that Revelation 5 teaches the Lord Jesus is worshiped in equality with the Father. Those who claim they believe all the words of the Bible are true have no justification for denying the Lord Jesus is God. No wonder many Unitarians chose the route you did it.

It's still sad.

But it does NOT teach that Jesus and Jehovah are worshiped in equality, together. You look for the smallest thing to latch on to to try and prove your unsubstantiated points, by taking chicken-scratched-up straw and trying to build a house out of it. You cast aside an endless volume of evidence that Jehovah is the ONLY true God, the One with all the power and authority (John 17:3; Psalm 83:18, KJV) and try to make Him on an equal level with another Person! Jesus himself would scoff at that blasphemy.

It is someone who displays a belief that Jesus is equal to Jehovah who rejects most of the words of the Bible.

.

[onewithhim]

“And all the assembly blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and worshiped [shachah] Jehovah and the king [David].� - 1 Chron. 29:20, ASV - cf. Septuagint (proskuneo).

Aha! Good point! King David was worshiped. Is David equal to Jehovah???

The important thing to consider is HOW he was "worshiped." It has been explained that "worship" has the meaning of showing respect to an individual, whether human or heavenly. To God we show more than respect, but worship Him as the one God Almighty. We don't honor David as God Almighty.

So why should we look at Revelation 5:13 and think we should honor the Lamb as God Almighty?

[Faber]

“And all the assembly blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and worshiped [shachah] Jehovah and the king [David].� - 1 Chron. 29:20, ASV - cf. Septuagint (proskuneo).

The author of 1 and 2 Chronicles doesn't use the syntax with the same understanding as some may assume so.

2 Chronicles 31:8
When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel. (NASB)
Blessing the Lord means offering supreme worship to Him but that doesn't mean Hezekiah and the rulers offered the same level of worship unto the people.