Third, the preincarnate Word affirmed his active role in the creation process (cf. Second, Christ did not subscribe to the theories that the universe is eternal, or that it is a self-caused accident it is a creation in time. He is faithful in character and true in his teaching. First, there is the Lord’s affirmation of his integrity. Several important expressions strike the reader. In his letter to the lukewarm Laodicean church, Jesus identified himself as the “faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (3:14 cf. Is Christ’s claim a reflection of reality, or is it merely a vain boast that discredits him? How blighted is the one who contends for the latter. Without question this is an affirmation of deity as expressed in eternal terms. This significantly replicates the descriptive of the “Lord God,” the “Almighty” in chapter one (v. For instance the Lord exclaims: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (22:13).
The divine nature of Christ is amply illustrated in Revelation. In this article we will address some of the rewarding truths about our Lord set forth in this book. It certainly is clear that the messages of this inspired book issue from our Lord (22:16) and yet the narrative also is “supremely and ultimately about Christ” (1996, 120-121 emphasis added). In his Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, Professor Daniel Wallace suggests this most likely is the sense in Revelation 1:1. In some situations, if the larger context justifies it, the genitive may carry both subjective and objective senses, in which case it is called a plenary genitive. Or the force could be objective-a revelation about Christ. The sense may be subjective, i.e., the revelation belonging to Christ and conveyed by him. The interpretation of the genitive in a particular situation depends upon context-either in association with the immediate text or elsewhere within the larger document body. The genitive is the most versatile case in koine Greek (the language of the original New Testament).
The genitive frequently is expressed in English by the preposition “of,” as in this text-thus, “of Jesus Christ.” One of the intriguing questions discussed by scholars is the phrase “of Jesus Christ” (Iesou Christou ). The concluding book of the New Testament begins in the following fashion: “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his servants.” (1:1a).