Answering Islam - A Christian-Muslim dialog

Jesus Christ – The Divine King of Creation

Sam Shamoun

A further line of evidence from John’s Gospel that Jesus Christ is actually Yahweh God in the flesh (even though he is not the Father or the Holy Spirit) comes from the inspired Evangelist’s testimony (albeit implicit) that Jesus is a co-occupant of God’s heavenly throne, which no one besides Yahweh sits upon.

For example, John records the Lord Jesus speaking of the glory he possessed with the Father before the world came into existence:

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” John 17:5

John also quotes Jesus as plainly testifying that his kingdom is not of this world, but is actually heavenly:

“Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?’ Pilate answered, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.’ Therefore Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’” John 18:33-37

This perfectly comports with Jesus’ repeated claim to have come down from the Father’s presence in heaven:

“No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.” John 3:13

“‘All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.’ Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread that came down out of heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, “I have come down out of heaven”?’… ‘What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?’” John 6:37-42, 62

“Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, ‘You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.’” John 7:28-29

“And He was saying to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.’” John 8:23

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.’” John 8:42

“‘These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.’ His disciples said, ‘Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe?’” John 16:25-31

“for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.” John 17:8

Since Jesus came down from the Father out of heaven, this means that his kingdom must also be from there. As such, it seems reasonably certain that an essential aspect of the glory which the Lord Jesus set aside, and which he was going to receive back again, had to do with his voluntarily relinquishing his position as heavenly king.

This comes out from what John writes elsewhere:

“Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.” John 12:37-41 NIV

According to John, the prophet Isaiah spoke about the Lord Jesus in Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10 because he saw Christ’s glory. Note how the following translations render the last part of the sentence

“Isaiah said these things because he saw the glory of Christ, and spoke about him.” John 12:41 J. B. Philips

“(Yesha‘yahu said these things because he saw the Sh’khinah of Yeshua and spoke about him.)” Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

“These things Yeshayah spoke because he saw the kavod (glory) of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach and he spoke about him. [Isa 6:1]” Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach means “Rabbi/Master, the King Messiah.”

However, according to the context of Isaiah 6 the One whose glory Isaiah saw was that of Yahweh’s, whom the prophet beheld seated on his glorious throne:

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’… Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: “Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”’” Isaiah 6:1-5, 8-10

This means that the Yahweh whom Isaiah saw seated upon his glorious throne was none other than the pre-incarnate Christ!

Ver. 41. “This did Isaiah say, when he saw his glory and spoke of him.” John justifies in this verse the application which he has just made to Jesus Christ of the vision of Is. vi. The Adonai whom Isaiah beheld at that moment was the divine being who is incarnated in Jesus. Herein also John and Paul meet together; comp. 1 Cor. x. 4, where Paul calls the one who guided Israel from the midst of the cloud Christ. Some interpreters have tried to refer the pronoun autou, of him, not to Christ, but to God. But the last words: and spoke of him, would be useless in this sense and this remark would be aimless in the context. The Alexandrian reading, "because he saw," instead of "when he saw him," is adopted by Tischendorf, Weiss, Keil, etc. But it does not appear to me acceptable. Its only reasonable sense would be: "because he really saw his glory and spoke of Him so long beforehand (a thing which seems impossible)." But this reflection would be very coldly apologetic and quite useless for readers who were accustomed to hear the prophecies quoted. It is much more easy to understand how the conjunction hote, which is quite rarely used, may have been replaced by hoti, which appears in every line, than how the reverse could have taken place. The ancient Latin and Syriac versions are agreed in supporting the received text. The sense of the latter is simple and perfectly suitable. "It was of Christ, who manifested Himself to him as Adonai, that Isaiah spoke when he uttered such words." John proves that he has the right to apply this passage here. (Frederic Louis Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of John with an Historical and Critical Introduction, translated from the third French edition with a preface introductory suggestions, and additional notes by Timothy Dwight President of Yale [Funk and Wagnals Publishers, New York 1886], Volume 2, pp. 235-236; bold emphasis ours)

Interestingly, there are several OT texts which connect Yahweh’s glory with his rule over creation:

“They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” Psalm 145:11-13

“Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.” Ezekiel 1:26-28

A throne of glory on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away from Me will be written in the dirt, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.” Jeremiah 17:12-13 HCSB

The foregoing confirms that an essential aspect of the glory which Jesus possessed with the Father before the creation of the world included his reigning alongside the Father as King of creation.

What makes this remarkable is that the inspired Scriptures amply testify that Yahweh is the only One who reigns from his throne in heaven as King over the entire heavens and earth:

“The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” Psalm 11:4

“To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!” Psalm 123:1

“And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.” Matthew 23:22 – cf. 5:34

“For the Lord Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earthFor God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.” Psalm 47:2, 7-8

The Holy Bible further proclaims that the heavenly host stands before God in attention, waiting patiently and eagerly to carry out his will:

“Micaiah said, ‘Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven STANDING BY HIM on His right and on His left.’ The Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward AND STOOD before the Lord and said, “I will entice him.” The Lord said to him, “How?” And he said, “I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, “You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.”’” 1 Kings 22:19-22

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.” Psalm 103:19-21

“A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands SERVED HIM; ten thousand times ten thousand STOOD BEFORE HIM. The court was convened, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

“The angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who STANDS in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.’” Luke 1:19

“And about the angels He says: He makes His angels winds, and His servants a fiery flame,” Hebrews 1:7

“And I saw the seven angels who STAND before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” Revelation 8:2

Thus, if Jesus were a mere human being or a spirit creature then he could never sit alongside God on his heavenly throne. Rather, Christ would be standing before the throne alongside the rest of the heavenly host, ready to serve God and obey his orders.

Therefore, Jesus has to actually be God in the flesh in order for him to be a co-occupant of God’s throne in heaven.


Answering A Potential Objection

Now someone may object at this point and argue that the Holy Bible mentions other thrones that are occupied by different individuals, such as the twelve apostles of Christ and the twenty-four elders in heaven mentioned in Revelation (cf. Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:29-30; Revelation 4:4; 20:4), and yet no Christian assumes that they too are God.

There are several problems with this argument. First, Jesus isn’t simply sitting on a throne, but on God’s own throne from which he rules over all creation, which leads us to the second point. All of these other individuals are forever subject to Christ since he reigns over them as King of kings and Lord of lords (cf. Revelation 1:5; 17:14; 19:16). Third, these other rulers are required to show their subjection to Christ by worshiping him in the same way that they worship God the Father, since they are called to serve both God and Christ forever:

“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God AND OF CHRIST and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God AND OF THE LAMB, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God AND OF THE LAMB will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:1-4

In fact, contrast the way the twenty-four elders and four living creatures worship God,

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.’ And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’” Revelation 4:1-11

With the worship given to the Lord Jesus:

“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. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 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. 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. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.’ 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, 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.’ 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 5:6-14

Every created thing in the entire creation is depicted as worshiping Jesus in the same exact way that God the Father is worshiped, thereby proving that Jesus isn’t a mere creature but God Almighty in the flesh. Otherwise, God would not allow Jesus to receive such worship since that would be both blasphemous and idolatrous. Nor is Revelation the only inspired writing which states that every creature must worship Christ as they do the Father:

“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son EVEN AS they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:22-23

“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

Remarkably, Paul adopts the following OT text which exhorts all the nations to turn and worship Yahweh since he alone is God,

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), ‘I am the Lord, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, “Seek Me in a waste place”; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright. Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.’” Isaiah 45:18-23

And applies it to the worship which God requires every creature to give to Christ himself as their risen Lord!

Now this blessed Apostle could only do this if he was convinced and truly believed that Jesus Christ is Yahweh God in the flesh (even though he isn’t the Father or the Holy Spirit).

Thus, the worship which Jesus receives simply further confirms the fact that Christ is ruling from heaven as God Incarnate, and not as a mere created agent who represents God.


The Rest of the NT Witness

In order to preempt any attempt by Muslims to raise the objection that John’s Gospel is a later, more theologically developed writing, and therefore less reliable in what it says about Christ, we have decided to present texts from the entire corpus of the NT so as to show that this view of Jesus reigning from God’s own throne in heaven goes back to the first eyewitnesses to Christ, in fact to Jesus himself.

The Son of Man will send forth HIS angels, and they will gather out of HIS kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:41-43

“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:28

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’” Matthew 25:31-46

“But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” Mark 14:61-62

Here, Jesus quotes the following OT texts to describe his Person and work:

“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” Psalm 110:1 – cf. 12:35-37; 2:29-36

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

Other NT texts include:

“You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as MY Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at MY table in MY kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Luke 22:28-30

“And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!' And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’” Luke 23:42-43

“and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:19-23

“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Ephesians 5:5

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;” Colossians 2:9-10

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom… in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearingThe Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, 18

“When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions... But to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies A footstool for Your feet?…” Hebrews 1:3, 8-9, 13

“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” 1 Peter 3:21-22

“for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:11

“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6

“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.’” Revelation 11:15

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth… And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God AND TO HIS THRONE… Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.’” Revelation 12:1-2, 5, 10

“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Revelation 17:14

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’” Revelation 19:11-16


Further Reading

Jesus as the Occupier of God’s Heavenly Throne