One sitting on the throne
UPCI vociferously claims that there is only one throne in heaven, and that Jesus is seated on that throne. This is primarily founded on Revelation 4:2, which will be explored at the end of this article. Meanwhile, consider these 15 scriptures Oneness theology notoriously ignores. If there is no distinction between Jesus and his Father, how can he be seated at his own right hand, and why would the Bible even make such a claim?
But....
Mark 14:62a - Jesus is responding to the question, "Are you the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus replied, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power..."
Mark 16:19 - "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God."
Luke 22:69 - "But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God."
Acts 2:33a - "Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit..."
Acts 7:55 - "But [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."
Acts 7:56 - "And [Stephen] said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'."
Romans 8:34 - "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."
Ephesians 1:20 - "that [the Father] worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places."Colossians 3:1 - "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."
Hebrews 1:3b - "After making purification for sins, [Jesus] sat down at the right hand of Majesty on high." It's apparent from the context of this chapter in all English versions of the Bible that Majesty, here, refers to God the Father. Regardless, this dovetails perfectly with Acts 2:33.
Hebrews 1:13 - In reference to the Father speaking to Jesus, "And 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 8:1 - "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven."
Hebrews 11:12-13 - "But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet."
Hebrews 12:2 - "Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
I Peter 3:22 - Jesus, "who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him..."
Now consider Revelation 4:2 - "At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne." There is no discussion of the who the "one" is which is sitting on the throne. The remainder of the chapter proceeds to describe the various individuals/beings seated around this heavenly throne. Chapter 5 opens with the one sitting on the throne having a scroll in his right hand. Unfortunately, there was no one present at the time worthy to open the scroll; that is, until verse 6, which proceeds to describe a "Lamb" standing, "as though it had been slain," whose blood ransomed the People of God. This is a clear reference to Jesus Christ. While I will be the last to assert I know perfectly what this chapter is describing, there are a few things that are obvious to the reader. The main thing is that it is not Jesus who was seated on the throne discussed in 4:2. This may shock some people, and this is not meant in any way to denigrate Jesus or his New Testament role in salvation. However, I can only rely on what the Bible says, and it makes it clear in Revelation 5 that Jesus was not the one seated on the throne in Revelation 4.
From the rest of New Testament scripture, however, we see that, up until Revelation 4, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, praying for us continually. This gives the believer hope that, not only did Jesus rise from the grave, he is our heavenly advocate and his blood has already washed away all of our sins - past, present, and future.
8 comments:
RE: Thrones
Rev. 4:2 "...One sat on the throne." Rev. 5:7-9 "...for thou wast slain." Uh oh! these scriptures reveal Jesus is sitting on the one and only throne in heaven. I Tim. 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Well, who is God? Christ Jesus! Eph. 4:6 "...One God and Father of all" Romans 8:11 "...His spirit that dwelleth in you." Therefore, Jesus is the Holy Ghost. Acts 4:12 "For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Whose name?--Jesus. Isaiah 44:6 "...beside me there is no God". John 1:10-18 The world was made by Him--Jesus. The Word was made flesh--Jesus! To hear a great song about "Only One God" go to Youtube--Pentecost--CLC, "Only One God". John 1:18 "No man hath seen God...the only begotten Son." It is obvious, Jesus is the One God.
Hi Anonymous, Rev. 4 & 5 were what I was *attempting* to address above. You're quite right, Rev. 5:7-9 is indeed talking about the one who was slain - Jesus. BUT, look at verse 6, which says, "I saw a Lamb STANDING, as though it had been slain..." Clearly, Jesus, the Lamb slain, was not the one sitting on the throne discussed in 5:1...
John 1:18 is similar, particularly in its use of multiple-personage pronouns: "He [Jesus] hath declared him [God]," (KJV). Jesus declared his Father, and this verse quite clearly states this. This is an argument AGAINST Oneness because there are TWO personages described here, not one.
I need a little more clarification on how the other verses you posted are pertinent to a discussion of Oneness. I understand that Oneness preachers claim that belief in the Trinity constitutes belief in three Gods, but that is simply indefensible and a complete fabrication meant to discourage parishioners from questioning Oneness. Perhaps you could elaborate on how those verses strengthen a Jesus-only argument?
God is a Spirit. He fills all heaven and earth. The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. God does not have a right hand nor a left hand. He is Spirit.
"Right hand of God" is an anthropomorphism for the place of supreme power and authority.
Anonymous - would you care to offer any scripture to support your thesis?
And what do you make of the verbs "sitting" and "standing"? And what about Hebrews 1:13 where Jesus is TOLD to sit down?
Just so we're clear, are you arguing that Stephen's dying words in Acts 7 were simply metaphor?
I'm not sure you read the 16 scriptures posted above. They are plain. Unfortunately, this is also exemplifying a plain attempt to manipulate scripture to fit a manmade myth - Oneness.
EC
I do not know where you attended a UPCI church or who the pastor may have been but, being in the oneness movement for some 36 years and having parents and grandparents that were also of this basic doctrinal belief, I don't think I never heard anyone say there was only one throne. There are many thrones mentioned throughout scripture as well as the judgment seat. The phrase on the "right hand" is not significant for this topic. Don't throw out the Apostles doctrine just because you had a problem with an organization that was/is corrupt.
HI! I just want to ask something, I'm quite new with these doctrine thingy. I'm just confused, is the statement "right hand of God" or "right hand of the throne of God" means there is a "right hand" of God??? Are you talking about a literal "right hand of God"?? If God is a spirit will he have a right hand, left hand, head, legs, etc.??? And if Christ was seen by John as "standing", separate from the One "sitting" on the throne, then that means Christ and the Father could not be one right??? Can you make a personal reply to this inquiry??? Here's my email: takatsuke@hotmail.com... I'm just really confused with your argument.. Sorry..
If Jesus Christ is not the one who's sitting on the throne, then it is the Father right???If the Father and Jesus christ is One, then Jesus Christ is sitting on the throne... takatsuke@hotmail.com...
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