Manuscript Variances in Revelation

[darinhouston]

Does anyone have a list of verses from Revelation which have manuscript variations?

[dwilkins]

In addition to the more technical answers you will likely get I have found it handy to use a good NKJV for Revelation. The reason is not the translation itself, it's the manuscript notes that usually come with it. Revelation is one of the only places where there is a significant difference between the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus. All three Greek texts (those two plus the Critical Text) are usually well noted in the better NKJV copies of Revelation that I've seen.

Doug

[Paidion]

There are variants in many, if not most, of the verses. Most of the variants are minor in nature.

If you state which verses you have particular interest, I may be able to indicate the variants.

[darinhouston]

I have quite a few questions -- is there a textual critical version on the web that is pretty comprehensive. I find the grammar even in the English to be frequently ambiguous (particularly the pronoun referrants) and most of the Trinitarian prooftexts are particularly strange. Knowing where there is unanimity would be helpful. I understand the greek is pretty bad, too, so knowing where there are manuscript reasons would be helpful.

[Paidion]

Here is a website which lists the textual variations within the received text alone, for the entire New Testament—including Revelation:

http://www.bible-researcher.com/received.html

[Paidion]

And here's one which compares the Majority Text readings with those of the Received Text:

http://www.bible-researcher.com/hodges-farstad.html

[darinhouston]

Thanks. I note there is quite a bit of variance in the usage of alpha and omega,first and last, and beginning and the end. Anyone have a reference of extra-biblical historic usage of these terms? In other words, how did they come to be so uniquely associated with God? And is there a distinction between them? I see dramatic interludes of the Father speaking in Rev where others seem to associate the statements as being by Jesus but I can't keep it straight. The "clear" passages do seem to go way out of their way to distinguish between the Father and Jesus and the verses used to equate them seem suspect in interpretation and manuscript consistency.

[Duncan]

This doesn't address the manuscripts but it does address Jesus being portrayed as God in the book of Revelation.

I have heard some question whether Jesus is God. The basic answer is yes he is God but it is a little more complicated than that. Jesus is God in the flesh. It is as if God joined himself to humanity and produced uniquely begotten son. Jesus is thus the God-Man.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.


Now consider the book of Revelation. We are emphatically told that only God should be worshipped. Twice John tries to worship the angel that is showing him the amazing visions. Each time he is rebuked.

Rev. 19:10Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Rev. 22:8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”

Again, only God should be worshiped. Now look at Revelation chapters 4 and 5. In these chapters we see the following: 1. the worship of God and then 2. the worship of the Lamb (Jesus) and then 3. the worship of both.

1. First we see the four living creatures fall down and worship God.

5 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; 6and 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. 7The 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. 8And 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." 9And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10the 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, 11"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,
Revelation 4:5-11

2. Next we see the four living creatures fall down and worship the Lamb

6And 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. 7And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8When 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. 9And 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." 11Then 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, 12saying 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."
Revelation 5:6-12

3. Finally, we see all of creation worship both God and the Lamb.

13And 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." 14And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.
Revelation 5:13-14

Jesus is God in the flesh—the Son of God—the God-Man. He shares the throne with his Father.

Rev. 22:1Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Similarly, God and the Lamb are the temple (the location of God) in heaven.

Rev. 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.


When John sees the Son of Man in Revelation 1:14, he has white hair. To find the meaning of the white hair one has to go back to Daniel 7. In Daniel 7 the Son of Man is seen coming to the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9-14). The Ancient of Days (God the Father) is seen as having white hair (Dan. 7:9). White hair (something that comes with advanced age) is being used in Daniel 7 as a symbol of the eternality of the Ancient of Days. Thus, the Son of Man having white hair is symbolic of the eternality of Jesus (cf. Isa. 9:6). The combination of the image of the Son of Man with that of the Ancient of Days (the white hair) is especially powerful; it reveals Jesus to be a combination of both God and man.

[darinhouston]

Thanks -- I do appreciate those "proofs" but they are SO full of deductive and unproven premises and assumptions that they don't really go very far in the way of proving the point in the face of such clear verses distinguishing the two. At best, I think it' remains a paradox or true contradiction.

[Duncan]

Yes God and the Lamb are distinguished in Revelation. It is the throne of God and the Lamb (Rev. 22:1). This is a good thing; if they were exactly the same then it would be teaching oneness theology. God and Jesus (the God-man) are not the same thing. They are both God, however. We are told that God is the one "who was and is and is to come" (Rev. 4:8). Does God come in Revelation? Yes, the Word of God (Jesus) comes in Rev. 19:11-21.
Maybe I am missing your point but I do not see Jesus being distinguished from God in some places in Revelation as a problem. He is the Word of God--the God-man.

Here is something from volume II of my book on the names of Jesus.

THE NAMES OF THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE
Four names are given for the rider on the white horse in Revelation 19: “Faithful and True” (v. 11); “A name that no one knew except Himself” (v. 12); “The Word of God” (v. 13); “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (v. 16). The Bible often uses a name for more than just a designation of a person; many times a person’s name also gives information about the essential nature of that person—not just who a person is but what a person is (cf. Rev. 3:12).

For example, Immanuel (which means God with us) is not a name that Jesus ever used; rather it is an indication of what Jesus is, God in the flesh (Matt. 1:23). The name “Jesus” is the Greek form of the OT name Joshua (which means God is salvation). A connection is thus made between Jesus’ name and his mission: “And she will bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus having “the name which is above every name” speaks not so much of an important name but of an exalted position (Phil. 2:9). Given this, Jesus having the name The Word of God in Revelation 19:13 reveals him to be just that, the eternal Word of God. The sword that comes out of his mouth (v. 15) is symbolic of this fact. Elsewhere in Scripture a sword (the sword of the Spirit) is used as a symbol for God’s written word (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12).

Jesus possessing the name King of Kings and Lord of Lords (v. 16) reveals him to be the Supreme Ruler (cf. Matt. 28:18). The many crowns on his head (v. 12) are symbolic of this fact. Jesus having the name Faithful and True speaks of his faithfulness. The Hebrew idea of being true was closely related to that of being faithful. Ladd writes the following on this: “[Faithful and True] are practically synonymous in meaning, for the Hebrew idea of truth was not basically correspondence to reality as in Greek thought, but reliability. The ‘God of truth’ (Jer. 10:10) is not the God who reveals eternal truth, but the God who can be trusted to keep his covenant.”11 It should be noted that in the OT the One who was faithful and true and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is none other than Yahweh himself (Jer. 42:5; Dan. 4:37 LXX).

The meaning of the name Jesus has “that no one knew except Himself” (Rev. 19:12) is not totally clear. It is possible that this unknown name of Jesus (indicating something unknown or unknowable about his nature) could be an indication of the depth of mystery of who he is. The mystery of Jesus being both God and man is too profound for us to fully comprehend. As the Angel of the Lord (probably a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus) says in Judges 13:18: “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” The Angel of the Lord was saying that a mere mortal would not be able to comprehend the full magnitude of his name (i.e., his nature); it would be beyond his understanding.

A similar encounter happens between Moses and the Angel of the Lord (Exod. 3:1-12). When Moses asks him his name, Moses was not just asking who he is but what he is. This helps to explain God’s response: I AM WHO I AM (Exod. 3:13-16; cf. John 8:56-59). One cannot give a simple definition of Yahweh: he is self existent and eternal; he is anything he wants to be. Thus, it takes a number of names to even begin to describe who and what Jesus is: “. . . His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6 NASB). As Beale concludes, “At the very least, the unknown name of Rev. 19:12 must be considered a divine name because the revealed names in vv. 11 and 16 are OT names for God.”12