A detailed Quick Facts infographic examining the textual evidence for Revelation 1:11. It compares the King James Version with the Berean Literal Bible and highlights commentary and manuscript evidence concerning the disputed words “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

QUICK FACTS: DID JESUS REALLY SAY “I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA” IN REVELATION 1:11?

PART ONE — WHAT DO THE OLDEST MANUSCRIPTS SAY?

Research by Simon Brown

There is a surprisingly simple textual problem in Revelation 1:11 that every Christian Bible student should know about.

For centuries, readers of the King James Version have read words that appear to have Jesus saying:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…”

— Revelation 1:11, KJV

This verse has therefore sometimes been used as evidence that Jesus personally declared Himself to be “the Alpha and Omega.”

As the screenshot reproduced in this article demonstrates, some Trinitarian teachers and websites have specifically included Revelation 1:11 among the verses they use to support that claim.

But there is a major problem:

The words “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” are absent from important early Greek manuscript witnesses.

That is why these words disappear completely from the Berean Literal Bible and many other modern translations.

So what happened?

Let us look at the Quick Facts.

---

QUICK FACT 1 — WHAT DOES THE KING JAMES VERSION SAY?

The King James Version reads:

“Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book…”

— Revelation 1:11, KJV

Notice those opening words:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

If these words were part of the original text of Revelation, they would obviously be important.

But now compare the same verse in the Berean Literal Bible:

“Saying, ‘What you see, write in a book and send to the seven churches: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’”

— Revelation 1:11, BLB

Something very important is missing.

The BLB does not say:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

It simply begins:

“What you see, write in a book…”

Why such a dramatic difference?

---

QUICK FACT 2 — THE DIFFERENCE COMES FROM THE GREEK TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

This is not simply a case of modern translators deciding that they did not like the words.

The longer reading found in the KJV belongs to a later Greek textual tradition.

The clause:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”

is absent from important early Greek manuscript witnesses and consequently does not appear in the standard critical Greek text followed by many modern Bible translations.

That is why translations such as the Berean Literal Bible, NIV, ESV and NASB do not contain these words in Revelation 1:11.

So the important question is not:

Which English Bible do I personally prefer?

The important question is:

What did the earliest recoverable Greek text of Revelation 1:11 actually say?

According to modern critical textual scholarship, the evidence strongly supports the shorter reading:

“What you see, write in a book…”

without:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

---

QUICK FACT 3 — WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU TO SIMPLY TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

This is why the screenshots reproduced in this article are important.

Readers can examine the evidence for themselves.

As shown in the screenshot from the Trinitarian website GotQuestions, their article states:

“Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the ‘Alpha and Omega’ in Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; and 22:13.”

Notice particularly:

Revelation 1:11.

It is specifically included as evidence that Jesus proclaimed Himself “the Alpha and Omega.”

But now compare that statement with what recognised Bible commentaries themselves say about the text of Revelation 1:11.

---

QUICK FACT 4 — EVEN TRINITARIAN BIBLE COMMENTARIES ACKNOWLEDGE THE TEXTUAL PROBLEM

This is not a textual issue invented by people who reject the Trinity.

It has long been recognised by mainstream biblical commentators, including Trinitarian scholars.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states concerning Revelation 1:11:

“The oldest manuscripts all omit this clause.”

What clause?

The very words:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges likewise describes the words “I am … the last” in this location as:

“Not genuine in this place.”

That is extremely important.

On one side, we have Revelation 1:11 being presented as evidence that Jesus proclaimed Himself “the Alpha and Omega.”

On the other side, textual scholarship acknowledges that the very words needed to make that argument are absent from important early manuscript evidence.

That is the textual problem every reader deserves to know about.

Quick Facts: Does Romans 9:5 Really Call Jesus “God Over All”? What Did Paul Actually Mean?

 

A detailed Quick Facts Bible study image examining Romans 9:5 and the disputed phrase “God over all.” The study compares different ways the Greek sentence can be understood and examines Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 11:31 and Romans 1:25 using the Berean Literal Bible.

QUICK FACTS:

DOES ROMANS 9:5 REALLY CALL JESUS “GOD OVER ALL”?

WHAT DID PAUL ACTUALLY MEAN?

PART ONE

INTRODUCTION

Romans 9:5 is frequently used as evidence that the apostle Paul explicitly called:

JESUS:

“GOD OVER ALL.”

Some modern translations make this interpretation appear extremely clear.

But there is a problem.

The earliest Greek manuscripts did not contain the modern punctuation that translators place into the sentence.

And punctuation can substantially affect how:

ROMANS 9:5

is understood.

So before building an important doctrine upon this verse, we should ask:

WHAT DOES THE GREEK ACTUALLY SAY?

HOW SHOULD THE SENTENCE BE PUNCTUATED?

AND:

DOES PAUL'S INTERPRETATION ELSEWHERE HELP US IDENTIFY THE:

“GOD OVER ALL”?

QUICK FACT 1 — LOOK FIRST AT ROMANS 9:5 IN THE BLB

The Berean Literal Bible reads:

“whose are the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, being over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen.”

— Romans 9:5, BLB

Notice the wording carefully:

“THE CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH,

BEING OVER ALL,

GOD BLESSED TO THE AGES.

AMEN.”

The difficulty is determining exactly how the final words relate to what precedes them.

QUICK FACT 2 — SOME MODERN TRANSLATIONS MAKE THE INTERPRETATION MUCH MORE EXPLICIT

Compare translations that render the passage essentially as:

THE CHRIST,

WHO IS:

GOD OVER ALL.

That punctuation and word arrangement immediately encourages the reader to conclude:

PAUL CALLED JESUS:

GOD.

But the important question is:

DID PAUL HIMSELF SUPPLY THAT MODERN PUNCTUATION?

NO.

The punctuation represents:

A TRANSLATIONAL DECISION.

Therefore we should distinguish:

THE INSPIRED GREEK WORDS

from:

THE LATER PUNCTUATION USED TO INTERPRET THOSE WORDS.

QUICK FACT 3 — ANCIENT GREEK MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT SETTLE THE QUESTION WITH A MODERN COMMA OR FULL STOP

This is the heart of the problem.

Ancient manuscripts such as:

CODEX VATICANUS

and:

CODEX SINAITICUS

do not give us Romans 9:5 with the complete modern punctuation system found in today's English Bibles.

Therefore translators must decide how the sentence should be punctuated.

And that matters enormously.

One punctuation can produce the sense:

CHRIST...

WHO IS GOD OVER ALL.

Another can separate the concluding praise so that it refers to:

GOD,

WHO IS OVER ALL,

BLESSED FOREVER.

Therefore:

PUNCTUATION

becomes part of the interpretation.

QUICK FACT 4 — PAUL TELLS US VERY CLEARLY WHO HIS “ONE GOD” IS

This is where Paul's undisputed statements become extremely important.

Paul writes:

“Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through Him.”

— 1 Corinthians 8:6, BLB

Notice Paul's words:

“ONE GOD,

THE FATHER.”

Then Paul separately identifies:

“ONE LORD,

JESUS CHRIST.”

Paul does NOT say:

ONE GOD:

THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST.

His explicit statement is:

“ONE GOD,

THE FATHER.”

QUICK FACT 5 — PAUL ALSO TELLS US WHO IS “OVER ALL”

This is particularly important for Romans 9:5.

Paul writes:

“One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

— Ephesians 4:6, BLB

Who does Paul explicitly say is:

“OVER ALL”?

THE:

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL.”

Therefore compare:

ROMANS 9:5 — DISPUTED:

“GOD...

OVER ALL...”

WITH:

EPHESIANS 4:6 — CLEAR:

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL,

WHO IS OVER ALL.”

This should immediately make us cautious about claiming that Romans 9:5 unquestionably identifies:

JESUS

as:

“GOD OVER ALL.”

QUICK FACT 6 — PAUL CALLS THE FATHER THE GOD OF JESUS

Paul repeatedly writes:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...”

— Ephesians 1:3, BLB

Notice:

JESUS CHRIST:

HAS A GOD.

And Paul identifies Him as:

THE FATHER.

Therefore Paul's normal distinction is:

GOD:

THE FATHER.

AND:

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:

GOD'S SON.

QUICK FACT 7 — PAUL USES VERY SIMILAR “BLESSED FOREVER” LANGUAGE FOR THE FATHER

This is one of the strongest pieces of comparative evidence.

Paul writes:

“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, the One being blessed to the ages, knows that I am not lying.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:31, BLB

Notice:

“THE GOD AND FATHER OF THE LORD JESUS”

is:

“BLESSED TO THE AGES.”

Now compare Romans 9:5:

“GOD BLESSED TO THE AGES.

AMEN.”

The language is strikingly similar.

Therefore the concluding words of Romans 9:5 can reasonably be investigated as:

A DOXOLOGY OF PRAISE TO GOD.

QUICK FACT 8 — PAUL DOES SOMETHING SIMILAR EARLIER IN ROMANS

Romans 1:25 speaks about:

“the Creator, who is blessed to the ages. Amen.”

— Romans 1:25, BLB

Again:

THE CREATOR

↓

“BLESSED TO THE AGES”

↓

“AMEN.”

Compare:

ROMANS 1:25:

“BLESSED TO THE AGES. AMEN.”

ROMANS 9:5:

“GOD BLESSED TO THE AGES. AMEN.”

This is important Pauline evidence.

Paul unquestionably uses this kind of doxological language concerning:

GOD.

QUICK FACT 9 — THEREFORE WE SHOULD COMPARE PAUL WITH PAUL

Rather than allowing punctuation in one disputed verse to determine our theology, compare Paul's clear statements:

“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”

— 1 Corinthians 8:6

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS OVER ALL.”

— Ephesians 4:6

“THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.”

— Ephesians 1:3

“THE GOD AND FATHER OF THE LORD JESUS, THE ONE BEING BLESSED TO THE AGES.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:31

And:

“THE CREATOR, WHO IS BLESSED TO THE AGES. AMEN.”

— Romans 1:25

Then return to:

ROMANS 9:5.

Does Paul suddenly contradict this pattern and identify:

JESUS

as:

“GOD OVER ALL”?

Or should the final words be understood consistently with Paul's repeated praise of:

GOD THE FATHER?

That is the real question.

QUICK FACT 10 — WE DO NOT NEED TO ACCUSE THE GREEK TEXT OF BEING WRONG

The problem is not:

THE ORIGINAL GREEK.

The question concerns:

HOW THE GREEK IS PUNCTUATED AND TRANSLATED.

That distinction is extremely important.

The Greek text should be:

EXAMINED.

The punctuation should be:

TESTED.

The translation should be:

COMPARED.

And Paul's other writings should be allowed to:

INTERPRET PAUL.

We should never build a major doctrine merely upon punctuation supplied centuries after:

THE APOSTLE PAUL.

CONTINUED IN:

PART TWO — FINAL CONCLUSION

In Part Two we will finish the investigation.

We will examine:

THE ALTERNATIVE PUNCTUATION OF ROMANS 9:5.

WHETHER “OVER ALL” MUST REFER TO JESUS.

PAUL'S OTHER DOXOLOGIES TO GOD.

THE ARGUMENT THAT THE GREEK GRAMMAR FAVOURS APPLYING “GOD” TO CHRIST.

AND:

WHETHER ROMANS 9:5 CAN HONESTLY BE CALLED PROOF THAT:

JESUS IS GOD.

Then we will reach our final conclusion.

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.

COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.

EXAMINE THE GREEK.

COMPARE PAUL WITH PAUL.

DISTINGUISH THE ORIGINAL WORDS FROM TRANSLATOR-SUPPLIED PUNCTUATION.

TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.

FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS. 

What Did Isaiah See? A Bible Study of Isaiah 6:1 and John 12:41

 

What did Isaiah really see? A careful Bible study of Isaiah 6:1 and John 12:41 comparing Yahweh’s throne vision with Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the coming Messiah.

QUICK FACTS:

ISAIAH 6:1 AND JOHN 12:41
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?

A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TRINITARIAN PROOF TEXTS

INTRODUCTION

John 12:41 is frequently presented as powerful evidence that Jesus is Yahweh, the God whom Isaiah saw upon the throne in Isaiah 6.

The argument is usually very simple:

ISAIAH SAW YAHWEH.

↓

JOHN SAYS ISAIAH SAW “HIS GLORY.”

↓

THE CONTEXT IN JOHN CONCERNS JESUS.

↓

THEREFORE:

ISAIAH SAW JESUS.

↓

THEREFORE:

JESUS IS YAHWEH.

At first sight this can appear to be a powerful argument.

But is that actually what John is teaching?

Does John explicitly say:

JESUS IS YAHWEH?

Does he say:

THE PERSON ISAIAH SAW SITTING ON THE THRONE WAS JESUS CHRIST?

Or is John connecting Isaiah's prophetic visions and words with:

THE GLORY OF THE COMING MESSIAH

and:

THE REJECTION OF THE MESSIAH?

To answer this properly, we cannot isolate:

JOHN 12:41.

We must examine:

ISAIAH 6.

ISAIAH 53.

JOHN 12:37–41.

ISAIAH'S TEACHING ABOUT YAHWEH.

ISAIAH'S TEACHING ABOUT THE SERVANT.

AND:

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN GOD AND HIS MESSIAH.

QUICK FACT 1 — ISAIAH 6 DESCRIBES A VISION OF THE LORD

Isaiah writes:

“In the year of the death of King Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up...”

— Isaiah 6:1

Then the seraphim proclaim:

“Holy, holy, holy, is LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

— Isaiah 6:3

The Hebrew text identifies the one being praised as:

YHWH OF HOSTS.

Therefore there is no dispute that Isaiah 6 concerns:

THE GLORY OF YAHWEH.

The real question is:

DOES JOHN 12:41 IDENTIFY JESUS HIMSELF AS THIS YAHWEH?

QUICK FACT 2 — ISAIAH CONSISTENTLY DESCRIBES YAHWEH AS THE ONE GOD

Before deciding that Isaiah's God is actually Jesus, we should first ask:

HOW DOES ISAIAH HIMSELF DESCRIBE GOD?

Isaiah says:

“O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone are the LORD.”

— Isaiah 37:20

Notice:

“YOU ALONE ARE THE LORD.”

Isaiah repeatedly uses this kind of exclusive language concerning Yahweh.

QUICK FACT 3 — ISAIAH SAYS THERE IS NO GOD BESIDES YAHWEH

Isaiah records Yahweh saying:

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.”

— Isaiah 45:5

Again:

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”

— Isaiah 46:9

Again:

“Is there a God besides Me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

— Isaiah 44:8

Whatever theological interpretation we eventually adopt, Isaiah's language is unmistakably:

MONOTHEISTIC.

There is:

ONE GOD.

NO OTHER GOD BESIDES HIM.

QUICK FACT 4 — ISAIAH CALLS YAHWEH “YOUR HOLY ONE”

Isaiah records:

“I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

— Isaiah 43:15

Notice the singular language:

“I.”

“YOUR HOLY ONE.”

“YOUR KING.”

Throughout Isaiah, Yahweh speaks as:

THE ONE GOD OF ISRAEL.

Therefore if someone claims Isaiah teaches that the Messiah is this same God, that conclusion needs to be demonstrated from the text rather than assumed.

QUICK FACT 5 — ISAIAH ALSO SPEAKS OF A SERVANT CHOSEN BY GOD

Now something extremely important happens.

Isaiah does not merely speak about:

YAHWEH.

He also speaks about:

YAHWEH'S SERVANT.

God says:

“Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him...”

— Isaiah 42:1

Notice the distinction:

GOD:

SPEAKS.

↓

GOD HAS:

A SERVANT.

↓

GOD:

CHOSES HIM.

↓

GOD:

DELIGHTS IN HIM.

↓

GOD PUTS:

HIS SPIRIT UPON HIM.

The most natural reading presents:

THE ONE WHO SENDS

and:

THE ONE WHO IS SENT

as distinguishable.

QUICK FACT 6 — ISAIAH 53 ALSO DISTINGUISHES YAHWEH FROM THE SUFFERING SERVANT

This distinction becomes even clearer in:

ISAIAH 53.

We read:

“the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

— Isaiah 53:6

Notice:

YAHWEH:

LAYS THE INIQUITY

ON:

THE SERVANT.

Then Isaiah describes the servant as:

“stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

— Isaiah 53:4

Again we have:

GOD

and:

THE SUFFERING SERVANT.

This distinction is central to Isaiah's prophecy.

QUICK FACT 7 — THE SERVANT IS THE ONE WHO SUFFERS AND DIES

Isaiah says the servant was:

“pierced for our transgressions.”

— Isaiah 53:5

He was:

“cut off out of the land of the living.”

— Isaiah 53:8

And:

“poured out His soul to death.”

— Isaiah 53:12

The New Testament applies this suffering-servant prophecy to:

JESUS CHRIST.

Therefore Isaiah gives us a powerful prophetic pattern:

YAHWEH:

THE GOD WHO PURPOSES SALVATION.

↓

THE SERVANT:

THE ONE THROUGH WHOM GOD'S SAVING PURPOSE IS ACCOMPLISHED.

QUICK FACT 8 — JESUS HIMSELF DESCRIBES HIS MISSION AS DOING THE WILL OF THE ONE WHO SENT HIM

Jesus says:

“For I have come down from heaven, not that I should do My will, but the will of the One having sent Me.”— John 6:38, BLB

Notice:

JESUS HAS:

A WILL.

↓

THE ONE WHO SENT HIM HAS:

A WILL.

↓

JESUS CAME TO DO:

THE WILL OF THE ONE WHO SENT HIM.

This fits naturally with Isaiah's distinction between:

GOD

and:

HIS SERVANT.

QUICK FACT 9 — JOHN 12 QUOTES TWO DIFFERENT PASSAGES FROM ISAIAH

Now we come to the crucial evidence.

John writes:

“Though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him.”

— John 12:37

Then John quotes Isaiah:

“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

— John 12:38

This quotation comes from:

ISAIAH 53:1.

That is extremely important.

John is explicitly connecting the unbelief surrounding Jesus with:

ISAIAH'S SUFFERING-SERVANT PROPHECY.

But John then gives another Isaiah quotation:

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart...”

— John 12:40

This comes from:

ISAIAH 6:10.

Therefore John deliberately brings together:

ISAIAH 53

and:

ISAIAH 6.

Any serious interpretation of John 12:41 must acknowledge:

BOTH PASSAGES.

QUICK FACT 10 — JOHN THEN SAYS ISAIAH “SAW HIS GLORY”

John concludes:

“Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.”

— John 12:41, BLB

This is the central verse.

The Trinitarian argument is:

“HIS”

refers to:

JESUS.

Therefore:

ISAIAH SAW JESUS' GLORY.

And because Isaiah 6 describes:

YAHWEH'S GLORY,

the conclusion is:

JESUS IS YAHWEH.

But there is an important question:

DOES SEEING THE GLORY OF THE MESSIAH IN PROPHETIC VISION NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE MESSIAH IS IDENTICAL TO YAHWEH?

That conclusion does not automatically follow.

QUICK FACT 11 — PROPHETS COULD “SEE” FUTURE MESSIANIC EVENTS

Jesus says something remarkable concerning Abraham:

“Abraham your father rejoiced that he should see My day; and he saw it and rejoiced.”

— John 8:56, BLB

Abraham:

“SAW”

CHRIST'S DAY.

But this does not mean Abraham literally saw Jesus physically standing before him during Jesus' earthly ministry.

The language concerns:

PROPHETIC PERCEPTION

of a future reality.

Likewise Isaiah could:

SEE CHRIST'S GLORY

and:

SPEAK ABOUT CHRIST

through prophecy without this automatically meaning:

ISAIAH BELIEVED JESUS WAS YAHWEH.

QUICK FACT 12 — JESUS HIMSELF SAYS THE PROPHETS SPOKE ABOUT HIM

After His resurrection Jesus says:

“Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

— Luke 24:26, BLB

Then:

“having begun from Moses and from all the Prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

— Luke 24:27, BLB

Notice the connection:

THE PROPHETS:

SPOKE ABOUT CHRIST.

↓

CHRIST:

SUFFERS.

↓

CHRIST:

ENTERS INTO HIS GLORY.

Therefore John saying Isaiah:

“SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM”

can naturally be understood within the broader New Testament teaching that:

ISAIAH PROPHETICALLY SAW AND SPOKE ABOUT THE MESSIAH.

QUICK FACT 13 — JOHN 12:41 DOES NOT CONTAIN THE SENTENCE “JESUS IS YAHWEH”

This simple fact matters.

John does not write:

ISAIAH SAW JESUS BECAUSE JESUS IS YAHWEH.

He does not write:

THE LORD SITTING UPON THE THRONE IN ISAIAH 6:1 WAS JESUS.

He writes:

“ISAIAH SAID THESE THINGS BECAUSE HE SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.”

Therefore:

JESUS IS YAHWEH

is:

AN INTERPRETIVE CONCLUSION

drawn from the passage.

It is not:

AN EXPLICIT STATEMENT MADE BY JOHN.

CONTINUED IN:

PART TWO

In Part Two we will examine the strongest challenge to this interpretation:

IF JOHN 12:40 DIRECTLY QUOTES ISAIAH 6:10, DOES “HIS GLORY” IN JOHN 12:41 REFER BACK TO ISAIAH'S VISION OF YAHWEH?

We will examine:

ISAIAH 6:1–10.

JOHN 12:37–41.

ISAIAH 53:1.

THE TWO ISAIAH QUOTATIONS JOHN PLACES TOGETHER.

THE GLORY OF GOD.

THE GLORY OF THE MESSIAH.

AND:

WHETHER SHARING OR REVEALING GOD'S GLORY MAKES JESUS THE SAME BEING AS GOD.

Then we will compare this with the many passages describing Jesus as:

AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.

The central question remains:

DID JOHN REALLY IDENTIFY JESUS AS YAHWEH—

OR:

DID ISAIAH PROPHETICALLY SEE THE GLORY OF GOD'S COMING MESSIAH?

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.

COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.

EXAMINE THE ORIGINAL CONTEXT.

TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.

FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.

Chapter 2: State of the Dead — Are the Dead Alive in Heaven or Asleep Awaiting the Resurrection?

 

A biblical study of the state of the dead examining Scripture's teaching about death, sleep, the grave, the return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, immortality, final judgment and eternal life.

For Chapter 1: Quick Facts: Are the Dead Alive or Dead? What the Bible Really Teaches and FULL article click here:

STATE OF THE DEAD — STUDY RECAP

ARE THE DEAD ALIVE IN HEAVEN, OR ASLEEP AWAITING THE RESURRECTION?

Before continuing with Part 24, let us briefly recap the biblical evidence we have examined throughout this study so far.

The central question has been simple:

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACH HAPPENS WHEN A PERSON DIES?

Are the dead consciously alive in heaven, hell, Hades or some other spiritual realm?

Or does Scripture teach that the dead are truly dead — described as sleeping or resting — while awaiting the future resurrection?

THE FOUNDATION OF OUR STUDY

Throughout this study we have repeatedly found Scripture describing death as:

SLEEP.

REST.

SILENCE.

RETURNING TO DUST.

AND:

WAITING FOR RESURRECTION.

Ecclesiastes tells us:

“The dead know nothing...”

— Ecclesiastes 9:5

The Psalmist says:

“His spirit goes forth, he returns to his earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.”

— Psalm 146:4

Daniel describes:

“those sleeping in the dust of the earth”

who will one day:

“AWAKE.”

— Daniel 12:2

Daniel himself was told:

“you will rest; and you will arise for your inheritance at the end of the days.”

— Daniel 12:13, BLB

JESUS CALLED DEATH “SLEEP”

When Lazarus died, Jesus said:

“Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep...”

— John 11:11, BLB

When the disciples misunderstood Him, Jesus explained plainly:

“Lazarus has died.”

— John 11:14, BLB

Jesus then told Martha:

“Your brother will rise again.”

— John 11:23, BLB

Martha answered:

“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day.”

— John 11:24, BLB

This became one of the major foundations of our study:

DEATH.

↓

SLEEP.

↓

THE LAST DAY.

↓

RESURRECTION.

PAUL TAUGHT THE SAME RESURRECTION HOPE

Paul repeatedly described dead Christians as:

“THOSE HAVING FALLEN ASLEEP.”

— 1 Thessalonians 4:13–15, BLB

He did not tell grieving Christians that their dead relatives were already consciously alive in heaven.

Instead he pointed them toward the return of Jesus:

“THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST.”

— 1 Thessalonians 4:16, BLB

Then the living and resurrected believers will be:

“CAUGHT AWAY TOGETHER WITH THEM”

to meet the Lord.

— 1 Thessalonians 4:17, BLB

Paul therefore directs the Christian hope toward:

THE RETURN OF JESUS.

THE RESURRECTION.

AND:

IMMORTALITY.

WHEN DO BELIEVERS RECEIVE IMMORTALITY?

Paul tells us:

“For it behooves this perishable to put on imperishable, and this mortal to put on immortality.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:53, BLB

Notice:

THE MORTAL MUST:

“PUT ON IMMORTALITY.”

Immortality is therefore not simply assumed to be something every human being already possesses naturally.

Paul connects immortality with:

THE RESURRECTION

AND:

THE LAST TRUMPET.

— 1 Corinthians 15:51–54

THE DIFFICULT PASSAGES WE HAVE EXAMINED

Throughout this study we have also confronted the passages most frequently used to argue that the dead remain consciously alive.

We have examined:

THE THIEF ON THE CROSS
— Luke 23:43

“ABSENT FROM THE BODY, PRESENT WITH THE LORD”
— 2 Corinthians 5:8

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
— Luke 16:19–31

CHRIST AND THE “SPIRITS IN PRISON”
— 1 Peter 3:18–20

“GOD WILL BRING WITH HIM THOSE HAVING FALLEN ASLEEP”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:14

THE “SOULS” UNDER THE ALTAR
— Revelation 6:9–11

“THE SPIRITS OF THE RIGHTEOUS HAVING BEEN PERFECTED”
— Hebrews 12:22–24

AND:

“DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN GEHENNA”
— Matthew 10:28

In every case we have asked the same questions:

WHAT DOES THE TEXT ACTUALLY SAY?

WHAT DOES IT NOT SAY?

WHAT DO THE ORIGINAL HEBREW AND GREEK WORDS MEAN?

WHAT DOES THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT SAY?

AND:

HOW DOES THE PASSAGE FIT WITH THE BIBLE'S CLEAR TEACHING ABOUT RESURRECTION?

THE THIEF ON THE CROSS

We examined Jesus' promise:

“Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

— Luke 23:43, BLB

We discovered that the ancient Greek text did not contain the modern comma that determines whether “today” modifies:

“I SAY TO YOU”

or:

“YOU WILL BE WITH ME.”

We also compared Jesus' statement after His resurrection:

“NOT YET HAVE I ASCENDED TO THE FATHER.”

— John 20:17, BLB

And we remembered what the thief himself requested:

“REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM.”

— Luke 23:42, BLB

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

We examined Luke 16 carefully rather than automatically treating every detail as a literal map of the afterlife.

We considered:

THE PARABOLIC CONTEXT.

ABRAHAM'S BOSOM.

HADES.

THE GREAT CHASM.

THE RICH MAN'S FIVE BROTHERS.

MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.

AND:

THE FINAL WARNING:

“If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one should rise from the dead.”

— Luke 16:31, BLB

“ABSENT FROM THE BODY”

We examined 2 Corinthians 5 within Paul's complete argument.

Paul's great hope was not merely:

BECOMING DISEMBODIED.

He looked toward being:

“CLOTHED”

and toward mortality being:

“SWALLOWED UP BY LIFE.”

— 2 Corinthians 5:4, BLB

We compared this with Paul's great resurrection teaching in:

1 CORINTHIANS 15.

THE SPIRITS IN PRISON

We examined 1 Peter 3:18–20 carefully.

We concluded that Christ was:

PUT TO DEATH.

↓

MADE ALIVE.

↓

AND THEN WENT AND PROCLAIMED TO:

“THE SPIRITS IN PRISON.”

We did not identify these “spirits” as dead human souls.

Instead we examined their association with:

THE DAYS OF NOAH

and the wider biblical evidence concerning:

REBELLIOUS SPIRITUAL BEINGS.

THE SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR

We examined Revelation 6:9–11 within the symbolic and apocalyptic nature of Revelation.

The martyrs are:

“SLAIN.”

Their “souls” appear:

UNDER THE ALTAR.

Their:

“BLOOD”

cries for justice.

We compared this with God's words concerning Abel:

“The voice of the blood of your brother is crying to Me from the ground.”

— Genesis 4:10

Abel's blood did not need to be literally conscious in order to:

“CRY.”

The imagery represents:

INNOCENT BLOOD

CRYING TO GOD FOR:

JUSTICE.

“THE SPIRITS OF THE RIGHTEOUS”

We examined Hebrews 12:22–24.

We discovered that the writer tells Christians who were still alive:

“YOU HAVE COME”

to:

HEAVENLY JERUSALEM.

Therefore the passage cannot simply be treated as a literal description of physical location.

We also examined Hebrews 11, where the faithful:

“DIED IN FAITH”

while:

“NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES.”

— Hebrews 11:13, BLB

And the chapter concludes that:

“not apart from us, they should be made perfect.”

— Hebrews 11:40, BLB

“DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY”

Most recently we examined Matthew 10:28.

Jesus says God is able to:

“DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN GEHENNA.”

— Matthew 10:28, BLB

This raises a serious problem for the doctrine that the human soul is naturally:

INDESTRUCTIBLE

AND:

IMMORTAL.

Jesus does not say God preserves the soul forever because it cannot be destroyed.

He explicitly uses the word:

“DESTROY.”

THE BIBLICAL PICTURE EMERGING SO FAR

After examining all these passages, a remarkably consistent pattern has emerged:

LIFE.

↓

DEATH.

↓

SLEEP / REST.

↓

THE RETURN OF JESUS.

↓

THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.

↓

JUDGMENT.

↓

IMMORTALITY AND EVERLASTING LIFE FOR GOD'S PEOPLE.

Paul says:

“THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST.”

— 1 Thessalonians 4:16, BLB

And:

“THIS MORTAL”

must:

“PUT ON IMMORTALITY.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:53, BLB

The Christian hope is therefore not that:

WE NEVER REALLY DIE.

The Christian hope is that:

DEATH WILL NOT WIN.

GOD RAISED JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD.

AND THROUGH CHRIST:

THE DEAD WILL RISE.

BUT OUR INVESTIGATION IS NOT FINISHED

Several important passages remain.

We still need to examine:

“THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD WHO GAVE IT.”
— Ecclesiastes 12:7

“TO DEPART AND TO BE WITH CHRIST.”
— Philippians 1:21–23

“THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT GOES UP TO AGES OF AGES.”
— Revelation 14:9–11

And finally:

THE LAKE OF FIRE.

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE.

THE SECOND DEATH.

AND:

THE FINAL DESTINY OF THE UNSAVED.

— Revelation 20:10–15

Then we will bring the entire investigation together in our:

FINAL BIBLICAL SUMMARY.

So now let us continue.

PART 24 — “THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD WHO GAVE IT”

DOES ECCLESIASTES 12:7 TEACH THAT A CONSCIOUS HUMAN SPIRIT GOES TO HEAVEN AT DEATH?

Ecclesiastes says:

“the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

— Ecclesiastes 12:7

This verse is frequently understood to mean:

THE BODY DIES.

↓

THE CONSCIOUS SPIRIT LEAVES THE BODY.

↓

THE PERSON CONTINUES LIVING WITH GOD IN HEAVEN.

But is that actually what Ecclesiastes says?

To answer this, we must investigate:

THE HEBREW WORD RUACH.

THE CREATION OF MAN.

THE BREATH OF LIFE.

GENESIS 2:7.

ECCLESIASTES' OWN TEACHING ABOUT THE DEAD.

AND:

WHAT IT REALLY MEANS FOR THE:

“SPIRIT”

TO:

“RETURN TO GOD WHO GAVE IT.”

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.

COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.

EXAMINE THE ORIGINAL HEBREW AND GREEK.

TEST EVERY TRADITION.

FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.

Research by Simon Brown

REAL DISCOVERIES

https://wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com/