Bible Students

A short survey of the exaltation of Christ in Revelation 

This is a very short survey of the exaltation of the Lamb in the book of Revelation. Revelation centers around the contrast between the humble earthly life of Jesus and the cosmic exaltation of the Lamb. The death and the resurrection of the Lamb are the center point of the shift from meek and hidden on earth to highly exalted in the cosmos. Revelation tracks the latter, following the character of the Father and the Lamb through the destruction and recreation of the world. The book explains the exaltation of the Lamb in two ways. First, the being of the Lamb is described. This is who the Lamb is. He is glorious, powerful, and high above any other creature. Second, the actions of the Lamb are described. This is what the Lamb has done. He came to earth, lived a human life, died, and rose again, delivering sinners into redemption. Jesus is exalted for both who He is and what He did. Keep that in mind as you read the way John describes Jesus’ cosmic exaltation. All Scripture quotations will be from the English Standard Version.

1:1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John

In the very first verse, the revelation given to John is given by Jesus Himself. 

1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Jesus in this verse is called the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. Additionally, it is Jesus who has “freed us from our sins by his blood.” The Jesus the disciples knew was not known as the Ruler of kings on earth. In fact, the disciples were astonished He was not going to rule during His earthly ministry. “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, “Here it is,” or “There it is,” because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’” (Luke 17:20-21). The kingdom Jesus brought was spiritual, not physical. However, in His exaltation, it has become clear that the kingdom of Christ is not a physical kingdom because it surpasses all physical kingdoms. The kingdom of Jesus transcends all kingdoms, which makes Him the Ruler of kings on earth. 

1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Jesus is the one coming on the clouds, who every eye will see. All attention will be given to Jesus, including those who have wronged Him. Everyone, in every tribe, will be brought to tears on account of the Lamb. The reputation of the Lamb in the earth will be so great that all people from every corner of the earth will be affected by His presence, either for joy or for dread. 

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Who is the Alpha and the Omega? The Lord God is the Alpha and the Omega. Why is this important? Both Jesus and God are identified as the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus is the first and the last. The one who is given glory for being the first and the last, without beginning or end, is God… and Jesus. This glory is conflated between the two, demonstrating the glory of Jesus by positively comparing it to the glory of God. Walvoord notes that this verse likely speaks of Christ as well as the Father (2011, p. 43). 

1:13-16 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 

Here John describes Jesus as one like a son of man, in white and gold, pure, with eyes of fire, bronze feet, a roaring voice, with authority, powerful speech, and glory. This is no mere man. This is the unmistakable Son of God, the one who has all authority, power, dominion, glory, and who all will bow to. No other man is like this. Jesus is uniquely glorious. Walvoord notes here that these verses likely refer to the deity of Jesus, as they are parallel descriptions of God and the Lamb throughout the Bible (2011, p. 46). 

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

Jesus holds the seven stars in His authority, and walks among the lampstands. He is present with the churches. Here the authority, position, presence, and understanding of Jesus are shown. Here Jesus speaks of His authority over the human messengers to these churches (the stars) and the churches themselves (the lampstands) (Walvoord 2011, p. 55). 

2:3  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.

It is for the sake of Jesus’ name that those who love Him suffer. Jesus’ name is worthy of great honor and glory. His name alone is worth suffering for. Those who love Him have suffered for His name sake. Whose name is worth that suffering, except the one who deserves all glory? 

2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

The one to give the fruit of the tree of life is Jesus. In God’s own garden, it is Jesus who gives the fruit of life. Jesus gives life to those whom He chooses. 

2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Here, both who Jesus is (the first and the last) and what He has done (died and rose again) are in view. Jesus is exalted both for who He is and what He has done.

2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

The one to give the crown of life to those who suffer is Jesus Himself. He has the authority to give life to those whom He chooses. 

2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Jesus is the Son of God, with eyes like fire and bronze feet. Jesus is described in glory which exceeds regular interpretation. John resorts to metaphor and simile throughout his letter, demonstrating the other-worldly glory, power, authority, and position that the Lamb holds. 

2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

Jesus is the one giving time for this church to repent. He is the one who decides when judgment will occur, and when judgment will tarry. No other man can claim this kind of authority. Only the mighty Jesus can claim to be the one with this authority. 

3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Jesus has the authority, ownership, and position to be over the seven spirits of God and over the seven stars. Who else can claim this kind of power or position? Jesus is over these things, as He has all power, authority, ownership, and position. He is like no other. 

3:5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

It is by the authority of Jesus that no person will be blotted out of the book of life. Jesus preserves them. This power, authority, and ownership is entirely unparalleled. Additionally, the confession of Jesus is listened to by the Father in a way seemingly unparalleled by anyone else as well. The Father listens to the confessions of the Lamb. 

3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

Jesus is the holy one, with the authority and power to open and shut what no one can reverse. Jesus holiness, authority, and power are like no other. No other man has the degree of characteristics which Jesus has. 

3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

Jesus is the Amen. He is the faithful and true witness. He is the beginning of God’s creation. It is clear that Jesus is to be honored as the fulfillment of God’s promises (the Amen), as trustworthy and dependable (faithful and true witness), and as the firstborn of creation (the beginning of God’s creation). 

3:21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Jesus has the authority to give authority. He can grant others to sit with Him on His throne, which was given to Him by God. No other man can grant someone to sit on a throne as high as the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). Only Jesus has the authority to do so. 

5:5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Because of who Jesus is, John no longer had to weep. He is the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, the one who conquers, and the one who can open the seven seals of the scroll. He is the one who is worthy. All of this is to demonstrate that Jesus is worthy. He is worthy of glory and honor and praise, because of who He is and what He has done. 

5:6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Here, Jesus is depicted as the slain Lamb (though, alive) with seven horns and seven eyes. He is shown having completed power and completed understanding. This is no depiction of a mere man. Jesus here is demonstrated to have qualities not able to be described in regular language, but having to be described in metaphor. 

5:12-14 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Jesus is given all of the glory, blessing, honor, power, wealth, and wisdom, just as God is. The honor given to Jesus is the same as the honor given to God. 

7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Salvation belongs to God… and the Lamb. The ownership and authority of God is conflated here with that of the Lamb. Both the Lamb and God share ownership and authority over salvation. 

11:8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

Again, the death and resurrection of Jesus is brought into view. This is a reminder that the whole of this account (which is the exaltation of Jesus) is a fulfillment of what happened when Jesus was crucified, and what began at His resurrection. He died as a mocked and lowly man (though still God), and was resurrected in glory, beginning the final stages of the earth before His revealing. 

11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall reign forever and ever.”

Here, the kingdom of the Lord and of the Christ are one in the same. Both the Lord (God) and Christ (the Lamb) have ownership over the new kingdom. The authorities of both God and the Lamb are conflated here to mean the same thing. Both of them share authority and ownership over the new kingdom. 

12:10 And 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 brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

In this verse, the power and kingdom of God and the authority of Christ are placed next to one another. God and the Lamb are both honored as having authority and ownership. 

13:8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Here, the book of life, the book which keeps record of all those who are saved, belongs to the Lamb. The reason it belongs to Him is given: It was the Lamb who was slain. It is by His death and resurrection that anyone is able to have their name written in the book of life, and so it belongs to the Lamb accordingly. He has authority over the book. 

14:1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Here, Jesus is the one leading the 144,000 Israelites who were saved. He is the authority and head of those who are saved. Further, Jesus’ name is placed with the Father’s name on the foreheads of the saved. Again, the honor of God and the Lamb are shown to be the same, as both are given and have the same honor, authority, and glory. 

14:4  It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,

Here, the firstfruits of God and of the Lamb are one in the same. Again, the roles and references of God and the Lamb are made to be one and the same, conflating the honor, authority, and glory given to both God and to the Lamb. 

14:10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Justice is performed before the Lamb. The Lamb has a central role in being a witness of the wrath of God. 

14:14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 

Here, in typical Johannine fashion, Jesus is described as one like a son of man. Again riding on a cloud, Jesus sits with a golden crown and a weapon of authority, which is used to cut down nations to be tread in the winepress of God’s wrath. 

16:14-15  For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

Here, the great day of God the Almighty is conflated with the coming of Jesus like a thief in the night. The Day of the Lord and the Day of Jesus are one in the same; The same day given to God as the day of His wrath is the day which Jesus shall come and exact judgment. 

17:14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

The Lord is the focus of even the evil in the world. It is not God alone that the nations go to war with, but it is Jesus who they focus on. However, though they are against Him, He conquers them. The explanation given as to why Jesus will conquer them is because He is the Lord of lords and King of kings. It is His nature to conquer His enemies. It is not because of His power, but because of who He is that He conquers. 

19:7, 9 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;…And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

The marriage supper of the Lamb is in full focus here. Jesus is the one people are focusing on. It is the joy of Jesus’ marriage to His bride that fills those invited. Jesus is the focus of Christians today who look forward to the marriage supper, demonstrating the longing for His full reward and exaltation, which is to be described next. Additionally, in the Old Testament Israel is often called the unfaithful wife of God. However, here we see the faithful wife being given to Jesus, which is the culmination of a story many thousands of years old (Walvoord and Zuck 1983, p. 974). 

19:11-16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

In this picture painted by John, Jesus is shown to be on a white horse, Faithful, True, judging and making war, eyes of flame, with many diadems (jeweled crown), with a secret name. His robes are dipped in blood, the Word of God, head of the armies of God, with a sharp sword to destroy and a rod of iron to rule. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. This is clearly not the same lowly and meek man seen in the Gospel accounts. Jesus, in His earthly ministry, was not on a mission to display His exaltation: “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” (Matthew 20:28). However, here it is clear that the Son of God has much glory to be displayed. He is the one able to destroy, to judge, to make war, and to rule the whole world. Jesus in His earthly ministry, who was submitted to local legislation and taxes, is the same Jesus who is highly exalted here. Additionally, in this section Jesus defeats His enemies by who He is, rather than only what He does. He is the warrior-Messiah, as described by Barker and Kohlenberger (1994, p. 1214). 

20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Those who participate in the first resurrection will be priests of God… and Christ. Again, the priesthood to God and to Christ are conflated to be the same thing. Jesus is not a fellow priest inside the priesthood, but above the priesthood, in fact the one who priests are for. The exact length of time, as disputed by different eschatological views, is not as important as the fact that Christians will be reigning with Christ (Barker and Kohlenberger 1994, p. 1222). 

21:9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Again, the focus on the Lamb and His exaltation is clear. The universe is moving teleologically toward the marriage between the Lamb and His Bride. The joy of the marriage of the Lamb will fill all Christians. Christians are looking forward to the joy of the marriage of the Lamb, demonstrating the focus all Christians (and Revelation) have of joy in the Lamb. The Lamb will be the center of attention of all those who love Him.

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

The temple of the new Jerusalem, the place where God dwells, is God Himself… and the Lamb. The presence of God is conflated between God Himself and the Lamb. The Lamb is as much the presence of God as God Himself. Additionally, the light in the new Jerusalem is God’s glory… and the Lamb. God’s glory and the Lamb are again conflated to do the same purpose. First to be God’s presence, and then to be the glory which lights up the city without a sun. One of the greatest daily hopes for ancient Judaism was the restoration of the Temple, and here John describes the lack of a need for the Temple, as the whole city is the dwelling place of God (Keener 1993, p. 818). 

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

Flowing from the throne of God is the water of life, which is the same source as the throne of the Lamb. The life-giving power which flows from the throne of God also flows from the throne of the Lamb. The life-giving power of God is conflated with the life-giving power of the Lamb. Many commentators see this as the culmination of the Garden of Eden on earth once again, but in a better way (Walvoord 2011, p. 341 and Oller 2024). 

22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Again, who is the Alpha and the Omega? Is it the Father, or is it Jesus? The conflation here is important. The glory given to the Father due to His being the Alpha and Omega is also given to the Lamb, for He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” As Jesus is speaking, He is describing Himself as the first and the last, identifying Himself with God (Walvoord 2011, p. 347). 

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He has all power, authority, wisdom, glory, and is high above any creature. There is not a more clear way to describe the exaltation of Jesus than by explaining who He is in the midst of what He does. The entirety of Revelation acts as a picture both of what the Lamb has done and will do, as well as who He was, who He is, and who He will forevermore be. 

Works Cited

Barker, K., Kohlenberger, J. (Eds.). (1994). The Expositor’s Bible Commentary–Abridged Edition: New Testament. Zondervan.

Keener, C. (1993). The IVP Background Commentary: New Testament. InterVarsity Press.

Oller, J. (2024). From the Garden of Eden to the Millennial Kingdom. Bible Students. https://bible-students.org/2024/04/09/from-the-garden-of-eden-to-the-millennial-kingdom/

Walvoord, J. (2011). Revelation. Moody Publishers. 

Walvoord, J., Zuck, R. (Eds.). (1983). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament. Victor Books.