The First and The Last - Part 2 (Revelation 1:17)

Last weekend I was at a yard sale and stumbled across a book. "Fast Facts on False Teachings" by Ron Carlson and Ed Decker. First off, I want to say I do not recommend this book to anyone. If you accept the Bible as God's Word then any religion that does not teach what the Bible says is a false religion. That is why I am trying to help you understand what the Bible actually teaches about God, what other religions teach are irrelevant. If they don't teach that Jehovah is the one and only true Almighty God,  as the Bible clearly states, it is a false religion. Of course these "cult experts" don't mention anything about Trinitarian-"Christianity" in their exploration of religion. Anywho, I skimmed through it and read some of the information on Islam and Judaism. Then flipping through the pages I came across a portion of an alleged conversation between Ron and Jehovah's Witnesses. Ron claims to have proven to a pair of Witnesses standing at his door that Jesus and Jehovah are the same. Of course he used that same old "If Jehovah is this and Jesus is also this then they must be the same!" nonsense. He claims to have stumped these Jehovah's Witnesses and showed them something he claims they said they "never noticed". This may be true, I don't know. I notice something I've never seen before almost every time I sit down to study the Bible. However, nothing I ever notice proves that Jesus and Jehovah are the same. This case that Ron speaks of is no different. It seems as if he has fallen for the way Satan "misleads the entire inhabited earth" (Revelation 12:9).

Ron's attempt at sharing his misinterpretation was based on these scriptures.

"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." - Isaiah 44:6 (ASV)

"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last" - Revelation 1:17 (ASV)

In Isaiah Jehovah is talking, in Revelation Jesus is talking. Ron was doing what Trinitarians do. They believe that since both Jehovah and Jesus claim to be "the first and the last" that they must be the same. As has been proven MANY times in MANY of my blog posts, this is extremely faulty reasoning. There is no truth to it whatsoever.

"The First and the Last" is not an exclusive title; meaning it is not belonging to only one person. Pardon my sports analogies but here are a few examples; Tom Brady was the first person to throw 52 TD passes in one season, he was also the last person to throw 52 TD in a season. It can be said that Tom Brady is "the first and the last". Is Tom Brady Jehovah? Wilt Chamberlain was "the first and the last" player to score 100 points in a professional basketball game. He can correctly be called "the first and the last". Is Wilt Chamberlain Jehovah? I was my mothers first and last child. I can correctly be called "the first and the last". Are Tom, Wilt, and myself a Trinity? Sounds pretty dumb right? Yet, this is the reasoning that Mr. Carlson and Trinitarians use.

To use a Biblical example, Adam was "the first and last" human to be made directly from the dust. Therefore, Adam can also be called "the first and the last". Using Trinitarian logic, Adam must also be Jehovah. The idea that because to people share a non-exclusive title then they must be the same person is simply false. Claiming it to be so, is a complete misrepresentation of the facts. It's dishonest. 

The question remains then; What did Jesus mean when he said he was "the first and the last"? Once again we turn to one of the Trinity's super-villains; context.

"and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." - Revelation 1:18(ASV)

Jesus goes on to say that he was dead and now he's alive. It is then reasonable to conclude that when taken in context being "the first and the last" is in reference to being dead and then being made alive. In what way?

"and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." - Acts 3:15 (ASV)

God raised Jesus up directly. Since Jesus will be the one fulfilling God's act of the resurrection. Which Jesus tells us this much at the end of the verse when he says "I have the keys to Hades". So Jesus was "the first and the last" person to be resurrected directly by Jehovah God himself.

That is not the only reason in which Jesus could be called "the first and the last". Remember, Jesus is God's only begotten son. His first and only direct creation. Jehovah created Jesus, then through Jesus everything else was created (Colossians 1:15, 16). Jesus was actually "the first and the last" creature made by Jehovah directly.

So is it accurate to give Jesus the title of being "the first and the last"? Yes. Just as it is Jehovah. Just as it is Tom Brady. Just as it is Wilt Chamberlain. Just as it is me. "The First and the Last" is NOT a title of exclusivity and in no way shape or form denotes a formulation of a Trinity. 

There are titles, however, given to Jehovah and Jesus that are exclusive titles. For example; Jehovah is called the "true God" (Isaiah 45:18), the "Most High" (Psalm 83:18), and "God Almighty" (Genesis 17:1). Those are all exclusive titles that cannot be shared and are not given to anyone else (not even Jesus) in the entire Bible. In fact, Jesus has an exclusive title of his own, "only begotten son" (John 3:16). None of these titles are given to anyone else, definitely not to each other. If it is factual that Jesus is Jehovah, they would therefore share all titles that are given to each other. Jesus is Jehovah and Jehovah is Jesus. Hence, anything said about Jesus can also be said about Jehovah. However, it is possible that the being that is called "the Most High God", Jehovah, is also called "the Son of the Most High" as Jesus was? What about Jehovah having the title of God's Son? If every title applied to Jehovah can is applied to Jesus then it can be said every title applied to Jesus can apply to Jehovah. How many times is Jehovah called the "only-begotten son" in the Bible? There is good reason you do not see either of them with each other's exclusive titles. Because they are not the same.

There are so many ways to poke holes in the idea of a triune God. The more you try to do it the more you can do it. What I have not been able to disprove or even poke a hole into is the idea that Jehovah alone is the Almighty God and Jesus his Son. I hope this blog helps you avoid Satan's snare that Ron Carlson has unfortunately wondered directly into.