Floyd O. Parker, «‘Our Lord and God’ in Rev 4,11: Evidence for the Late Date of Revelation?», Vol. 82 (2001) 207-231

This article challenges a commonly-held belief that the title ‘our Lord and God’ (Rev 4,11) served as a Christian counter-blast to the claim of the emperor Domitian to be dominus et deus noster. Despite the claims of several scholars that the title ‘our Lord and God’ does not appear in the OT, the data collected favors the view that the title in Rev 4,11 does indeed have its origin in the divine title ‘Lord and God’ found in the LXX and other Jewish sources. Consequently, the title is of no use in helping to determine the date of the book of Revelation.

kai_ kuri/ou au)tokra/toroj). The separate titles ‘lord’ and ‘god’ were also used of him. An oath formula from the first year of Augustus swears ‘by Caesar, god of god’ (Kai/sar[a] qeo_n e)k qeou=) and an inscription from Socnopaei Nesus in Fayum (March 17, 24 BCE) portrays him as Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, and calls him ‘god of god and goddess’ (u(pa/rxon qeo_j e)k qeou= kai_ qea=j)²⁷. Another oath (c. 3 BCE) calls upon the living Augustus as a witness along with the other deities: Di/a, Gh=n, jHlion, qeou_j pa/nta[j kai_ pa/]saj kai_ au)to_n to_n Sebas[t]o_n...²⁸. An inscription from Pergamum (16 CE) reads: to_n newko/ron qea=j ÔRw/mhj kai_ qeou= Sebastou= Kai/saroj, while another speaks of a local benefactor who performed sacrifices and built temples so that others might witness his piety ‘towards the god’ (ei)j to_n qe/on [sic], i.e. Augustus)²⁹. An inscription from Priene (9 BCE) mentioned ‘the birthday of the god’ (h( gene/qlioj h(me/ra tou= qeou=)³⁰. The posthumous deification of Julius Caesar, ‘provided Octavian (later known as Augustus) the ground to claim that he was ‘son of god’, being heir and adopted son of the divine Julius’³¹. The following sources claim that he was ‘son of god’: h( kai/saroj kra/thsij qeou= ui(ou (P. Ryl. 601; PSI 1150); kai=sar qeou= ui(oj Au)tokra/twr (P. Teb. 382), Kai/saroj au)tokra/twr qeou= ui(o_j Zeu_j e)leuqe/rioj (P. Oslo 26; SB 8824)³². Augustus was called both ‘god’ and ‘son of god’ in a letter of Tiberius (...qeou= Kai/s[a]roj qeou= ui(ou= Sebastou= Swth=roj 'Eleiqeri/ou...) (SEG XI 922-923)³³ and on a marble pedestal from Pergamum erected during the lifetime ([Au)tokra/t]or[a K]ai/sara [q]eou= ui(o_n qeo_n Sebasto_[n] [pa/shj] gh=[j k]ai_ q[a]la/sshj [e)]p[o/p]t[hn])³⁴. Even Vergil refers to Augustus as one of ‘the gods among us’ (praesentes deos)³⁵.

        Tiberius (14-37 CE) was also referred to as ‘son of god’ and