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.

However, the quest for an exact parallel may be not be the proper methodology to use when searching for the origin of some titles.

        There are at least three objections to seeking an ‘exact parallel’ that warrant some discussion prior to an examination of potential parallels to ‘Lord and God’ in the LXX. First, most scholars have neither sought nor required exact OT parallels for the various divine titles used in Revelation. Most scholars suggest OT parallels or origins for the following titles, even though none of them have an exact match in the LXX: (1) o( w$n kai_ o( h]n kai_ o( e)rxo/menoj (1,4.8; and variations 4,8; 11,17; 16,5)⁵⁸; (2) tw=n e(pta_ pneuma/twn (1,4; add tou= qeou=, 3,1; 4,5; 5,6); (3) o( ma/rtuj o( pisto/j (1,5)⁵⁹, o( ma/rtuj o( pisto_j kai_ a)lhqino/j (3,14), or pisto_j kai_ a)lhqino/j (19,11); (4) o( prwto/tokoj tw=n nekrw=n (1,5)⁶⁰; (5) o( a!rxwn tw=n basile/wn th=j gh=j (1,5)⁶¹; (6) to_ a!lfa kai_ to_ w] (1,8; 21,6; 22,13); (7) o( prw=toj kai_ o( e!sxatoj (1,17; 2,8; 22,13)⁶²; (8) o( ku/rioj o( qeo_j tw=n pneuma/twn tw=n profhtw=n (22,6)⁶³; (9) o( a)mh/n (3,14)⁶⁴; (10) h( a)rxh_ th=j kti/sewj tou= qeou= (3,14)⁶⁵; (11) o( le/wn o( e)k th=j fulh=j 'Iou/da (5,5)⁶⁶; (12) h( r(i/za Daui/d (5,5) or h( r(iza kai_ to_ ge/noj Daui/d (22,16)⁶⁷; (13) ku/rioj kuri/wn e)sti_n kai_ basileu_j basile/wn