Do gods exist? 37 Unjust Jesus in Revelation

Here are some examples of bad moral guidance given by the Jesus portrayed in the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation, with its violent, avenging Jesus, was written in stages between about 60-95 CE, around the same time as the four Gospels were being written.

A prophet called John wrote that Jesus appeared to him on the Greek island of Patmos, to show him what the end of the world would be like.

Some people argue that this violent Jesus was just a vision, but he was either as real, or else as imaginary, as the Jesus who appeared in a vision to Paul on the road to Damascus.

There is no valid reason to give either of these hallucinations any more or less credibility than the other.

When Jesus appears to John, he has white hair and eyes like flames, and a sharp two-edged sword comes out of his mouth (1:14-18).

“1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”

Jesus tells one Turkish church that a woman called Jezebel had seduced his servants to fornicate, so he is going to kill her children with death for their mother’s sins (2:20-23)

“2:18 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass… 20 I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”

After bringing John to heaven, this violent Jesus goes to war with the Devil. In a lengthy and vicious fight, his robe is soaked in blood, he casts the Devil and his false prophet into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, and he kills the Devil’s army using the sword that comes out of his mouth.

The violent Jesus in Revelation was adamant that his message was not to be revised: before he left, he told John that God would curse anyone who either added to or removed any of his words in this book (22:18-19).

“22:18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

So there’s not much room there for cherry-picking the bits that sound nice.

All of this puts aside the question of whether Jesus existed, and the question of how the Bible was written and by whom. This article focus only on examples of the bad moral guidance given by the Jesus portrayed in the Book of Revelation.

Like this article? It is one of a series on this topic.
Click here to read the other articles in this series.