Jesus is God

"I and the Father are one." John 20.30

At the time of Christ, the Romans branded Jews and Christians as atheists because they did not believe in the classical pantheon of gods and goddesses. Since then and at various times, Christians have been branded "polytheists" (those who believe in many gods) because of the faith we profess in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our theologians turn cartwheels to explain the mystery of the Trinity: three in one and one in three.

Part of the difficulty is that Father and Son are really metaphors, because what they are trying to express reaches beyond what we can adequately describe or define. Yet there is an interesting convergence at the beginning of Revelation, where John describes Jesus as being "like a son of man" (chapter 1, verse 13) and then proceeds to offer a description which is inspired by, if not borrowed from, the description of the "Ancient of Days" given by Daniel in his prophecy.

In Daniel's prophecy, the "one like a son of man" is led into the presence of the Ancient of Days, by whom he "was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away..." (Daniel 7. 13-14). From our perspective we can see that Daniel is experiencing a vision of Jesus being glorified by his heavenly father, who is "the Ancient of Days".

Visions, like language, are metaphorical - reaching beyond what is apparent, to convey a greater reality or truth. So when John describes Jesus, as he sees him, in the terms which Daniel uses to describes both "one like a son of man" and the "Ancient of Days" we may conclude that the metaphor is being extended to confirm Jesus' original proclamation "I and the Father are one" (John 20.30).