“Revelation distinctly portrays the Father as the ultimate authority, seated on the throne, while the Son receives authority and honor through His obedience and victory, suggesting a functional subordination rather than coequality in essence. This depiction can be seen in various passages where the Father is depicted as the sovereign ruler, with scenes emphasizing His supreme position. For instance, in Revelation 4, the Father is enthroned and surrounded by heavenly beings who worship Him as the Creator and sustainer of all things, highlighting His ultimate sovereignty. In contrast, the Lamb (Jesus) appears before the throne in Revelation 5, and it is through His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection that He is deemed worthy to open the scroll and receive authority. This act of receiving authority from the Father underscores the Lamb’s obedience and the role granted to Him as a result of His redemptive work, rather than an inherent equality in status. Furthermore, the Lamb's exaltation is portrayed as a consequence of His faithful fulfillment of the Father's will, emphasizing a dynamic where the Father bestows honor and authority upon the Son. This portrayal is consistent with a functional subordination where the Son, though divine, operates in a role that is derivative of and responsive to the Father's supreme authority. Additionally, passages such as Revelation 3:21, where Jesus speaks of sitting with the Father on His throne, indicate a sharing of authority that is granted rather than intrinsically possessed. Such imagery suggests that the Son’s authority and honor are contingent upon His victorious mission, aligning with the Father’s overarching sovereignty. Therefore, Revelation’s depiction of the relationship between the Father and the Son points to a structured hierarchy within the divine realm, with the Father as the ultimate source of authority and the Son functioning within a role of derived authority, highlighting a functional subordination that challenges the notion of coequality in essence as traditionally upheld by Trinitarian doctrine.” — ChatGPT, 2024
