Speaking of Jesus, Revelation 19:13 says, “…and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.”
And, Revelation 20:4 says, “Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God.”
According to Revelation 19:13, The Word of God is the name of Jesus. The Word of God is not only the name of Jesus but Jesus himself. (It’s not the Bible.) John 1 tells us this.
But, in Revelation 20:4 we see Jesus and the word of God listed separately as if they are two different things. On the one hand they are, but in reality they are not.
(Notice how in the first verse above it is written “Word of God” and in the second verse it is written “word of God” as if they are different things. We must be able to look beyond the ideas and influence of the translators and seek to know the truth from the Holy Spirit.)
One, the Word of God, is heavenly, spiritual. The other, Jesus, is earthly, natural. They are the same being but seen from different perspectives in two different realms or spheres.
The Word of God always was. He is God and was with God in the beginning. He is heavenly and spiritual. Everything that was made was made by and through the Word of God. We see the Word of God acting throughout the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord and the word of the Lord. When you read those phrases in the Old Testament, think of them as Jesus and see how the sense of what is happening changes.
But, the Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us and we saw the glory of God. While the Word of God was active throughout history, he “appeared” or was “manifested” or was “made visible” in Jesus. All the fullness of God dwelt bodily in this one man Jesus. Jesus was born of a woman. He was a man just like one of us. He was earthly and natural.
The Word of God and Jesus are two sides of the same coin, so to speak. This is how John saw the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, their affirmation that they heard, saw, and touched this man, and for the Word of God, their belief that this man they dwelt with was God. These souls were beheaded because they believed the two – Jesus and the Word of God – were one and the same.
It’s actually a small thing to believe that some book, some writings, are the word of God, a record of what God has spoken to us. Thousands upon thousands have believed that throughout history. Even those who wouldn’t come to Jesus for life believed that.
But, it’s an extremely radical, life changing, world changing thing to believe that the Word of God is Jesus and Jesus is the Word of God. That God became a man and that there was a man who was God.