YHWH ALONE knows the hearts of the children of men, and JESUS too!

Oct7

YHWH, or God, or God the Father (or the entire trinity) ALONE knows the hearts of the children of men according to 1 King. 8:39, but the very same attributes are mentioned in relation to Jesus Christ in Rev. 2:23. So is it a lie that God ALONE possesses such incredible knowledge? The only way to solve this and avoid making God a liar, is to accept that Jesus is God and the trinity is valid. Or else God is NOT alone knowing the hearts of the children of men, as he claims he is.

This is about God in the old testament

1 King 8:39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even THOU ONLY, KNOWEST THE HEARTS OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF MEN;)

Jer. 11:²⁰But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.

Jer. 20:¹²But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.

Ps. 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

Ps. 26:²Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Pro. 24:¹²If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?

1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

Jer. 17:10 I THE LORD SEARCH THE HEART, I TRY THE REINS, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

This is about Jesus in the new testament

Notice that Rev. 2:23 contains almost the exact same phrase and wordings as Jer. 17:10. Is God the author of confusion, or does he maybe wants us to understand that Jesus is God, and that he shares the same trinity as God the Father?

Rev. 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith THE SON OF GOD, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I AM HE (ego eimi) WHICH SEARCHETH THE REINS AND HEARTS: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

The Spirit makes intercession for us, and we can read about “he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit”. Who is this referred to? Could it be Jesus, since we know that he too makes intercessions for us before God (God the Father)? We can read that the REASON why he searches the hearts of the saints, is due to the plan to make an intercession for them, and it’s not possible to make an intercession before God (God the Father) for someone unless you know what’s in this person’s heart and can see his true motives.

Rom. 8:²⁶Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.²⁷And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Hebr. 7:²²By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.—²⁴But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.²⁵Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.²⁶For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens

So we can see that God the Father, Jesus the son, and the holy Spirit, are linked together in the same unity – even if they are not one and the same.

Can we all be called GODS, as per John 10:34 and Ps. 82:6?

Aug27

Is it not written in your law, I said, YE ARE GODS? (John 10:34)

Yahve (Strong’s 3068) is used 6220 times in the Bible, and it’s the name of our only Creator God. No one else but our only true God is called by this name. (Yahve was one of three who ate with Abraham outside his tent – see my article about the angel of the Lord.)

Elohim (Strong’s 430) is another name for God and is used 2598 times in the Bible. This word has a little broader meaning even if our only true God is the most common meaning. – divine (1), divine being (1), exceedingly (1), God (2326), god (45), God’s (14), goddess (2), godly (1), gods (204), great (2), judges (3), mighty (2), rulers (1), shrine* (1).

El (Strong’s 410) is used 248 times in the Bible and also means God in singular or plural. (A suitable name for a trinity.)

Adon (Strong’s 113) is used 325 times in the Bible and means Lord or Master, which of course God is

Theos (Strong’s 2316) is used 1327 times in the Bible (NT) and means God and/or Creator of all

People who refuse to accept the Biblical message that Jesus Christ is God

Whenever the above titles for GOD are used, the majority of the time they concern either 1) our only Creator God, or 2) false gods who are not real Gods at all according to the Bible. It’s not difficult to understand whether the text is referring to our real God or false gods, and we also get a great help by knowing Jahve is only used for our real God. However, it seems like the only times when some people are in doubt about which type of god the text is talking about, it’s only in those verses where Jesus Christ is called God, as in Hebr. 1:8. That’s because they often have an agenda to never accept the deity of Jesus, even if the verses clearly say so. It’s actually not surprising that some people take it as their mission to promote the idea that Jesus is not the WORD who was with God and who was GOD and lived among us (thus Jesus is God) because the spirit of Antichrist is active among us:

John 8:²⁴I said, therefore, to you, that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye may not believe that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.’ Young’s Literal (I AM = ego eimi)

1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and anantichrist.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD.²The same was in the beginning with God.³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.—¹⁴And THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Excuses – “Anyone can be called God, so it’s not a big deal that Jesus too was called God in Hebr. 1:8“?

We can read that Moses was to be AS GOD for Pharao, and it’s not to be understood as though Moses is one God among many other gods. That would only make God the Creator to be a liar for suggesting that he is the only God if the truth is that polytheism is a reality. JAHVE (God) is only applied to our only Creator God in the Bible, but here Elohim is used.

Ex. 7:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god (Elohim) to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (KJV)

Ex. 7:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you LIKE God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. (ESV)

Ex. 7:7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you AS God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. (NASB)

God said something similar about Aaron, and his status in relation to Moses:

Ex. 4:¹⁵And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.¹⁶And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and THOU SHALT BE TO HIM INSTEAD OF GOD. (KJV)

Ex. 4:¹⁶He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and YOU SHALL BE AS GOD TO HIM. (ESV)

Ex. 4:¹⁶Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and YOU WILL BE AS GOD TO HIM. (NASB)

So the above cannot be used as support for that people other than God can be called gods. There is, however, one particular verse that some people desperately put all their hope and energy on, in order to escape the clear meaning that Jesus is God – and that is John. 10:34

John 10:34 and Psalm 82:6 – ye are Gods

John 10:³³The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for BLASPHEMY; and because that THOU, BEING A MAN, MAKEST THYSELF GOD.³⁴Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?*) ³⁵If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;³⁶Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?³⁷If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.³⁸But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.³⁹Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand (* See Ps. 82:6)

The above is a reference to the below psalm, and psalms often contain POETRY that MIRRORS the truth and uses SYMBOLIC PHRASES with a deeper meaning. Let’s keep this in mind so we don’t interpret such text in the wrong way and end up starting a false doctrine.

Ps. 82:1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.²How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.³Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.⁴Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.⁵They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.⁶I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.⁷But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.⁸Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

To start with, the reason these jews provide for wanting to stone Jesus is due to blasphemy, “because you being a MAN, make yourself GOD”. The jews were experts on the Scriptures, and they understood that human beings should not call themselves GOD. The first commandment is, after all:

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

If people other than GOD can literally be called “gods” (like mighty judges) by others, then we end up having other gods before GOD, and we also end up making God to be a liar for falsely saying that we should have no other gods when he himself endorses multiple gods. But doesn’t Jesus confirm the availability of other gods in his statement in John. 10:34? He confirms this PSALM and the correct meaning of both the psalm and the term “gods” in its proper context – the way they are supposed to be understood. If certain individuals (like judges and leaders) can also commonly be addressed as gods, then there would be a huge risk that the above commandment would be watered down, and this wouldn’t be according to God’s plans. The jews did not relax the slightest bit when Jesus confirmed that he was the son of God and that the Father is in him and he is in the Father, because calling oneself the son of God and suggesting that the Father and the son are inside each other, is still calling oneself GOD! God certainly doesn’t have any children together with a woman, so if you’re a son to God you have your origin in God himself which means you’re God. So the jews still wanted to kill Jesus, and they knew exactly which psalm that Jesus was quoting from.

The jews were familiar with all the psalms, including Ps. 82:6 which Jesus was referring to when he said “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods”. If godly judges can be called “gods” because they represent God, how much more should not Jesus Christ be able to call himself this (despite not being a judge) since he is sent by God the Father who was with him from eternity past in the trinity? This seems to be the way the jews understood him too, because we can read n v. 39 that THEREFORE (for this reason) they tried to take him once again. They felt Jesus confirmed his deity by referring to that passage where he gave his arguments for why he had the right to be called God.

The word for God in Ps. 82:6 is not “Jahve” but “Elohim“, and while this usually refers to either the Creator God or “false gods who are no real gods”, it can also be translated as “mighty ones” which could apply to judges who are ordained by God to do his work, and God himself is a mighty one – even the mightiest one. “I have said, Ye are gods”, i.e. “in my law I have called you gods”. They are given such name and status since they judge on God’s behalf and act as his representatives, but they are not “gods” in the strictest sense. They are possessing a derived divinity, and in a sense “children of the most high”. In the law, they were so by God’s appointment because he constituted them judges and although they were gods by office, they were also mortal men and would die. It’s not likely that any of those judges were at any time literally called “god” in real life, due to the commandment to have no other Gods but GOD.

Examples of judges appointed by God to do his work:

Deut. 1:¹³Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.¹⁴And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.¹⁵So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.¹⁶And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.¹⁷Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.¹⁸And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

2 Cron. 19:⁶And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment.

Ps. 58:1 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?²Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.—⁵Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.⁶Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.—¹⁰The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.¹¹So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Rom. 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.²Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.³For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:⁴For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.⁵Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.⁶For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

Paul explains why there on one hand exists only ONE God, and on the other hand we learn about multiple gods, and even multiple lords. “There is none other God but ONE”, says Paul, and “TO US there is but ONE GOD”. (Do read my blog article about the claim “the only true God” in this blog article.) Surely we can trust him? So if God the Father dares to call his son “GOD” in Hebr. 1:8, he isn’t contradicting what Paul is saying here, and neither does he contradict himself from his own previous claims where he says there is ONE GOD only. Other lords are only lords in the sense of being “masters” (and they are certainly not “Lord of Lords” which the Father AND the son call themselves), and other gods are either false gods (so no gods at all), or gods in the symbolic sense due to their office and they are likely never literally addressed as gods by others (in order to not disobey God’s commandment about serving only one God).

1 Cor. 8:⁴As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that THERE IS NONE OTHER GOD BUT ONE.⁵For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)⁶But TO US THERE IS BUT ONE GOD, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.⁷Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

5 Mosebok 4:³⁵Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.— ³⁹Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

John is told to NOT worship the angel but to worship GOD. John didn’t ask “which one of all gods should I worship?”

Rev. 19:¹⁰And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: WORSHIP GOD: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev. 22:⁸And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.⁹Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: WORSHIP GOD.

If it’s alright for other individuals apart from God to be called God, then why was the prince of Tyrus (or Satan, which is the angelic comparison) sinning for also calling himself God? As a prince (or as a messenger of God, as Satan was) he would be a person in lead of others, and he was also supposed to act as a judge for them, so maybe calling oneself “god” in the Psalm 82:6- sense was rather fitting? Yet, God is not at all pleased with prince of Tyrus calling himself a god, and he criticizes him heavily and calls him proud. Why did God motivate his criticism towards him with “yet thou art A MAN and not God”? That sounds like God finds it preposterous for a mere human being to call himself God. So did the jews who wanted to kill Jesus!

Ezekiel 28:²Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God

The house of David will be “LIKE” God, so LIKE the angel of the Lord (who is Jesus Christ incarnate) going before them – just like the angel of the Lord (Jesus) went before the Israelites in the desert.

Zechariah 12:8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

Jesus is trying to get the jews to understand that if the symbolic term god can be applied to certain individuals with a certain mission from God and with a proper office, and this is NOT considered blasphemy, then neither should they accuse Jesus of blaspheming, because he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Who can make such a claim unless you’re the son of God? Being the son of God equals having the source in God, meaning you originated in God which means you’re GOD!

Do read another blog article about Hebrews 1:8 where Jesus is called GOD by his Father.

LOOK UPON ME whom they have PIERCED – JESUS in Zech. 12:10

Aug17

They shall look upon me whom they have PIERCED! (Zech. 12:10)

The prophet Zechariah is talking about a day in the future (from his perspective) where “he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David, and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them”. When we study about the angel of the Lord (which you can read more about in this blog article), we can see that he is a particular messenger (not a created angel) and even God himself. We can see that God (the Father) has a dialogue with the angel of the Lord so this means they are not one and the same. However, if the angel of the Lord is a manifestation of Jesus Christ, then it all makes sense that he is referred to as God, and that people feared they would die for having seen him face to face. The angel of the Lord is said to have guided the israelites from Egypt to Canaan – which is the land of Israel – and if the angel of the Lord is also Jesus Christ, which it actually says in 1 Cor. 10:4, he is the same as the Word who would later turn up in flesh and guide his people (all who come to him) into his Kingdom!

Zechariah is talking about a day when God will pour the spirit of grace to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (maybe due to their repentance and seeking of the Lord), and they shall “look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for his only son”, and finally “as one that is in bitterness for his FIRSTBORN”. Those are well known attributes for Jesus Christ our Messiah! We know for a fact that Jesus Christ was PIERCED with nails on the cross due to our iniquities, and the short description of this event provided to us by Zechariah, gives us an indication of how it must have appeared for those standing below the cross and who looked up to Jesus on the cross.

Zechariah 12:8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have PIERCED, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (KJV)

Zech. 12:10 — And they have looked unto ME whom they pierced (Young’s literal)

Zech. 12:10 — and they shall look upon ME whom they have pierced (Orthodox Jewish Bible)

Zech. 12:10 — so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced (NASB)

Zech. 12:10 — und sie werden MICH ansehen, (Luther Bibel 1545)

Zech. 12:10 — y mirarán a MÍ, a quien traspasaron (Reina-Valera 1960)

Zech. 12:10 — Et ils tourneront les regards vers MOI (Louis Segond)

Zech. 12:10 — Alors ils tourneront leurs regards vers MOI (La Bible du Semeur)

This is also the picture that Isaiah gives us when he in Isaiah 53:4 says that “WE did esteem him stricken—” which is how it must have appeared for the people below the cross who looked up on Jesus, and he goes on to say:

Isaiah 53:⁴Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet WE did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

David prophesied about the one who is pierced (Jesus) in this psalm:

Psalms 22:¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they PIERCED MY HANDS AND MY FEET.¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

Zechariah 12:10 is fulfilled in the New Testament, together with other prophesies:

John 19:²³Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.²⁴They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.—³¹The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.³²Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.³³But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:³⁴But one of the soldiers with a spear PIERCED his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.³⁵And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

The israelites complained about their situation in the wilderness, which they of course did against God’s will, but due to his love for them he made them realize just how rebellious they really were by sending them fiery serpents that bit them. Sometimes obstacles might turn up in our lives, and we could then take the chance and at least consider the alternative that God wants our attention and that we might turn away from sin. (Or such obstacles might just be ordinary unfortunate circumstances.) The fiery serpents were a great hit, because the israelites understood that they were sinners and confessed it before Moses and God. God also thought of a way out of the problem with the wounds caused by the serpents, and asked Moses to make a hand-made fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and Moses made one out of brass. Consequently, each person who was bitten by one of the serpents could then be free from the poisonous snake bite by approaching the pole with the fake serpent of brass and look up to it. This was their own responsibility, and they were neither forced to go to the place where the pole was, nor forced to look at it. It was all based on free will, just like salvation is.

Jesus is compared with this brass serpent in the wilderness, and the whole story about the serpent is actually a picture of the whole salvation message where the serpent caused men to sin and thus be filthy, and where Jesus can cleanse us from our wounds and filthiness caused by Satan (and our rebellion) , if we only look up unto Jesus our Savior and repent for our sins. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness for the people to look at and be free, even so must the son of man be lifted up in order to save the world. We can look up to Jesus on the cross, believe in him, confess our transgressions and eventually be totally free! Jesus says in John 12:32 “And I, if I be LIFTED UP from the earth, will draw all men unto me”.

Num. 21:⁵And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.⁶And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.⁷Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.⁸And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.⁹And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

John. 3:¹²If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?¹³And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.¹⁴And AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE SERPENT IN THE WILDERNESS, EVEN SO MUST THE SON OF MAN BE LIFTED UP:¹⁵That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.²⁰For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.²¹But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 12:32 And I, if I be LIFTED UP from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Hebrews 12:2 LOOKING UNTO JESUS the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the CROSS, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus Christ was together with the israelites during the Exodus. He was their rock, and just like we can tempt Christ today by living wicked lives, so too did they tempt Christ in the wilderness. They were destroyed by serpents.

1 Cor. 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;²And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;³And did all eat the same spiritual meat;⁴And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.⁵But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.⁶Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.⁷Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.⁸Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.⁹Neither let us tempt Christ, AS SOME OF THEM ALSO TEMPTED, and were destroyed of SERPENTS.

Jesus Christ is likened to the one who is pierced also in Revelations.

Rev. 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which PIERCED him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

The phrase “a serpent of bronze” is a wordplay as “serpent” (nehash) and “bronze” (nehoshet) are closely related in Hebrew. The brass serpent was later destroyed by Hezekiah.

2 Kings. 18:1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.²Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.³And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.⁴He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

Thomas had a hard time believing that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the son of God and GOD

Being the son of God means being GOD, because God the Father certainly has no children together with a woman. So if you’re the son of God, you also have the source in God, and since God is ONE and there is none like him, the son of God must be God himself.

Thomas eventually realized who Jesus really was (he already knew that he was the Messiah, the son of God and his Master), and he called him “My Lord and my God (theos)”. Jesus did not correct him, and he never corrected anyone who worshiped him or equated him with God. Probably because there was nothing to correct.

Joh. 10:⁶Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,⁷And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.⁸Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.⁹For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.—¹⁹Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.²⁰And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.—²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.²⁵The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.²⁶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.²⁷Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.²⁸And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.²⁹Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.³⁰And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:³¹But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Is the HOLY SPIRIT also GOD?

Aug10

The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son to work in our hearts, and to reprove the world of sin. He fills the christian hearts with his presence, and he is a big aid for us to live holy lives and to enable us to be good disciples who spread the true word of God to others. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand the scriptures and the deep things of God, and he also gives us spiritual gifts so that we can build up ourselves and others in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is described as a person who has a will, who hears, speaks, has feelings, wisdom, and who has a relationship with us. The Bible came about thanks to holy men of God who wrote down the message of God through inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, REPENT, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the HOLY GHOST.

If the Holy Spirit is exactly synonymous with either God/the Father/Jesus Christ, then we must ask ourselves why those names are not used instead? The Holy Spirit seems to be different from the Father and Jesus Christ, but also the same as though share the same source. Only the trinity could solve something like this, because if 1) God the Father, 2) God the son and 3) God the Holy Spirit, are different persons in the same godhead (and there is only one God), then it all makes sense. We could also visualize that only the Father and Jesus Christ are in the godhead, with the Holy Spirit as another manifestation of them, which boils down to the almost the same thing. When the Holy Spirit is operating on earth, then it’s God operating.

It might feel like a burden to understand exactly how the persons in the godhead work in their divine state and in the trinity, but we don’t have to understand exactly how they interact with each other in order to be saved. We only have to accept that these persons/manifestations are in our only God and that they are each called God – 1 pile of sand can be divided into 3 piles of sand, and back again. God can be in several different locations at the same time, and the Holy Spirit can be in each of us christians at the same time. Neither do we have to understand exactly how a car engine works in order to drive, even if it’s for our benefit if we have some knowledge about it – like; where it’s placed, what the purpose is, how to make maintenance, what the indications are that something is wrong, etc. At least we know that the inventor/manufacturer knows how it works, and he knows it in great detail and has it all under control.

There is a theory put forth in some of the apocrypha/lost books which suggests that demons/evil spirits have a source in the fallen angels that we can read about in Genesis (the sons of God), och who came down to earth to produce gigantic babies (nephilim) together with certain females. When the fallen angels eventually died, they are said to have left evil spirits of themselves which could trouble human beings – which we have some examples of in the Bible. If this is true, and if the Holy Spirit works in a similar way (naturally with a source in God), then this could explain why Jesus had to be glorified and leave the earth before the Holy Spirit could make an entrance and fill our hearts. If demons/evil spirits can be called Satan (precisely for being manifestations of Satan), the Holy Spirit could be called God for the same reason – because he is a manifestation of God. This, however, is only speculation about the invisible and spiritual world, and it’s not something that is essential for our salvation to know about – as long as we worship the only true God. It’s for instance utterly important to accept that Jesus is the IAM, and the word that was with God and who was GOD and lived among us in flesh. Read more about the trinity here.

If Jesus and the Holy Spirit are synonymous, then it would not make sense to have different names for the very same person, and it would be difficult to understand why Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as another Comforter (helper) who can’t make his entrance into this world unless Jesus makes an exit. The Holy Spirit is not referred to as “it” (as some kind of a neutral force) but the pronoun “he” is used. The Holy Spirit will testify of Jesus and glorify him, and if Jesus is not God it would have been more logical to let the Holy Spirit glorify GOD. Especially since we can read in Isaiah 42:8 that God doesn’t share his glory with anyone. The Holy Spirit will speak what he hears, and this is another indication of that he is separate from the one who tells him what to speak. If the Holy Spirit is the same as the Father, it’s strange that we can read that he will proceed from the Father, because that makes them separate:

John 16:⁵But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?⁶But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for IF I GO NOT AWAY; THE COMFORTER WILL NOT COME UNTO YOU; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.⁸And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:⁹Of sin, because they believe not on me;¹⁰Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;¹¹Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.¹²I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.¹⁴He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.¹⁵All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

John 15:²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me

Apg. 1: 1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,²Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:³To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:⁴And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.⁵For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.—⁸But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

GOD created the heavens and the earth, but the SPIRIT of GOD moved upon the face of the waters. They seem separate:

Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Our fellowship is with the Father and the son, according to John, but Paul says our fellowship is with the Spirit. They are both right as usual:

1 John 1:³That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Phil. 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,²Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind

If the Holy Spirit is only some kind of “force” or “power” and not God itself, then it’s odd that the Holy Spirit can be more offended if someone offends it, than Jesus Christ if someone offends him, considering that Jesus is a real person. So here, again, we can see that there is a difference between Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, because the punishment differs if someone blasphemes them. Moreover, we can grieve the Holy Spirit, which shows he has emotions.

Luke 12:¹⁰And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

Matt. 12:³¹Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.³²And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Eph. 4:²⁹Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.³⁰And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Isaiah 63:¹⁰But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

When we read the story about Jesus baptism, we can see that a voice from heaven is heard saying “Thou art my beloved Son”, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove. These things occur at the same time, and it was God the Father who spoke from heaven, to God Jesus Christ on earth, at the same time as God the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus as a dove. All three persons in the godhead are in action at the same time:

Mark 1:⁹And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.¹⁰And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:¹¹And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Holy Spirit can bear witness that we are the children of God, and he also helps our infirmities and makes intercessions for us. He that searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit, and the Spirit chooses to adhere to the will of God – showing they are separate but still the same:

Rom. 8:¹⁶The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God

Rom. 8:²⁶Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.²⁷And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

We are to keep the word of JESUS and if we obey him, he and his Father will come to us and abode with us. How do they accomplish this – being in all of us christians – unless they do this through the Holy Spirit? Jesus Christ can be in us, but naturally not in fleshly form. We are encouraged to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit is inside us and acts as a divine Helper, it results in that our bodies are his temple:

John 14:²³Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

2 Cor. 13:⁵Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Eph. 5:¹⁸And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit

1 Cor. 6:¹⁹What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Here we can learn more about the Holy Spirit and that he is different from God but yet the same. The Spirit searches all things including the deep things of GOD – as though they were separate. Each christian can get the Holy Spirit at the same time as God remains in his heaven:

1 Cor. 2:⁸Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.⁹But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.¹⁰But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.¹¹For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.¹³Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.¹⁴But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.¹⁵But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.¹⁶For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

The Lord is Spirit, says Paul, and the Lord could be God the Father or Jesus. They are both called Lord of Lords. It appears there are three Lords in the godhead, and of course that’s quite possible.

2 Cor. 3:¹⁷Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit is the one to give us gifts of the Spirit, and who make it possible for us to speak with different tongues and to prophesy. The gifts are given as “he will”, showing again that he has a will. If the Holy Spirit is synonymous with God (and not one of three persons in God), then why didn’t Paul simply say that GOD gives us these gifts? Just to confuse us? “The same Spirit...”, “the same Lord…“and “the same God”. Sounds like they are different again, but yet the same.

Acts 2:⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

1 Cor. 12:³Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.⁴Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.⁵And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.⁶And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.⁷But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.⁸For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;⁹To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;¹⁰To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:¹¹But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.¹²For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.¹³For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Ananias and his wife chose to let Satan fill their hearts, and this resulted in lying to the holy Spirit, which is the same as lying to GOD. By their actions they tempted the Spirit of God. If there is only one God with no dimensions or different persons, one wonders why Luke didn’t choose to write “God” in all those places concerning him. Why alter between “God” and “the holy Spirit“? Probably because they are different and yet members of the same God:

Apg. 5:³But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?⁴Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.—⁹Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Peter says that the Holy Spirit is the one who moved holy men of God to write the scriptures, och Paul says that the scripture is given by inspiration of GOD. They seem to be the same:

2 Peter 1:²¹For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Tim. 3:¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

The Holy Spirit can speak and give instructions.

Acts 8:²⁹Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

Acts 11:¹¹And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.¹²And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

Acts 13:²As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

We have a free will and we are not forced to obey the Holy Spirit, but if we are attentive for how the Holy Spirit wants to guide us, we can say that he encourages us and hinders us from doing certain things. Then the starting point is that we have made a decision to adhere to the Holy Spirit instead of our flesh. The Holy Spirit can “forbid” us to do something, but we must decide whether to obey or disobey.

Acts 7:⁵¹Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Acts 16:⁶Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia

Below we can see that 1) the holy Ghost 2) the spirit of the FATHER, 3) JESUS, who will be speaking through us in times of trouble and persecution. So which one is it? Or is it all three as in the trinity?

Mark 13:11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the HOLY GHOST.

Matt. 10:¹⁹But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.²⁰For it is not ye that speak, but THE SPIRIT OF YOUR FATHER which speaketh in you.

Luke 21:¹⁴Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:¹⁵For I WILL GIVE YOU A MOUTH and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

Jesus and the spirit…

2 Cor. 3:¹⁶Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.¹⁷Now THE LORD IS THAT SPIRIT and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Hebr. 9:¹⁴How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

We are apparently told to baptize in three names, and what is the reason for this if God is one and the same and with no distinct persons in the godhead?

Matt. 28:¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

1 John 5:⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Godhead Strong’s 2320 theotés

Colossians 2:⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power

(Acts 17:29 and Rom. 1:20 do not use this Greek word, but 2304 and 2305 respectively)

God the Father calls his son GOD in HEBR. 1:8, because Jesus is GOD

Aug7

Hebr. 1:⁸But UNTO the SON he saith, THY THRONE, O GOD (theos), is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God (theos), even thy God (theos), hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (KJV)

God is addressing his SON when he says “thy throne, O GOD….”, and if God the Father can call his son GOD, then so can we. The Greek text allows for a couple of alternative ways to understand the text; ”God is your throne for ever and ever…” or ”Your throne God, is for ever and ever …”. The world’s Bible translators and Greek scholars have chosen the last alternative for good reasons, and why should we believe that they were are all wrong? Because we personally don’t like their conclusions? It’s not logical to say and believe that God is Jesus THRONE, and nowhere else in the Bible can we see a similar statement. God is not a throne or a monument for Jesus, but he is his Father and a partner in the same Deity and they also SHARE the same throne since Jesus is sitting on the right hand of God on this throne. If someone has decided beforehand that Jesus cannot be God, then of course he would prefer the first alternative at the same time as he RULES OUT the second alternative, to not let it disturb his desired conclusion. Or else the only outcome would be that Jesus in fact IS God, precisely as God the Father has declared, but cult members (like Jehovas witnesses, christadelpians, etc) do their utmost to avoid any translation that smells “Jesus is God”, and of course muslims do the same.

Hebr. 1:⁸But of the Son he says,“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (ESV)

Hebr. 1:⁸But of the Son He says,“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (NASB)

Hebr. 1:⁸and unto the Son:`Thy throne, O God, [is] to the age of the age (Young’s Literal)

Hebr. 1:8 Mas del Hijo dice: Tu trono, oh Dios, por el siglo del siglo (Reina Valera 1960)

Hebr. 1:⁸Mais au sujet du Fils, il dit: Ton trône, ô Dieu, subsiste pour toute éternité (La Bible du Semeur)

Hebr. 1:⁸aber von dem Sohn: “Gott, dein Stuhl währt von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit (Luther Bibel 1545)

The verse is also a reference to psalm 45:6-8 with almost the exact same phrase:

Psalm 45:⁶Thy throne, O God (Elohim), is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.⁷Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God (Elohim), thy God (Elohim), hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.⁸All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

It’s common that Biblical texts make parallels between people, cities and nations and Ezekiel 28 is a good example of this since one section is about Satan despite that the chapter starts out speaking about an earthly the King (the King of Tyrus). Psalm 45 starts out addressing a King (which also applies to Jesus but not in a worldly sense) and continues by addressing GOD, so if this psalm is in relation to God then Hebr. 1 should be in relation to God as well because the phrases are the same! It’s hard to get around the fact that the son is indeed called GOD by his Father. We also know from the Bible that there is only one true God (not several true Gods) OR false gods, so which category fits Jesus? A false God or a true God?

Hebr. 1:1 God (theos), who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;³Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.⁵For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.⁷And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:¹¹They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;¹²And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.¹³But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Adam Clarke Commentary on Hebrews 1:8:

“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever – If this be said of the Son of God, i.e., Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ must be God; and indeed the design of the apostle is to prove this. The words here quoted are taken from Psalm 45:6, Psalm 45:7, which the ancient Chaldee paraphrast, and the most intelligent rabbins, refer to the Messiah. On the third verse of this Psalm, ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men,’ the Targum says: ‘Thy beauty, מלכא משיחא malca Meshicha, O King Messiah, is greater than the children of men.’ Aben Ezra says: ‘This Psalm speaks of David, or rather of his Son the Messiah, for this is his name, Ezekiel 34:24 : And David my servant shall be a prince over them for ever.’ Other rabbins confirm this opinion.

“This verse is very properly considered a proof, and indeed a strong one, of the divinity of Christ; but some late versions of the New Testament have endeavored to avoid the evidence of this proof by translating the word thus: ‘God is thy throne for ever and ever;’ and if this version be correct, it is certain that the text can be no proof of the doctrine. Mr. Wakefield vindicates this translation at large in his History of Opinions; and ὁ Θεος being the nominative case is supposed to be sufficient justification of this version. In answer to this it may be stated that the nominative case is often used for the vocative, particularly by the Attics, and the whole scope of the place requires it should be so used here; and with due deference to all of a contrary opinion, the original Hebrew cannot be consistently translated any other way; כסאך אלהים עולם ועד kisacha Elohim olam vaed, ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and to eternity.’ It is in both worlds, and extends over all time, and will exist through all endless duration. To this our Lord seems to refer, Matthew 28:18 : ‘All power is given unto me, both in Heaven and Earth.’ My throne, i.e., my dominion, extends from the creation to the consummation of all things. These I have made, and these I uphold; and from the end of the world, throughout eternity, I shall have the same glory – sovereign unlimited power and authority, which I had with the Father before the world began; John 17:5. I may add that none of the ancient Versions has understood it in the way contended for by those who deny the Godhead of Christ, either in the Psalm from which it is taken, or in this place where it is quoted. Aquila translates אלהים Elohim, by Θεε, O God, in the vocative case; and the Arabic adds the sign of the vocative ya, reading the place thus: korsee yallaho ila abadilabada, the same as in our Version. And even allowing that ὁ Θεος here is to be used as the nominative case, it will not make the sense contended for without adding εστι to it, a reading which is not countenanced by any Version, nor by any MS. yet discovered. Wiclif, Coverdale, and others, understood it as the nominative, and translated it so; and yet it is evident that this nominative has the power of the vocative: Forsothe to the sone God thi troone into the world of worlde: a gerde of equite the gerde of thi reume. I give this, pointing and all, as it stands in my old MS. Bible. Wiclif is nearly the same, but is evidently of a more modern cast: But to the sone he seith, God thy trone is unto the world of world, a gherd of equyte is the gherd of thi rewme. Coverdale translates it thus: ‘But unto the sonne he sayeth: God, thi seate endureth for ever and ever: the cepter of thy kyngdome is a right cepter.’ Tindal and others follow in the same way, all reading it in the nominative case, with the force of the vocative; for none of them has inserted the word εστι is, because not authorized by the original; a word which the opposers of the Divinity of our Lord are obliged to beg, in order to support their interpretation.”

Excuses – Anyone can be called God, so it’s not a big deal that Jesus too was called God in Hebr. 1:8?

Ex. 7:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god (Elohim) to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (KJV)

Ex. 7:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you LIKE God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. (ESV)

Ex. 7:7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you AS God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. (NASB)

God said something similar about Aaron, and his position in relation to Moses:

Ex. 4:¹⁵And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.¹⁶And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and THOU SHALT BE TO HIM INSTEAD OF GOD. (KJV)

Ex. 4:¹⁶He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and YOU SHALL BE AS GOD TO HIM. (ESV)

Ex. 4:¹⁶Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and YOU WILL BE AS GOD TO HIM. (NASB)

Most of the time when we read about GOD in the Bible it’s obviously in relation to our only Creator God, but sometimes we can also read about God (using the word Elohim and never Jahve) in relation to FALSE gods, which are no real gods at all according to the Bible. The only exception is when Jesus referred to gods in John. 10:34, which in turn is a reference to Ps. 82:6

Ps. 82:⁶I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.⁷But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

Psalms contain much poetry which mirrors the reality, and Jesus point is that if those are “called” gods who are set up to do the work of God here on earth as God’s representatives and judges, then this term would be applicable to him as well since he is God in flesh and has come to earth to do the will of his Father – both as a representative and as a manifestation of him. Despite this psalm (which of course the Jews knew very well) there is no evidence of that a God’s representative/judge on earth has ever literally been called and addressed as God. As soon as Jesus made a reference to his right to be called GOD, they wanted to kill him and they openly stated that they wanted to stone him precisely because he, a mere man, made himself to be GOD (John 10:33). Evidently that was a sin in the eyes of the Jews, because only GOD should be called GOD! Again, each time we read about the term GOD, it’s most of the time in relation to our Creator God, and secondly in relation to false gods who are no real gods. So WHY pretending that people being called God is commonly done, and that this would be the reason to why also Jesus was called God? Being called GOD by the Father means you’re God!

If we constantly run into a bunch of gods any given day, and if we can be called THEOS as well, shouldn’t the authors of the Bible make sure to explain whether they are talking about THEOS the Creator or other “ordinary” THEOS who are not really Creator-gods? In reality we never have any difficulties understanding which THEOS the authors are talking about because we have learned that there is only ONE THEOS/God, and all others gods are no real gods at all but made up IDOLS.

It seems like the only place where some people have difficulties understanding who the authors are talking about, are those instances where JESUS is claimed to be THEOS, because no other verses with THEOS are disputed! Hebr 1 starts out talking about THEOS (God) and about his son, so if we the chapter starts out talking about our CREATOR THEOS, why not believing that the subject always concerns our real Creator God? When we read “therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee”, both the Father and the son are called THEOS, so why not believing they are both THEOS and our Creator? That doesn’t result in multiple gods, but multiple persons in the godhead.

Not only is Jesus called GOD, but many godly attributes are connected to him throughout Hebr. 1 so this is not about people like you and me even if we were to be workers of God’s here on earth. We can read that he:

is heir of all things
is the brightness of his glory
is the express image of his persoon
upholds all things by the word of his power
by himself purges us from our sins
sits down at the right hand of the Majesty
is better than the angels (despite that we can read in Phil. that he is lower than the angels as man on earth)
is begotten, unlike the angels
shall be WORSHIPED by the angels (we are to worship God alone)
has an eternal throne
has a sceptre of righteousness which is the sceptre of his kingdom (attributes to God in OT)
is called GOD, LORD and ANOINTED
has in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of HIS hands (despite that the exact same thing can be said about GOD)
remains the same and is eternal

These are attributes which can hardly be linked to those representatives/judges that we read about in psalm 82:6! The fact that some people try to use Joh. 10:34+Ps. 82:6 as support for their idea that it’s not a big deal to be called God, only shows their desperation when they run out of good arguments.

God alone created everything with his own hands – and the son did too!

God doesn’t share his honor with anyone (Isaiah 42:8) but shares it with his son. Note also the expressions in Hebr. 1:10-12:

Hebr. 1:¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:¹¹They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;¹²And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

The above is a reference to the psalm below with identical phrases. This psalm is in relation to GOD who created all things with his own hands, and if these attributes are linked to GOD in this psalm, why would the exact same attributes and phrases not be linked to God in Hebr. 1?

Psalm 102:²⁴I said, O my GOD, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.²⁵Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.²⁶They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:²⁷But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Isaiah 44:24 says that God was alone in his creation, so how come there is no mention of Jesus? That’s because Jesus is God, so God was indeed alone when he made his creation:

Isaiah 44:²⁴Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF;

Isaiah 42:⁵Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Col. 1:¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:¹⁴In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Why fight against the Bible’s clear teaching that Jesus is God? Why siding with Antichrist who fights against the teaching that Jesus is the word, who was God, who came to earth in flesh and died for our sins?

2 John 1:⁷For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins.

Everything is created by JESUS CHRIST, who is GOD ALMIGHTY

Jul14

It’s very hard to get around the fact that the Bible teaches that Jesus was BEFORE ALL THINGS and has always been with the Father from the beginning. Jesus was also together with the israelites during the Exodus according to Paul, so he didn’t have his initial start in the virgin Mary. We can trust that God is able to describe the attributes of Jesus in a way that we can understand, and if absolutely NOTHING and NO ONE was BEFORE Jesus (and God is SOMEONE isn’t he?) then Jesus must have been the origin of all things, and truly first and eternal.

Since we can read that all things were made by Jesus and all things were made by God, it must mean that Jesus IS this GOD (as in the same trinity) because only God can possess this creative power. Since the Bible makes it very clear that there is only ONE God, Jesus and the Father must therefore be in the same GODHEAD.

Jesus was before all things and created everything with his own hands

Colossians 1:16-17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created BY HIM, and for him: And HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, and by him all things consist.

John. 17:⁵And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee BEFORE THE WORLD WAS.

1 Cor. 8:⁵For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)⁶But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, BY WHO ARE ALL THINGS, and we by him.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM; AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE.10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.—14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

(Revelation 19:13 And he [Jesus] was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.)

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, to receive glory and honour and power: FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; —.8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.—10 And, Thou, Lord, IN THE BEGINNING HAST LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH; and THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF THINE HANDS

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting

Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the BEGINNING and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 10:²⁰And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon theLord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.²¹The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the MIGHTY GOD.

GOD (God the Father) created all things with his own hands – ALL ALONE

Isaiah 37:¹⁶O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 42:⁵Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:—-.⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah 43:10-11 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isaiah 44:²³Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.²⁴Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens ALONE; that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF

Isaiah 45:¹⁸For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God HIMSELF that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, HE formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.¹⁹I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.—.²¹Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.²²Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.²³I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Isaiah 51:¹³And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

Ps. 8:³When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;⁴What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?⁵For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.⁶Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet

Ps. 90:²Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Ps. 95:³For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.⁴In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.⁵The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.⁶O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

Ps. 102:²⁵Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.²⁶They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:²⁷But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Ps. 115:15 Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Ps. 148:⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.⁶He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.—¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Gen. 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;²Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Exodus 31:¹⁷It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Deut. 4:³²For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?—³⁵Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.—³⁹Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

Deut. 32:⁶Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not MADE thee, and established thee?

Job 9:1 Then Job answered and said,²I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?—⁸Which ALONE spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.⁹Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

2 Kings 19:¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou ALONE, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

Eccl. 7:²⁹Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Nehemiah 9:⁶Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Jeremiah 10:¹²He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.¹³When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

Jeremiah 23:²⁴Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 28:¹³Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.¹⁴Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.¹⁵Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Mark 13:¹⁹For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Acts 4:²⁴And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:²⁵Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?²⁶The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Acts 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein

Acts 17:²³For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.²⁴God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;²⁵Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;²⁶And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;²⁷That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:²⁸For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Eph. 3:⁸Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;⁹And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ

Hebr. 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;²Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.³For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.⁴For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.—⁶But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Rev. 14:⁶And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,⁷Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Proverbs. 8:²⁰I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:²¹That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.²²The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.²⁵Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:²⁶While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.²⁷When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:²⁸When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:²⁹When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:³⁰Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;³¹Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.³²Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.³³Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.³⁴Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.³⁵For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.³⁶But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Jesus was with the israelites in Egypt and during Exodus, and we are to worship the CREATOR – which is Jesus

Jesus existed long before he came into flesh and was born by Mary. We can see him as THE angel of the Lord as per this blog article (note that malak doesn’t have to be an angel but can be any type of a messenger of God) and it could be in this form that he was together with the israelites during the Exodus.

1 Cor. 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;²And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;³And did all eat the same spiritual meat;⁴And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.⁵But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.⁶Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.⁷Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.⁸Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.⁹Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

Hebr. 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;—⁷Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,⁸Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:⁹When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.¹⁰Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.¹¹So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)¹²Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.—¹⁵While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.¹⁶For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.¹⁷But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?¹⁸And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?¹⁹So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Ps. 95: 1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.—⁷For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,⁸Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:⁹When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.¹⁰Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:¹¹Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Deut.4:³³Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?³⁴Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

Acts.4:⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,—¹⁰Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.¹¹This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.¹²Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Do read my blog article about the misconception that Jesus is “created”.

The TRINITY – Jesus in the Godhead, who shared the glory with the Father

Jun5

The Bible teaches that Jesus is God

These are just some of the evidence for that Jesus is God who once came in the form of flesh to live as man here on earth. Between Genesis and Revelations there are numerous verses which tell us about the deity of Jesus – for instance prophesies in the old testament which prophesy about the upcoming Messiah and savior Jesus Christ (and NOTHING existed before him) who shares the glory with God the Father, despite that the Bible also says that God alone created the earth and doesn’t share his glory with anyone. If we refuse to accept that our King Jesus is the one he says he is – equal with God the Father, one with God the Father and has always coexisted with God the Father – then we are left with a long list of Bible inconsistencies that are impossible to get around. God the Father is usually called just GOD (in English), and he calls his son GOD in Hebr. 1.

John 17:²¹That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.²²And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one

The context for John 10:30 “I and the Father are one” is totally different from the context of John 17:21-22. In the latter verses it’s about having the same goal/approach/attitude, whereas John 10 is about being one with God as in the same authority and spirit. This is especially obvious when we consider that the jews picked up stones to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy when he claimed to be one with God. Why would they do this unless they felt Jesus was truly guilty of this crime? There is no Jewish death penalty for stating that we are to share the same goal as God, but there is a death penalty for claiming to be of the same authority as God and to be equal with him.

God the Father ONLY does wondrous things, but Jesus does too…

Ps. 72:¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who ONLY doeth wondrous things.

John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

The First and The Last – both God the Father AND God Jesus Christ

The first words of the Book of Revelation begin “The revelation of Jesus Christ” and the last things that Jesus says are “I, JESUS have sent mine angel to testify unto you all these things”. We can clearly see that both God the Father and Jesus Christ used the names/terms “I am the first and the last” and “alpha and omega”. Either Jesus is not God and only wants to confuse us by constantly taking God’s name on himself, letting himself be worshiped, making himself equal with God, not correcting people who call him God, etc, OR he really IS God. Only the latter option eliminates Bible contradictions.

Isa 44:⁶Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isa. 48:¹⁰Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.¹¹For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.¹²Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.¹³Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Rev. 1:⁵And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,⁶And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.⁷Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.⁸I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.⁹I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,¹¹Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.¹²And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;¹³And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.¹⁴His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;¹⁵And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.¹⁶And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.¹⁷And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:¹⁸I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Rev 21:⁵And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.⁶And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:¹²And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.¹³I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.—¹⁶I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Rev. 22:⁸And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.⁹Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Rev. 19:⁹And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.¹⁰And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Acts. 10:²⁵And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.²⁶But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

Both God the Father AND God the son are the Lord of Lords

Isaiah 42:⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Deut. 10:¹⁷For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward

Ps. 136:³O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Phil. 2:¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1 Tim. 6:¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:¹⁵Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords

Rev. 17:¹⁴These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev. 19:¹³And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.—¹⁵And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.¹⁶And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

Who raised Jesus from the dead?

GOD raised him from the dead

Acts 10:³⁹And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:⁴⁰Him GOD raised up the third day, and shewed him openly

Acts 2:²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:²⁴Whom GOD hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.—32 This Jesus hath GOD raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

Acts. 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Acts. 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom GOD raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Acts.5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Acts. 13:23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus—33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

2 Corinthians 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also BY JESUS, and shall present us with you.

The HOLY SPIRIT (who dwells in us) raised him from the dead

Romans 8:11 But if THE SPIRIT of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

JESUS raised himself up from the dead

John 10:¹⁷Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.¹⁸No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

The Holy Spirit is given by God: Isaiah 48:16, 63:11, Acts 5:32, 15:8, 1 Cor. 2:12, 2 Cor. 1:22, 3:3, 5:5 Gal. 3:5, 4:6, 1 Thess. 4:8, 1 John 3:24

The Holy Spirit is given by Jesus: Zechariah 12:10, Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, John 3:34, John 15:26, John 16:7, John 20:22

If the Holy Spirit is said to be given by GOD, and also by JESUS, could this mean that Jesus is GOD? Yes!

We are cursed if we trust in man instead of the Lord, yet we are told to put our trust in the son

Jer. 17:⁵Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.—⁷Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Psa 2:¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

If this verse is not about Jesus Christ – WHO is it about?

Isaiah 9: ⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

God the Father created everything all by himself – and the son Jesus Christ too…

Prov 30:⁴Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

Psalm 8:³When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;⁴What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?⁵For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.⁶Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet

Isaiah 45:¹⁸For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²The same was in the beginning with God.³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.⁷The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.⁹That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.—¹⁴And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.¹⁵John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.¹⁶And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.¹⁷For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.¹⁸No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 17:⁵And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

John 8:40, 58 I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!

Hebr. 1:²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;—¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Hebr. 2:⁶But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?⁷Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:⁸Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.¹⁰For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Col. 1:¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:¹⁴In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

There is only ONE that you shall worship, and JESUS allowed himself to be worshiped

It would have been so easy to quench the idea that Jesus is God by showing Jesus correcting those who worshiped him, but not once did he do that. John was corrected by the angel who he bowed down to in Revelations, and Cornelius was immediately corrected by Peter when he was worshiped in Acts. To Jesus will every knee bow and every tongue confess:

Isaiah 45:²¹Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.²²Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.²³I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Zech. 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

Phi 2:⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Acts. 4:¹⁰Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.¹¹This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.¹²Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Daniel 7:¹³I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.¹⁴And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

John 9:35-39 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe’; and he WORSHIPED HIM.

Hebr. 1:⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.—⁸But unto the Son he saith, THY THRONE; O GOD, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

God doesn’t share his glory with anyone, but shares it with Jesus

Isaiah 42:⁵Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein—⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah 48:¹¹For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

Matthew 16:²⁷For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.²⁸Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

John 5:²¹For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.²²For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:²³That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

John 17:⁵And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Phil. 2:⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Col. 2:⁸Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power

Hebr. 2:⁷Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands

30 pieces of silver

Zech 11:10And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.¹¹And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.¹²And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.¹³And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord—¹⁷Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Matt 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Jesus is God!

John 20:²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.²⁵The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.²⁶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.²⁷Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.²⁸And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.²⁹Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Mark 2:⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.⁶But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,⁷Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

Do read this article about; if we can also be called gods

The only true God in John 17:3 does not exclude Jesus

May13

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3)

If Jesus must be excluded if God is “the only true…God”, then why is not Jesus excluded elsewhere where God is said to be “the only” something? And why is GOD not excluded when JESUS is said to be “the only....” something? If you check the verses below you will see examples of where either God or Jesus is called “the only”, and yet most antitrinitarians have no problem including the other one. It’s only when it comes to John 17:3 where they for some reason do NOT want to include Jesus, and we already know the reason. If they did, they have to let go of a beloved verse which they have always viewed as proof for that Jesus isn’t God, and now they are left with nothing.

God…

Is the only one who is God – John 17:3, Is. 43:10, Is. 45:18, Ps. 86:10 (yet JESUS is too 1 Hebr. 1:8, 1 John 5:20, John 20:28)
Is the only one who is Lord (despotes, Strong’s 1203) – Jude 4 (yet JESUS is too 2 Pet. 2:1)
Is the only one who is King of Kings – 1 Tim. 6.15 (yet JESUS is too Rev. 17:14, Rev. 19.16)
Is the only one who is Lord of Lords – 1 Tim. 6.15 (yet JESUS is too Rev. 17:14, Rev. 19.16)
Is the only one to be exalted on that day – Is. 2:11, 17 compare also with Ps. 118:16 (yet JESUS is too Acts. 2:33, Acts 5:31, Phil 2:9)
Is the only one who is immortal – 1 Tim. 6.16 (yet JESUS is too Hebr. 1:8-12)
Is the only one who is Savior – Is. 43:11, Is. 45:21-22 (yet JESUS is too Titus 2:13, 2 Pet. 1:1, Acts. 13:23, Acts. 4:12, 1 Tim. 1:15)
Is the only one who make wonders/miracles – Ps. 72:18, Ps. 136:4 (yet JESUS too Matt. 4:23, 8:27, Acts. 4:10)
Is the only Creator and NO ONE was with him – Is. 25:24, Neh. 9:6 (yet JESUS is too Hebr. 1:10, Col 1:16-17)
Is the only one who we should worship – Rev. 14:7, Matt. 4:10, Neh. 9:6 (yet JESUS too Matt. 28:9, 28:17)
Is the only one who has Glory and who doesn’t share his glory with anyone – Is. 42:8, Is. 48:11 (yet JESUS too Phil. 2:9-13)

Jesus…

Is the only one who is Lord – 1 Cor. 8:6 (yet GOD too Deut. 10:17, Is. 42:8)
Is the only one who is Holy – Rev. 15:3-4 (yet GOD too Ex. 5:11, Is. 57:15)

The fear of accepting that Jesus is GOD in flesh

Antitrinitarians often cite John. 17:3 as an attempt to deny the deity of Jesus, by suggesting that Jesus would never call his Father “the only true God” had he been God himself because there is only ONE God. It’s absolutely true that God is ONE, but why not ONE Godhead? Why cannot three persons be in the same trinity? Can God not be in any way he wants? Can God not be in a burning bush at the same time as he is in heaven, and at the same time as he oversees every single step that all people on earth make during the same second? Can he not be on every continent at the same time? Jesus can be on the right side of God, just like he is in the midst of a group who gathers together in his name.

Matthew 18:¹⁹Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I’d like to believe that Jesus is present in our midst (albeit not in flesh) when two or more are gathered together in his name. Does this mean that he is unable to also be in the midst of other groups of people who gather together in his name somewhere else on earth – if they happen to gather together at the same time? Must we sit there with the hope that he is not already fully booked and unable to attend our meetings because his schedule is full and he is busy elsewhere? I’d like to believe that none of the persons in the Godhead have any problems at all to be in several places at the same time, and consequently Jesus doesn’t have any problems with sitting at the right hand side of God (the Father) despite being God himself. One pile of sand can be divided into three piles of sand, and our Lord can likewise be split apart should he want to. The persons in the Godhead are not divided in essence but they can split apart and act independently, but in unity, within the trinity.

Gal. 4:⁴But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,⁵To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

What would be a better way for Jesus to phrase himself? Should he have said: “…that they might know thee the only true God, and myself Jesus Christ – the second only true God”? That would make it sound there were several true Gods, and there would be a risk that the people around him would misunderstand him, be confused and even enraged – way too soon in history because it wasn’t time for his death just yet. Jesus only wanted to show them that there is indeed ONE true God, and that is the one that he communicates with just like the people around him. Did he communicate with himself? No, he communicated with another person in the same Godhead. Jesus constantly prayed to God the Father (often called just GOD), and the last time was when he was on the cross. As God in FLESH Jesus communicated with God the Father in the same way as all other people – by praying – but he of course has a very special relationship since he shares the same Godhead. When Jesus was not in flesh (Jesus has always been with the Father from eternity past) but in spirit, he didn’t communicate through prayers. Since Jesus is both God and man, he would properly say that his Father is the only true God. Are there other true Gods? Of course not. There is only ONE. He was not denying His own divinity but affirming the truth that God is one, as the scriptures properly say.

“But Jesus is speaking about this “only true God” in third person and that should mean that Jesus himself couldn’t be God“? It’s true that he referred to God in third person but he also refers to himself in third person! If Jesus cannot be God due to referring to God in third person, then neither can he be Jesus Christ by the same logic.

Jesus is not only God, but the son of God. He isn’t Joseph’s true son, so he must be someone else’s true son, and he is God the Father’s son (or sprung from the trinity). But it was also Jesus own decision to be born on earth, as he has always been a part of the trinity. I personally believe that when Jesus was born on earth, he behaved just like all other babies, and I don’t believe he had wisdom enough to know he was God at the age of 3 weeks, 3 months, etc. I don’t believe he knew he was God as a baby, because he was just a baby and behaved like babies normally do. As soon as he grew up and had the capacity to reason, he knew he was divine, and again, it was his own decision to be born as a man (first baby) on earth for our sake. His mission was to spread the gospel and die as a sin offering for all mankind, and he is also called son of man. As a man on earth, he too communicated with God (the Father). Jesus was also one of us.

Phil. 2:⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

GOD is the true God

Jer. 10:10But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

God the Father is the one true God

Joh. 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent

Jesus Christ is the true God – 1 John 5:20

1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

The most natural way to read “this” or “this one” above (or in similar statements) is to make it refer to the most previous person mentioned, which would here be Jeus Kristus. Or else John should have clarified exactly who he was referring to, if the most natural way of reading his text is supposed to be avoided. God is not a God of confusion. Take note of John’s way of starting out his letter in 1 John 1:1, where he states that the eternal life (Jesus) was with the Father – which is repeated in 1 John 15:19-20. Jesus is also the true light. It doesn’t make sense, if monotheism is true, to have two separate persons/Gods who both are called the eternal life, the true light, IAM, alpha and omega, the Lord of Lords, Savior, Creator, etc, and who on top of all are being worshiped. Either Jesus is God, or we have a God Senior and a God Junior, which is polytheism.

Ps. 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

1 Joh. 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

1 Joh. 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.—22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 The same was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John. 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Joh. 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Joh. 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Evangelical scholar Robert M. Bowman Jr. about John. 5:20:

Three considerations favor the Son. First, the closest antecedent for “this one” is Jesus Christ (“in his Son Jesus Christ. This one…”). Second, in 1:2 the “eternal life” is Jesus Christ (who was “with the Father”), an apparent example ofinclusio (repetition of a theme or idea at the beginning and end of a text). Third, the confession form “This one is…” (houtos estin) strongly favors Jesus Christ, rather than the Father, as the subject, since John uses this language repeatedly with regard to Christ (John 1:30, 33, 34; 4:29, 42; 6:14, 42, 50, 58; 7:18, 25, 26, 40, 41; 1 John 5:6; of the man born blind, John 9:8, 9, 19, 20; of the disciple, John 21:24; of the anti-Christ, 1 John 2:22; 2 John 1:7), but not once for the Father. John has just used this formula for Christ earlier in the same chapter (1 John 5:6). (Robert M. Bowman, The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity: An Outline Study, Part IV. The Son, Jesus Christ, Is God; *)

Dr. Robert A. Morey:

“That there may be a few rare exceptions to a general rule does not mean that one should approach a text of Scripture with the a priori assumption that it will be an exception to the normal rules of grammar.Instead, we should approach a text with the a priori assumption that the normal rules of grammar and syntax will apply unless there are cleargrammatical reasons to depart from those rules. “Please notice that we said ‘grammatical’–not ‘theological’–reasons. Just because the grammar of a text leads to an idea which contradicts what you believe, this does not give you the right to throw grammar to the wind. Theology cannot overthrow or ignore the grammar of the sacred text. It can only bow before it…”

“The Greek text of 1 John 5:20 is simple and straightforward. John used houtos fifty-five times in his writings. Thus, we are not talking about a rare usage of a rare word. There are plenty of places in John’s writings where houtos was used in the same kind of construction as found in 1 John 5:20 and no one has any problem with houtos referring back to the antecedent… Why then all the hysteria over whether houtos refers to Jesus in 1 John 5:20? Obviously, it is not the grammar or syntax of the Greek that causes people to question whether houtos refers to Jesus Christ per se. It is that it refers to Him as God. That is the real issue. “If the text read, ‘Iesou Christo. houtos estin zoe Aionios (‘Jesus Christ. This is Eternal Life’), there would be no controversy whatsoever.Houtos would be seen as referring to ‘Iesou Christo. But once you add ho alethinos theos to the phrase, then the controversy begins.”

“The evidence for Jesus being called ‘the true God’ and ‘Eternal Life’ is quite strong:

1. The general rule on pronouns is that it modifies the immediate antecedent. This means Jesus Christ…

2) While John elsewhere refers to Jesus as ‘Eternal Life’ (1 John 1:2), the Father is never called ‘Eternal Life.’ More importantly, in the immediate context, since Jesus is ‘eternal life,’ then to have Him in your heart is to have eternal life (1 John 5:11-12). In John’s writings, refers to zoe Aionios ‘Eternal Life’ Jesus.

3) John applies the adjective alethinos ‘true’ to Jesus many times…

4) That the Father is called ‘true God’ in John 17:3 and the Son is called ‘true God’ in 1 John 5:20 is no more a contradiction than the fact that they are both called the ‘true One’ (1 John 5:20; cf. Rev. 3:7).

5) The interpretation that ‘the true God’ refers to the Father leads to a meaningless tautology. Lenski explains: In the first place, if houtos has as its antecedent ‘the real God’ (the Father), then the statement is a tautology; John would say: ‘This real God is the real God.’ He would say it after having twice said: we know the real God and are in the real God.” (Morey, The Trinity: Evidence and Issues [World Bible Publishers, Inc., Iowa Falls, IA 1996], Part IV: The New Testament Evidence, Chapt. 17. God the Son, pp. 354-357) ”

A common objection to the most obvious understanding of 1 Joh. 5:20 – where houtos refers to the last person spoken of – is to present a verse where it’s NOT possible to read the verse in such a way. If such a verse could be found, the idea is that we are then exempt from reading ANY verse in the Bible according to the ordinary pattern if we don’t really want to – and particularly John 5:20 which is the “problematic verse” that must be “solved”. Such verses are not easy to find, but 1 John 2:22 is at least one example, and voilá – this discovery is used to find legitimate reasons to override the implications of John 5:20. So instead this verse is read in such a way that it agrees with the preferred doctrine, which is “there is no way that Jesus is God”. Not due to grammatical reasons, but due to one’s own personal views (just like Dr. Robert A. Morey warns about). This is not an honest way to read the Bible, and it’s nothing but cherry-picking.

On top of this, there is a major difference between the two verses. Houtos must not refer to the last person spoken about but then this must be made clear in the context! To clarify who is the Antichrist, John adds the information (in caps below) that he who denies the Father and the Son is the Antichrist. No matter what language we speak, we would normally want listeners/readers to understand what we say, and if there is a chance that someone might misunderstand us we would rather want to express ourselves in such a way that misunderstandings can be avoided. If we want to deviate from the most common way to use houtos, extra clarification is needed.

1 John 2:²²Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He [houtos] is antichrist, THAT DENIETH THE FATHER AND THE SON.

Jesus is covered in GLORY and yet the Bible says God doesn’t share his glory with anyone…

Isaiah 42:⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Also Jesus is called true God and Lord

1 John 5:²⁰And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the TRUE GOD, and eternal life. (more literally:…he is the true God)

Jude 4:⁴For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our ONLY Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Rom. 9:⁵of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed GOD. Amen. (NKJV)

Hebr. 1:⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

John. 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and MY GOD.29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Lord of Lords – there is only ONE – and yet both God the Father and Jesus Christ are called Lord of Lords

Other lords but God are mentioned in the Bible (like 26:13) and it’s not uncommon for a servant to call his master “lord”, but the Bible also says there is one particular LORD who is LORD OF LORDS, and he ALONE is LORD.

Isaiah 37:²⁰Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou ONLY.

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

Psalm 136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

1 Tim. 6:¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:¹⁵Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;¹⁶Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Revelation 19:¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.¹²His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.¹³And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.¹⁴And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.¹⁵And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.¹⁶And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

Matt. 22:⁴²Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.⁴³He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,⁴⁴The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?⁴⁵If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?⁴⁶And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

God the Father is the ONLY savior, and Jesus Christ as well, and both created the earth – ALONE

Isaiah 43:¹¹I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.

Titus. 2:¹³Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our SAVIOUR Jesus Christ;¹⁴Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Isaiah 44:²⁴Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

According to John 1:3 and Col. 1:16-17 Jesus made all things, and absolutely NOTHING was before him. So God the Father could not have been before him since he is definitely something! Is God a liar?

Col. 1:¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Col. 2:⁸Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

There is only ONE God hat we shall worship, and JESUS allowed himself to be worshiped

It would have been so easy to quench the idea that Jesus is not God by showing Jesus correcting those who worshiped him, but not once did he do that. To Jesus will every knee bow and every tongue confess:

Isaiah 45:²¹Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.²²Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.²³I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Zech. 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Acts. 4:¹⁰Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.¹¹This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.¹²Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus is the Messiah who the Scriptures and the Prophets write about – God in flesh

Apr21

Jesus Christ is the Messiah

Messiah is a translation from the Greek word Χριστός (Christos) Strong’s 5547, and is used 538 times in the Bible, and it can also be translated as ”the annointed”. So Jesus Christ means Jesus the Messiah.

Jesus is identified as the Messiah several times in the Bible, so we can’t get around the fact that the son of Joseph and Mary was the promised Messiah that the Old Testament so often is speaking about through prophets and psalms.

Matt. 1:¹⁶And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

The well-known story about the wise men who looked for the star of Bethlehem, shows that they knew that the Messiah would be born there just as promised in the Scriptures. They expected the Messiah in form of a ”King” and a “governor“, which is a shepherd, and that’s exactly what Jesus was called several times. The Messiah was supposed to be come from the tribe of Judah – which is the tribe that Jesus came from.

Matt. 2: 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Mika 5:2, 2 Sam 5:2, 1 Chr 11:2, John 7:42).

The people understood that the son of man is the same as the Messiah, and they asked Jesus how come he says that the son of man must be lifted up when the Scriptures say that the Messiah shall abide for ever. Jesus then tells them that he is the light that they must believe in, in order to be children of light and also that he will continue to be a light for them for a little while more.

John. 12:³⁴The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?³⁵Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.³⁶While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

Jesus equals the Messiah with the son of man, and when he speaks about his return to earth he warns us and tells us not to be deceived about who the Messiah really is, since it will be clear for everyone. If we feel any kind of uncertainty in this respect, it’s not the Messiah because his return will be like the lightning before all people.

Matt. 24:⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.—²³Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.²⁵Behold, I have told you before.²⁶Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.²⁷For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

If only God the Father is God and the only one to be given glory, then the holy Spirit should testify only of HIM (God the Father), but Jesus suggests that the holy Spirit testifies of HIM (Jesus).

John 15:²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of ME

Jesus Christ was crucified for the reason that he claimed to be the son of God, the Messiah and God in flesh. Jesus constantly connected the God name “I AM” to himself, which he does also in the below verses when he responds to the questions from the high priest. If Jesus wouldn’t be the Messiah, then a more truthful answer would be a “NO WAY! It would be blasphemy to call oneself for the son of God so of course I don’t do this!”, but that was not the response that Jesus gave, but rather ”I AM“. The high priest understood immediately that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy and rent his clothes, and the jews around him viewed him as guilty. Guilty of what? Blasphemy! To make oneself equal with God.

Mark 14:⁶⁰And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?⁶¹But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?⁶²And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.⁶³Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?⁶⁴Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

Also Paul equals Christ with Jesus – the one who God rose up from the dead and placed on his right hand side – just like the prophesies say in Scriptures. King David described it as ”The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand”, despite that the Bible makes it clear that there is only ONE Lord and ONE God. The trinity solves this problem beautifully. Both God the Father and Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords.

Acts 2: ³¹He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.³²This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.³³Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.³⁴For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,³⁵Until I make thy foes thy footstool. (Ps. 110:1)

Acts 18:⁵And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

John the Baptist calls Jesus for the lamb of God, and Andrew says to his brother that they have found the Messiah, and he leads Peter to Jesus.

John 1:³⁵Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;³⁶And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!³⁷And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.³⁸Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?³⁹He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.⁴⁰One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.⁴¹He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.⁴²And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

We can read about the lamb of God in Revelations, and we can read about people who sing to the lamb and also call him Lord God almighty, and King of saints. They say that he alone is holy, for all nations shall come and worship him. But God the Father is of course HOLY too, and that means again that they share the same godhead. Each person in a godhead can be holy.

Rev. 15:²And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.³And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.⁴Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

The Scriptures speak about Jesus Christ

Peter speaks about Jesus Christ and says that peace is given by him who is Lord of all. Jesus is the one who God ordained to be the judge of the living and the dead, and Peter says that all the prophets witness about him and explains that whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts. 10:³⁶The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)—³⁹And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:—⁴²And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.⁴³To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

If we don’t believe in the one who the Father has sent, we are in big trouble. Jesus says that the Scriptures (that is the old testament) testify of him, and that Moses wrote about him. The jews who Jesus was talking to refused to believe that Jesus was sent by God and that means that they did not have his word abiding in them. If they truly believed Moses, they would also believe that Jesus is the one who he says he is. Even today there are many cults that refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and coequal with God the Father.

John. 5:³⁷And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.³⁸And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.³⁹Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.-–⁴⁶For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.⁴⁷But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Paulus says that the law and the prophets are witnessing about a righteousness that can be given through faith in Jesus Christ.

Rom. 3:²¹But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;²²Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Jesus says here again that the prophets are writing about him, and he shows that the suffering that the Scriptures say awaits the Messiah is tied to him (Jesus) because he IS the promised Messiah, and he DID suffer for mankind on the cross. Moses, the prophets and psalms testify of Jesus, so when we read in these old books in the old testament we can see stories about Jesus Christ who – from their point of view – is yet to come in the future in the form of flesh. When we read the complete Bible today, including the new testament, this event has of course already happened.

Luke 24:¹³And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.¹⁴And they talked together of all these things which had happened.¹⁵And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.—²¹But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.—²⁴And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.²⁵Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:²⁶Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?²⁷And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.—⁴⁴And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.⁴⁵Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,⁴⁶And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:⁴⁷And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Jesus reads from the Scriptures in his home town, and says that what can be read in Isaiah 61 is about himself.

Luke 4:¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.²²And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;––⁸For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.—¹⁰I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.¹¹For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Paul explains that Jesus is the stumbling stone for the jews, or actually for anyone who refuses to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah, God’s son and God with us. Many cults are interested in raising up stumblingstones for us, and they are eager to teach that Jesus is not God in flesh.

Rom. 9:³²Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;³³As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (Isaiah 10:21-22)

Isaiah 8:¹³Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.¹⁴And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.¹⁵And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.¹⁶Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.¹⁷And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.¹⁸Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

Isaiah 28:¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Paul reasoned with people and explained to them that the Scriptures speak about Jesus and that he must suffer as the Messiah, but also rise again. There is a division between those who believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah and those who don’t.

Acts. 17:²And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,³Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.⁴And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

Below we can read in multiple places that the Scriptures speak about Jesus Christ as the holy one – the Messiah. God gives Jesus Christ GLORY – despite that we can also read in the Scriptures that God doesn’t share his glory with anyone. (This means Jesus must be God.) Moses explained that God would send a prophet “like unto me” (as a leader for Israel and for all people who would unite with them) and that it’s of great importance that we listen to this prophet who is the Prince of life, and who has the power to bring either life or judgment. Since eternal life is given through faith and obedience in Jesus Christ (Hebr. 5:9), which includes the acceptance that Jesus has come in the flesh (1 John. 4:2), some religious cults do what they can to teach the opposite message – that Jesus is NOT the Messiah nor God in flesh.

Acts 3:¹³The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.¹⁴But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;¹⁵And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.¹⁶And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.¹⁷And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.¹⁸But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.¹⁹Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.²⁰And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:²¹Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.²²For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.²³And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.²⁴Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.²⁵Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.²⁶Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Jesus was together with the israelites during Exodus

Jesus is the ROCK that followed the israelites during Exodus.

1 Cor. 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;²And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;³And did all eat the same spiritual meat;⁴And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.⁵But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.⁶Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.⁷Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.⁸Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.⁹Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

Jude 1:⁴For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.⁵I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

Jesus is the LIGHT which has come into the world to give us LIFE

Apr6

Jesus is the light and the life!

Gen.1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The LIGHT was before the sun, moon and the stars that were created on Day 4, and in the new Kingdom we won’t need a sun to give us light, and there will be no nights and no darkness.

Rev. 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

How did it start?

John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Jesus is the light! He is our lamb! He offered his life for us!

Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Matthew 17:2And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (Peter)

Rev. 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last (John)

John and Peter above, and also Paul saw his light. The angel of the Lord spreads the light of God.

Acts 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

Acts 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

Moses had a unique experience with the glorious LIGHT of God. During the first meeting with God face to face God apparently had his face covered because no one can see his face and live:

Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Exodus 33: ²⁰And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. ²¹And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: ²²And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: ²³And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

Exodus 34:²⁹And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.³⁰And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. ³¹And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. ³²And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. ³³And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. ³⁴But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. ³⁵And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

2 Cor. 3:⁷But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: ⁸How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?—¹²Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: ¹³And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: ¹⁴But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. ¹⁵But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. ¹⁶Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

Jesus, son of God and God in flesh, came to earth just to die for us and offer us salvation! His birth was prophesied about 800 years before he was born.

Is. 9:2The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Is. 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 8The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath LIGHTED upon Israel.

Isaiah 42:16And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Psalm 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.²For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. ³And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

The Lord is the LIGHT that guides us!

Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

Psalm 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Sinners don’t want to come to the light to get their lives exposed, but those who choose to come to the light will get LIFE. If we walk in the light, we won’t stumble. The LIGHT will divide us. We are either in the light and walk in it, or we are in darkness.

John 3:18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 13The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

John 11:9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

John 12: 35Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. 37But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

2 Cor. 4:3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We must continue to live in the world, and we will be around both believers and unbelievers, but we are not to be unequally joked with the darkness

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Ephesians 5:⁸For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ⁹(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ¹⁰Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. ¹¹And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. ¹²For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. ¹³But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. ¹⁴Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light

We are told to BE LIGHT in this world and to WALK in the light

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. ⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. ⁷For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. ⁸But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Luke 11:35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

1 John 1: 5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1 John 2:8Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

Matt. 5:14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

Matthew 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

When he returns to earth lightening will shine

Luke 17:24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

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YHWH ALONE knows the hearts of the children of men, and JESUS too!

Can we all be called GODS, as per John 10:34 and Ps. 82:6?

LOOK UPON ME whom they have PIERCED – JESUS in Zech. 12:10

Is the HOLY SPIRIT also GOD?

God the Father calls his son GOD in HEBR. 1:8, because Jesus is GOD

Everything is created by JESUS CHRIST, who is GOD ALMIGHTY

The TRINITY – Jesus in the Godhead, who shared the glory with the Father

The only true God in John 17:3 does not exclude Jesus

Jesus is the Messiah who the Scriptures and the Prophets write about – God in flesh

Jesus Christ is the Messiah

Jesus is the LIGHT which has come into the world to give us LIFE

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