THIS VOL 789B - (1) INTERESTING VIDEOS AND TALKING SHOWING WONDERS OF ALMIGHTY GOD’S CREATION, AND ANOTHER INTERESTING TALKING VIDEO, [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, A BIBLE STUDY, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO ACTS, [3] DOCUMENTARY ON REVELATION 2:8, [4] INTERESTING ARTICLE ON APOCRYPHA, BOOKS THAT DO NOT BELONG IN THE BIBLE, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] A LITTLE HUMOUR,
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3] DOCUMENTARY ON REVELATION 2:8
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [789B]
However, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. 21 Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, let those in the midst of her leave, and let those in the countryside not enter into her, Luke 21:20 – 21 [American Standard Version; ASV]
The Jews in general did not accept the good news, and calamity was to befall them, for Jesus had warned his disciples at Luke 21:20 – 21 that when the city was surrounded, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. What Jesus foretold took place. Because of a Jewish revolt, Roman armies led by Cestius Gallus surrounded Jerusalem in 66 C.E. Those forces suddenly withdrew, however, and that gave Jesus’ followers an opportunity to leave Jerusalem and Judea. According to the historian Eusebius, many fled across the Jordan River to Pella in Perea. In 70 C.E., Roman armies under General Titus returned and devastated Jerusalem. However, faithful Christians survived because they heeded Jesus’ warning.
Revelation 2:8 And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write; The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: [New American Standard Bible-Reference Edition by Moody Press, Chicago, a div. Of Moody Bible Institute; NASB-MP]
Now many misguided individuals try to use this scripture to 'prove' that Jesus (Yeshua) is coeternal and coequal with his Father (YHWH); however, it really shows the exact opposite. First, they overlook the fact that he "was dead" for three days which would be impossible if he were the same as Almighty God (YHWH) who has always been immortal and the source of all life, Psalms 36:9, "For with Thee is the fountain of life; In thy light we see light." (NASB-MP). This is further emphasized at Psalms 145:14-16, "The Lord sustains all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to Thee, And thou dost give them their food in due time. 16 Thou dost open Thy hand, And dost satisfy the desire of every living thing." (NASB-MP). Also, they overlook that someone superior to himself, Jesus (Yeshua), had to resurrect Him and unless his Father was alive, there would be no one capable of doing so. Clearly then, if Jesus (Yeshua) was dead for parts of three days as the scriptures state, he could not be coeternal with his Father (YHWH) who is immortal.
Second, to be coeternal with his Father (YHWH), he, Jesus (Yeshua) would have to have always existed, and he has not. With respect to raising his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) from the dead, Acts 13:33 says, "that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou ART MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN THEE." (NASB-MP); and Psalm 2:7, "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.'" (NASB-MP); now when we look into what beget or begotten means in the Webster's New world College Dictionary, Fourth Ed., says, "1, to be the father or sire of; procreate, 2, to bring into being; produce ["Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4 ed.", Michael Agnes, Editor in Chief, ISBN 0-02-863118-8]; we can be see from the definition of the word, both these scriptures clearly show that Jesus (Yeshua) did NOT always exist, but was brought into being or created by his Father (YHWH). This clearly shows that Jesus (Yeshua) can NOT BE COETERNAL with his Father (YHWH) who the Bible shows always existed, Psalms 90:2, "Before the mountains were born, Or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." (NASB-MP); and Psalms 93:2, "Thy throne is established from of old; Thou art everlasting." (NASB-MP); and Jeremiah 10:10, "But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His Indignation." (NASB-MP); and, 1 Timothy 1:17, "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (NASB-MP). In fact the Bible at Revelation 3:14 clearly states, ""And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans F1 write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (Authorized King James Bible; AV) that he is "the beginning of the creation of God" as does Colossians 1:15, ""Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:" (AV).
Third, Jesus (Yeshua) stated that his Father (YHWH) was greater than he was, John 14:28, "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." (AV); Clearly if Jesus (Yeshua) said " for my Father is greater than I" we should believe him. He further reaffirmed this at John 5:19, "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." (AV). And the scripture continues on, John 5:20, "For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." (AV), so much so as to show him, Jesus (Yeshua) greater works. So it is clear that Jesus (Yeshua) is NEITHER COETERNAL NOR COEQUAL with his Father (YHWH). Always remember John 8:32, "and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (NASB-MP), and avoid false doctrine.
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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. [Authorized King James Bible: AV]
Clearly this verse does NOT apply to Jesus (Yeshua) as nowhere does the Bible use the term Almighty to apply to Jesus (Yeshua), but only to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH). This is made clear at Genesus 17:1, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect, 2... 3 and Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him..." (AV); and at Genesis 35:11, "And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;" (AV). This is also reaffirmed at Revelation 4:8, "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." (AV), which also shows the Lord here referred to is Almighty God (YHWH), and not his only begotten Son, Jesus (Yeshua) to whom this title "Lord" is often also applied.
This fact, is also shown at Revelation 11:17, "Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.",(AV), yet there are those who attempt to twist the scriptures to serve the god of this system or world, and use scriptures such as Revelation 1:11, "Saying, 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." (AV), but fail to notice the critical difference "the first and the last" which rather than implying that Jesus (Yeshua) is Almighty God (YHWH) clearly show his as the first of Creation as does Revelation 3:14, "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans F1 write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (AV); Clearly they do not recognize the difference between "beginning and the ending" and "the first and the last."
Actually a lot of this confusion results from poor translation as clearly shown by the rendering of Revelation 1:11 in the New American Standard Bible-reference Edition by Moody Press, Chicago, a div. Of Moody Bible Institute; NASB-MP, "Saying, 'Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches; To Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyater and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodices." (NASB-MP); similar renderings are found in the American Standard Bible (ASB); the New World Translation (NWT); The Emphatic Dialogue; New Revised Standard Version (NRSV); the Westcott-Hort (1948 Reprint), and many more. Of particular interest is the rendering in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, the following, "Saying: What thou seest, write in a book and send to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamus and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.".
However, be not mislead by the trickery of men, but know this Psalms 83:18 says, "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth." (AV). Here it uses the name, Jehovah, as the English form of God's (YHWH's) name, but since his name in Hebrew is all constants this is only one of several possible transliterations in English.
And the difference is drawn out at Acts 5:24-26, "Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. 25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. 26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned." (AV), where it clearly says, Acts 4:26, "The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord, and against His Christ." (NASB-MP). Clearly showing here "Lord" applied to Almighty God (YHWH) and distinguishing him from his son the Christ, Jesus (Yeshua) as it showed them against both as distinct beings and not as one and the same.
So we can clearly see those entrenched in false doctrine try to use a poor translation (of Revelation 1:11) to support their God (YHWH) dishonoring false doctrine and a title "Lord" that has been at various times applied to both the Father (YHWH) and to the Son, Jesus (Yeshua) to mislead. How Deceitful!
Let's first look at the two scriptures in several different Bible versions/translations:
"12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:12-13 AV - Authorized King James Version)
"12 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." ." (Revelation 22:12-13 ASV - American Standard Version of 1901)
"12 Lo! I come speedily, and my reward is with me, to render unto each one as, his, work is.
13 I, am the A and the Z, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:12-13 Rothrham)
BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA ON REVELATION 22:12-13 AND 22:6-7:
The International Standard Encyclopedia of the Bible says:
ALPHA AND OMEGA
al'-fa, o'-me-ga, o-me'-ga (Alpha and Omega = A and O):
The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, hence, symbolically, "beginning and end"; in Revelation "The Eternal One" in Revelation 1:8 of the Father, in Revelation 21:6 and Revelation 22:13 of the Son. Compare Theodoret, Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, iv. 8:
"We used alpha down to omega, i.e. all." A similar expression is found in Latin (Martial, v.26). Compare Aretas (Cramer's Catenae Graecae in New Testament) on Revelation 1:8 and Tertullian (Monog, 5): "So also two Greek letters, the first and last, did the Lord put on Himself, symbols of the beginning and the end meeting in Him, in order that just as alpha rolls on to omega and omega returns again to alpha, so He might show that both the evolution of the beginning to the end is in Him and again the return of the end to the beginning." Cyprian, Testim, ii.1; vi.22, iii.100, Paulinus of Nola Carm. xix.645; xxx.89; Prudentius, Cathem., ix.10-12. In Patristic and later literature the phrase is regularly applied to the Son. God blesses Israel from 'aleph to taw (Leviticus 26:3-13), but curses from waw to mem (Leviticus 26:14-43). So Abraham observed the whole law from 'aleph to taw. Consequently, "Alpha and Omega" may be a Greek rendering of the Hebrew phrase, which expressed among the later Jews the whole extent of a thing.
CONCLUSION:
In these two scriptures we are dealing with the symbolic meaning to the use of the first letter of the Koine Greek alphabet, Alpha, and the last letter, omega. As the International Bible Dictionary of the Bible states, it means the ''beginning and end' and shows how in Revelation 1:8 this phase is applied to the Father (YHWH) "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." (Revelation 1:6-8 AV). Here we note it says, "6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father" clearly here referring to two individuals, God the Father (YHWH), and his God the Son (Yeshua or YHWH saves) . The term Alpha and Omega in "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." Which is made clearer in the Rothrham Bible as "8 I, am, the A, and, the Z, saith the Lord,-the, God who Is, and who Was, and who is Coming, The Almighty."
Clearly showing he has no beginning in keeping with "2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (Revelation 1:8 ASV), which is quite different from how this same phrase is later used at Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 to apply to the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) who had a beginning as shown by " And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (Revelation 3:14 AV); he was the first created thing with regard to all that was created.
To get a clear understanding of Revelation 22:13, we need to look at it in contest as follows:
"9 Then 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.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and sleepermongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I 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." (Revelation 22:9-16 AV)
We note that Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) or one of his angels is quoted by the Apostle John as saying, "I 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." [these being the Angels he was given authority over to carry out his assignment at 1 Corinthians 15:27-28.]. Since Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) had a beginning as shown " And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (Revelation 3:14 AV) and "15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 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: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" (1 Colossians 1:15-19 AV). Clearly Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) is separate individual from his Father (YHWH) as the scripture states, ". 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" which makes plain that his Father (YHWH) was pleased that "all fulness dwell" in his faithful Son. Also, the scripture brings out in what manner Alpha and Omega properly applies to the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) when it states, "15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 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: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Where it shows that after his creation by his Father (YHWH), he, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) worked along with his Father in creating all of the remainder of creation in the entire universe. His, the Son's Alpha and Omega symbolic application is further made clear in "17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Thus he is the Alpha in the sense he helped create all else except himself and the Omega as his Father (YHWH) has given him immortality for being faithful, and this is made certain by ". 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
So here we see a faithful Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) had been given authority over all by his Father (YHWH) with the ", it is manifest that he is excepted" exception of himself. This subjection to his Father (YHWH) is clearly shown by the faithful Son's statements, " Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." (John 5:19 AV) and " Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." (John 14:28 AV).
Those denying that Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) is not the faithful only begotten Son of Almighty God (YHWH) and not God (YHWH) are thus clearly committing blasphemy.
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Revelation 22:12-13 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every men according to what he has done. 13 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.'" [New American Standard Bible-Reference Edition by Moody Press, Chicago, a div. Of Moody Bible Institute; NASB-MP]
Many misguided ones attempt to use this scripture to 'prove' that Jesus (Yeshua) always existed and is coeternal with his Father (YHWH), but it does not. Many of these same individuals turn to Acts 13:33, "that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou ART MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN THEE." (NASB-MP); and Psalm 2:7, "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.'" (NASB-MP); whereas, in doing so they show their ignorance of the word begotten which comes from beget which the Webster's New world College Dictionary, Fourth Ed., says, "1, to be the father or sire of; procreate, 2, to bring into being; produce ["Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4 ed.", Michael Agnes, Editor in Chief, ISBN 0-02-863118-8]; as can be seen from the definition of the word, both these scriptures clearly show that Jesus (Yeshua) did NOT always exist, but was brought into being or created by his Father (YHWH). This clearly shows that Jesus (Yeshua) can NOT BE COETERNAL with his Father (YHWH) who the Bible shows always existed, Psalms 90:2, "Before the mountains were born, Or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." (NASB-MP); and Psalms 93:2, "Thy throne is established from of old; Thou art everlasting." (NASB-MP); and Jeremiah 10:10, "But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His Indignation." (NASB-MP); and, 1 Timothy 1:17, "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (NASB-MP). In fact the Bible at Revelation 3:14 clearly states, ""And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans F1 write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (Authorized King James Bible; AV) that he is "the beginning of the creation of God" as does Colossians 1:15, ""Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:" (AV).
Thus we can clearly see that those misguided ones that claim that Jesus (Yeshua) is coeternal with his Father (YHWH) are in gross error, and their use of begotten to attempt to prove this error only highlights their ignorance of the word 'begotten.'
Now with respect, "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.'" They overlook the difference in the use of the Alpha and the Omega when applied to the Father (YHWH) at Revelation 1:8, "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" (NASB-MP); Which is quite different than when applied to Jesus (Yeshua) where it says, "the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Since in Jesus' (Yeshua's) case, he was the first, that is of creation, or the beginning of creation, and also, the end of direct creation by his Father, Almighty God (YHWH). How so, his Father (YHWH) used him in the creation of all else as testified to at Colossians 1:16-17, "For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (NASB-MP); and John 1:10, "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him." (NASB-MP). Whereas, with respect the Father (YHWH) the scripture clearly says, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Where 'who is' emphasized which show implicitly that he always existed, and was not a created being as was his Son, Jesus (Yeshua). Thus as can be seen, he can NOT BE COETERNAL with his Father (YHWH), nor coequal with his Father (YHWH) since he, Jesus (Yeshua) was created by His Father (YHWH). Always remember John 8:32, "and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (NASB-MP).
THIS VOL 790B - (1) INTERESTING VIDEOS AND TALKING SHOWING WONDERS OF ALMIGHTY GOD’S CREATION, AND ANOTHER INTERESTING TALKING VIDEO, [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, A BIBLE STUDY, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO ACTS, [3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES, HERBERT RIVER CHERRY, ONE OF GOD’S GIFT TO MANKIND, [4] INTERESTING ARTICLE ON APOCRYPHA, BOOKS THAT DO NOT BELONG IN THE BIBLE, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] DYSFUNCTIONALITY OF MANKIND IN GENERAL,
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, AND [3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES, HERBERT RIVER CHERRY, ONE OF GOD’S GIFT TO MANKIND, With the Scripture of the Day first.
[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [790B]
And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11 – 12, [authorized King James Bible; AV]
Sometimes it is necessary for faithful ones and their family to follow through with vows that are painful, but win Almighty God (YHWH) approval. One such case was Jephtah and his God fearing daughter which was reordered at Judges 11:34 - 39, [AV] “And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,” And this came about by a vow her father made that if he were given victory over Ammon per Judges 11:30 – 31, [AV] “And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
[3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES, HERBERT RIVER CHERRY, ONE OF GOD’S GIFT TO MANKIND,
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Herbert River Cherry, or Antidesma dallachyanum, Antidesma is a genus of tropical plant in the Phyllanthaceae. This is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 meters in height.It has large oval shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimeters long and seven wide. The flowers have a strong, somewhat unpleasant scent. The staminate flowers are arranged in small bunches and the pistillate flowers grow on long racemes which will become the long strands of fruit. The fruits are spherical and just under a centimeter wide, hanging singly or paired in long, heavy bunches. They are white when immature and gradually turn red, then black.When they are still white they have sour and astringent taste, sour taste when they are red and have sweet and sour taste when they are black. Antidesma is native to the Old World Tropics. They have about 100 species and the highest number in South-East Asia. There are 18 species of Antidesma in Thailand.
The evergreen (sometimes deciduous) simple leaves have fine hairs and show no glands. They grow in an alternate arrangement, with entire, symmetrical blades. They are connected to the stem with a petiole (leaf stalk) and stipules (appendage at the base of a leaf stalk).
The flowers grow in a raceme, with 1 bract per flower, on a short pedicel (tiny stalk, supporting a single flower). Their color is light yellowish green, but may turn red when mature. These plants are dioecious, i.e. unisexual, with male and female flowers on separate plants. There are 3 to 8 fused sepals, but no petals. The male flowers have 2 to 8 stamens, but no pistils. The female flowers have 2 to 6 stigmas. They have a 1-locular ovary with 2 ovules.
The globose to ellipsoid fruits resemble a drupe. Their color varies from green to white, red and black. The fleshy and juicy fruits are edible with a sour to bitter sweet taste. Some individuals find Antidesma bunius berries to have a bitter taste. Those who detect this bitter taste cannot taste PTC, and similarly those who can taste PTC can not taste any bitterness in Antidesma bunius. (source - retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidesma on 1/12/2013)
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to www.jw.org].
THIS VOL 791B - (1) INTERESTING VIDEOS AND TALKING SHOWING WONDERS OF ALMIGHTY GOD’S CREATION, AND ANOTHER INTERESTING TALKING VIDEO, [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, A BIBLE STUDY, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO romans, [3] ALL NEED TO ACCEPT AND BE GUIDED TO ACCEPT JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST AND TO REJECT FALSE PUPPET GODS PUT FORTH TO MISLEAD MANKIND BY SATAN , [4] A LOST BIBLE TRANSLATION, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] A PICTURE OF SPICES ,
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3] ALL NEED TO ACCEPT AND BE GUIDED TO ACCEPT JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST AND TO REJECT FALSE PUPPET GODS PUT FORTH TO MISLEAD MANKIND BY SATAN.
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [791B]
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalms 37:10 – 11 [American Standard Version; ASV]
This scripture reminds us that our generous God (YHWH) truly is the giver of “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:17 – 18 [ASV]. To wit, people in the world today have no reliable guidance to help them achieve success and happiness. Most worry about the future and have no hopes. They search for the meaning of life. Even most who are religious have little knowledge of the Scriptures. They are much like the people of ancient Ninevah (Jonah 4:11).
However Almighty God (YHWH) in Revelation holds out a wonderful hope for all obedient mankind, it is “And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.” Revelation 21:3 – 4 [ASV]. How will this come about? Well John 5:28 – 29 states, “Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” [ASV].
[3] ALL NEED TO ACCEPT AND BE GUIDED TO ACCEPT JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST AND TO REJECT FALSE PUPPET GODS PUT FORTH TO MISLEAD MANKIND BY SATAN.
At present there is a struggle between the forces of good, Almighty God (YHWH), and His Son, Jesus (Yeshua); and the forces of evil put forth by Satan the Devil in the form of false puppet gods such as Allah, Bael, Materialism, etc.
Unfortunately, many good people have been mislead into following the numerous false gods put forth by Satan the Devil to mislead. It is the duty of all genuine true followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ and His Father, Almighty God (YHWH), to attempt to assist these mislead ones.
In many cases the mislead ones will put forth preposterous proposals such as their false religion’s laws such as Sharia, Cannon Law, etc. should be followed by people of other religions also. This wrong contention leads to atrocities such as the attack on Charlie Hebdo and a Kosher Supermarket in Paris, the 7/7/2005 London transportation bombings, the murder of about 3,000 individuals and the destruction of the WTC in NYC on 9/11/2001, and many other crimes against humanity; and some of their members even posting nonsense such as, <<[ It has been going on since 9/11. The West refuses to address the causes. ]>>,[source - retrieved from Facebook posting on 1/18/2014 by Iftikhar on 1 /19/2014] instead of that religion recognizing that the so called west is in no way responsible for their wicked acts they believe justified under their wicked religion’s laws; to wit, Sharia. No one of another religion has any obligation to follow the religious laws of another religion as humans have an intrinsic right of freedom of conscience.
Individuals who are members of wicked false religions want governments, among other preposterous things, to support faith based schools for their members only without students of other faiths in the class. This is absurd as schools should be for instruction in academic subjects such as reading, writing, mathematics, and the social and technical sciences; and NOT for training in specific religions. Some evil faiths, as shown by their members un-corrected actions (to wit, their faiths failure to institute housekeeping) such as the very recent evil that occurred in Paris which was praised by their co-religionist in Karachi, Pakistan; Niger, and elsewhere – how unconscionable. Let’s face it, any honest thinking person would leave a religion that took no action against and/or even praised such evil actions, but unfortunately many are so deceived that they are no longer thinking for themselves.
It behoves all good people to bring their lives in harmony with 1 Peter 3:11, “Let him decline from evil and do good: Let him seek after peace and pursue it:” (Douay Rheims Catholic Bible: DRCB) Those who have brought their life in harmony with this scripture will NOT be committing evil and wicked acts against others; but but showing love by exposing false religion and doctrines.
INTRODUCTION:
It is a genuine (true) follower of Jesus (Yeshua) obligation to warn all about false religion and doctrine. All genuine (true) followers should show love to all by exposing false doctrine so they have an opportunity to get in good standing with Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) per John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me." (American Standard Version; ASV); and this in keeping with what Jesus (Yeshua) said at Matthew 22:37-40, "And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." (ASV).
Exposure of false religion and doctrines would of course include the exposure of false religious books that many claim falsely came from the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, and Jacob, creator of all there is, Almighty God (YHWH) by an angel or some other medium including ones that are a knockoff of the Bible. To understand why, let's look at what the Bible actually is. It is NOT the product of one committee or strongman. It has over 40 individual writers who wrote under divine inspiration/guidance putting the thoughts of God (YHWH) into the words of men much as transcribing secretaries today taking transcription and then later typing it out. In other words one real author, God (YHWH), and many scribes each of whom wrote in his own style over a period of approximately 1,600 years. All of what people call or consider inconsistencies are really not such, but most often just a problem of translation and/or understanding, i.e., lack of understanding of what the original writer writing in his own language and culture meant/said in his original writing. What is remarkable, is the writers over such a period of time all wrote in harmony when even most posters on threads on this forum (the Internet) can not even stay on track or subject over a period of a few days and/or weeks at most with the original subject of the thread. This fact of harmony over a period so great as to almost stagger the imagination shows that it had one guiding force or author who divinely inspired its writers as humans of their own volition can not keep on track over short periods of time.
To wit, the Bible is the ONLY book God (YHWH) ever inspired men to write as his scribes. In other words, God is its author and men only put his thoughts given to them by divine inspiration into their own words, the words of men. Not only that, all the other writers of later so called religious guidance books borrowed from it and made changes in accord with their strong man or so called prophet. Take the example of Joseph Smith who borrowed from it to write the Book of Mormon, but failed to give credit or source to the Bible and twisted some borrowed things into bizarre distortions. Other examples are of course the bizarre writings of David Koresh the Prophet of the Branch Dividians of Waco, Texas; and the Quran, etc.
WHY EXPOSURE IS NECESSARY AND LOVING:
Now all need to be showing love to their neighbors including Jews and telling them of the first step toward salvation given at John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (AV). Messages of hate assist no one in learning the truth per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV).
With respect post of exposure of false religions, doctrine, traditions, etc., they have a worthy objective; to wit, enabling individuals to correct their wrong path. Articles of exposure of wrong are NOT ones of hate, as are many of others, but ones that expose false doctrine and wrong practice to lovingly give all the correct information so they can bring their life in harmony with the will of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ and his Father, Almighty God (YHWH). All should read these articles instead of writing hate literature and articles making false accusations. In any article I write you will find not one word of hate or bashing, only truth. They are posted to assist all in knowing the truth, per John 8:32, and to assist all in making a change in their lives by getting out of groups and/or religions that practice false doctrine and wrong practices.
All need to learn about love and that includes warning others with respect false doctrine and wrong practices instead of thinking of hate as many do and attacking the messenger who brings them the truth. One writer wrote,
Quote:
Love is patient and is kind, love does not envy. Love does not brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, does not seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil. does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things... I Corinthians 13
Love is the power of faith. Faith needs love to be made perfect, because perfect faith results in faithfullness and faithfullness is a work of love. Faith and love go hand in hand because faith wants to believe, just as love trusts, faith sees through the darkness and weathers the storm, just as love endures all things, and faith seeks to put God first just as love always gives. 1 Corinthians 13 :4-7 Our faith is not just knowledge about God but a personal relationship with Him as Lord, and any relationship requires love to succeed, to endure trials and to grow, including our relationships with one another because we are called to be family in the Lord and to love one another. The perfect example of faith powered by love is seen in the life of Jesus Christ, who manifests Gods love …
Because love is the power of faith we should focus on love, seize it and cultivate it... and we can because God is love, and He imparts that love to us when we draw near to Him as the scripture says... whatever touches what is holy shall become holy Leviticus 6:27, and love is of the Holy Spirit. By faith we draw near to God through sincere prayer, entering into His presence, because when Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain separating God and man was torn in two from top to bottom... Mathew 27:51 Gods promise says that if we draw near to Him then He will draw near to us, James 4:8 and when He who is Holy draws near to us then our spirits are sanctified by His Holy Spirit as His holiness is imparted to our spirits. If we allow God to fill our hearts with His Holy Spirit then we are filled with the love of God because love is the pre-eminate characteristic of God's holiness. Because God is the source of our love, love is the fruit of faith... Galatians 5: 22
When we submit to the love of God we have combined faith with love and have the power to fulfill the royal law, which is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul... Mathew 22:37-39 If we keep the royal law James 2:8 we are being faithful and are perfecting faith by faithfullness... James 2:22 If we love God we will seek to please Him and keep the royal law because the royal law embraces Gods will and all of His commandments. Without love we can't fulfill the royal law because we can't love the Lord unless we have love. To manifest the love of God is to overcome sin, whereas to not manifest the love of God is to sin. For the royal law is not to know about the Lord, but to love the Lord... and to love one another as ourselves. We can't do one without the other, because we can't truly love God whom we can't see if we don't love mankind who is made in the image of God. When we love one another we are manifesting our love for God whom we can't see by loving His image. If we love one another then we also love God because we can't love the reflection without loving its source. And if we love God we will love Jesus Christ and allow Him to reign in our hearts, keepings all of His commandments John 14:21 by subduing the will and power of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that faith working through love does the will of God by turning the thought into reality which pleases Him and fulfills the royal law...
Faith without love is incomplete, residing only in the mind as knowledge, and knowledge of Gods will alone can not perfect us by saving us from sin but allowing Jesus Christ to reign in our hearts. If knowledge of God’s will alone could save us then salvation would have been through the law of Moses or even a Christian law handed down by Jesus, and there would not have been any need for Christ to die for our sins Galatians 2:21 and dwell in our hearts. If Jesus reigns in our hearts then the love of Christ also reigns because He is the manifestation of Gods love. The heart without the love of God does not have Jesus Christ and the soul without the Spirit of Christ is not born again Romans 8:9 and cannot be perfected by being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ which is true salvation and the result of faith. But the soul which manifests the love of God has been washed clean by the Holy Spirit Romans 15:16 and manifests the spirit and glory of Jesus Christ... "[source - Simon Strahler]
Which does a very good job of summarizing what love is all about.
CONCLUSION:
If one fails to lovingly warn others with respect false religion, doctrine, etc., it is quite possible Almighty God (YHWH) might reject him/her for not showing love by warning his/her neighbor. So be diligent in sounding the warning.
THIS VOL 792B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND CAN PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS CREATE A PEACEFUL WORLD?
[2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, A BIBLE STUDY, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO 1 CORINTHIANS, [3] COMPOSITION ITEMS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, [4] A LOST BIBLE TRANSLATION, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] DYSFUNCTIONALITY OF MANKIND IN GENERAL,
COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2] COMPOSITION ITEMS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [792B]
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:13 – 14 (Authorized King James Bible; AV) .
Here the Apostle Paul was using an illustration liking someone lacking a lot of Biblical knowledge to a baby who used milk until he grows enough to eat solid food. To wit, learning to make wise decisions and to carry them out does not come easy. In fact, this is especially challenging for those who are just coming to a knowledge with respect Bible truths or making progress toward spiritual maturity. However, genuine progress is possible for such spiritual babes as the Bible refers to them. Just like a baby just learning to walk , the key to success usually lies in his taking small steps and doing so repeatedly. The same is also true with a spiritual babe when it comes to making wise decisions. The Apostle Paul in Hebrews 5:14 described mature individuals as those who “have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” Both the words exercise and discern both imply making continuous and repeated effort, and that is what new spiritual ones need to do.
[A] You are just fooling yourself, it is not what either the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an actually say, but how religious leaders be they priest and/or imams or muftis or what ever teach the people is the interpretation of what is written either in the Bible or the bible knockoff the Qur'an that matters and governs actions. It matters not what the Bible and/or the Bible knockoff really say. People go by what they are taught by their religious leaders. Take the genocide committed by the Roman Catholic Church at the direction of their supreme religious leader, the pope, what mattered was not that the Bible clearly said at Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill." (Authorized King James Bible; AV), but what their religious leaders told them. Therefore, it is the religion at fault, irregardless of what their particular holy book, be it the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an may say. Neither is so called Christianity or in Islam are most individuals actions really governed in any way by what their particular holy book really says, but they are governed by the interpretation of their religious leaders. Thus, knowing this reality, one would be either just plain stupid and/or dumb to even bother looking at a particular religion's holy book and expect the members would conform to it. Take the Rig Vede and find me for example a Hindu actually conforming to it instead of the interpretation given to it by his religious leaders, like looking for a needle in the haystack per K.S. Lal, India's greatest historian.
[B] Now all need to be showing love to their neighbors including Jews and telling them of the first step toward salvation given at John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (AV). Messages of hate assist no one in learning the truth per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV).
Take my post for example, they have a worthy objective; to wit, exposing false doctrine so individuals can correct their wrong path. My post are NOT ones of hate, as are many of others, but ones that expose false doctrine and wrong practice. All should read them instead of posting false accusations, as you will find not one word of hate or bashing in my articles, only truth. They are posted to assist all in knowing the truth, per John 8:32, and to assist all in making a change in their lives by getting out of groups and/or religions that practice false doctrine and wrong practices.
All need to learn about love and that includes warning others with respect false doctrine and wrong practices instead of thinking of hate such as those examples you mentioned,
Quote:
Love is patient and is kind, love does not envy. Love does not brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, does not seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil. does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things... I Corinthians 13
Love is the power of faith. Faith needs love to be made perfect, because perfect faith results in faithfullness and faithfullness is a work of love. Faith and love go hand in hand because faith wants to believe, just as love trusts, faith sees through the darkness and weathers the storm, just as love endures all things, and faith seeks to put God first just as love always gives. 1 Corinthians 13 :4-7 Our faith is not just knowledge about God but a personal relationship with Him as Lord, and any relationship requires love to succeed, to endure trials and to grow, including our relationships with one another because we are called to be family in the Lord and to love one another. The perfect example of faith powered by love is seen in the life of Jesus Christ, who manifests Gods love ...
Because love is the power of faith we should focus on love, seize it and cultivate it... and we can because God is love, and He imparts that love to us when we draw near to Him as the scripture says... whatever touches what is holy shall become holy Leviticus 6:27, and love is of the Holy Spirit. By faith we draw near to God through sincere prayer, entering into His presence, because when Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain separating God and man was torn in two from top to bottom... Mathew 27:51 Gods promise says that if we draw near to Him then He will draw near to us, James 4:8 and when He who is Holy draws near to us then our spirits are sanctified by His Holy Spirit as His holiness is imparted to our spirits. If we allow God to fill our hearts with His Holy Spirit then we are filled with the love of God because love is the pre-eminate characteristic of God's holiness. Because God is the source of our love, love is the fruit of faith... Galatians 5: 22
When we submit to the love of God we have combined faith with love and have the power to fulfill the royal law, which is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul... Mathew 22:37-39 If we keep the royal law James 2:8 we are being faithful and are perfecting faith by faithfullness... James 2:22 If we love God we will seek to please Him and keep the royal law because the royal law embraces Gods will and all of His commandments. Without love we can't fulfill the royal law because we can't love the Lord unless we have love. To manifest the love of God is to overcome sin, whereas to not manifest the love of God is to sin. For the royal law is not to know about the Lord, but to love the Lord... and to love one another as ourselves. We can't do one without the other, because we can't truly love God whom we can't see if we don't love mankind who is made in the image of God. When we love one another we are manifesting our love for God whom we can't see by loving His image. If we love one another then we also love God because we can't love the reflection without loving its source. And if we love God we will love Jesus Christ and allow Him to reign in our hearts, keepings all of His commandments John 14:21 by subduing the will and power of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that faith working through love does the will of God by turning the thought into reality which pleases Him and fulfills the royal law...
Faith without love is incomplete, residing only in the mind as knowledge, and knowledge of Gods will alone can not perfect us by saving us from sin but allowing Jesus Christ to reign in our hearts. If knowledge of Gods will alone could save us then salvation would have been through the law of Moses or even a Christian law handed down by Jesus, and there would not have been any need for Christ to die for our sins Galatians 2:21 and dwell in our hearts. If Jesus reigns in our hearts then the love of Christ also reigns because He is the manifestation of Gods love. The heart without the love of God does not have Jesus Christ and the soul without the Spirit of Christ is not born again Romans 8:9 and cannot be perfected by being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ which is true salvation and the result of faith. But the soul which manifests the love of God has been washed clean by the Holy Spirit Romans 15:16 and manifests the spirit and glory of Jesus Christ... "[source - Simon Strahler]
[C] Many are obviously ignorant of the fact that the Bible is NOT the product of one committee or strongman. It has over 40 individual writers who wrote under divine inspiration/guidance putting the thoughts of God (YHWH) into the words of men much as transcribing secretaries today taking transcription and then later typing it out. In other words one real author, God (YHWH), and many scribes each of whom wrote in his own style over a period of approximately 1,600 years. All of what people call or consider inconsistencies are really not such, but most often just a problem of translation and/or understanding, i.e., lack of understanding of what the original writer writing in his own language and culture meant/said in his original writing. What is remarkable, is the writers over such a period of time all wrote in harmony when even most posters on threads on this forum can not even stay on track or subject over a period of a few days and/or weeks at most with the original subject of the thread. This fact of harmony over a period so great as to almost stagger the imagination shows that it had one guiding force or author who divinely inspired its writers as humans of their own volition can not keep on track over short periods of time.
To wit, the Bible is the ONLY book God (YHWH) ever inspired men to write as his scribes. In other words, God is its author and men only put his thoughts given to them by divine inspiration into their own words, the words of men. Not only that, all the other writers of later so called religious guidance books borrowed from it and made changes in accord with their strong man or so called prophet. Take the example of Joseph Smith who borrowed from it to write the Book of Mormon, but failed to give credit or source to the Bible and twisted some borrowed things into bizarre distortions. Other examples are of course the bizarre writings of David Koresh the Prophet of the Branch Dividians of Waco, Texas; and the Quran,
[D] THE TWO TAXONOMIES OF THE SO CALLED CHRISTIAN RELIGION:
The so called Christian religion consist of over 33,000+ sects and/or groups all believing and propagating different things which is the promoting of many false religions under the broad umbrella of the taxonomy of being Christian. However, it should be obvious to any thinking individual that 33,000+ different ways can NOT all be correct, so what we in effect have is a very large maze that one must transverse to get to the real truth since all but one would only be dead ends.
Of course, in order to do this, one can NOT examine each in detail, but must therefore seek to learn what the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), Creator of all that exist, the Bible, really teaches. But this is no easy task.
But let's consider the two taxonomies or distinct classifications of what is commonly referred to as Christianity. Realizing that some view gaining salvation as and easy task and feel that belonging to any old religion is acceptable to Almighty God (YHWH), but is it? Let's look at some facts, realities in keeping with John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV).
Now let's look at the two different taxonomies and carefully note what sets them apart from each other:
Group 1 - the genuine (true) followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ do NOT involve themselves with war and violence or meddle in politics, and try to follow to the 'letter' the words and commandments of Christ. Also, they have NO creedal doctrines and/or traditions.
Group 2 - the false claimants of being followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ involve themselves with war and violence and meddle in politics while falsely claiming to be followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace. The give 'lip' service with respect following to the 'letter' the words and commandments of Christ - the term Sunday Christian aptly fits them. They have their creedal doctrines and/or traditions and assign more importance to these than the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible.
As can readily be seen, Group 1 does not involve itself with nationalism and racism but readily recognizes the Biblical reality of no partiality as shown at Romans 2:11 and elsewhere, "for there is no respect of persons with God." (American Standard Version: ASV). Also, this group strives to follow the 'letter' of the commandments of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ and Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), Creator of all that exist, the Bible; and NOT the creeds and creedal doctrines of men who give themselves high sounding titles.
Whereas, Group 2 only gives 'lip service' to commandments of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ and Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), Creator of all that exist, the Bible. The self evident truth being:
That it matters not what their holy book says be they Group 2 so called Christians and/or some none so called Christian group such as Islam, Hinduism, etc. It is not what either the Bible or the Bible takeoff the Qur'an actually say, but how religious leaders be they priest and/or imams or muftis or what ever teach the people is the interpretation of what is written either in the Bible or the bible takeoff the Qur'an that matters and governs actions. It matters not what the Bible and/or the Bible takeoff really say. People go by what they are taught by their religious leaders. Take the genocide committed by the Roman Catholic Church at the direction of their supreme religious leader, the pope, what mattered was not that the Bible clearly said at Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill." (Authorized King James Bible; AV), but what their religious leaders told them. Therefore, it is the religion at fault, irregardless of what their particular holy book, be it the Bible or the Bible takeoff the Qur'an may say. Neither in so called Christianity or in Islam are most individuals actions really governed in any way by what their particular holy book really says, but they are governed by the interpretation of their religious leaders. Thus, knowing this reality, one would be either just plain stupid and/or dumb to even bother looking at a particular religion's holy book and expect the members would conform to it. Take the Rig Vede and find me for example a Hindu actually conforming to it instead of the interpretation given to it by his religious leaders, like looking for a needle in the haystack per K.S. Lal, India's greatest historian.
So, clearly, it is NOT my taxonomy but reality that sets the two groups clearly apart as separate classifications. Also, it is not my opinion that sets the two separate groups that are called "Christians" apart, but clearly the diametrically opposed actions of the two groups.
In fact, the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, clearly demonstrates how difficult it really is not to be mislead by the Devil and the religious leaders of evil false religions under control of the god of this system of things. This was clearly shown by Almighty God's (YHWH's) Son, Jesus (Yeshua), in answering a question asked of him at Luke 13:23-30, "And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; 26 then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; 27 and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without. 29 And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last." (ASV).
Also, Jesus (Yeshua) clearly showed his genuine (true) followers would be few in number compared to the total number of mankind. Let's consider both Luke 13:24 and Matthew 7:13-14, it is in both of these that the road followed by true believers would be narrow and cramped, Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (Authorized King James Bible: AV); And Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, abroad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (AV); thereby, clearly showing few would be entering the narrow gate "which leadeth unto life." In reality, it will be difficult for even true Christians to enter as testified to at 1 Peter 4:18, "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear." (AV). In order to enter, we must have the right sort of guide, Luke 1:79, "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (AV). Now, if one picks the wrong group, just because it is popular or the so called 'one to belong to in a community' and not because of Bible Truths, there is an important warning given at Matthew 15:14, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (AV). In fact, being with the wrong group can mean you are NOT having fellowship with the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) as testified to at 1 John 1:6, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not [have] the truth." (AV). This danger is made abundantly clear at Luke 12:32 when Jesus (Yeshua) spoke of his true followers as a little flock and not a large one, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (AV). Simply stated, his true followers will be relatively few in number which should cause all sincere individuals to question whether mainstream religion with its vast membership is heading for the narrow gate!
Now being this is the case, it behooves all genuine (true) followers of Jesus (Yeshua) to show neighbor love and warn their neighbors of the need to seek genuine salvation and to get OUT OF EVIL FALSE RELIGION regardless of what it is called or how long their families and friends have been members of it. This would be required by what Jesus (Yeshua) said at Matthew 22:37-40, "And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." (ASV).
We will consider how this love of neighbor requires all genuine (true) followers to warn their neighbors of evil false religion by exposing it for what it is.
THIS VOL 795B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND , A WORLD IN TURMOIL—HOW YOU CAN COPE, [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS , AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES.Hibiscus spp., Mallow - Rose , [4] CREATION PROVES THAT JEHOVAH WANTS US TO REJOICE—FASCINATING ANIMALS, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] THE DESIGN OF LIFE, IS THERE AN OVERALL DESIGN TO LIFE? EVERY LIVING THING IS HARMONIOUSLY INTERCONNECTED WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS AROUND IT.
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, [AND [3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES.Hibiscus spp., Mallow - Rose With the Scripture of the Day first.
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [795B]
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Ge 1:26 (Authorized King James Bible; AV)
Many puzzle at this scripture since we are surely not made in their physical likeness. When man was created, he was made in God’s image, according to his likeness. This, of course, did not mean physical image or appearance, for God is a Spirit, and man is flesh. (Ge 6:3; Joh 4:24) It means that man, was different from the “unreasoning animals” (2Pe 2:12), had reasoning power; he had attributes like those of God, such as love, a sense of justice, wisdom, and power. (Compare Col 3:10.) He had the ability to understand why he existed and his Creator’s purpose toward him. Hence he, unlike the animals, was given the capacity for spirituality. He could appreciate and worship his Creator. This capacity created a need in Adam. He needed more than literal food; he had to have spiritual sustenance; his spirituality had to be exercised for his mental and physical welfare. Since we are fleshly and they are spiritual beings. In fact, all human societies, be they primitive and/or advanced had an in-born need to worship is some fashion; whereas, NONE of the animals had this need.
[3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES.HIBISCUS SPP., MALLOW - ROSE
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Hibiscus spp., Mallow - Rose
Abundance: very rare
What: flowers, leaves, seeds, seed pods, roots
How: flowers raw, young leaves raw or cooked, seeds roasted. Tender seed pods are cooked. Roots are diced then roasted.
Where: sunny areas, often used in landscaping
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: Flowers high in antioxidants; seeds are high in protein & starch; leaves high in minerals; roots contain starch.
Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus palustris) plants grow up to five feet tall.
Rose mallows are usually found in moist, sunny areas but on occasion they can be found in shady, moist areas, too.
The seeds can be roasted then ground in a coffee grinder for use as a substitute for real coffee. It tastes pretty good, though does not have any caffeine.
Young tender leaves can be cooked like spinach but I find them a bit too rough/stiff to use raw. The flowers are good raw or added to tea. The tender, young flower buds and seed pods can be used like okra, either friend, pickled, or added to Cajun and African foods. The flowers work well in salads. [sourc - retrieved from http://www.foragingtexas.com/2012/06/mallow-rose.html on 1/19/2016]
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day”. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to www.jw.org].
THIS VOL 796B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND , WHY DID JESUS DIE? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILLIPIANS, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON JEREMIAH 23:5-6 AND THE CONFUSION ON YHWH TSIDQENU AND ITS EQUIVALENTS, [4] WAS IT DESIGNED? Nature’s Energy Management, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] THE DESIGN OF LIFE, IS THERE AN OVERALL DESIGN TO LIFE? EVERY LIVING THING IS HARMONIOUSLY INTERCONNECTED WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS AROUND IT.
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, [AND [3] DISCOURSE ON JEREMIAH 23:5-6 AND THE CONFUSION ON YHWH TSIDQENU AND ITS EQUIVALENTS:
[[ THIS WILL BEGIN A SERIES ON SCRIPTURES THAT MANY FIND DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND THEIR MEANING SO AS TO AID UNDERSTANDING ]]
COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2} DISCOURSE ON JEREMIAH 23:5-6 AND THE CONFUSION ON YHWH TSIDQENU AND ITS EQUIVALENTS:
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [796B]
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Genesis 17:1 [American Standard Version; ASV]
The four main attributes of Almighty God (YHWH) found beautiful expression in Jesus (Yeshua). He had power over disease, hunger, even death. Yet unlike selfish men who abuse their power, he never used miraculous power in his own behalf or to hurt others. (Matthew 4:2 – 4). He loved justice, His heart was filled with righteous indignation at seeing unfair merchants exploiting the people. (Matthew 21:12 – 13). He treated the poor and downtrodden with impartiality helping such ones to ‘find refreshment’ for their souls. (Matthew 11:4 – 5, 28 -30). There was matchless wisdom in the teachings of Jesus (Yeshua), who was more than Solomon. (Matthew 12:42). But He never made a showy display of his wisdom. His words reached the hearts of common people, for his teachings were clear, simple, and practical.
[3] DISCOURSE ON JEREMIAH 23:5-6 AND THE CONFUSION ON YHWH TSIDQENU AND ITS EQUIVALENTS:
INTRODUCTION:
Jeremiah 23:5-6 is a most interesting scripture that has confused many with respect its meaning due to their preconceived beliefs. Even the well known preacher John Wesley was stumbled by it due to his preconceived beliefs with respect how the Father (YHWH); the Son, Jesus (Yeshua); and the Holy Spirit, God's (YHWH's) active force interrelate. However, other renown Bible scholars such as the Reverend R.A. Torrey writer of the,"The New Topical Text Book," A. R Fausset, A.M. in his "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible," Theodore Beza in his "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible," and many others had a correct understanding of it. Much of the confusion was caused by the many different ways translators translated the scripture into English as we will later see that YHWH Tsidqenu and its equivalents expressions have confused many. Now let's look at the scripture in the Noah Webster Bible translation:
Jeremiah 23:5-6:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety: and this is his name by which he shall be called, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Noah Webster Bible; NWB)
Now note, the last part of verse 6 which is in capital letters as this is the phrase that is the principle part of this discussion with YHWH Tsidqenu being one of the constructs used for this title that contains as one of its parts the name of Almighty God (YHWH). We will now delve into who this title applies to; remember, "that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth," this part of the fifth verse as it is the key to a proper understanding of this scripture.
UNDERSTANDING OF JESUS (YESHUA) AS THE ONLY MEDIATOR AND THE JEWISH LAW OF AGENCIES:
The Only Mediator, the Son of God (YHWH):
To be able to fully grasp the meaning of this scripture, one must comprehend that there is only one mediator between God (YHWH) and mankind and not many; And also understand that there is only one ultimate savior, YHWH, which is made clear at Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (American Standard Version; ASV). This scripture affirms the fact that God (YHWH) required exclusive worship and required Abraham's descendents his chosen people at the time to be strict monotheist. Idolatry was one of ancient Israel's most heinous sins, according to the inspired men who wrote the Bible. However, the prophets railed against Israel's tendency to backslide into worship of other deities as testified to at Jeremiah 2:28-29, "But where are thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. 29 Why will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD." (NWB); And at Jeremiah 11:13, "For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense to Baal." (NWB).
The fact that there is only one mediator between God (YHWH) and man is clearly shown in the New or Greek Testament by 1 Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus, " (ASV); And at Galations 3:19, "What purpose then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." (NWB); And at Hebrews 8:6, "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." (NWB).
The Jewish Law of Agencies and Why Jesus Could be Called a Savior:
However, since his Father (YHWH) has appointed his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) as his only mediator, for us he could rightly be called a savior, Why? This is pointed out in Hebrews 9:11-15, " But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (ASV) . To gain a full understand this scripture fully we must have a working understanding of the Jewish Law of Agencies which is basically as follows, "Jesus (Yeshua) was God's (YHWH's) appointed agent in accordance with the 'Biblical law of agency' described as, 'Scripture mentions something being done by Person A, whilst another mentions it being done by Person B. This is best understood when we grasp the Schaliach Principle, or the Jewish Law of Agency, which is expressed in the dictum,' "A person's agent is regarded as the person himself." Therefore any act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principle." (The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion, R.J.Z. Werblowski and Geoffrey Wigoder).
We, therefore, must understand this law of agencies concept, whether we know it by its theological name or not, since this will enhance our understanding of many key texts, such as why the Judges and angels were called "god" (Ex. 21:6; 22:8; Ps. 8:5; 82:1). Many more instances could be provided, but brevity is in order here. John 8:54 drives this law of agency home, "Jesus answered, 'If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God." (Confraternity Edition of The New Testament; CENTN), showing that Jesus (Yeshua) was his Father's (YHWH's) agent, and he sought not his own glory, but glory from his Father (YHWH). Therefore, Jesus (Yeshua) could say as he did at John 11:40, "Jesus said to her, 'Have I not told thee that if thou believe thou shalt behold the glory of God?'" (CETNT). Even Satan the Devil recognized this, Jesus (Yeshua), as God's (YHWH's) agent, 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In their case, the god of this world has blinded their unbelieving minds, that they should not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (CETNT); thus he is trying to blind the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from recognizing this truth. [source = "Commentary on Genesis 1:1," by Iris the Preacher 2001]
This fact, that he, Jesus (Yeshua) was clearly serving as his Father's (YHWH's) agent, is clearly affirmed by Proverbs 8:22-31, "Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth; 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep, 28 When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong, 29 When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth; 30 Then I was by him, [as] a master workman; And I was daily [his] delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men." (ASV) which shows several important Bible truths, (1) Jesus (Yeshua) was the first being YHWH created, long before YHWH's creation of "his works of old." (2) That Jesus (Yeshua) existed eons before the universe and the earth was and of course before Abraham, (3) That Jesus (Yeshua) was his Father's (YHWH's) "master workman," whom his Father (YHWH) delighted in. (4) Jesus (Yeshua) cared a lot for mankind, and (5) that they were two separate beings not co-eternal or co-equal.
YHWH TSIDQENU AND ITS EQUIVALENTS EXPRESSIONS AND THE TRUE MEANING OF JEREMIAH 23:5-6:
YHWH Tsidqenu And Its Equivalents in Select Translations:
We shall first consider the meaning of YHWH Tsidqenu and its equivalents, but let's first look at several different Bible translation of these scriptures with notes:
World English Bible,
" Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Yahweh our righteousness. [or equivalent of the term you mentioned, 'YHWH Tsidqenu']."" [note, it says Yahweh will raise to David a righteous branch, clearly showing God (YHWH) or Yahweh would raise up a branch which was Jesus (Yeshua) and not that Jesus (Yeshua) was (YHWH)]
Youngs Literal Translation,
"Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, `Our Righteousness[or equivalent of the term you mentioned, 'YHWH Tsidqenu'].".'" ." [note, it says Jehovah will raise to David a righteous branch, clearly showing God (YHWH) or Jehovah would raise up a branch which was Jesus (Yeshua) and not that Jesus (Yeshua) was (YHWH)]
JPS Jewish Bible, (in English)
"Behold, the days come, saith HaShem, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, HaShem is our righteousness [or equivalent of the term you mentioned, 'YHWH Tsidqenu']." ." [note, it says HaShem will raise to David a righteous branch, clearly showing God (YHWH) or HaShem would raise up a branch which was Jesus (Yeshua) and not that Jesus (Yeshua) was (YHWH) or HaShem]
Translational Constructs of Jeremiah 23:5-6:
First, let's consider who the word Branch or righteous shoot refers to, and to get an understanding of that we will go to "Torrey's Topical Textbook," under "Titles and names of chris," it states, '* Branch,' Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12 [Torrey's Topical Textbook," by Reverand R.A. Torrey,1897] here clearly referring to Jeremiah 23:5 showing this reference referrs to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ. Now for purposes of clarity while examining these two scriptures, let's refer to Almighty God (YHWH) as the party of the first part, and his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ as the party of the second part who acts as a master worker and agent of the party of the first part.
We shall now proceed to break down Jeremiah 23:5-6 into its constituting translation constructs using the Authorized King James Bible:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD[[end of construct 1]], that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth[[end of construct 2]]. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS[[end of construct 3]]" (Authorized King James Bible; ASV).
Construct 1:
The first construct above, construct 1, clearly refers to Almighty God (YHWH), the party of the first part, and shows him for-telling in advance an event that would transpire in the future.
Construct 2:
The second construct above, construct 2, clearly refers to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, the party of the second part who is the agent and master worker of the party of the first part. In this construct, the party of the first part states that he, "will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." This was fulfilled when Jesus's (Yeshua's) life force was transferred to the womb of a virgin on earth per Matthew 1:18-22, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this manner: When his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, purposed to put her away privately. 20 But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." (NWB). This was further testified to at Luke 3:21-23, "Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 23 And Jesus himself, when he began `to teach', was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the `son' of Heli," (ASV); And at Luke 1:32, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David." (NWB); And at Romans 3:23-25, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he may be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." (NWB); this scripture showing also that he would be the mediator and savior of mankind.
Construct 3:
The third construct above, construct 3, clearly shows that Jesus (Yeshua) Christ is being referred to by the party of the first part. This is made plain by, "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely" which is exactly what Jesus (Yeshua) is tasked with as shown by 1 Corinthians 15:21-28, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (AV); This scripture testifies that God (YHWH) had given his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) over all except himself when the scripture says "it is manifest that he is excepted." We note that at Jesus (Yeshua) here is foretold as carrying out God's (Yeshua's) assignment to him in relation to judgment and the end of the world or system, and has given Him power over all as his agent, except over Himself as recorded at 1 Corinthians 15:27 recorded above. Therefore, it is also obvious that the last part of this construct, construct 3, "and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" refers to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, and that "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," is but one of his many titles.
YHWH Tsidqenu:
Therefore, YHWH Tsidqenu is just another way of translating the original Hebrew. But let's re-look at Jeremiah 23:5-6 in the JPS Jewish Bible, (in English) once more:
"Behold, the days come, saith HaShem, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, HaShem is our righteousness [or equivalent of the term you mentioned, 'YHWH Tsidqenu']." ." [note, it says HaShem will raise to David a righteous branch, clearly showing God (YHWH) or HaShem would raise up a branch which was Jesus (Yeshua) and not that Jesus (Yeshua) was (YHWH) or HaShem].
COMMENTS AND COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH 23:5-6 BY RENOWN EXPERTS:
Theodore Beza:
Theodore Beza in his, "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible," said, the following:
"23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous e Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth.
(e) This prophecy is of the restitution of the Church in the time of Jesus Christ, who is the true branch, read (Isaiah 11:1,45:8; Jeremiah 35:15; Daniel 9:24)."
[Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Jeremiah 23". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible," 1600-1645]
Commentaries by Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, Jeremiah Chapter 23:
"Jeremiah 23:1-40. THE WICKED RULERS TO BE SUPERSEDED BY THE KING, WHO SHOULD REIGN OVER THE AGAIN UNITED PEOPLES, ISRAEL AND JUDAH.
...5. As Messianic prophecy extended over many years in which many political changes took place in harmony with these, it displayed its riches by a variety more effective than if it had been manifested all at once. As the moral condition of the Jews required in each instance, so Messiah was exhibited in a corresponding phase, thus becoming more and more the soul of the nation's life: so that He is represented as the antitypical Israel (Isaiah 49:3).
unto David--HENGSTENBERG observes that Isaiah dwells more on His prophetical and priestly office, which had already been partly set forth (Deuteronomy 18:18, Psalms 110:4). Other prophets dwell more on His kingly office. Therefore here He is associated with "David" the king: but in Isaiah 11:1 with the then poor and unknown "Jesse."
righteous Branch--"the Branch of righteousness" (Jeremiah 33:15); "The Branch" simply (Zechariah 3:8, 6:12); "The Branch of the Lord" (Isaiah 4:2).
prosper--the very term applied to Messiah's undertaking (Isaiah 52:13, Margin; Isaiah 53:10). Righteousness or justice is the characteristic of Messiah elsewhere, too, in connection with our salvation or justification (Isaiah 53:11, Daniel 9:24, Zechariah 9:9). So in the New Testament He is not merely "righteous" Himself, but "righteousness to us" (1 Corinthians 1:30), so that we become "the righteousness of God in Him" (Romans 10:3,4'2 Corinthians 5:19-21'Philippians 3:9').
execute judgment and justice in the earth--(Psalms 72:2, Isaiah 9:7, 32:1,1. Not merely a spiritual reign in the sense in which He is "our righteousness," but a righteous reign "in the earth" (Jeremiah 3:17,1. In some passages He is said to come to judge, in others to reign. In Matthew 25:34, He is called "the King." Psalms 9:7 unites them. Compare Daniel 7:22,26,27.
6. Judah . . . Israel . . . dwell safely--Compare Jeremiah 33:16, where "Jerusalem" is substituted for "Israel" here. Only Judah, and that only in part, has as yet returned. So far are the Jews from having enjoyed, as yet, the temporal blessings here foretold as the result of Messiah's reign, that their lot has been, for eighteen centuries, worse than ever before. The accomplishment must, therefore, be still future, when both Judah and Israel in their own land shall dwell safely under a Christocracy, far more privileged than even the old theocracy (Jeremiah 32:37, Deuteronomy 33:28, Isaiah 54:1-17, 60:1-22, 65:17-25, Zechariah 14:11).
shall be called, the Lord--that is, shall be (Isaiah 9:6) "Jehovah," God's incommunicable name. Though when applied to created things, it expresses only some peculiar connection they have with Jehovah (Genesis 22:14, Exodus 17:15), yet when applied to Messiah it must express His Godhead manifested in justifying power towards us (1 Timothy 3:16).
our--marks His manhood, which is also implied in His being a Branch raised unto David, whence His human title, "Son of David" (compare Matthew 22:42-45).
Righteousness--marks His Godhead, for God alone can justify the ungodly (compare Romans 4:5, Isaiah 45:17,24,25)."
[Fausset, A. R., A.M. "Commentary on Jeremiah 23". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory
on the Whole Bible," 1871.]
Matthew Henry:
", v. 5, 6. The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by that threatening against Jeconiah (ch. 22:30), that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David. But here is a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David notwithstanding; for by it the house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter far than it did in Solomon himself. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the prophet Isaiah; but here we have one, and a very illustrious one; of him doubtless the prophet here speaks, of him, and of no other man. The first words intimate that it would be long ere this promise should have its accomplishment: The days come, but they are not yet. I shall see him, but not now. But all the rest intimate that the accomplishment of it will be glorious. (1.) Christ is here spoken of as a branch from David, the man the branch (Zec. 3:, his appearance mean, his beginnings small, like those of a bud or sprout, and his rise seemingly out of the earth, but growing to be green, to be great, to be loaded with fruits. A branch from David's family, when it seemed to be a root in a dry ground, buried, and not likely to revive. Christ is the root and offspring of David, Rev. 22:16. In him doth the horn of David bud, Ps. 132:17, 18. He is a branch of God's raising up; he sanctified him, and sent him into the world, gave him his commission and qualifications. He is a righteous branch, for he is righteous himself, and through him many, even all that are his, are made righteous. As an advocate, he is Jesus Christ the righteous. (2.) He is here spoken of as his church's King. This branch shall be raised as high as the throne of his father David, and there he shall reign and prosper, not as the kings that now were of the house of David, who went backward in all their affairs. No; he shall set up a kingdom in the world that shall be victorious over all opposition. In the chariot of the everlasting gospel he shall go forth, he shall go on conquering and to conquer. If God raise him up, he will prosper him, for he will own the work of his own hands; what is the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in the hands of those to whom it is committed. He shall prosper; for he shall execute judgment and justice in the earth, all the world over, Ps. 96:13. The present kings of the house of David were unjust and oppressive, and therefore it is no wonder that they did not prosper. But Christ shall, by his gospel, break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and, as far as it prevails, make all the world righteous. The effect of this shall be a holy security and serenity of mind in all his faithful loyal subjects. In his days, under his dominion, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely; that is, all the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob shall be protected from the curse of heaven and the malice of hell, shall be privileged from the arrests of God's law and delivered from the attempts of Satan's power, shall be saved from sin, the guilt and dominion of it, and then shall dwell safely, and be quiet from the fear of all evil. See Lu. 1:74, 75. Those that shall be saved hereafter from the wrath to come may dwell safely now; for, if God be for us, who can be against us? In the days of Christ's government in the soul, when he is uppermost there, the soul dwells at ease. (3.) He is here spoken of as The Lord our righteousness. Observe, [1.] Who and what he is. As God, he is Jehovah, the incommunicable name of God, denoting his eternity and self-existence. As Mediator, he is our righteousness. By making satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of man, he has brought in an everlasting righteousness, and so made it over to us in the covenant of grace that, upon our believing consent to that covenant, it becomes ours. His being Jehovah our righteousness implies that he is so our righteousness as no creature could be. He is a sovereign, all-sufficient, eternal righteousness. All our righteousness has its being from him, and by him it subsists, and we are made the righteousness of God in him. [2.] The profession and declaration of this: This is the name whereby he shall be called, not only he shall be so, but he shall be known to be so. God shall call him by this name, for he shall appoint him to be our righteousness. By this name Israel shall call him, every true believer shall call him, and call upon him. That is our righteousness by which, as an allowed plea, we are justified before God, acquitted from guilt, and accepted into favour; and nothing else have we to plead but this, "Christ has died, yea, rather has risen again;'' and we have taken him for our Lord. 3. This great salvation, which will come to the Jews in the latter days of their state, after their return out of Babylon, shall be so illustrious as far to outshine the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt"
[Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Jeremiah 23". "Matthew Henry Complete Commentary
on the Whole Bible," byMatthew Henry, 1706.]
Easton's Bible Dictionary Kingly office of Christ:
"One of the three special relations in which Christ stands to his people. Christ's office as mediator comprehends three different functions, viz., those of a prophet, priest, and king. These are not three distinct offices, but three functions of the one office of mediator.
Christ is King and sovereign Head over his Church and over all things to his Church (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18; 2:19). He executes this mediatorial kingship in his Church, and over his Church, and over all things in behalf of his Church. This royalty differs from that which essentially belongs to him as God, for it is given to him by the Father as the reward of his obedience and sufferings (Phil 2:6-11), and has as its especial object the upbuilding and the glory of his redeemed Church. It attaches, moreover, not to his divine nature as such, but to his person as God-man.
Christ's mediatorial kingdom may be regarded as comprehending, (1) his kingdom of power, or his providential government of the universe; (2) his kingdom of grace, which is wholly spiritual in its subjects and administration; and (3) his kingdom of glory, which is the consummation of all his providential and gracious administration.
Christ sustained and exercised the function of mediatorial King as well as of Prophet and Priest, from the time of the fall of man, when he entered on his mediatorial work; yet it may be said that he was publicly and formally enthroned when he ascended up on high and sat down at the Father's right hand (Psalms 2:6; Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 9:6), after his work of humiliation and suffering on earth was "finished." ["Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition," by M.G. Easton M.A., D.D.,published by Thomas Nelson, 1897].
YHWH THE THE SUPREME GOD OF EXODUS 20:3:
No God's Before Me:
As Exodus 20:3 states, "Thou hast no other Gods before Me." (Youngs Literal Translation) says, true Christians shall have no gods before Almighty God (YHWH). This scripture shows that we must worship him as the supreme deity and have no other divine beings we consider as equal to or greater than he is. As Isaiah 44:6 testifies, "Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." (ASV), and reaffirms the Biblical command of given at Exodus 20:3.
However some in error and/or because they have been blinded to the truth per 2 Corinthians 4:4, ""In 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." (AV), may believe that he is just a different manifestation of Almighty God (YHWH); but this would be impossible as shown by Philippians 2:1-8, "If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, 2 make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3 `doing' nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; 4 not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient `even' unto death, yea, the death of the cross." (ASV); Thus, clearly showing him as an obedient Son; And clearly showing whose son he was at John 5:17-19, "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work. 18 For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. 20 For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel. 21 For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. (ASV). And at John 14:28, ""Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I." (ASV). In fact, in heaven He will be at His Father's (YHWH's) right hand as testified to at Hebrews 10:12, "but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sat down on the right hand of God:" (ASV). The foregoing clearly showing him as second in the hierarchy in heaven, with his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) being the supreme one at whose right hand he sits; therefore, his Father (YHWH) is clearly greater than he is thus no violation of Exodus 20:3 has occurred since he is at a lower 'station' and not as great as his Father (YHWH). Yet he has divinity the same as his Father (YHWH) because his Father (YHWH) made him of the same 'stuff' that he is as previously shown in Philippians 2:6 above. This fact is reaffirmed at Philippians 2:9-11, ", "Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven and [things] on earth and [things] under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (ASV)
In fact, the teaching that Jesus is just a different manifestation of God (YHWH) is part of three false doctrines with the first being Modulism which many religious dictionaries state is, "The belief that God is a single entity who has appeared in different modes at different times. This is the same as "SABELLIANISM THEOLOGY-- God is three only in relation to the world, in so many "manifestations" or "modes." The unity and identity of God are such that the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) did not exist before the incarnation; because the Father (YHWH) and the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) are thus one, the Father (YHWH) suffered with the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) in his passion and death.
Uniqueness - They believe that God is one in earthly manifestations, but not heavenly. [Branham's Bible Believers, Inc.][ to Branham's 1189 page book "Conduct, Order, Doctrine of the Church," the "First thing is to straighten out you on your 'trinity' Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "God is like a three-foot rule... The first twelve inches was God, the Father; the second twelve inches, God, the Son, the same God; the third twelve inches was God, the Holy Ghost, the same God," (pp.182 & 184). Branham clarifies his position in a speech given October 2, 1957 when he exclaims, "See, there cannot be an Eternal son, because a son had to have a beginning. And so Jesus had a beginning, God had no beginning," (Ibid, p.273).]" [sourse, Discourse by a Theologian who wishes to remain anonymous].
He appeared as the Father in the Old Testament, as Jesus during the first century CE, and has since taken the form of the Holy Spirit." This same concept is also found in the false doctrines of the Duality and the Trinity in a slightly different form. But all these false doctrines in one way or another attempt to claim that the Father (YHWH) and the Son, Jesus (Yeshua), are one and the same individual.
Jesus (Yeshua) Christ is Free of Sin, Why?:
Now some may say how can Jesus (Yeshua) Christ that since the Apostle Paul stated at Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God:" (AV), how can Jesus (Yeshua) be free from sin; however, they fail to recognize that he is without sin as his Father (YHWH) is God Almighty (YHWH) and not an earthly man, thus he did not inherit sin as did all others of mankind. This is made clear at Romans 5:12-15, "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned 13 for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the trespass, so also `is' the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many." (ASV); And at John 17:3-5 it is made clear where he came from, "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, `even' Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (ASV).
Simply put Jesus (Yeshua) is the Son of God (YHWH) as stated over 40 times in the Bible. How so is he the only begotten Son of God (YHWH), simply put he was the first created being, created erons before the universe was.
In fact, Jesus (Yeshua) called God (YHWH) "the only true God..." at John 17:3. Never did he refer to God (YHWH) as a diety of plural persons. So nowhere in the Bible is anyone but God (YHWH) called the Almighty. Otherwise, it voids the meaning of the word 'almighty.' No not Jesus (Yeshua) nor the Holy Spirit is ever called that, for God (YHWH) alone is supreme and above all else. At Genesis 17:1, he declares, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect." (American Standard Version; ASV), and this is affirmed at Exodus 18:11, "Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them." (ASV).
Meaning of The Name Jesus (Yeshua):
The basic root name of Jesus comes from the Hebrew name HO-SH-U-A (Joshua) meaning "Salvation." But "salvation" was only half the essence of his name. The full essence of the name Jesus comes from the story of Twelve Scouts when Moses gave Hoshea his new name "Yeho-shua," meaning "Yahweh-is-Salvation"
The word Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua, or Joshua, or again Jehoshua, meaning "Jehovah is salvation." Though the name in one form or another occurs frequently in the Old Testament, it was not borne by a person of prominence between the time of Josue, the son of Nun and Josue, the high priest in the days of Zorobabel. It was also the name of the author of Ecclesiaticus of one of Christ's ancestors mentioned in the genealogy, found in the Third Gospel (Luke 3:29), and one of the St. Paul's companions (Colossians 4:11). During the Hellenizing period, Jason, a purely Greek analogon of Jesus, appears to have been adopted by many (I Machabees 8:17; 12:16; 14:22; II Machabees 1:7; 2:24; 4:7-26; 5:5-10; Acts 17:5-9; Romans 16:21). The Greek name is connected with verb iasthai, to heal; it is therefore, not surprising that some of the Greek Fathers allied the word Jesus with same root (Eusebius, "Dem. Ev.", IV; cf. Acts 9:34; 10:3 . Though about the time of Christ the name Jesus appears to have been fairly common (Josephus, "Ant.", XV, ix, 2; XVII, xiii, 1; XX, ix, 1; "Bel. Jud.", III, ix, 7; IV, iii, 9; VI, v, 5; "Vit.", 22) it was imposed on our Lord by God's express order (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:21), to foreshow that the Child was destined to "save his people from their sins." Philo ("De Mutt. Nom.", 21) is therefore, right when he explains Iesous as meaning soteria kyrion; Eusebius (Dem., Ev., IV, ad fin.; P.G., XXII, 333) gives the meaning Theou soterion; while St. Cyril of Jerusalem interprets the word as equivalent to soter (Cat., x, 13; P.G., XXXIII, 677). This last writer, however, appears to agree with Clement of Alexandria in considering the word Iesous as of Greek origin (Paedag., III, xii; P.G., VIII, 677); St. Chrysostom emphasizes again the Hebrew derivation of the word and its meaning soter (Hom., ii, 2), thus agreeing with the exegesis of the angel speaking to St. Joseph (Matthew 1:21). [The New Catholic Encyclopedia].
YHWH is The Supreme One and Jesus (Yeshua) is His Son, There is No Trinity:
In the Hebrew scriptures (NT) 'eloh'ah' [god] has two plural forms, namely, 'elo-him' [gods] and 'elo-heh' [god of]. These to forms usually refer to God (YHWH), in which case they are translated in the singular as 'God'. However these forms do in no way indicate a Trinity as shown in "A dictionary of the Bible", "The fanciful idea that ['elo-him'] referred to the trinity of persons in the Godhead hardly finds now a supporter among scholars. It is either what grammarians call the plural of majesty, or it denotes the fullness of divine strength, the sum of the powers displayed by God." ['A Dictionary of the Bible by William Smith].
Also, The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature says of 'elo-him', "It is almost invariably construed with a singular verbal predicate, and takes a singular adjectival attribnute.' [The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature]. This, title, 'elo-him' occurs over 34 times alone in the account of creation, and every time the verb describing what God (YHWH) said is singular. Thus the previously mentioned publication concludes with, 'elo-him' must rather be elplained as an intensive plural, denoting greatness and majesty." [The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature].
Therefore since the word 'elo-him' means, not 'persons,' but 'gods,' those who argue that this word implies a trinity make themselves polytheists, worshippers of more than one god. This is so since it would mean that there were three gods in the trinity. In fact, the word trinity means three.
Also, the Bible uses the words 'elo-him' and 'elo-heh' when referring to a number of false gods, good examples are found at Exodus 12:12, "For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Jehovah." (ASV), And at Exodu8s 20:23, "Ye shall not make [other gods] with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you." (ASV). But it is also used to refer sometimes to a single false god such as at Judges 16:23-24, "And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us." (ASV). The term was also applied to a human, Moses at Exodus 4:16, "And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God." (ASV).
Therefore it should be evident that the Hebrew titles of 'elo-him' and 'elo-heh' for false gods, and some humans, did not imply a plurality of gods. Likewise applying these terms to God (YHWH) in no way implies more than one person; this being especially so when one considers the testimony of the rest of the Bible on this subject.
APPENDIX: of 796b
(1) Various Bible renderings of Jeremiah 23:5-6:
Youngs Literal Translation,
"Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, `Our Righteousness.'" ." [note, it says Jehovah will raise to David a righteous branch, clearly showing God (YHWH) or Jehovah would raise up a branch which was Jesus (Yeshua) and not that Jesus (Yeshua) was (YHWH)]
The Darby Translation,
"Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and act wisely, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness." [note, it says Jehovah will raise to David a righteous branch, clearly showing God (YHWH) or Jehovah would raise up a branch which was Jesus (Yeshua) and not that Jesus (Yeshua) was (YHWH)]
New American Standard Version,
"Behold, {the} days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness."
American Standard Version,
" Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness."
New King James Bible,
"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Authorized King James Bible,
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS"
New Living Translation,
"For the time is coming," says the LORD, "when I will place a righteous Branch on King David's throne. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 6 And this is his name: 'The LORD Is Our Righteousness.' In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety"
New Revised Standard Version,
"The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: "The Lord is our righteousness."
Revised Standard Version,
""Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'
Good News Translation,
"The Lord says, "The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. 6 When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called "The Lord Our Salvation.'"
Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible (original),
"Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise: and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently: and this is the name that they shall call him: The Lord our just one."
Hebrew Names Version of World English Bible,
"Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Yehudah shall be saved, and Yisra'el shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: the LORD our righteousness."
New Century Version,
""The days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will raise up a good branch in David's family. He will be a king who will rule in a wise way; he will do what is fair and right in the land. 6 In his time Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. This will be his name: The Lord Does What Is Right."
The Latin Vulgate,
"ecce dies veniunt ait Dominus et suscitabo David germen iustum et regnabit rex et sapiens erit et faciet iudicium et iustitiam in terra 6 in diebus illius salvabitur Iuda et Israhel habitabit confidenter et hoc est nomen quod vocabunt eum Dominus iustus noster"
(2) Special comments by Mark Larson on God's (YHWH) Name:
"When I first came across this amazing assertion that 'adoni' is
never used in ref. to Almighty GOD, I was stunned.
I used 'Bibleworks' bible software, which allows you to search
actual Hebrew & Greek words, in order to see if these things be so.
I took the Hebrew adoni as shown in Psalms 110:1 and searched 'on
that actual Hebrew word' and sure enough ... 195 verses appeared.
I check each occurrence, and sure enough, adoni is never used in
ref. to Almighty GOD. (I attached the list below)
Just remember, 'LORD' - all caps = YAHWEH, GOD's name
[Strong's 3068, 3069]
'Lord' - cap. L - Adonai = GOD's title as SUPREME LORD - solely used
in regards to Almighty GOD [Strong's 136] Except for about 30 times
when 'Lord' is used for 'adon' in ref. to GOD
'lord' - lowercase = adon (or adoni) = lord, master or owner
[Strong's 113]
Although Strong assigns the number 113 to this Hebrew word, he does
NOT number its derivatives; i.e. Strong's does NOT show/number the
distinction between adon & adoni.
The word 'adon' IS USED in regards to GOD about 30 times, in the
sense that He is Lord/Owner of the earth e.g. Josh 3:13, Psa 97:5,
Micah 4:13, Zec 4:14, etc. - even as shown in your list below
Here is a list of the 195 occurrences of adoni ... a total of 163
verses ... where the word 'adon' occurs more than once, I repeat the
verse again e.g. Gen 24:12
Hope this is of help ...
1. Gen. 18:12
2. Gen. 23:6
3. Gen. 23:11
4. Gen. 23:15
5. Gen. 24:12
6. Gen. 24:12
7. Gen. 24:14
8. Gen. 24:18
9. Gen. 24:27
10. Gen. 24:27
11. Gen. 24:27
12. Gen. 24:35
13. Gen. 24:36
14. Gen. 24:36
15. Gen. 24:37
16. Gen. 24:39
17. Gen. 24:42
18. Gen. 24:44
19. Gen. 24:48
20. Gen. 24:48
21. Gen. 24:49
22. Gen. 24:54
23. Gen. 24:56
EVERY THING FROM 23 TO 191 REMOVED TO SHORTEN FOR POSTING:
191. Zech. 1:9
192. Zech. 4:4
193. Zech. 4:5
194. Zech. 4:13
195. Zech. 6:4
(3) The title, and that is what it is, of YHWH Sabbaoth does [b]NOT apply to the Son, Jesus (Yeshua) when correctly used/translated as shown, "Sabbaoth: "Translated as host(s) saba' means army(ies). ... Yahweh of Hosts is a special name for God. Yahweh and 'elohim occur with seba'ot some 285 times. ... Yahweh Sabbaoth appears for the first time in 1 Samuel 1:3.... Its origin appears to have been at the close of the period of the judges and in the vicinity of the sanctuary Shiloh, where the ark of the covenant was housed. The ark itself symbolized Yahweh's rulership; for he is declared to be enthroned between the cherubim (1Sam 4:4; cf, Psa 99:1). This name certainly contains the affirmation that Yahweh is the true head of Israel's armies" [source, "(TWOT) Harris, R. Laird, (editor). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press. 1980.] The fact that this title applied only to the Father (YHWH) was clearly shown by 1 Samuel 17:45 as David clearly understood that that God was the real commander of the Israelites army and Goliath's taunts were therefore directed at Almighty God (YHWH). In reality it was not the Almighty God (YHWH) was on their side, but that they were on his side. At this battle he proved he was the sovereign and was mightier than the pagan foes of his chosen people.
(3) Bible quotes made by others but dealing with there being only one Almighty God (YHWH):
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD(YHWH); and beside me there is no savior.
Isaiah 49:26b and all flesh shall know that I the LORD(YHWH) am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Isaiah 60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD(YHWH) am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Hosea 13:4 Yet I am the LORD(YHWH) thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no savior beside me
Isiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD(YHWH) the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD(YHWH) of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Jeremiah 50:34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD(YHWH) of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon
(4) How Jesus' (Yeshua's) name came to contain as its makeup his Father (YHWH), and how the use of YHWH as part of other names was common in ancient Israel:
ELIJAH m English, Jewish, Biblical
Pronounced: ee-LIE-zha
From the Hebrew name Eliyahu meaning "my God is YAHWEH". Elijah was a Hebrew prophet of the 9th century BC, during the reign of King Ahab and his queen, Jezebel. The two Books of Kings in the Old Testament tell of his exploits, which culminate with him being carried to heaven in a chariot of fire.
ISHMAEL m Biblical, English
Pronounced: ISH-may-el
From the Hebrew name Yishma'el meaning "God will hear". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Abraham. He is the traditional ancestor of the Arabs.
ISHMERAI m Biblical
Means "YAHWEH guards" in Hebrew. This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament
JEDIDIAH m Biblical
Pronounced: je-di-DIE-a
Means "beloved of YAHWEH" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is a name given to Solomon by Nathan.
JEHOSHAPHAT m Biblical
Pronounced: jee-HAWSH-a-fat
Means "YAHWEH has judged" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is a king of Judah.
JEHU m Biblical
Pronounced: JEE-hyoo
Means "YAHWEH is he" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name belongs to both a prophet and a king of Israel.
JEPHTHAH m Biblical
Pronounced: JEF-tha
Means "YAHWEH sets free" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name belongs to a judge who defends Israel from the Ammonites.
JEREMIAH m English, Jewish, Biblical
Pronounced: jer-e-MIE-a
From the Hebrew name Yirmeyahu which meant "YAHWEH has uplifted". This was the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, author of the Book of Jeremiah and (supposedly) the Book of Lamentations. He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.
JOAB m Biblical
Pronounced: JO-ab
Means "YAHWEH is the father" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he was the commander of King David's army, but when Solomon came to power he was executed.
JOACHIM m English, French, German, Polish, Biblical
Pronounced: JO-a-kim (English), zho-a-SHEN (French), YO-aw-khim (German), yo-AW-khim (German)
Means "established by YAHWEH" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Joachim is a king of Judah. In the apocryphal Gospel of James, Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of the Virgin Mary.
JOASH m Biblical
Pronounced: JO-ash
From the Hebrew name Yoash which possibly meant either "fire of YAHWEH" or "YAHWEH has given". In the Old Testament this name belongs to several characters including the father of Gideon, a king of Judah, and a son of King Ahab of Israel.
JOEL m English, Jewish, Biblical
Pronounced: JOL, JO-ul
From the Hebrew name Yoel meaning "YAHWEH is God". Joel was a minor prophet in the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel.
JONATHAN m English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAWN-a-than
From the Hebrew name Yehonatan (contracted to Yonatan) meaning "YAHWEH has given". In the Old Testament Jonathan was the eldest son of Saul and a friend of David. He was killed in battle with the Philistines. A famous bearer of this name was Jonathan Swift, the satirist who wrote 'Gulliver's Travels' and other works.
JOSHUA m English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAW-shu-wa, JAW-shwa
From the Hebrew name Yehoshua which meant "YAHWEH is salvation". Joshua was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan by Moses in the Old Testament. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites. The name Jesus was a variant of the name Joshua.
JOSIAH m Biblical, English
Pronounced: jo-SIE-a
Means "YAHWEH supports" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a king of Judah famous for his religious reforms. He was killed fighting the Egyptians at Megiddo.
JOTHAM m Biblical
Pronounced: JO-tham
Means "YAHWEH is upright" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this was the name of both a son of Gideon and a king of Judah.
[source, "t h e e t y m o l o g y a n d h i s t o r y o f f i r s t n a m e s "]
Joshua's name change
The name "Jesus" from the Greek New Testament is the same as the name "Joshua" from the Hebrew Old Testament. The man we call Jesus Christ was actually Joshua Christ.
Joshua was, of course, the name of the second leader of the nation of Israel. He was the man who saved Israel from its wilderness wandering and took it to the promised land.
Joshua's full name means "Jehovah saves." Joshua is actually a combined name. The first part is the name "Jehovah." The second part is the name "Hosea" (meaning "saviour").
However, most people do not know that "Joshua" was not this man's birth name. In Deuteronomy 32:44 he is called "Hosea." It appears that that was his birth name.
This is shown by the fact that the name "Jehovah" was not revealed to humanity until after Joshua's birth (Exodus 3:15). So it could not have been part of his name at birth. His name must have been changed later in life.
This name change was appropriate. If he was "Hosea" (saviour), people might think he was the one saving them from life in the wilderness. But as Joshua ("Jehovah-Hosea"), it shows that Jehovah was their true saviour.
A difficult task
About 1000 years after Joshua died, the Hebrew Old Testament was for the first time translated into another language, into Greek. The translators had a particularly difficult task translating Joshua's name.
The "Hosea" part of the name could be written in Greek fairly easily. (In Greek, it became "Osea," there being no "H" written in Greek.
However, the "Jehovah" part of Joshua's name had a serious problem.
In Hebrew, the word "Jehovah" is spelt YHWH. However, none of those letters occured in the Greek alphabet of the time. There was no Y or W in Greek. And while the letter H did exist, it was never written and was always the first letter of the word. So none of the letters from "Jehovah" could be written in Greek.
When the translators wanted to translate the word "Jehovah," they put a substitute word in its place. They used the Greek word for "Lord."
However, translating Joshua's name wasn't so easy. You couldn't put another word as part of the name. You had to make it the closest sound that the Greek alphabet could make for the name.
The translators did this by translating the Y in YHWH with the Greek letter "I." The other three letters (HWH) they just left out entirely. They also had to leave out the H at the start of "Hosea." So the name "Jehovah-Hosea" became "I-osea," or "Iesou." Since most Greek male names end in "s," "Iesou" became "Iesous," (Jesus).
[source, "Amazing Meaning Of The Name Jesus," by Phil Ward]
THIS VOL 787B - (1) INTERESTING VIDEOS AND TALKING SHOWING WONDERS OF ALMIGHTY GOD’S CREATION, AND ANOTHER INTERESTING TALKING VIDEO, [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, A BIBLE STUDY, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO JOHN, [3] DISCOURSE ON REVELATION 22:12-13 AND 21:6-7: [4] LEARN FROM JEHOVAH’S FRIENDS—ABIGAIL, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] A LITTLE HUMOUR,
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3] DISCOURSE ON REVELATION 22:12-13 AND 21:6-7:
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [787B]
This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12, [authorized King James Bible; AV]
Since Jesus (Yeshua) who has figuratively become the corner stone of our faith and has been given full power over mankind by his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH) we should look to him as our exemplar per Hebrews 12:2 – 3, “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. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
Let's first look at the two scriptures in several different Bible versions/translations:
"12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:12-13 AV - Authorized King James Version)
"12 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." ." (Revelation 22:12-13 ASV - American Standard Version of 1901)
"12 Lo! I come speedily, and my reward is with me, to render unto each one as, his, work is.
13 I, am the A and the Z, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:12-13 Rothrham)
BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA ON REVELATION 22:12-13 AND 22:6-7:
The International Standard Encyclopedia of the Bible says:
ALPHA AND OMEGA
al'-fa, o'-me-ga, o-me'-ga (Alpha and Omega = A and O):
The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, hence, symbolically, "beginning and end"; in Revelation "The Eternal One" in Revelation 1:8 of the Father, in Revelation 21:6 and Revelation 22:13 of the Son. Compare Theodoret, Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, iv. 8:
"We used alpha down to omega, i.e. all." A similar expression is found in Latin (Martial, v.26). Compare Aretas (Cramer's Catenae Graecae in New Testament) on Revelation 1:8 and Tertullian (Monog, 5): "So also two Greek letters, the first and last, did the Lord put on Himself, symbols of the beginning and the end meeting in Him, in order that just as alpha rolls on to omega and omega returns again to alpha, so He might show that both the evolution of the beginning to the end is in Him and again the return of the end to the beginning." Cyprian, Testim, ii.1; vi.22, iii.100, Paulinus of Nola Carm. xix.645; xxx.89; Prudentius, Cathem., ix.10-12. In Patristic and later literature the phrase is regularly applied to the Son. God blesses Israel from 'aleph to taw (Leviticus 26:3-13), but curses from waw to mem (Leviticus 26:14-43). So Abraham observed the whole law from 'aleph to taw. Consequently, "Alpha and Omega" may be a Greek rendering of the Hebrew phrase, which expressed among the later Jews the whole extent of a thing.
CONCLUSION:
In these two scriptures we are dealing with the symbolic meaning to the use of the first letter of the Koine Greek alphabet, Alpha, and the last letter, omega. As the International Bible Dictionary of the Bible states, it means the ''beginning and end' and shows how in Revelation 1:8 this phase is applied to the Father (YHWH) "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." (Revelation 1:6-8 AV). Here we note it says, "6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father" clearly here referring to two individuals, God the Father (YHWH), and his God the Son (Yeshua or YHWH saves) . The term Alpha and Omega in "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." Which is made clearer in the Rothrham Bible as "8 I, am, the A, and, the Z, saith the Lord,-the, God who Is, and who Was, and who is Coming, The Almighty."
Clearly showing he has no beginning in keeping with "2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (Revelation 1:8 ASV), which is quite different from how this same phrase is later used at Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 to apply to the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) who had a beginning as shown by " And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (Revelation 3:14 AV); he was the first created thing with regard to all that was created.
To get a clear understanding of Revelation 22:13, we need to look at it in contest as follows:
"9 Then 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.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and sleepermongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I 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." (Revelation 22:9-16 AV)
We note that Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) or one of his angels is quoted by the Apostle John as saying, "I 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." [these being the Angels he was given authority over to carry out his assignment at 1 Corinthians 15:27-28.]. Since Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) had a beginning as shown " And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (Revelation 3:14 AV) and "15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 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: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" (1 Colossians 1:15-19 AV). Clearly Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) is separate individual from his Father (YHWH) as the scripture states, ". 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" which makes plain that his Father (YHWH) was pleased that "all fulness dwell" in his faithful Son. Also, the scripture brings out in what manner Alpha and Omega properly applies to the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) when it states, "15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 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: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Where it shows that after his creation by his Father (YHWH), he, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) worked along with his Father in creating all of the remainder of creation in the entire universe. His, the Son's Alpha and Omega symbolic application is further made clear in "17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Thus he is the Alpha in the sense he helped create all else except himself and the Omega as his Father (YHWH) has given him immortality for being faithful, and this is made certain by ". 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
So here we see a faithful Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) had been given authority over all by his Father (YHWH) with the ", it is manifest that he is excepted" exception of himself. This subjection to his Father (YHWH) is clearly shown by the faithful Son's statements, " Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." (John 5:19 AV) and " Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." (John 14:28 AV).
Those denying that Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) is not the faithful only begotten Son of Almighty God (YHWH) and not God (YHWH) are thus clearly committing blasphemy.
THIS VOL 797B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND , WHY DID JESUS DIE? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON COLOSSIANS 2:8-12 IN THREE PARTS:, [4] WAS IT DESIGNED? Nature’s Energy Management, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] THE DESIGN OF LIFE, IS THERE AN OVERALL DESIGN TO LIFE? EVERY LIVING THING IS HARMONIOUSLY INTERCONNECTED WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS AROUND IT.
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3} DISCOURSE ON COLOSSIANS 2:8-12
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [797B]
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12 [American Standard Version; ASV]
jesus underscored this commandment by condemning the Pharisees and scribes who refused to provide for their parents. (Mark 7:5, 10-13) Jesus himself set a good example. For instance, when he was at the point of death on the stake, Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, who was apparently then a widow, to his beloved
disciple John.—John 19:26, 27.
[3} DISCOURSE ON COLOSSIANS 2:8-12 IN THREE PARTS:
Colossians 2:8-12 Beware lest any man cheat you by philosophy and vain deceit: according to the tradition of men according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporeally. 10 And you are filled in him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In whom also you are circumcised with circumcision not made by hand in despoiling of the body of the flesh: but in the circumcision of Christ. 12 Buried with him in baptism: in whom also you are risen again by the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him up from the dead. (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB)
PART I, Colossians 2:8:
To fully understand this scripture, you need to deal with it in three parts. The first being Colossians 2:8 which a modern translation throws a very good understanding on, "Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense. Such stuff is at best founded on men's ideas of nature of the world, and disregards Christ!" (The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips). This part is a warning against false doctrine of men as affirmed at Hebrews 13:9, "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein." (American Standard Version; ASV); And at Isaiah 32:6, "For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail." (ASV). Now true Christians should be the opposite of this and speak truth and righteousness and not doctrines and fables of men one to another as stated at 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, "Now 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. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (ASV); And not artfully contrived false stories and fables of man per 2 Peter 1:16, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (ASV); And at Ephesians 5:6, "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." (ASV). In other words we should not become enslaved to the false doctrines and fables of the world such as the Duality, the Trinity, the Mother of God [he had no mother as he always existed], etc. per Galations 4:3, "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." (ASV); Lastly Colossians 2:22 tells what will happen to those accepting the doctrines and fables of men, "Which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men?" (ASV). So it is plain that Colossians 2:8 is a warning to all of us to cast off the doctrines and fables of men in keeping with Matthew 15:2-3, "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandments of God by your traditions?" (Asv). Obviously worldly wisdom is foolishness with God (YHWH) as testified to at 1 Corinthians 3:9, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." (ASV).
PART II, Colossians 2:9-10:
Now let's deal with Colossians 2:9-10 which in a modern English translation reads as, "Yet it is in him God gives a full and complete expression of himself (within the physical limits that he set himself in Christ). 10 Moreover, your own completeness is only realized in him, who is the authority over all authorities, and the supreme power over all powers." (The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips) or at the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible renders it, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporeally. 10 And you are filled in him, who is the head of all principality and power." (DRCB). Now just what is this fullness? The J.B. Phillips hints at what it is when it says, "God gives a full and complete expression of himself (within the physical limits that he set himself in Christ).", but Colossians 1:15-19 cast more light on it, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by himwere 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. 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell." (Authorized King James Bible; AV); Clearly this scripture shows that Jesus' (Yeshua's) Father, Almighty God (YHWH) created Jesus (Yeshua) in his image and gave him preeminence over all other creations and actually used him as his master worker in the creation of all else in keeping with the Jewish Law of Agencies.
That he would be his Father's (YHWH's) master worker was revealed at Proverbs 8:22-30 about Jesus (Yeshua) being brought forth and being his Father's (YHWH's) master workman, "Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth; 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep, 28 When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong, 29 When he gave to the sea its bounds, That the waters should not transgress his commandments, When he marked out the foundations of the earth; 30 Then I was by him, as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him." (ASV); And Jesus' (Yeshua's)existence before the earth was is affirmed at John 8:58, "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am." (ASV); Thus as Colossians 1:17 says, ""and he is before all things, and in him all things consist." (ASV); And at Revelation 3:14, "And to the angel of the church is Laodicea write: 'These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:" (ASV), Jesus (Yeshua) is once more shown as the first of creation. Clearly, then, he, Jesus (Yeshua) is neither the same individual and/or manifestation of the same individual; Nor co-eternal, nor co-equal with his Father (YHWH).
And he would become his Father's (YHWH's) master worker in keeping with The Jewish Law of Agencies which is basically as follows, "Jesus (Yeshua) was God's (YHWH's) appointed agent in accordance with the 'Biblical law of agency' described as, "Scripture mentions something being done by Person A, whilst another mentions it being done by Person B. This is best understood when we grasp the Schaliach Principle, or the Jewish Law of Agency, which is expressed in the dictum, "A person's agent is regarded as the person himself." Therefore any act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principle." (The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion, R.J.Z. Werblowski and Geoffrey Wigoder). And 1 Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus," (ASV). This is why Jesus (Yeshua) could say, John 16:23, "And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name."(ASV).
This fact is further affirmed at Ephesians 1:20-23 which shows that his Father (YHWH) raised him from the dead and put him at his right hand to administer all for him, "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." (ASV); This fact, that his Father (YHWH) placed him over all things except himself, a superior one, is highlighted at 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, "But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then [cometh] the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all." (ASV). This will bring the fulfillment foretold at Isaiah 45:23, "By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth [in] righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." (ASV). This scripture shows that God (YHWH) will bring the earth back to perfection, i.e., a place where everyone will love their creator, Almighty God (YHWH), and his chief agent or mediator of life, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, and their neighbor, and he, God (YHWH) will once more be using his Son, the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) as his master worker to accomplish this as shown by 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, previously quoted.
With respect to Jesus' (Yeshua's) fullness, John 1:15-17, shows it to be with respect to bring grace and truth to all who would accept it, "John 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. 16 And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for frace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (AV); This is in keeping with Ephesians 4:13, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (AV). Which leads to the subject of what is fullness in the spiritual sense which is revealed at Ephesians 3:19, "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." (AV); And at Colossians 1:18-19, "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell:" (AV); His preeminence is emphasized by 1 Peter 3:22 where it shows Almighty God (YHWH) has put his Son, the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) at his right hand, "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." (AV).
Interestingly, if Jesus was truly God then his divinity could not be said to be derived from another as it is at Colossians 1:19 as quoted above. It is because of God's will that fullness dwells in Christ, this could not be said of someone who was almighty - Almighty God's (YHWH's) divinity does not depend on another person giving it to him. And as, Col 1:15 clearly says, ""Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:" (AV) plainly showing that Jesus (Yeshua) is the image of the invisible God, and like all images Jesus is a relection of the reality, he is not himself God. If Jesus were himself God (YHWH) he would not be said to be the image of God (YHWH). This clearly shows the error of those saying that if Christ as having "the fullness of the Deity" means that Jesus is God, does the fact that the readers " and you have been given fullness in Christ " (from Colossians 2:10 in the AV) then mean that they are Jesus (Yeshua)! Of course not, neither is the case. This type of reasoning is but the foolishness of men per 1 Corinthians 3:19, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." (ASV).
Therefore as Colossians 2:10 says in The New English Bible, "
and you have been given full life in union with him. He is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority." (The New English Bible; NEB); Or as the Amplified Bible puts it, "And you are in Him, made full and have come to fullness of life-in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and reach full spiritual stature. And He is the head of all rule and authority-of every angelic principality and power." (The Amplified Bible; AMP). Since true Christians are one in purpose with Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father (YHWH) what should we be boasting in? Surely not ourselves, but as Philippians 3:3 show, "for we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh:" (ASV); thereby, showing we should NOT be boasting in ourselves, but in Christ. This leads us into the next Part.
PART III, Colossians 2:11-12:
Philippians 3:3 quoted above shows us that we should not be boasting in ourselves, but also refers to the circumcision as does Colossians 2:11-12, "In union with him you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by men, but with Christ's own circumcision, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful body, 12 For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death." (Good News for Modern Man, the New Testament in Today's English Version, by American Bible Society; GNMM). This scripture harkens back to Deuteronomy 10:16, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and stiffen your neck no more." (DRCB). And returning to Philippians 3:3-9, 3 already quoted above, we see, "though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 as touching zeal, persecuting the church: as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. 8 Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." (ASV); here the Apostle Paul is showing fleshly circumcision counts for nothing, but a circumcision of the heart is required as affirmed at Romans 12:2, "And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (ASV).
To do this, we must bury are former course of life of chasing after wickedness and false doctrines and myths and other workings of the worldly per Romans 6:4-8, "We were buried therefore with him through bnaptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; 6 knowing this that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; 7 for he that hath died is justified from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him;" (ASV). To do so, as previously mentioned, we must per Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (ASV); And at Isaiah 55:7, "let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (ASV).
In other words, what is needed is 'spiritual surgery' or casting aside the evil ways of mankind and their false doctrines and fables and the acceptance only of the Truth of God's (YHWH's) and NOT THAT OF ANY MAN OR DENOMINATION, in keeping with Romans 8:3, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (ASV); clearly showing we should reject the doctrines of mankind and only accept those from our Creator (YHWH), and this in keeping with Colossians 3:5, "Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 6 for which things' sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: 7 wherein ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things; 8 but now do you also put them all away: anger, wrath,m malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth:" (ASV).
Remember that per 1 Corinthians 12:13-14, "For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many." (ASV); therefore, what is needed is a spiritual resurrection for all true Christians per Romans 8:11, "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Hjesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you." (ASV); so what is this Spirit? And what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? The Spirit or Holy Spirit here being spoken of is Almighty God's (YHWH's) active force or power. Therefore, being filled with God's active force or power gives individuals extra strength, power, and abilities they would otherwise not have as shown by Acts 2:4, ""And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (AV); And at, Luke 1:15, "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."(AV); And at Luke 1:41, "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:" (AV); And at Acts 4:8, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel," (AV); And at Acts 4:31, ""And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." (AV); And at Acts 9:17, "And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." (AV); And in fact, God (YHWH) filled his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) with Holy Ghost or Spirit when he anointed him, Acts 10:38, ""How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (AV).
Now as we have seen, the Holy Ghost or Spirit is God's (YHWH's) active force or power that he can 'fill' someone with to accomplish his objectives. It gives the filled one extra strength, power, and abilities they would otherwise not have as previously shown. But from what the Hebrew word here rendered Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or Spirit which is translated from 'ru'ach' meaning "breath; wind; spirit," and in the Greek Scriptures, the word is 'pneu'ma,' having a similar meaning. All implicitly showing a force or power. Therefore, since we have seen, the Holy Ghost or Spirit is God's (YHWH's) active force or power we should show the proper respect for it. We should NOT as stated at Luke 12:10, "And 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." (AV) by denying the accomplishments of God (YHWH) through use of his force or power. Also we should respect his chief servant, his only begotten Son, Jesus (Yeshua) as directed at Matthew 12:17-21, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (AV).
So salvation boils down to a simple denominator as testified to at John 5:14, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life." (ASV), plainly showing, first, that those who hear the message that Jesus (Yeshua) delivered on behalf of his Father (YHWH) as his agent or as the scripture puts it, "and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life.", and second, it shows that Jesus (Yeshua) was sent by a superior one, his Father (YHWH), to carry out Almighty God's (YHWH's) commission to his Son, the Son of God (YHWH), to make his Father's (YHWH's) message known to all. The Apostle Paul clearly showed at Colossians 3:1, "If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God." (ASV). However, to enjoy this prize, we must avoid falling under the power of the prince of this system per Ephesians 2:2, "wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience." (ASV)
THIS VOL 798B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND , WHY DID JESUS DIE? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO 1 THESSALONIANS, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON PHILIPPIANS 2:1-16: [4] WAS IT DESIGNED? WE ARE DESIGNED TO LIVE, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] THE DESIGN OF LIFE, IS THERE AN OVERALL DESIGN TO LIFE? EVERY LIVING THING IS HARMONIOUSLY INTERCONNECTED WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS AROUND IT, [7] RECIPE FOR CRACKER BARREL FRIED APPLES;
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3} DISCOURSE ON PHILIPPIANS 2:1-16:
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [798B]
“‘Before gray hair you should rise up, and you must show honor to an older man, and you must be in fear of your God. I am Jehovah. Leviticus 19:32 [New World Translation Revised: NWTr]
Almighty God (YHWH) never intended for humans to suffer the debilitating effects of aging. On the contrary, his purpose was that men and women enjoy perfect health in Paradise. But now “all creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain.” (Rom. 8:22) How do you think God must feel when he observes the ravages of sin in humans? Moreover, many elderly ones experience neglect at a time in their lives when they need more assistance.—Ps. 39:5; 2 Tim. 3:3.
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,
2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of
one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but
now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
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;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run
in vain, neither laboured in vain.” (Philippians 2:1-16 AV – Authorized King James
Version).
SALIENT HEIGHLIGHTS – PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8:
First, Philippians 2:5-8 clearly show that Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) exist as a spirit
being in the same physical form type as his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), but that he,
Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) was obedient to his Father, but gave no thought to a
consideration to a seizure, namely that he should be equal to God. This can clearly be
seen by:
“6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a
thing to be grasped,” (Philippians 2:6 ASV – American Standard Bible).
“6 Who, in form of God, subsisting, not, a thing to be seized, accounted the being equal
with God,” (Philippians 2:6 Rotherham)
“6 Existiendo en forma de Dios, él no consideró el ser igual a Dios como algo a qué
aferrarse;” (Philippians 2:6 Spanish RVA 89)
“who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own
advantage.” (Philippians 2:6 Holoman Standard Christian Bible)
“who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,”
(Philippians 2:6 NASV – New American Standard Version)
“who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something
to be exploited, “ (Philippians 2:6 NRSV – New Revised Standard Version)
“Who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should
be equal to God.” (Philippians 2:6 NWT – New World Translation)
“Christ himself was like God in everything. But he did not think that being equal with
God was something to be used for his own benefit.” (Philippians 2:6 New Century Version)
“6Who, being in very nature[1] God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, “ [alternate rend. Footnote - - 1 - Or in the form of] (Philippians 2:6 NIV – New International Version)
“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, something to be grasped.”
(Philippians 2:6 The New American Bible –Catholic- Approved in the Vatican, September 18, 1970 by the
Pope)
“He was in every way like God. Yet he did not think that being equal to God was something he must hold
on to. “ (Philippians 2:6 World Wide English)
SALIENT SCRIPTURE AND ITS UNDERSTANDING – PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11:
This fact, that God’s Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) is a separate spirit being from his Father
(YHWH) is even made much clearer if we view more than one scripture at a time:
“Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had
always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped
himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal
man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience,
even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.
That is why God has now lifted him so high, and has given him the name beyond all
names, so that at the name of Jesus "every knee shall bow", whether in Heaven or earth or
under the earth. And that is why, in the end, "every tongue shall confess" that Jesus
Christ" is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11 J B PHILLIPS Translation of the NEW TESTAMENT)
The J.B. Phillips Translation of the New Testament makes clear the Son’s, Jesus’s
(Yeshua or YHWH saves) attitude with respect to being obedient to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH). It states, “Let Christ himself be your example as to what your
attitude should be.” Which clearly shows that all genuine followers of the Son
should also be humble. Also, it clearly says, “For he, who had always been God by
nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped himself of all
privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man.” That
although he was existing as a spirit creature just like his Father (YHWH) that he gave no
thought to being the equal of his Father (YHWH), but was subordinate and obedient to
him in clear conformity to “ But I would have you know, that the head of every man is
Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (1
Corinthians 11:3 AV). Clearly then, he, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) can not then
be a member of a co-equal trinity of beings in a Trinitarian Godhead since he is neither
equal to his Father, nor did not always exist as did his Father (YHWH) “ And unto the
angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;” (Revelation 3:14 AV) and “ Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:” (Colossians 1:15 AV).
His subjection was made quite clear as follows, “And, having become man, he humbled
himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he
died was the death of a common criminal.” Clearly he, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves)
was doing the will of his Father (YHWH) . In fact, when tempted by Satan the Devil he
stated “ 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.” (Matthew 4:10 AV), “ Jesus
saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God,
and your God.” (John 20:17 AV), “21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour
cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto
him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all
things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” (John 4:21-26 AV).
Of course, since Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH) is Almighty God (YHWH) only begotten Son, he is
also a God, but a lessor one; therefore, The First Commandment of the Ten Commandments, “
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3 AV), is not violated since he is neither
equal to or before his Father.
Since he has proved his obedience to his Father (YHWH), his Father (YHWH) has " That is why
God has now lifted him so high, and has given him the name beyond all names, so that at
the name of Jesus "every knee shall bow", whether in Heaven or earth or under the earth.
And that is why, in the end, "every tongue shall confess" that Jesus Christ" is the Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.” And his Father has subjected all things onto his Son, except
himself, “17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they
also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ,
we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the
firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every
man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he
hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 27 For he
hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that
he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto
him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God
may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:17-28 AV). Therefore, it is clear that Almighty God, the
Father (YHWH) is the superior one since he has put all things under his Son, Jesus (Yeshua or
YHWH saves), except himself, and could not do so unless he was above or superior to his Son.
Also, it is clear that after he accomplishes his Father’s purpose, he, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH
saves), will subject himself to his father, “And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then
shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all
in all.” This clearly shows that Trinitarian Theology and Dualism Theology are false dogma and
should be clearly rejected by all Christians.
COMMENTS BY OTHER BIBLE SCHOLARS ON PHILIPPIANS 2:5 -11:
Bible Scholar, Theodore Beza, stated:
2:5 2 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
(2) He sets before them a most perfect example of all modesty and sweet conduct, Christ Jesus,
whom we ought to follow with all our might: who abased himself so much for our sakes, although
he is above all, that he took upon himself the form of a servant, that is, our flesh, willingly subject
to all weaknesses, even to the death of the cross.
2:6 Who, being in the d form of God, e thought it not robbery to be f equal with God:
(d) Such as God himself is, and therefore God, for there is no one in all parts equal to God but God
himself.
(e) Christ, that glorious and everlasting God, knew that he might rightfully and lawfully not appear
in the base flesh of man, but remain with majesty fit for God: yet he chose rather to debase
himself.
(f) If the Son is equal with the Father, then is there of necessity an equality, which Arrius that
heretic denies: and if the Son is compared to the Father, then is there a distinction of persons,
which Sabellius that heretic denies.
2:7 But made himself of g no reputation, and took upon him the h form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men:
(g) He brought himself from all things, as it were to nothing.
(h) By taking our manhood upon him.
2:9 3 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a i name which is above every name:
(3) He shows the most glorious even of Christ’s submission, to teach us that
modesty is the true way to true praise and glory.
(i) Dignity and high distinction, and that which accompanies it.
2:10 That at the name of Jesus k every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and
[things] under the earth;
(k) All creatures will at length be subject to Christ.
2:11 And [that] l every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(l) Every nation. [Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible". 1600-1645.]
Bible Scholar, Matthew Henry, said:
Note, this scholars comments cover more than Philippians 2:5-11, it cover Philippians 2:1-11.
The apostle proceeds in this chapter where he left off in the last, with further exhortations to
Christian duties. He presses them largely to like-mindedness and lowly-mindedness, in
conformity to the example of the Lord Jesus, the great pattern of humility and love. Here we may
observe, I. The great gospel precept passed upon us; that is, to love one another. This is the law
of Christ’s kingdom, the lesson of his school, the livery of his family. This he represents (v. 2) by
being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. We are of a like mind
when we have the same love. Christians should be one in affection, whether they can be one in
apprehension or no. This is always in their power, and always their duty, and is the likeliest way
to bring them nearer in judgment. Having the same love. Observe, The same love that we are
required to express to others, others are bound to express to us. Christian love ought to be
mutual love. Love, and you shall be loved. Being of one accord, and of one mind; not crossing
and thwarting, or driving on separate interests, but unanimously agreeing in the great things of
God and keeping the unity of the Spirit in other differences. Here observe, 1. The pathetic
pressing of the duty. He is very importunate with them, knowing what an evidence it is of our
sincerity, and what a means of the preservation and edification of the body of Christ. The
inducements to brotherly love are these:—(1.) "If there is any consolation in Christ. Have you
experienced consolation in Christ? Evidence that experience by loving one another.’’ The
sweetness we have found in the doctrine of Christ should sweeten our spirits. Do we expect
consolation in Christ? If we would not be disappointed, we must love one another. If we have not
consolation in Christ, where else can we expect it? Those who have an interest in Christ have
consolation in him, strong and everlasting consolation (Heb. 6:18; 2 Th. 2:16), and therefore
ought to love one another. (2.) "Comfort of love. If there is any comfort in Christian love, in God’s
love to you, in your love to God, or in your brethren’s love to us, in consideration of all this, be you
like-minded. If you have ever found that comfort, if you would find it, if you indeed believe that the
grace of love is a comfortable grace, abound in it.’’ (3.) "Fellowship of the Spirit. If there is such a
thing as communion with God and Christ by the Spirit, such a thing as the communion of saints,
by virtue of their being animated and actuated by one and the same Spirit, be you like-minded; for
Christian love and like-mindedness will preserve to us our communion with God and with one
another.’’ (4.) "Any bowels and mercies, in God and Christ, towards you. If you expect the benefit
of God’s compassions to yourselves, be you compassionate one to another. If there is such a
thing as mercy to be found among the followers of Christ, if all who are sanctified have a
disposition to holy pity, make it appear this way.’’ How cogent are these arguments! One would
think them enough to tame the most fierce, and mollify the hardest, heart. (5.) Another argument
he insinuates is the comfort it would be to him: Fulfil you my joy. It is the joy of ministers to see
people like-minded and living in love. He had been instrumental in bringing them to the grace of
Christ and the love of God. "Now,’’ says he, "if you have found any benefit by your participation of
the gospel of Christ, if you have any comfort in it, or advantage by it, fulfil the joy of your poor
minister, who preached the gospel to you.’’ 2. He proposes some means to promote it. (1.) Do
nothing through strife and vain glory, v. 3. There is no greater enemy to Christian love than pride
and passion. If we do things in contradiction to our brethren, this is doing them through strife; if
we do them through ostentation of ourselves, this is doing them through vain-glory: both are
destructive of Christian love and kindle unchristian heats. Christ came to slay all enmities;
therefore let there not be among Christians a spirit of opposition. Christ came to humble us, and
therefore let there not be among us a spirit of pride. (2.) We must esteem others in lowliness of
mind better than ourselves, be severe upon our own faults and charitable in our judgments of
others, be quick in observing our own defects and infirmities, but ready to overlook and make
favourable allowances for the defects of others. We must esteem the good which is in others
above that which is in ourselves; for we best know our own unworthiness and imperfections. (3.)
We must interest ourselves in the concerns of others, not in a way of curiosity and
censoriousness, or as busy-bodies in other men’s matters, but in Christian love and sympathy:
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others, v. 4. A selfish
spirit is destructive of Christian love. We must be concerned not only for our own credit, and
ease, and safety, but for those of others also; and rejoice in the prosperity of others as truly as in
our own. We must love our neighbour as ourselves, and make his case our own. II. Here is a
gospel pattern proposed to our imitation, and that is the example of our Lord Jesus Christ: Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, v. 5. Observe, Christians must be of Christ’s mind.
We must bear a resemblance to his life, if we would have the benefit of his death. If we have not
the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his, Rom. 8:9. Now what was the mind of Christ? He was
eminently humble, and this is what we are peculiarly to learn of him. Learn of me, for I am meek
and lowly in heart, Mt. 11:29. If we were lowly-minded, we should be like-minded; and, if we were
like Christ, we should be lowly-minded. We must walk in the same spirit and in the same steps
with the Lord Jesus, who humbled himself to sufferings and death for us; not only to satisfy God’s
justice, and pay the price of our redemption, but to set us an example, and that we might follow
his steps. Now here we have the two natures and the two states of our Lord Jesus. It is
observable that the apostle, having occasion to mention the Lord Jesus, and the mind which was
in him, takes the hint to enlarge upon his person, and to give a particular description of him. It is a
pleasing subject, and a gospel minister needs not think himself out of the way when he is upon it;
any fit occasion should be readily taken. 1. Here are the two natures of Christ: his divine nature
and his human nature. (1.) Here is his divine nature: Who being in the form of God (v. 6),
partaking of the divine nature, as the eternal and only begotten Son of God. This agrees with Jn.
1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God: it is of the same import with
being the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15), and the brightness of his glory, and express
image of his person, Heb. 1:3. He thought it no robbery to be equal with God; did not think himself
guilty of any invasion of what did not belong to him, or assuming another’s right. He said, I and
my Father are one, Jn. 10:30. It is the highest degree of robbery for any mere man or mere
creature to pretend to be equal with God, or profess himself one with the Father. This is for a man
to rob God, not in tithes and offerings, but of the rights of his Godhead, Mal. 3:8. Some
understand being in the form of God — en morphe Theou hyparchon, of his appearance in a
divine majestic glory to the patriarchs, and the Jews, under the Old Testament, which was often
called the glory, and the Shechinah. The word is used in such a sense by the Septuagint and in
the New Testament. He appeared to the two disciples, en hetera morphe — In another form, Mk.
16:12. Metemorphothe — he was transfigured before them, Mt. 17:2. And he thought it no
robbery to be equal with God; he did not greedily catch at, nor covet and affect to appear in that
glory; he laid aside the majesty of his former appearance while he was here on earth, which is
supposed to be the sense of the peculiar expression, ouk harpagmon hegesato. Vid. Bishop
Bull’s Def. cap. 2 sect. 4 et alibi, and Whitby in loc. (2.) His human nature: He was made in the
likeness of men, and found in fashion as a man. He was really and truly man, took part of our
flesh and blood, appeared in the nature and habit of man. And he voluntarily assumed human
nature; it was his own act, and by his own consent. We cannot say that our participation of the
human nature is so. Herein he emptied himself, divested himself of the honours and glories of the
upper world, and of his former appearance, to clothe himself with the rags of human nature. He
was in all things like to us, Heb. 2:17. 2. Here are his two estates, of humiliation and exaltation.
(1.) His estate of humiliation. He not only took upon him the likeness and fashion of a man, but
the form of a servant, that is, a man of mean estate. He was not only God’s servant whom he had
chosen, but he came to minister to men, and was among them as one who serveth in a mean and
servile state. One would think that the Lord Jesus, if he would be a man, should have been a
prince, and appeared in splendour. But quite the contrary: He took upon him the form of a
servant. He was brought up meanly, probably working with his supposed father at his trade. His
whole life was a life of humiliation, meanness, poverty, and disgrace; he had nowhere to lay his
head, lived upon alms, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, did not appear with
external pomp, or any marks of distinction from other men. This was the humiliation of his life. But
the lowest step of his humiliation was his dying the death of the cross. He became obedient to
death, even the death of the cross. He not only suffered, but was actually and voluntarily
obedient; he obeyed the law which he brought himself under as Mediator, and by which he was
obliged to die. I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again: this
commandment have I received of my Father, Jn. 10:18. And he was made under the law, Gal.
4:4. There is an emphasis laid upon the manner of his dying, which had in it all the circumstances
possible which are humbling: Even the death of the cross, a cursed, painful, and shameful
death,—a death accursed by the law (Cursed is he that hangeth on a tree) —full of pain, the body
nailed through the nervous parts (the hands and feet) and hanging with all its weight upon the
cross,—and the death of a malefactor and a slave, not of a free-man,—exposed as a public
spectacle. Such was the condescension of the blessed Jesus. (2.) His exaltation: Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him. His exaltation was the reward of his humiliation. Because he
humbled himself, God exalted him; and he highly exalted him, hyperypsose, raised him to an
exceeding height. He exalted his whole person, the human nature as well as the divine; for he is
spoken of as being in the form of God as well as in the fashion of man. As it respects the divine
nature, it could only be the recognizing of his rights, or the display and appearance of the glory he
had with the Father before the world was (Jn. 17:5), not any new acquisition of glory; and so the
Father himself is said to be exalted. But the proper exaltation was of his human nature, which
alone seems to be capable of it, though in conjunction with the divine. His exaltation here is made
to consist in honour and power. In honour; so he had a name above every name, a title of dignity
above all the creatures, men and angels. And in power: Every knee must bow to him. The whole
creation must be in subjection to him: things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth, the inhabitants of heaven and earth, the living and the dead. At the name of Jesus; not at
the sound of the word, but the authority of Jesus; all should pay a solemn homage. And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord —every nation and language should
publicly own the universal empire of the exalted Redeemer, and that all power in heaven and
earth is given to him, Mt. 28:18. Observe the vast extent of the kingdom of Christ; it reaches to
heaven and earth, and to all the creatures in each, to angels as well as men, and to the dead as
well as the living.— To the glory of God the Father. Observe, It is to the glory of God the Father to
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; for it is his will that all men should honour the Son as they
honour the Father, Jn. 5:23. Whatever respect is paid to Christ redounds to the honour of the
Father. He who receiveth me receiveth him who sent me, Mt. 10:40.
[Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole
Bible". 1706.]
Bible Scholar, Barton W. Johnson, stated:
5-8. Let this mind be in you. He points to Christ as the example of humility and consecration to the good
of others. 6. Who, being in the form of God. He refers to the state of our Savior before he took human
form. His form was divine. "He had a glory with the father before the world was." See John 1:1; 2 Cor. 4:4;
Heb. 1:3, etc. Thought it not robbery to be equal with God. The Revision says, "Counted it not a prize."
The meaning is not entirely clear, but probably is that "Having a form of glory like God, he did not count it
a prize which must be clung to tenaciously, especially when he appeared upon the earth, that he should be
equal with God, that is, appear in a divine form, but was willing to lay aside his glory and make himself a
servant." 7. Emptied himself. Of the divine form and glory, and took the form of a servant, of our own
race, a race whose duty it is to serve God. The divine glory was exchanged for human lowliness. 8. He
humbled himself. Note the infinite condescension: (1) The form of God and sharing the divine glory. (2)
He divests himself of this. (3) Nor does he then take the divine form, or even the form of an angel, but of
lowly, sinful man. (4) But this is not all. He not only takes the form of man, but the mortality of the flesh,
and dies. (5) Nay, more; he dies the most shameful and painful of all deaths, even the death of the cross.
9-11. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him. His wonderful humility had been shown, but it is the
law of the universe that he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Therefore God lifted him up from the
grave to the heavens, gave all power into his hands (Matt. 28:1, and gave him a name above every
name. The idea is an authority, a position, above that of all intelligences. This exaltation made the humble
name, Jesus, a name above every name. 10. That at the name of Jesus. That name, by the exaltation, has
become the name of the King of kings. It is supreme. Hence, every knee in all the universe bows to its
majesty. Under the earth. In the under-world, hades, the abode of the dead. 11. And that every tongue
should confess. All the universe is called to confess him as Lord, and thus glorify God. All will yet confess
him, either in joy or shame. [Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "People's New
Testament". 1891.]
SALIENT HEIGHLIGHTS – PHILIPPIANS 2:1-4:
“Now if your experience of Christ's encouragement and love means anything to you, if
you have known something of the fellowship of his Spirit, and all that it means in
kindness and deep sympathy, do make my best hope for you come true! Live together in
harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit between
you. Never act from motives of rivalry or personal vanity, but in humility think more of
each other then you do of yourselves. None of you should think only of his own affairs,
but should learn to see things from other people's point of view.” .” (Philippians 2:1-4 J
B PHILLIPS Translation of the NEW TESTAMENT).
This group of scriptures drives home the point that God’s way is love. It clearly
emphasis Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) encouragement to love, “love means anything
to you, if you have known something of the fellowship of his Spirit, and all that it means
in kindness and deep sympathy, do make my best hope for you come true!”
It shows we should, “! Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had
only one mind and one spirit between you. Never act from motives of rivalry or personal
vanity, but in humility think more of each other then you do of yourselves. None of you
should think only of his own affairs, but should learn to see things from other people's
point of view.”
This same point of love distinguishes true Christianity as being all about love, 1 st. love
for the Creator, Jehovah God, and second love for one's fellow man. You can not love
God whom you can not see if you do not at first love your fellow man whom you can see.
When Jesus Christ was asked what is the greatest commandment, he answered, “Master,
which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is
the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
(Matthew 22:36-40 AV). The Holy Bible plainly shows we should not judge our
neighbors, but love them. This does not mean loving their sin. Matthew 7:1-2, states,
"Stop judging that you may not be judged; for with what judgment you are judging, you
will be judged," and Romans 14:4, 10-13, "Who are you to judge the house servant of
another? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God
can make him stand. But why do you judge your brother? For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of God... Therefore let us not be judging one another any longer," this
plainly shows no true Christian should be executing judgment on anyone with respect sin.
In fact this would be a usurping of God's exclusive right, i.e., blaspheme, Matthew 25:31-
32 states, "When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and
he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats." Second, we should be loving our neighbors and attempting to get them to turn
away from sin, not judging, hurting, or killing them in violation of God's law.
COMMENTS BY OTHER BIBLE SCHOLARS ON PHILIPPIANS 2:1-4:
Bible Scholar, Theodore Beza, stated:
2:1 If 1 [there be] therefore any consolation in a Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of
the Spirit, if any b bowels and mercies,
(1) A most earnest request to remove all those things, by which that great and special
consent and agreement is commonly broken, that is, contention and pride, by which it
comes to pass that they separate themselves from one another.
(a) Any Christian comfort.
(b) If any seeking of inward love.
2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the c same love, [being] of one accord, of one
mind.
(c) Equal love. [Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible". 1600-
1645.]
Bible Scholar, Barton W. Johnson, stated:
1-4. If there be therefore any consolation, etc. The apostle does not doubt that there is consolation,
comfort, spiritual fellowship, etc., in Christ, but bases an exhortation on what the Philippians knew to be
the case. Bowels and mercies. "Tender mercies and compassion," as in the Revision. 2. Fulfil ye my joy.
Make my joy full. They had already given him much joy (4:1-10), but he desired one thing more; viz., that
they be like-minded, in full agreement, perfect harmony. Having the same love. Loving one another with
pure hearts fervently. Being of one accord. Of one heart and soul. No outward strife. 3. Nothing through
strife or vain glory. No party spirit or striving for human praise. Let each esteem, etc. Instead of exalting
himself, each is to exalt others in his esteem. He that is willing to serve is greatest. 4. Look not every man
on his own things. Do not look out for your own interests alone, but for the interests of others rather than
your own. [Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "People's New Testament". 1891.]
SALIENT HEIGHLIGHTS – PHILIPPIANS 2:11-16:
“So then, my dearest friends, as you have always followed my advice - and that not only
when I was present to give it - so now that I am far away be keener than ever to work out
the salvation that God has given you with a proper sense of awe and responsibility. For it
is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his
purpose. Do all you have to do without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be God's
children, blameless, sincere and wholesome, living in a warped and diseased world, and
shining there like lights in a dark place. For you hold in your hands the very word of life.
Thus can you give me something to be proud of in the day of Christ, for I shall know then
that I did not spend my energy in vain. “.” (Philippians 2:1-4 J B PHILLIPS Translation of the NEW TESTAMENT).
Here the Apostle Paul is showing we must work out our salvation with God (YHWH).
He states, “For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to
achieve his purpose.” How so, well through his active force which is commonly known as the Holy Spirit.
He gives us admonition to, “Do all you have to do without grumbling or arguing, so that
you may be God's children, blameless, sincere and wholesome, living in a warped and
diseased world, and shining there like lights in a dark place. For you hold in your hands
the very word of life.” We should not be grumbling or arguing with each other, but
should bear in mind that we are living in a warped and diseased world that will shortly be
replaced by a righteous world that we pray for, “5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not
be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast
shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret
shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore
like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew
6:5-10 AV).
This will clearly come about shortly when Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) starts to fulfill his assignment
by his Father is given the ‘go ahead’ to answer our pray, “10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done
in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 AV). This day, will be, “Thus can you give me
something to be proud of in the day of Christ, for I shall know then that I did not spend
my energy in vain. “ To reiterate, Almighty God’s (JYWH’s) command or assignment to
his Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves), “22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits;
afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all
rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under
his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all
things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that
he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things
under him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:10-28 AV).
COMMENTS BY OTHER BIBLE SCHOLARS ON PHILIPPIANS 2:12-16:
Bible Scholar, Theodore Beza, stated:
12, 13. Wherefore, my beloved. From the contemplation of Christ's glory, the apostle turns to the lessons
needed by the Philippian church. Work out your own salvation. While Christ is our Savior, and the author
of our salvation, we must accept him and work together with him. Hence the Holy Spirit says, "Save
yourselves" (Acts 2:40), and "work out your own salvation." Unless we do our part Christ cannot save us.
With fear and trembling. With constant anxiety not to fail. 13. For it is God which worketh in you. God
works in the converted person by his word and Spirit. His Spirit is a helper. It does not destroy our free
will, for we may resist it (1 Thess. 5:19). Both to will and to work. God shows his will by his word and
spirit and work in us. We ought to heed it. We can work in harmony with the divine will, or we may reject
to our damnation. His good pleasure. As seemeth best to him.
14-18. Do all things without murmurings. Without complaining. Some persons pass their lives
complaining. 15. The sons of God. Those of so high estate ought to be harmless, blameless, and in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, a wicked world, they should shine as lights by their pure
and holy lives. 16. Holding forth the word of life. Always preaching Christ in word, in life, and in deed.
That was their work. Unless they did this they were a failure. That I may rejoice. Unless they had done so
he would be made to feel, in the day of Christ, the day of accounts, that his labor at Philippi was in vain.
[Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "People's New Testament". 1891.]
Bible Scholar, Matthew Henry, said:
He exhorts them to diligence and seriousness in the Christian course: Work out your own salvation. It is the
salvation of our souls (1 Pt. 1:9), and our eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9), and contains deliverance from all the
evils sin had brought upon us and exposed us to, and the possession of all good and whatsoever is
necessary to our complete and final happiness. Observe, It concerns us above all things to secure the
welfare of our souls: whatever becomes of other things, let us take care of our best interests. It is our own
salvation, the salvation of our own souls. It is not for us to judge other people; we have enough to do to
look to ourselves; and, though we must promote the common salvation (Jude 3) as much as we can, yet we
must upon no account neglect our own. We are required to work out our salvation, katergazesthe. The word
signifies working thoroughly at a thing, and taking true pains. Observe, We must be diligent in the use of
all the means which conduce to our salvation. We must not only work at our salvation, by doing something
now and then about it; but we must work out our salvation, by doing all that is to be done, and persevering
therein to the end. Salvation is the great thing we should mind, and set our hearts upon; and we cannot
attain salvation without the utmost care and diligence. He adds, With fear and trembling, that is, with great
care and circumspection: "Trembling for fear lest you miscarry and come short. Be careful to do every
thing in religion in the best manner, and fear lest under all your advantages you should so much as seem to
come short,’’ Heb. 4:1. Fear is a great guard and preservative from evil. II. He urges this from the
consideration of their readiness always to obey the gospel: "As you have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, v. 12. You have been always willing to comply with
every discovery of the will of God; and that in my absence as well as presence. You make it to appear that
regard to Christ, and care of your souls, sway more with you than any mode of showing respect
whatsoever.’’ They were not merely awed by the apostle’s presence, but did it even much more in his
absence. "And because it is God who worketh in you, do you work out your salvation. Work, for he
worketh.’’ It should encourage us to do our utmost, because our labour shall not be in vain. God is ready to
concur with his grace, and assist our faithful endeavours. Observe, Though we must use our utmost
endeavours in working out our salvation, yet still we must go forth, and go on, in a dependence upon the
grace of God. His grace works in us in a way suitable to our natures, and in concurrence with our
endeavours; and the operations of God’s grace in us are so far from excusing, that they are intended to
quicken and engage our endeavours. "And work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for he worketh
in you.’’ All our working depends upon his working in us. "Do not trifle with God by neglects and delays,
lest you provoke him to withdraw his help, and all your endeavours prove in vain. Work with fear, for he
works of his good pleasure.’’—To will and to do: he gives the whole ability. It is the grace of God which
inclines the will to that which is good: and then enables us to perform it, and to act according to our
principles. Thou hast wrought all our works in us, Isa. 26:12. Of his good pleasure. As there is no strength
in us, so there is no merit in us. As we cannot act without God’s grace, so we cannot claim it, nor pretend to
deserve it. God’s good will to us is the cause of his good work in us; and he is under no engagements to his
creatures, but those of his gracious promise. [Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "Matthew
Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible". 1706.]
Bible Scholar, Barton W. Johnson, stated:
12-13 Wherefore, my beloved. From the contemplation of Christ's glory, the apostle turns to the lessons
needed by the Philippian church. Work out your own salvation. While Christ is our Savior, and the author
of our salvation, we must accept him and work together with him. Hence the Holy Spirit says, "Save
yourselves" (Acts 2:40), and "work out your own salvation." Unless we do our part Christ cannot save us.
With fear and trembling. With constant anxiety not to fail. 13. For it is God which worketh in you. God
works in the converted person by his word and Spirit. His Spirit is a helper. It does not destroy our free
will, for we may resist it (1 Thess. 5:19). Both to will and to work. God shows his will by his word and
spirit and work in us. We ought to heed it. We can work in harmony with the divine will, or we may reject
to our damnation. His good pleasure. As seemeth best to him.
14-16. Do all things without murmurings. Without complaining. Some persons pass their lives
complaining. 15. The sons of God. Those of so high estate ought to be harmless, blameless, and in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, a wicked world, they should shine as lights by their pure
and holy lives. 16. Holding forth the word of life. Always preaching Christ in word, in life, and in deed.
That was their work. Unless they did this they were a failure. That I may rejoice. Unless they had done so
he would be made to feel, in the day of Christ, the day of accounts, that his labor at Philippi was in vain.
[Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on Philippians 2". "People's New Testament". 1891.]
CONCLUSION:
It can clearly be seen that while Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) is a God, he is a lessor
God than his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) and is subordinate to his and not equal to or
before him. Therefore Christianity is a monotheistic religion. This is in keeping with the
First of the Ten Commandments, “ And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto
Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to
them.” (Exodus 6:3 AV) and “ That men may know that thou, whose name alone is
JEHOVAH [Yehovah probably is more in keeping with YHWH], art the most high over all
the earth.” (Psalms 83:18 AV), and his Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) said, “ And
he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” (Luke 11:2 AV).
Note, he, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) wanted his followers to recognize that his
Father’s (YHWH’s) name should be “hallowed” and not his own name, clearly showing
he was obedient to his Father, a superior one.
As stated earlier, “Of course, since Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH) is Almighty God (YHWH) only begotten
Son, he is also a God, but a lessor one; therefore, The First Commandment of the Ten Commandments, “
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3 AV), is not violated since he is neither equal to or
before his Father.” The Bible makes his position as, “ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God;” (Mark 1:1 AV). He is the ONLY mediator between God (YHWH)
and mankind as shown by, “ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5 AV).
This is a most interesting scripture as it clearly shows Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) superior
position and that the Father (YHWH) and his Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) are
two distinct spirit beings with the Son being the subordinate.
Slow Cooker Cracker Barrel Fried Apples
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs apples, peeled and sliced into wedges
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Prepare the Apples
Start by peeling, coring, and slicing 3-4 pounds of apples into wedges. Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples work particularly well for this recipe.
2. Coat with Cornstarch
Add the apple wedges and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to your slow cooker. Stir well to ensure the apples are evenly coated.
3. Mix Sugars and Cinnamon
Pour in ¼ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir everything together until the apples are well mixed with the sugars and cinnamon.
4. Add Butter, Lemon Juice, and Vanilla
Pour ¼ cup of melted butter, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract over the apple mixture. Stir again to combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
5. Cook in Slow Cooker
Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours. This allows the apples to become tender and the flavors to meld together perfectly.
6. Serve
Once the cooking time is complete, give the apples a good stir. Serve them warm on their own, or pour them over a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra special treat.
Notes
Best Apples: Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples are ideal for making fried apples due to their firm texture and tart flavor, which balance well with the sweetness of the sugars.
Apple Prep: The most time-consuming part of this recipe is coring, peeling, and slicing the apples. Using an apple slicer and corer can make this step quick and easy.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION – BOTH TRUE AND FALSE – AT WWW.JW.ORG
THIS VOL 799B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND , WHY DID JESUS DIE? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO 2 THESSALONIANS, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON ISAIAH 44:6: [4] WAS IT DESIGNED? WE ARE DESIGNED TO LIVE, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] THE DESIGN OF LIFE, IS THERE AN OVERALL DESIGN TO LIFE? EVERY LIVING THING IS HARMONIOUSLY INTERCONNECTED WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS AROUND IT, [7] CHICKENS AT PLAY.
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3} DISCOURSE ON ISAIAH 44:6:
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [799B]
Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and strong. Do not suffer shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go Joshua 1:9, [New World Translation Revised; NWTR]
We must trust in Almighty God (YHWH), and seek to win his good favor by obediently doing his well. Since we are no longer under the old Law Covenant, but now under the New Covenant we must seek to live our lives in accordance to the principles set forth in the Bible. As Joshua wrote, “Only be courageous and very strong to take care to do according to all the law [New Covenant] that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, in order that you may act wisely everywhere you go. This book of the law should not depart from your mouth, and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, in order that you may take care to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful and then you will act wisely.” (Joshua 1:7-, [NWTR]
Remember, “…we have a wrestling, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. On this account take up the complete suit of armor from God, that YOU may be able to resist in the wicked day and, after YOU have done all things thoroughly, to stand firm. Stand firm, therefore, with YOUR loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and with YOUR feet shod with the equipment of the good news of peace. Above all things, take up the large shield of faith, with which YOU will be able to quench all the wicked one’s burning missiles.” (Ephesians 6:12-16), [NWTR] . Our struggle against these wicked forces of God’s arch enemy, Satan the Devil, will NOT BE EASY, and it will get worse as the culmination of the end times approaches on this wicked system of things.
Isaiah 44:6 has been one of the scriptures that the preachers of false doctrines such as the Trinity, Mol dualism, and Oneness have twisted the most to try and show support for their none Biblical doctrines, but in reality it supports the Truth of the Bible and not the false reasonings and doctrines of men. But before seeing why this is so, let's look at the scripture in several different Bibles to get a better perspective of it before discussing it - Isaiah 44:6:
"And who, as I, can proclaim--let him declare it, and set it in order for Me--since I appointed the ancient people? And the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare". [Jewish Publication Society 1917 OT]
"kh-`mr yhvh mlk-ysr`l vg`lv yhvh &b`vt `ny r`svn v`ny `xrvn vmbljdy `yn `lhym". [Hebrew Transliteration Bible][[so as to give all some feel for how it looks in Hebrew, but with English Characters]]
"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." [American Standard Version, ASV]
"Thus saith the Lord the king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. " [Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB]
"Thus 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." [Authorized King James Bible; AV]
"Thus says the LORD, the King of Yisra'el, and his Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God" [Hebrew Names Version of World English Bible]
"Thus said Jehovah, king of Israel, And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: `I [am] the first, and I the last, And besides Me there is no God." [Youngs Literal Translation]
"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I [am] the first, and I [am] the last, and beside me there is no God." [The Darby Translation]
"Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and besides me [there is] no God." [The Noah Webster Bible; NWB]
TRANSLATION COMPARISON:
Now that we have the opportunity to look at the translation constructs in various Bibles with respect Isaiah 44:6, let's start considering its significance and meaning. As can readily be seen from the Youngs Literal Translation, The Darby Translation, American Standard Version, and Jewish Publication Society 1917 OT [note, the Jews are strict monotheist and well know the 1 Commandment at Exodus 20:3 that would rule out any three-in-one god] clearly show that this scripture applies solely to God Almighty (YHWH). The Youngs Literal Translation clearly says, "And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts," leaving no doubt that it is referring to God (YHWH) and not to his Son, Jesus (Yeshua). However, some supporters of the Trinity claim the son is just a different manifestation of God (YHWH), but many scriptures show them as two distinct beings, such as, John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me." (ASV); and John 14:28, "Ye have heard that I said to you, I go away, and come [again] to you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father: for my Father is greater than I." (NWB). In fact their false contention is actually is just a different manifestation of God (YHWH) is part of three false doctrines with the first being Modulism which many religious dictionaries state is, "The belief that God is a single entity who has appeared in different modes at different times. This is the same as "SABELLIANISM THEOLOGY-- God is three only in relation to the world, in so many "manifestations" or "modes." The unity and identity of God are such that the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) did not exist before the incarnation; because the Father (YHWH) and the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) are thus one, the Father (YHWH) suffered with the Son, Jesus (Yeshua or YHWH saves) in his passion and death.
AN ALL ANSWERING ARTICLE ON ISAIAH 44:6 - USED WITH PERMISSION:
In fact the Restoration Light Bible Study Services, P.O. Box 2360, Philadelphia, PA , has already dealt with this question in an answer to one of these believers in false doctrine. Their answer is as follows, "We have shown that Jesus is a created being (See Did Jesus Have a Beginning?), thus the question has arisen concerning the various uses of the scripture regarding alpha and omega, as this title, as well as some others, seem to be applied to both.
In Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12 we find the expression "first and last" used of Yahweh. From Isaiah 44:6,7 this expression, "first and last" appears to mean that which is begun is carried through to completion, something which the false gods of the heathen cannot do. However, most of our trinitarian and oneness neighbors appear to read into this expression 'from eternity past to the eternal future,' although there is nothing in the scritpures to warrant this meaning.
In the last book of the Bible, we again find this expression "first and last". At least twice it is applied to Jesus in Revelation 1:17 and Revelation 2:8.Thus our trinitarian and oneness neighbors would have us accept this as proof that Jesus is Yahweh, since the phrase is applied to both Yahweh and Jesus. The phrase appears also in Revelation 22:13, where Yahweh applies it to himself.
Another similar phrase found in Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 is "beginning and the end". These scriptures apply to Yahweh; thus this phrase is not applied to Jesus . Still another phrase used in the book of Revelation is "alpha and omega." We find this phrase in Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13 -- all three of which refer to Yahweh. This phrase is therefore not used of Jesus.
Let us go into more detail to support the above applications of these terms. Looking at Revelation 1:1, we note that the Revelation is from God who gave it to Jesus. (This should be enough to prove that Jesus is not God.) The message is delivered through an angel to John. In Revelation 1:4 John says the message is from the Father, Yahweh, who is and who was and who is to come. Then in verse 5, John says: "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Thus John identifies two individuals which the messages are from, the Father, Yahweh, and Jesus, God's Son. Then in verse 8 we find the quote: "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End', says the Lord God, 'the being who was and who is to come -- the Almighty.'"
"The Lord" in this verse is Yahweh, not Jesus, as shown from Revelation 1:4. The phrase "Lord God" is based on the later Septuagint usage of substituting Kurios for Yahweh. The Hebrew phrase is Yahweh Elohim. The later Septuagint has substituted Yahweh with Kurios [Lord] and Elohim with Theos [God]. This can be seen by comparing Acts 3:22; 7:37 with the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 18:15. In all instances where the phrase occurs in the NT, it is in reference to Yahweh, the Father of our Lord Jesus. -- Luke 1:32; 1 Peter 3:10-15; Revelation 11:17,19; 15:3; 16:7; 18:8; 21:11; 22:6. See Divine Name .
Likewise, with the phrases "the Lord our God" and "the Lord your God". These phrases are always used in reference to Yahweh, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. -- Matthew 4:7 (Deuteronomy 6:16); Matthew 4:10 (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20); Matthew 22:37 (Deuteronomy 6:5); Mark 12:29 (Deuteronomy 6:4); etc.
However, many of the Christian translators in the past must have thought that this was Yahweh speaking, for in their translations into Hebrew, they inserted the tetragrammaton into this verse. The following are some Hebrew translations that contain the tetragrammaton in Revelation 1:8: NT, by W. Robertson, 1661; NT, by J. C. Reichardt, 1846; NT, by J. C. Reichardt & J. H. R. Biesenthal, 1866; NT, by F. Delitzsch, 1981 edition; NT, by I. Salkinson & C. D. Ginsburg, 1891.
The fact that the NT copies we have give a substitute for God's name does not take away the fact that it is Yahweh, not his Son Jesus, who is speaking in Revelation 1:8. In verses 9 and 10 John refers to himself when he heard a loud voice, as of a trumpet, (verse 11) saying, "Write what you see... This quote is from Jesus, not Yahweh, as described in the following verses. In verse 18 Jesus says: "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore." Jesus was actually dead and not alive anywhere, if this is to make any sense at all, for he contrasts his being dead with being alive forevermore. Now we know that God cannot die, so Jesus is thus by this verse proved to not be God Almighty.
Many translations have the words added in verse 11, before the word "Write": "I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last." However, this sentence does not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts and therefore does not appear in many Bible translations, and thus we do not include them as part of our discussion.
Revelation 22:12-16: "See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. "It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
The angel delivering the message recorded Revelation 22:13 is quoting Yahweh, the Father of Jesus, who comes to judge the world, not only with and by means of Jesus, but also the saints. -- Malachi 3:1-6; Psalm 96:13; 98:9; Daniel 7:18,22; Isaiah 40:10,11; Micah 1:3; Zechariah 14:5; Acts 17:31; 2 Peter 3:7,8; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Psalm 90:4; Revelaton 1:1; 20:4,11-13; 22:6.
Earlier, John says that the angel spoke these words, which he states are from Yahweh. (verse 6) In verse 7 the angel is evidently quoting Jesus. In verse 8 John is the one speaking, and the angel rebukes him in verse 9. In verse 10 John begins to quote the angel again, but in verse 12, the angel is delivering the words of Yahweh (see verse 6) -- it is evident that the angel is not referring to himself. Verses 14 and 15 could be either Jesus or the angel speaking. In verse 16, it is evident that the angel is quoting Jesus, and then in verse 17 the angel is prophetically quoting the spirit and the bride. In verses 18-19, the angel is again speaking (although he could be quoting Jesus), but in verse 20 he quotes Jesus, while the last part of verse 20 and all of verse 21 is John himself speaking.
But let us assume that Jesus is the one speaking in Revelation 22:12,13, as many have claimed. All this would mean is that these titles or phrases applied to Yahweh are also applied to Jesus. Does this mean that Jesus is Yahweh, the God who is identified also as the Father and God of Jesus? Absolutely not!
First we note that none of the passages say that the Father is the Son, or even that the Son equals the Father. Nor do any of these passages directly say anything about the non-creation of either the Father or the Son.
One must admit that just because the same title is applied to individuals, this does not make these two individuals one individual. Else every ruler who has ever used the title "king" would have to be the same individual as every other ruler who has used the title "king." Each ruler who uses this title, however, uses it with respect to his peculiar realm of domain and time. Thus just because the same titles are given to both the Father and the Son does not mean they are the same being.
That Jesus has not always existed throughout eternity can be seen from our earlier discussion, "Did Jesus Have a Beginning?". Thus these titles applied to him must not mean that he existed throughout eternity.
Nor can they refer especially to the Father's being from eternity (which, as a matter of fact, he is), since that would be incompatible with their being used of the Son, who is not from eternity.
Likewise, we have shown elsewhere that the word "beginning" does not mean eternity, but rather a point when something begins, or a person or thing at the start of something. Additionally the word "first" does not mean eternity but a person or thing at the start of something. Similarly can be said concerning the words "last" and "end": neither of these denote eternity, but rather, just as it says, the last or end of something. The Alpha and Omega symbolism only emphasizes the same thing, since Alpha is the first or start of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last or end of the Greek alphabet.
How, then, do these terms apply to both the Father and the Son within the domain of each? We have already pointed out that these expressions seem to carry the thought of that which is begun is carried through to completion: Isaiah 44:6,7. This would apply both to Yahweh as originator of his divine plan and the one who designed it from beginning to the completed end, and to the Son as the one who carries out the divine plan by means of his death, resurrection and the coming day of judgment. Some have noted that Jesus is the first human to be raised to life without end by Yahweh his Father, thus he is called the "firstborn of the dead". (Colossians 1:1 He is also the last to be so resurrected since all others who eventually receive such a resurrection will be through Jesus, not by Yahweh directly. (John 5:21,22; 6:39,44; 11:25) Thus there appears to be a connection between his statements that he became dead was now alive forever and ever. His holding the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:1 shows the authority given to him by his God of releasing all who are in death and hades. -- John 5:27-29 (New American Standard); Revelation 20:11-13
However, there is also another application that could be meant. Each -- both Jesus and Yahweh -- is the first and the last of his peculiar kind: Yahweh is the first and the last of his peculiar kind, in that he is the first and the last one to be increate, that is, never to have been created. No one was before Yahweh in this sense and no one will be after him in this sense. The Son is the first and the last of his peculiar kind, in that he is the first and the last to have been directly created by God, all other creatures having been indirectly created by God, that is, through the agency of the Logos. Thus the Father and the Son are both unique -- which is the meaning of these three expressions -- but each of them is unique in a different sense: The Father is unique in that he is the only -- the first and the last -- being never created; the Son is unique in that he is the only -- the first and the last -- being ever directly created by Yahweh without the assistance of an agent, which creative assistance by the Logos occurred in the case of all the rest of creation -- the Logos himself being excepted. (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:27; See Question: John 1:1) Thus Yahweh is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of increation -- the only being who never was created. The Logos is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of God's direct creation. These terms used with reference to the Son are equivalent to his being called: "the only begotten of the Father." (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9) Their use with reference to the Father implies that he is from eternity, though not directly teaching it, the direct teaching being his uniqueness in that he never was created or begotten, as was the Son.
Answers to Objections
Some have replied that there can only be one first and last, although their reasons for saying this are vague, to say the least. It seems they wish demand a restricted application of the term so that it could only apply to God Almighty. It is true that there can only be on who is first and last as God Almighty. But we have no reason to restrict the term in application to God Almighty, except to satisfy the whims of those who wish to use it thus to prove that Jesus is Yahweh, which, in effect, would make the whole argument circular, that is, 'we believe that Jesus is Yahweh, thus we believe that the expression first and last must be used in application to God Almighty only, and thus this proves that Jesus is Yahweh.'
We have already shown above that there can be more than one first and last, depending on what is being spoken of and its application. We can also provide the following illustrations: Suppose Brother A goes to a Bible study in SW Philadelphia, and Brother B goes to a Bible study in South Philadelphia. Brother A is the first arrive at the Bible study and SW Philadelphia, and Brother B is the first to arrive at the study in South Philadelphia. Likewise Brother A is the last one to leave the study in SW. Philadelphia, and Brother B. is the last to leave the study in South Philadelphia. You have two who are first and two who are last. Additionally the first and the last line of one book is not the same as the first and last line of another book. Likewise, both Yahweh and Jesus are first and last in their respective applications of that term. Regardless, our trinitarian neighbors will have to agree that there are two persons who are referred to as 'first and last', both God the Father and His Son." [This document is presented by Restoration Light Bible Study Services, P.O. Box 2360, Philadelphia, PA 19142. Permission is given to duplicate this document in its entirety, including this statement, for not-for-profit usage in Bible studies and general distribution.]
It is not our object in this list of scriptures to refute all the arguments used by many who try to prove that Jesus is Yahweh. We simply present some of the scriptures that most definitely show that the Father is Yahweh and that Jesus is not Yahweh [his Father]:
Jesus was sent by Yahweh, speaks for Yahweh, represents Yahweh. Jesus is not Yahweh [who is the Father] whom he represents and speaks for.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Matthew 23:39; Mark 11:9,10; Luke 13:35; John 3:2,17; 5:19,43; 6:57; 7:16,28; 8:26,28,38; 10:25; 12:49,50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8,26; Hebrews 1:1,2; Revelation 1:1
Jesus receives his inheritance and dominion (power) from Yahweh. Jesus is not Yahweh [the Father] who gives him this dominion.
Psalm 2:7,8; 110:1,2; Isaiah 9:6,7; Luke 1:32; Jeremiah 23:5; Daniel 7:13,14; Hebrews 1:2,6.
Jesus is son of the Most High Yahweh. He is not the Most High Yahweh.
Genesis 14:22; Psalm 7:17; 83:18; 92:1; Luke 1:32; John 13:16.
Jesus is anointed [made christ, the anointed one] by Yahweh. He is not Yahweh who thus anoints him.
Psalm 2:2; 45:7; Isaiah 61:1; Acts 2:36.
Yahweh speaks to Jesus. Jesus is not Yahweh who speaks to him.
Psalm 2:7,8; 110:1; Matthew 22:41-45.
Jesus is the servant of Yahweh; he is not Yahweh whom he serves.
Isaiah 42:1; 53:11; Matthew 12:18; John 13:16; Acts 4:27,30
Jesus is given the power of life in himself from Yahweh. Jesus is not Yahweh who gives him this power.
1 Samuel 2:6; Psalm 36:9; John 5:21,25-29.
Yahweh [the Father] is the only Most High. Jesus is not the Most High Yahweh who is his Father.
Deuteronomy 4:35,39; Psalm 2:7; 83:18; Luke 1:32; John 10:29; 17:1,3; Hebrews 1:5; Revelation 5:7
Yahweh appoints and gives Jesus authority as judge and to judge in his [Yahweh's] stead. Jesus is not Yahweh who gives this authority to him.
Isaiah 11:1-4; 42:1; John 5:22,23,27-30; Acts 17:31.
Jesus is never described as the father of Jesus, and Yahweh is never described as the son of Yahweh. The term "everlasting father" refers to Jesus' role toward mankind that he purchased, and of whom he has become father as the second or "last Adam." (Romans 5:15-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22,45,47; Psalm 45:16). Jesus came in the name of Yahweh his Father. (Deuteronomy 18:15,18; Matthew 23:39; Mark 11:9,10; Luke 13:35; John 3:2,17; 5:19,43; 6:57; 7:16,28; 8:26,28,38; 10:25; 12:49,50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8,26; Hebrews 1:1,2; Revelation 1:1) Yahweh never came in the name of any other than himself, thus since there is none higher, he swore by himself. -- Hebrews 6:13
Jesus' role as Mighty EL refers to the power and authority given to him by the Mighty EL that is mightier than he, the only true Supreme Being, Yahweh. -- Psalm 2:2,7,8; 110:1,2; Isaiah 9:6,7; 61:1; Luke 1:32; Jeremiah 23:5; Daniel 7:13,14; John 17:1,3; Acts 2:36; Hebrews 1:2,6.
No scripture says that Jesus was God Almighty in the flesh, although possessing the mighty power of Yahweh as did Moses, he could be referred to as God (ELOHIM, THEOS) in a manner similar to Moses. (Exodus 7:1; Deuteronomy 18:15,18; Acts 3:18-22) Neither in the case of Moses nor Jesus does this make either of them into God Almighty who gives them their power and authority.
[This document is presented by Restoration Light Bible Study Services, P.O. Box 2360, Philadelphia, PA 19142. Permission is given to duplicate this document in its entirety, including this statement, for not-for-profit usage in Bible studies and general distribution.][[Special note, Much of Restoration Light Bible Study Service for this article came from, Paul S. L. Johnson's book, Creation, pages 51-53. Now a brief Background of Paul S. L. Johnson: Paul S. L. Johnson graduated from from Capital University in Columbus, OH on May 25, 1898. He won the valedictory and also the highest honors ever given in the history of that university. He also graduated from the Theological Seminary of the Ohio Synod of the Lutheran Church. He was thoroughly educated in both Hebrew and Greek; this gave him the skills necessary to understand the Bible from the original languages. He had been taught in the seminary the doctrine of eternal torture of those not saved; through his studies of the Bible itself he came to understand that a God of perfect, wisdom, justice, power and love, would not, could not, punish his enemies with such a punishment as eternal roasting. He also came to see the Hebraic viewpoint of God, as opposed to the trinitarian or oneness views.]][[[Restoration's article was used as no reason to go to Johnson's works and re-invent the wheel]]]
COMMENTARIES ON ISAIAH 44:6 BY RENOWN SCHOLARS:
By Theodore Beza:
44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; f I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and besides me [there is] no God.
(f) I am always like myself, that is, merciful toward my Church, and most able to maintain it, as in (Isaiah 41:4,48:12; Revelation 1:17,22:13). [Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Isaiah 44". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible", 1600-1645.]
By A.R. Faussett, A.M.:.
6. Here follows an argument for Jehovah, as the only God, and against the idols, as vanity [Fausset, A. R., A.M. "Commentary on Isaiah 44". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible", 1871]
By Matthew Henry:
Chapter 44
God, by the prophet, goes on in this chapter, as before, I. To encourage his people with the assurance of great blessings he had in store for them at their return out of captivity, and those typical of much greater which the gospel church, his spiritual Israel, should partake of in the days of the Messiah; and hereby he proves himself to be God alone against all pretenders (v. 1-. II. To expose the sottishness and amazing folly of idol-makers and idol-worshippers (v. 9-20). III. To ratify and confirm the assurances he had given to his people of those great blessings, and to raise their joyful and believing expectations of them (v. 21-2.
Verses 1-8 Two great truths are abundantly made out in these verses:- I. That the people of God are a happy people, especially upon account of the covenant that is between them and God. The people of Israel were so as a figure of the gospel Israel. Three things complete their happiness:- 1. The covenant-relations wherein they stand to God, v. 1, 2. Israel is here called Jeshurun-the upright one; for those only, like Nathanael, are Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile, and those only shall have the everlasting benefit of these promises. Jacob and Israel had been represented, in the close of the foregoing chapter, as very provoking and obnoxious to God's wrath, and already given to the curse and to reproaches; but, as if God's bowels yearned towards him and his repentings were kindled together, mercy steps in with a non-obstante-notwithstanding, to all these quarrels: "Yet now, hear, O Jacob my servant! thou and I will be friends again for all this.'' God had said (ch. 43:25), I am he that blotteth out thy transgression, which is the only thing that creates this distance; and when that is taken away the streams of mercy run again in their former channel. The pardon of sin is the inlet of all the other blessings of the covenant. So and so I will do for them, says God (Heb. 8:12), for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. Therefore hear, O Jacob! hear these comfortable words; therefore fear not, O Jacob! fear not thy troubles, for by the pardon of sin the property of them too is altered. Now the relations wherein they stand to him are very encouraging. (1.) They are his servants; and those that serve him he will own and stand by and see that they be not wronged. (2.) They are his chosen, and he will abide by his choice; he knows those that are his, and those whom he has chosen he takes under special protection. (3.) They are his creatures. He made them, and brought them into being; he formed them, and cast them into shape; he began betimes with them, for he formed them from the womb; and therefore he will help them over their difficulties and help them in their services. 2. The covenant-blessings which he has secured to them and theirs, v. 3, 4. (1.) Those that are sensible of their spiritual wants, and the insufficiency of the creature to supply them, shall have abundant satisfaction in God: I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, that thirsts after righteousness; he shall be filled. Water shall be poured out to those who truly desire spiritual blessings above all the delights of sense. (2.) Those that are barren as the dry ground shall be watered with the grace of God, with floods of that grace, and God will himself give the increase. If the ground be ever so dry, God has floods of grace to water it with. (3.) The water God will pour out is his Spirit (Jn. 7:39), which God will pour out without measure upon the seed, that is, Christ (Gal. 3:16), and by measure upon all the seed of the faithful, upon all the praying wrestling seed of Jacob, Lu. 11:13. This is the great New-Testament promise, that God, having sent his servant Christ, and upheld him, will send his Spirit to uphold us. (4.) This gift of the Holy Ghost is the great blessing God had reserved the plentiful effusion of for the latter days: I will pour my Spirit, that is, my blessing; for where God gives his Spirit he will give all other blessings. (5.) This is reserved for the seed and offspring of the church; for so the covenant of grace runs: I will be a God to thee and to thy seed. To all who are thus made to partake of the privileges of adoption God will give the spirit of adoption. (6.) Hereby there shall be a great increase of the church. Thus it shall be spread to distant places. Thus it shall be propagated and perpetuated to after-times: They shall spring up and grow as fast as willows by the watercourses, and in every thing that is virtuous and praiseworthy shall be eminent and excel all about them, as the willows overtop the grass among which they grow, v. 4. Note, It is a great happiness to the church, and a great pleasure to good men, to see the rising generation hopeful and promising. And it will be so if God pour his Spirit upon them, that blessing, that blessing of blessings. 3. The consent they cheerfully give to their part of the covenant, v. 5. When the Jews returned out of captivity they renewed their covenant with God (Jer. 50:5), particularly that they would have no more to do with idols, Hos. 14:2, 3, 8. Backsliders must thus repent and do their first works. Many of those that were without did at that time join themselves to them, invited by that glorious appearance of God for them, Zec. 8:23; Esth. 8:17. And they say, We are the Lord's and call themselves by the name of Jacob; for there was one law, one covenant, for the stranger and for those that were born in the land. And doubtless it looks further yet, to the conversion of the Gentiles, and the multitudes of them who, upon the effusion of the Spirit, after Christ's ascension, should be joined to the Lord and added to the church. These converts are one and another, very many, of different ranks and nations, and all welcome to God, Col. 3:11. When one does it another shall by his example be invited to do it, and then another; thus the zeal of one may provoke many. (1.) They shall resign themselves to God: not one in the name of the rest, but every one for himself shall say, "I am the Lord's; he has an incontestable right to rule me, and I submit to him, to all his commands, to all his disposal. I am, and will be, his only, his wholly, his for ever, will be for his interests, will be for his praise; living and dying I will be his.'' (2.) They shall incorporate themselves with the people of God, call themselves by the name of Jacob, forgetting their own people and their fathers' house, and desirous to wear the character and livery of God's family. They shall love all God's people, shall associate with them, give them the right hand of fellowship, espouse their cause, seek the good of the church in general and of all the particular members of it, and be willing to take their lot with them in all conditions. (3.) They shall do this very solemnly. Some of them shall subscribe with their hand unto the Lord, as, for the confirming of a bargain, a man sets his hand to it, and delivers it as his act and deed. The more express we are in our covenanting with God the better, Ex. 24:7; Jos. 24:26, 27; Neh. 9:38. Fast bind, fast find. II. That, as the Israel of God are a happy people, so the God of Israel is a great God, and he is God alone. This also, as the former, speaks abundant satisfaction to all that trust in him, v. 6-8. Observe here, to God's glory and our comfort, 1. That the God we trust in is a God of incontestable sovereignty and irresistible power. He is the Lord, [b]Jehovah, self-existent and self-sufficient; and he is the Lord of hosts, of all the hosts of heaven and earth, of angels and men. 2. That he stands in relation to, and has a particular concern for, his church. He is the King of Israel and his Redeemer; therefore his Redeemer because his King; and those that take God for their King shall have him for their Redeemer. When God would assert himself God alone he proclaims himself Israel's God, that his people may be encouraged both to adhere to him and to triumph in him. 3. That he is eternal- the first and the last. He is God from everlasting, before the worlds were, and will be so to everlasting, when the world shall be no more. If there were not a God to create, nothing would ever have been; and, if there were not a God to uphold, all would soon come to nothing again. He is all in all, is the first cause, from whom are all things, and the last end, to and for whom are all things (Rom. 11:36), the Alpha and the Omega, Rev. 1:11. 4. That he is God alone (v. 6): Besides me there is no God. Is there a God besides me? v. 8. We will appeal to the greatest scholars. Did they ever in all their reading meet with any other? To those that have had the largest acquaintance with the world. Did they ever meet with any other? There are gods many (1 Co. 8:5, 6), called gods, and counterfeit gods: but is there any besides our God that is infinite and eternal, any besides him that is the creator of the world and the protector and benefactor of the whole creation, any besides him that can do that for their worshippers which he can and will do for his? "You are my witnesses. I have been a nonsuch to you. You have tried other gods; have you found any of them all-sufficient to you, or any of them like me? Yea, there is no god,'' no rock (so the word is), none besides Jehovah that can be a rock for a foundation to build on, a rock for shelter to flee to. God is the rock, and their rock is not as ours, Deu. 32:4, 31. I know not any; as if he had said, "I never met with any that offered to stand in competition with me, or that durst bring their pretensions to a fair trial; if I did know of any that could befriend you better than I can, I would recommend you to them; but I know not any.'' There is no God besides Jehovah. He is infinite, and therefore there can be no other; he is all-sufficient, and therefore there needs no other. This is designed for the confirming of the hopes of God's people in the promise of their deliverance out of Babylon, and, in order to that, for the curing of them of their idolatry; when the affliction had done its work it should be removed. They are reminded of the first and great article of their creed, that the Lord their God is one Lord, Deu. 6:4. And therefore, (1.) They needed not to hope in any other god. Those on whom the sun shines need neither moon nor stars, nor the light of their own fire. (2.) They needed not to fear any other god. Their own God was more able to do them good than all the false and counterfeit gods of their enemies were to do
them hurt. 5. That none besides could foretel these things to come, which God now by his prophet gave notice of to the world, above 200 years before they came to pass (v. 7): "Who, as I, shall call, shall call Cyrus to Babylon? Is there any but God that can call effectually, and has every creature, every heart, at his beck? Who shall declare it, how it shall be, and by whom, as I do?'' Nay, God goes further; he not only sees it in order, as having the foreknowledge of it, but sets it in order, as having the sole management and direction of it. Can any other pretend to this? He has always set things in order according to the counsel of his own will, ever since he appointed the ancient people, the people of Israel, who could give a truer and fuller account of the antiquities of their own nation than any other kingdom in the world could give of theirs. Ever since he appointed that people to be his peculiar people his providence was particularly conversant about them, and he told them beforehand the events that should occur respecting them-their bondage in Egypt, their deliverance from it, and their settlement in Canaan. All was set in order in the divine predictions as well as in the divine purposes. Could any other have done so? Would any other have been so far concerned for them? He challenges the pretenders to show the things that shall come hereafter: "Let them, if they can, tell us the name of the man that shall destroy Babylon ad deliver Israel? Nay, if they cannot pretend to tell us the things that shall come hereafter, let them tell us the things that are coming, that are nigh at hand and at the door. Let them tell us what shall come to pass to-morrow; but they cannot do that; fear them not therefore, nor be afraid of them. What harm can they do you? What hindrance can they give to your deliverance, when I have told thee it shall be accomplished in its season, and I have solemnly declared it?'' Note, Those who have the word of God's promise to depend upon need not be afraid of any adverse powers or policies whatsoever. [Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Isaiah 44". "Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole," 1706]
By Reverand R.A. Torrey:
Torrey's Topical Textbook under God
None beside him Deuteronomy 4:35; Isaiah 44:6. [Torrey, R.A., Reverand. "Entry for 'God'". "The New Topical Text Book", 1897]
Easton's Bible Dictionary by M.G. Easton, M.A., D.D."
God [N] [T] [S]
(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El , from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim . The singular form, Eloah , is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Psalms 14:1).
The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are:
? The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason.
? The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are,
(a) The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause.
(b) The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature.
(c) The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth."
The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in Exodus 34:6,7. (see also Deuteronomy 6:4; 10:17; Numbers 16:22; Exodus 15:11; 33:19; Isaiah 44:6; Habakkuk 3:6; Psalms 102:26; Job 34:12.) They are also systematically classified in Revelation 5:12 and 7:12. [M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, 1897.]
CONCLUSION:
As can readily be seen from the foregoing, Isaiah 44:6 applies to God (YHWH) alone and not to his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) who acts as his agent and has after his assertion been given authority over all except his Father (YHWH) as clearly testified to at 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then [cometh] the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all." (ASV). Especially note verse 27, "For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. " which clearly shows the Father (YHWH) and the Son, Jesus (Yeshua) as two distinct beings, with one being subject to the other; hence no co-equality. Therefore, no Trinity, Duality, or Modulism; ther are thus proved to be false doctrines of men
in keeping with 2 Corinthians 4:4, "in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]." (ASV)
THIS VOL 800B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND , WHY DID JESUS DIE? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] HERE IS DATA ON THE HIBISCUS SPP., MALLOW - ROSE [4] WAS IT DESIGNED? WE ARE DESIGNED TO LIVE, [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] THE DESIGN OF LIFE, IS THERE AN OVERALL DESIGN TO LIFE? EVERY LIVING THING IS HARMONIOUSLY INTERCONNECTED WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS AROUND IT, [7] RIDICULOUS ACTIVITY BY HUMAN BEINGS.
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, [3] VIDEO - What does it mean to freely forgive? , AND [3] THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES.Hibiscus spp., With the Scripture of the Day first.
[2[ SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [800B]
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (Authorized King James Bible; AV)
Now what kind of faith will please Almighty God (YHWH)? FIRST, we must believe that he is. How could we possibly please Almighty God (YHWH) if we doubted his existence? SECOND, Yet genuine faity involves more, for even the deamons believe that He exist (James 2:19). As James 2:20 and 26 states, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” and “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” [AV]. Clearly our belief should drive us to action. THIRD, We must believe that Almighty God (YHWH) is the rewarder. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 [AV]
Now whom does Almighty God (YHWH) reward? Those who are earnestly seeking him. Now how does He reward them? Revelation 21:3-4 states, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” [AV] .
[3] Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Hibiscus spp., Mallow - Rose
Abundance: very rare
What: flowers, leaves, seeds, seed pods, roots
How: flowers raw, young leaves raw or cooked, seeds roasted. Tender seed pods are cooked. Roots are diced then roasted.
Where: sunny areas, often used in landscaping
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: Flowers high in antioxidants; seeds are high in protein & starch; leaves high in minerals; roots contain starch.
Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus palustris) plants grow up to five feet tall.
Rose mallows are usually found in moist, sunny areas but on occasion they can be found in shady, moist areas, too.
The seeds can be roasted then ground in a coffee grinder for use as a substitute for real coffee. It tastes pretty good, though does not have any caffeine.
Young tender leaves can be cooked like spinach but I find them a bit too rough/stiff to use raw. The flowers are good raw or added to tea. The tender, young flower buds and seed pods can be used like okra, either friend, pickled, or added to Cajun and African foods. The flowers work well in salads. [sourc - retrieved from http://www.foragingtexas.com/2012/06/mallow-rose.html on 1/19/2016]
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV) [for more details, go to www.jw.org].
THIS VOL 801B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND READ ABOUT A LOST BIBLE TRANSLATION REDISCOVERED, [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO 2 TIMOTHY, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DOES THE APOSTLE THOMAS' EXCLAMATION AT JOHN 20:28 PROVE THAT JESUS IS TRULY GOD (YHWH)? [4] STRATEGIES FOR HAPPINESS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? [5] A TALKING VIDEO OF IS TRUTH IMPORTANT ANY MORE? [6] CAN PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS CREATE A PEACEFUL WORLD? [7] WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT NUCLEAR WAR?
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3} DOES THE APOSTLE THOMAS' EXCLAMATION AT JOHN 20:28 PROVE THAT JESUS IS TRULY GOD (YHWH)?
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [801A]
When, now, they had breakfasted, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him: “Yes, Lord, you know I have affection for you.” He said to him: “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15) [New World Translation Revised; NWTR]
John was a successful fisherman and the these were referring to the fish his group caught daily; whereas, his lambs were individuals that were interested in scriptural truths and better knowing Almighty God (YHWH), Jesus’ Father and his purpose for mankind. The importance of having John and the other apostles feed these spiritual truths was further emphasized at John 21:16 through 17 as follows, “Again he said to him, a second time: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him: “Yes, Lord, you know I have affection for you.” He said to him: “Shepherd my little sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time: “Simon son of John, do you have affection for me?” Peter became grieved that he said to him the third time: “Do you have affection for me?” So he said to him: “Lord, you know all things; you are aware that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him: “Feed my little sheep.” So Jesus wanted Simon Peter to be a fisherman of members of mankind that wanted to please their heavenly Father (YHWH); instead of fishing for fish,” [NWTR]
[3] DOES THE APOSTLE THOMAS' EXCLAMATION AT JOHN 20:28 PROVE THAT JESUS IS TRULY GOD (YHWH)?
Let's reason together on John 20:27-29, " then he saith to Thomas, 'Bring thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring thy hand, and put it to my side, and become not unbelieving, but believing.' 28 And Thomas answered and said to him, 'My Lord and my God;' 29 Jesus saith to him, 'Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed; happy those not having seen, and having believed.'" (Young's Literal Translation; YLT).
There is no objection to referring to Jesus (Yeshua) as "god," if this is what Thomas had in mind at his startlement. Such would be in harmony with Jesus' (Yeshua's) own quotation from the Psalms in which powerful men, judges, were addressed as "gods," per John 10:33-35, " The 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. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;" (Authorized King James Version; AV); and at Psalms 82:1-6, " <<A Psalm of Asaph.>> God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods. 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked? [[Selah] 3 Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 ¶ I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High."(American Standard Version; ASV). Of course, Christ occupies a position far higher than such men. Because of the uniqueness of his position in relation to God Almighty (YHWH), as shown at John 1:18, " No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (ASV), Jesus (yeshua) is referred to as "the only-begotten god." Isaiah 9:6 also prophetically describes jesus (Yeshua) as "Mighty God," but not as the Almighty God (YHWH). All of this in in harmony with Jesus' (Yeshua's) being described as "a god," or "divine," at John 1:1, for details for those interested, (It should be noted that the text itself shows that the Word "was with God," therefore as previously stated could NOT be God. Additionally, the word for 'god' (Gr., the-os) in its second occurrence in the verse is significantly without the definite article 'the' (Gr. , ho) . Ernst Haenchen, in a commentary of the Gospel of John, stated: "(the-os') and (ho the-os') ('god, divine' and 'the God') were not the same thing in this period in keeping with what Dr. J. J. Griesbach stated in his writings. Thus only the Father (YHWH) was 'God' (ho the-os') as in John 17:3, "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, `even' Jesus Christ." (ASV); here, the Son was subordinate to him, a fact Jesus (Yeshua) himself testified to at John 14:28, "Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I." (ASV). Remember in Jewish and Christian monotheism it is quite acceptable to speak of divine beings that existed alongside and under God (YHWh), but were not identical with him as shown at Philippians 2:6-10, "who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient `even' unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of `things' in heaven and `things' on earth and `things' under the earth," (ASV). In this passage the Apostle Paul delineates just such a divine being, the obedient Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua). Therefore, in both Philippians and John 1:1 it is not a matter of a dialectical relationship between two-in-one, but of a personal union of two entities. [source of paraphrase, John, translated by R. W. Funk, 1984, Page 109-110].
How examples of some Bible translators who did not have bias translated: "When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the word was." [Note, to conserve space only the last part of the scripture as rendered will be given for the many translations to follow] "and the Word was a divine being." "La Bible du Centenaire" by L'Evangile selon Jean, by Maurice Goguel, "and the Word was divine." The Bible-An American Translation by J. M. P. Smith and E. J. Goodspeed, "and of a divine kind was the Word." "and a god (or, of a divine kind) was the Word." Das Neue Testament, by Ludwig Thimme, "and the Word was a God." The New Testament by James L. Tomanek, "Das Evangelium nach Johannes" Siegfried Schulz, "Das Evangelium nach Johannes" by Johannes Schneider, Das Evangelium nach Johannes" by Jurgen Becker Harwood, "what God was,the Word was" by J. Moffatt, "the Logos was divine" Translator's NT, "The Word was with God and shared his nature" Barclay NT, "what God was, the Word was" Scholar's Version, "The Divine word and wisdom was there with God, and it was what God was" Madsen, "the Word was a divine Being" Becker, "ein Gott war das Logos" [a God/god was the Logos/logos]" Stage, "Das Wort war selbst gttlichen Wesens" [The Word/word was itself a divine Being/being]" Bhmer, "Es war fest mit Gott verbunden, ja selbst gttlichen Wesens" [It was strongly linked to God, yes itself divine Being/being]" Thimme, "Gott von Art war das Wort" [God of Kind/kind was the Word/word] Baumgarten et al, "Gott (von Art) war der Logos" [God (of Kind/kind) was the Logos/logos] Holzmann, "ein Gott war der Gedanke" [a God/god was the Thought/thought] Rittenlmeyer, "selbst ein Gott war das Wort" [itself a God/god was the Word/word] Lyder Brun (Norw. professor of NT theology), "Ordet var av guddomsart" [the Word was of divine kind] Pffflin, "war von gttlicher Wucht [was of divine Kind/kind] Albrecht, "gttlichen Wesen hatte das Wort" [godlike Being/being had the Word/word] Smit, "verdensordet var et guddommelig vesen" [the word of the world was a divine being] Menge, "Gott (- gttlichen Wesens) war das Wort"[God(-godlike Being/being) was the Word/word) Haenchen, "Gott (von Art) war der Logos" [God (of Kind/kind) was the Logos/logos] Die Bibel in heutigem Deutsch, "r war bei Gott und in allem Gott gleich"[He was with God and in all like God] Haenchen (tr. By R. Funk), "divine (of the category divinity)was the Logos" Schultz, "And the word was a god" - The New Testament in An Improved Version, Upon the Basis of Achbishop Newcome's New Translation: With a Corrected Text, "and a god was the Word" - The Emphatic Diaglott, by Benjamin Wilson, "And the Word was a god" - New World Translation, "He was the same as God" - Today's English Version. We notice that these Bibles do not translate John 1:1 with the simple expression "The Word was God" like most Bibles do. Why is that? The footnote to John 1:1 in The New American Bible states the following reason: "Was God: lack of a definite article with "God" in Greek signifies predication rather than identification." What the footnote is saying is that first time "God" appears in the verse, "was with God", there is a definite article before God so it literally reads "was with THE God". The second time God appears, "was God," there is no definite article (the). This signifies "God" may be used as a predicate and not as an identification. Regarding this fact, the Anchor Bible states: "To preserve in English the different nuance of theos [god] with and without the article, some (Moffat) would translate 'The Word was divine.'"
[for those wishing to do further research on the subject, the following references are highly recommended: The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound by Anthony F. Buzzard and Charles F. Hunting, "The Two Babylons" by Rev. Alexander Hilsop, "The Great Debate Regarding The Father, Son & Holy Spirit" by Roger Wagner, "Jesus-God or the Son of God?" by Brian Holt- www.tellway-publishing.com, "The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation" by Rolf Furuli-one Of the two greatest living Koine Greek experts, "The Religious Life of Ancient Rome: A Study in the Development of Religious Consciousness, from the Foundation of the City Until the Death of Gregory the Great." Carter, Jesse Benedict, New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1972; David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, 1566 A.D.; hector3000.future.easyspa...ermans.htm , "The Origin of the Trinity: From Paganism to Constantine." By Cher-El L Hagensick, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity", James Parkes-1960, "Caesar and Christ" check page 595,(Lamson, Newton & Durant cited from Charles Redeker, To Us there is One God, June 1978); "The Paganism in Our Christianity" by Historian Arthur Weigall, "Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is a monotheism can believe anything." "The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition" (100-600). Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1971. Vol. 1 of "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine." 5 vols. By Robert A. Heinlein; Pelikan, Jaroslav, "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private: Published by the Order of the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, From the Original Manuscripts, Deposited in the Department of State, with explanatory notes, by the editor, H.A. Washington." 9 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Maury, 1853-1854); now if you doubt anything I have written with respect "Contention With Regard A Myth." Now some Discourses by Iris the Preacher you can use to do research: Discourse on Mainstream Religion, Westminister Confession an Example of Twisting by Use of Heremeneutic Methodology to Back Up a Myth/False Doctrine, Discourse on Colossians 2:8-12, Documentary on the Book of John Being Anti-Trinitarian, Discourse on Constructs Used to Translate John 1:1, Discourse on the Great Deceit, Paul and the Trinity, Discourse on Philippians 2:1-16,; And one by my husband, Discourse on John 1:1 & Appendix. Now please go check the facts, I have given you sufficient research sources.]) [source - "Documentary on Our Savior Jesus (Yeshua)," by Iris the Preacher, 2004].
The contest helps us to draw the right conclusion from all this. Shortly before Jesus' (Yeshua's) death, Thomas had heard Jesus" (Yeshua's) prayer in which he addressed his Father (YHWH) as "the only true God" at John 17:1-5, " When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, 2 since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. 4 I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do; 5 and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made. " (Revised Standard Version: RSV). After recording what Thomas said when he actually saw and touched the resurrected Christ, the Apostle John stated at John 20:31, " but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." (RSV). So, if anyone has concluded from Thomas' exclamation that Jesus (Yeshua) is himself "the only true God" or that Jesus (Yeshua) is a Trinitarian "God the Son," he needs to look again at what Jesus (Yeshua) said at John 20:17, " Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." (RSV), and at the conclusion previously quoted that clearly states the situation and at John 5:19, "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner."(ASV) where Jesus (Yeshua) clearly testifies that he, the Son, can "do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing" which leaves no doubt that Jesus (Yeshua) and Jehovah (YHWH), the Father (YHWH) are indeed two separate individuals.
One individual once said, "Some have a problem dealing with what is written concerning the Son and the fact that the NT writers call Him God, Paul calling Him the GREAT God and Savior." which is an incorrect statement meant to cover the fact of their own error; the fact is that the New Testament writers NEVER referred to Jesus (Yeshua) as Almighty God (YHWH), but as the Son of God (YHWH) in over 40 different places. However, some translators mistranslated, for example John 1:1, to make it seem like he was God (YHWH), but a close examination of their mistranslation of John 1:1 clearly shows there is a definite problem as their mistranslation creates an impossible situation. Let's look at John 1:1 and see why this is the case, "In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God." (Douay Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB). Now this first says [in the first part of the translational construct] that the "Word was with God," and then [in the second part of the translational construct] that the "Word was God." Obviously you CAN NOT BE BOTH WITH SOMEONE AND BE THAT SOMEONE. This is both impossible and absolutely ridiculas at the same time, and this all the more so when you consider John 1:2, "The same was in the beginning with God." (DRCB).
Thus you can easily see there is something very wrong with this translation and it could IN NO WAY be the thoughts of the original writer, and of course you would be correct. But now what were the thoughts of the original writer? The New English Bible (NEB) captures the thoughts of the original writer as follows for John 1:1-3, "When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was. The Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through him all things came to be; no single thing was created without him." (The New English Bible; NEB) or in the translation by the renown American translator, An American Translation," by Dr. Edgar J. Goodspeed - transltr, J. M. Powis Smith - transltr. Publisher: University of Chicago Press, "IN THE beginning the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was divine. It was he that was with God in the beginning. Everything came into existence through him, and apart from him nothing came to be." (An American Translation; AAT). Both clearly showing that he was what his father was a diety or divine; but clearly not on the same level with his Father (YHWH) since as he himself said at John 14:28, " You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I." (DRCB); thus no violation of Exodus 20:3 against polytheism, "Thou shalt not have strange gods before me." (DRCB). And as God's (YHWH's) he showed where worship should be directed in Matthew 4:10 when he was giving an answer to the Devil on worship and to whom it should be given, "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." (American Standard Version; ASV), and this is in keeping with Isaiah 42:8, "I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images." (ASV). Jesus (Yeshua) even showed that his own glory was subordinate to his Father's (YHWH's) and dependent on his Father (YHWH) at John 17:1-5, "These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the son may glorify thee: 2 even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. 3 And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, [even] Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (ASV). So we can clearly see that Jesus (Yeshua) and His Father (YHWH) must be two separate and distinct individuals as there is NO POSSIBLE WAY THEY COULD BE ONE INDIVIDUAL, since one is dependent on the other for his power, this being the Son, Jesus (Yeshua) who is dependent on his Father (YHWH) who is greater than he is.
THIS VOL 802B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND THE EARTH IS BEING RUINED—WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO TITUS, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON TITUS 2:11-13: [4] BENJAMIN BOOTHROYD—A SELF-TAUGHT BIBLE SCHOLAR, [5] DOES GOD HAVE A NAME? [6] ELIAS HUTTER AND HIS REMARKABLE HEBREW BIBLES, [7] WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT NUCLEAR WAR?
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3} DISCOURSE ON TITUS 2:11-13:
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [802B]
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:2, (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB).
Violence by false religions actually prove what the Bible says at 2 Corinthians 2:11, “That we be not overreached by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his devices.” Warning all to not become doers of wrong according to the will of Satan, and Satan keeps disguising himself and has been successful in misleading all the religious leaders of false religion and this is highlighted at, 2Co 11:14 “And no wonder: for Satan himself transformeth himself into an angel of light., “ So all should change their life around and stop following Satan as noted at, Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a lot among the saints, by the faith that is in me.” (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB).
“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:11-13 King James Bible - AV)
This set of scripture, Titus 2:11 -13, has proven difficult for some to develop an accurate understanding of its significance and its purpose. The significance and meaning will be brought out by excerpts from many world renown commentators on the Bible and by myself:
VERSE 11: Let’s start with Verse 11 with a scriptural quote from three different well known translations of the Bible:
“11 Who must be reproved, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.” (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, DHRC)
“11 ¶ For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men,” (American Standard Version – ASV)
“11 Whose mouths must needs be stopped, men who are upsetting whole houses, teaching the things which ought not to be taught—for the sake of base gain.” (Rothrham)
Verse 11. For the grace of God. The favour of God, shown to the undeserving "Ro 1:7".
That bringeth salvation. Marg., to all men, hath appeared. That is, in the margin, "the grace which brings salvation to all men has been revealed." The marginal reading is most in accordance with the Greek, though it will bear either construction. If that which is in the text be adopted, it means that the plan of salvation has been revealed to all classes of men; that is, that it is announced or revealed to all the race that they may be saved. Comp. "Col 1:23". If the other rendering be adopted, it means that that plan was fitted to secure the salvation of all men; that none were excluded from the offer; that provision had been made for all, and all might come and be saved. Whichever interpretation be adopted, the sense here will not be essentially varied. It is, that the gospel was adapted to man as man, and therefore might include servants as well as masters; subjects, as well as kings; the poor, as well as the rich; the ignorant, as well as the learned. See "1Ti 2:1,2"; "Ac 17:26". (B)
This scripture, “11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” makes clear that Almighty God (YHWH) has seen it proper to have his Son, Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves), to bring salvation to all those with a right heart condition through his plan of salvation. (I)
Titus 2:11 {5} For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
(5) The eighth admonition belongs to all the godly: seeing that God calls all men to the Gospel, and Christ has so justified us, that he has also sanctified us, all of us must therefore give ourselves to true godliness, and righteousness, setting before us a sure hope of that immeasurable glory. And this thing must be so learned by them that the deniers also must be reproved, by the authority of the mighty God. (G)
#Tit 2:11-15
Hath appeared to all men. The divine favor shown forth in the gospel of salvation is for all men, servants as well as masters. (BJ)
VERSE 12: Now, Let’s consider Verse 12 with a scriptural quote from three different well known translations of the Bible:
“12 A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said—‘Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!’” (Youngs Bible Translation, YLT)
“12 instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world;” (ASV)
“12 One of them a prophet of their own, said: The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies.” (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
Verse 12. Teaching us. That is the "grace of God" so teaches us; or that system of religion which is a manifestation of the grace of God, inculcates the great and important duties which Paul proceeds to state.
That denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. "That by denying ourselves of these, or refusing to practise them, we should lead a holy life." The word ungodliness, here means all that would be included under the word impiety; that is, all failure in the performance of our proper duties towards God. "Ro 1:18". The phrase "worldly lusts," refers to all improper desires pertaining to this life—the desire of wealth, pleasure, honour, sensual indulgence. It refers to such passions as the men of this world are prone to, and would include all those things which cannot be indulged in with a proper reference to the world to come. The gross passions would be of course included, and all those more re- fined pleasures also which constitute the characteristic and peculiar enjoyments of those who do not live unto God.
We should live soberly. See the word soberly (swfronwv) explained "Tit 2:2", "Tit 2:4". It means that we should exercise a due restraint on our passions and propensities.
Righteously. Justly. This refers to the proper performance of our duties to our fellowmen; and it means that religion teaches us to perform those duties with fidelity, according to all our relations in life; to all our promises and contracts; to our fellow-citizens and neighbours; to the poor, and needy, and ignorant, and oppressed; and to all those who are providentially placed in our way who need our kind offices.
Justice to them would lead us to act as we would wish that they would towards us.
And godly. Piously; that is, in the faithful performance of our duties to God. We have here, then, an epitome of all that religion requires:
(1.) Our duty to ourselves—included in the word "soberly," and requiring a suitable control over our evil propensities and passions;
(2.) our duty to our fellow-men in all the relations we sustain in life; and
(3.) our duty to God—evinced in what will be properly regarded as a pious life. He that does these things, meets all the responsibilities of his condition and relations; and the Christian system, requiring the faithful performance of these duties, shows how admirably it is adapted to man.
In this present world. That is, as long as we shall continue in it. These are the duties which we owe in the present life. (B)
Here is revealed a universal truth about Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) principles and laws for mankind to live by “ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” (Romans 1:18 AV); therefore it is imperative that all genuine Christians live a godly life paying heed to the laws and principles of the Father (YHWH) and not believing in God dishonoring dogma. Such as the Father (YHWH) and the Son, Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves) are co-equal when the Bible clearly says: “ Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28 AV) and “ And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28 AV). (I)
2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and {d} worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
(d) Lusts of the flesh, which belong to the present state of this life and world.
2:13 {e} Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
(e) Christ is here most plainly called that mighty God, and his appearance and coming is called by the figure of speech metonymy, our hope. (G)
#Tit 2:12
Teaching us. We are taught in this system of grace that we must deny ourselves all sinful lusts, and live godly lives. (BJ)
VERSE 13: Now, Let’s consider Verse 13 with a scriptural quote from three different well known translations of the Bible:
“ Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:13 AV)
“13 Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13 Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, DRCB)
“13 Prepared to welcome the happy hope and forthshining of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Christ Jesus,” (Titus 2:13, Rothrham)
Here Jesus is referred to as a great God, but not the Almighty God (YHWH) and no wonder when Jesus even said to humans:
“29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The 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.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” (John 10:29-36 AV); a God being here used as someone higher than one’s self, but who were the human opposers the superior ones to? Well let’s investigate the order of subordination starting with Almighty God (YHWH) as the supreme one “ But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3, AV). This is made even clearer by Albert Barnes in his “Barnes New Testament notes set, ALBERT BARNES. PHILADELPHIA, August 25th, 1832” when he states, “(3.) That the expectation of Christians was directed to the advent of the ascended Saviour, not to the appearing of God as such.” In addition, he noted, that this scripture has led to much discussion, “. The doctrine there is, that God will be manifest in his Son; that the Divine approach to our world will be through him to judge the race; and that though he will be accompanied with the appropriate symbols of the Divinity, yet it will be the Son of God who will be visible. No one, accustomed to Paul’s views, can well doubt that when he used this language he had his eye throughout on the Son of God, and that he expected no other manifestation than what would be made through him. (3.) That the expectation of Christians was directed to the advent of the ascended Saviour, not to the appearing of God as such. This sense has been vindicated by the labours of Beza, Whitby, Bull, Matthaei, and Middleton, (on the Greek article,) and is the common interpretation of those who claim to be orthodox.” Therefore, this scripture clearly shows that in heaven Jesus (Jeshua or JHWH saves) and his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) are two distinct entities with the Father being the superior one and the Son being the subordinate that will appear figuratively in the clouds at the end times. None of the early Christians ever took this scripture to mean that Almighty God himself would appear, but only the Son, Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves) would appear. He, Albert Barnes, went on to say, “(1.) that no plain reader of the New Testament, accustomed to the common language there, would have any doubt that the apostle referred here to the coming of the Lord Jesus.” Once more making it clear which individual spirit being he was talking about. So here we learn that in one sense the term a God can be applied to Jesus, but not in the sense of placing him on the same level or position of power with his Father (YHWH). Since as he himself said “ Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (John 5:19, AV) and that while existing in a spirit form the same as Almighty God (YHWH) “5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11, AV), we clearly see that “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name,” so he truly is second only to his Father (YHWH) in heaven where he is figuratively spoken as “ Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” (1 Peter 3:22, AV). (I)
Verse 13. Looking for. Expecting; waiting for. That is, in the faithful performance of our duties to ourselves, to our fellow-creatures, and to God, we are patiently to wait for the coming of our Lord.
(1.) We are to believe that he will return;
(2.) we are to be in a posture of expectation, not knowing when he will come; and
(3.) we are to be ready for him whenever he shall come. "Mt 24:42", seq. "1Th 5:4"; "Php 3:20".
That blessed hope. The fulfillment of that hope so full of blessedness to us.
Of the great God. There can be little doubt, if any, that by "the great God" here, the apostle referred to the Lord Jesus, for it is not a doctrine of the New Testament that God himself as such, or in contradistinction from his incarnate Son, will appear at the last day. It is said, indeed, that the Saviour will come "in the glory of his Father with his angels," (#Mt 16:27,) but that God as such will appear, is not taught in the Bible. The doctrine there is, that God will be manifest in his Son; that the Divine approach to our world will be through him to judge the race; and that though he will be accompanied with the appropriate symbols of the Divinity, yet it will be the Son of God who will be visible. No one, accustomed to Paul’s views, can well doubt that when he used this language he had his eye throughout on the Son of God, and that he expected no other manifestation than what would be made through him. (3.) That the expectation of Christians was directed to the advent of the ascended Saviour, not to the appearing of God as such. This sense has been vindicated by the labours of Beza, Whitby, Bull, Matthaei, and Middleton, (on the Greek article,) and is the common interpretation of those who claim to be orthodox. See Bloomfield, Rec. Syn., and Notes, in loc. He contends that the meaning is, "the glorious appearance of that GREAT BEING who is our GOD AND SAVIOUR." The arguments for this opinion are well summed up by Bloomfield. Without going into a critical examination of this passage, which would not be in accordance with the design of these Notes, it may be remarked in general,
(1.) that no plain reader of the New Testament, accustomed to the common language there, would have any doubt that the apostle referred here to the coming of the Lord Jesus.
(2.) That the "coming" of God, as such, is not spoken of in this manner in the New Testament.
(3.) That the expectation of Christians was directed to the advent of the ascended Saviour, not to the appearing of God as such.
(4.) That this is just such language as one would use who believed that the Lord Jesus is Divine, or that the name God might properly be applied to him.
(5.) That it would naturally and obviously convey the idea that he was Divine, to one who had no theory to defend.
(6.) That if the apostle did not mean this, he used such language as was fitted to lead men into error. And
(7.) that the fair construction of the Greek here, according to the application of the most rigid rules, abundantly sustains the interpretation which the plain reader of the New Testament would affix to it. The names above referred to are abundant proof that no violation is done to the rules of the Greek language by this interpretation, but rather that the fair construction of the original demands it. If this be so, then this furnishes an important proof of the divinity of Christ.
Looking for—with constant expectation (so the Greek) and with joy (#Ro 8:19). This will prove the antidote to worldly lusts, and the stimulus to "live in this present world" conformably to this expectation. The Greek is translated, "waiting for," in #Lu 2:25.
that—Greek, " the."
blessed—bringing blessedness (#Ro 4:7,.
hope—that is, object of hope (#Ro 8:24 Ga 5:5 Col 1:5).
the glorious appearing—There is but one Greek article to both "hope" and "appearing," which marks their close connection (the hope being about to be realized only at the appearing of Christ). Translate, "The blessed hope and manifestation (compare Note, see JFB on "Tit 2:11") of the glory." The Greek for "manifestation" is translated "brightness" in #2Th 2:8. As His "coming" (Greek, " parousia") expresses the fact; so "brightness, appearing," or "manifestation" (epiphaneia) expresses His personal visibility when He shall come.
the great God and our Saviour Jesus—There is but one Greek article to "God" and "Saviour," which shows that both are predicated of one and the same Being. "Of Him who is at once the great God and our Saviour." Also (2) "appearing" (epiphaneia) is never by Paul predicated of God the Father (#Joh 1:18 1Ti 6:16), or even of "His glory" (as ALFORD explains it): it is invariably applied to CHRIST’S coming, to which (at His first advent, compare #2Ti 1:10) the kindred verb "appeared" (epephanee), #Tit 2:11, refers (#1Ti 6:14 2Ti 4:1,. Also (3) in the context (#Tit 2:14) there is no reference to the Father, but to Christ alone; and here there is no occasion for reference to the Father in the exigencies of the context. Also (4) the expression "great God," as applied to Christ, is in accordance with the context, which refers to the glory of His appearing; just as "the true God" is predicated of Christ, #1Jo 5:20. The phrase occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but often in the Old Testament. #De 7:21 10:17, predicated of Jehovah, who, as their manifested Lord, led the Israelites through the wilderness, doubtless the Second Person in the Trinity. Believers now look for the manifestation of His glory, inasmuch as they shall share in it. Even the Socinian explanation, making "the great God" to be the Father, " our Saviour," the Son, places God and Christ on an equal relation to "the glory" of the future appearing: a fact incompatible with the notion that Christ is not divine; indeed it would be blasphemy so to couple any mere created being with God. (J)
#Tit 2:13
Looking for. The attitude of Christians is that of waiting in expectation of the fulfillment of a glorious hope. Compare #1Co 1:7 Php 3:20 _ 1Th 1:9. (BJ)
Bibliography:
(B) - Barnes New Testament notes set, ALBERT BARNES. PHILADELPHIA, August 25th, 1832.
(BJ) - PNT - Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on John 15". "People's New Testament”, 1891
(G) - Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on John 15". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible”, 1600-1645.
(I) – Iris the Preacher (Iris89) A.G.S.
(J) - Brown, David, D.D. "Commentary on John 15". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible". 1871.]
THIS VOL 803B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND HOW GOD’S WORD WAS WRITTEN DOWN [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILEMON, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON TITUS 2:11-13: [4] AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT SUPPORTS GOD’S NAME, [5] DOES GOD HAVE A NAME? [6] WHO IS JEHOVAH? [7] SHOULD THE NAME JEHOVAH APPEAR IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3] DISCOURSE ON MATTHEW 4:1 – 4.
[2] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [803B]
God is faithful, by whom YOU were called into a sharing with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I exhort YOU, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that YOU should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among YOU, but that YOU may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought. 1 Corinthians 1:9-10, [New World Translation Revised: NWTR] .
Jesus (Yeshu) Christ always worked in union with his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), and all genuine true followers of His should speak in agreement as shown by “because I have not spoken out of my own impulse, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to tell and what to speak. 50 Also, I know that his commandment means everlasting life. Therefore the things I speak, just as the Father has told me [them], so I speak [them].” (John 12:49-50)[NWTR]. This speaking and being in agreement was clearly shown in what Jesus said right before his execution, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me out of this hour. Nevertheless, this is why I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Therefore a voice came out of heaven: “I both glorified [it] and will glorify [it] again.”’ (John 12:27-2[NWTR] .
We all should seek unity in faith as shown “until we all attain to the oneness in the faith and in the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ;” (Ephesians 4:13)[NWTR] . But some do not seek unity as shown by “wanting to be teachers of law, but not perceiving either the things they are saying or the things about which they are making strong assertions.” (1Timothy 1:7)[NWTR]. Be ye not like these ones spoken of at 1 Timothy 1:7.
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” [{Matthew 4:1-4, AV, Authorized King James Bible]
Now a comment on that scripture by a renown Bible commentator:
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Savior of the world, he was tempted; treat privileges, and special tokens of Divine favour, will not secure any from being tempted. But if the Holy Spirit witness to our being adopted as children of God, that will answer all the suggestions of the evil spirit.-Christ was directed to the combat. If we presume upon our own strength, and tempt the devil to tempt us, we provoke God to leave us to ourselves. Others are tempted, when drawn aside of their own lust, and enticed, James 1:14; but our Lord Jesus had no corrupt nature, therefore he was tempted only by the devil. In the temptation of Christ it appears that our enemy is subtle, spiteful, and very daring; but he can be resisted. It is a comfort to us that Christ suffered, being tempted; for thus it appears that out temptations, if not yielded to, are not sins, they are afflictions only. Satan aimed in all his temptations, to bring Christ to sin against God.-He tempted him to despair of his Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care concerning him. It is one of the wiles of Satan to take advantage of our outward condition; and those who brought into straits have need to double their guard. Christ answered all the temptations of Satan with "It is written;" to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the Scriptures. This method we must take, when at any time we are tempted to sin. Let us learn not to take any wrong course for our supply, when our wants are ever so pressing: in some way or other the Lord will provide.-[Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, page 677]
Now we noted in all the above Scripture it calls Jesus Christ (Yeshua) the Son of God; interesting since for if the Trinity was true, it would read God the Son instead of the Son of God. Since it reads the same in every translation I know of except one "feminists" biased Bible, where it reads Daughter of God which I am sure none of you would agree with. Therefore, it is self evident that Jesus is God's (YHWH) son and not God the Son as would be technically necessary for the trinity to be true. The commentator brought out this truth clearly when he said "He tempted him to despair of his Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care concerning him."
THIS VOL 805B - (1) INTERESTING SOURCE FOR READING THE BIBLE ON LINE AND CAN WE REALLY FIND GOD? [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY, A LINK TO A DATA SERIES ON MANY SUBJECTS, AN INTRODUCTION TO JAMES, AND A BIBLE STUDY, [3] DISCOURSE ON MATTHEW 4:6 [4] THE ABILITY OF CELLS TO SPECIALIZE—WAS IT DESIGNED? [5] THE HUMMINGBIRD’S TONGUE WAS IT THE SOUND OF SONGBIRDS—WAS IT DESIGNED? [6] THE SOUND OF SONGBIRDS—WAS IT DESIGNED? [7] SHOULD THE NAME JEHOVAH APPEAR IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
(1B) WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN?
w.org/en/library/series/more-topics/what-it-means-to-be-a-christian/
COMBINATION OF [2] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [3} DISCOURSE ON MATTHEW 4:6
[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [805B]
Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.1 Thessalonians 5:3, [New World Translation Revised; NWTR]
The word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible likens the world’s destruction to the onset of labor – the mother’s pain is inevitable and comes suddenly. The time leading up to the end is also like a pregnancy, for an expectant mother is aware of ever-increasing signs of the coming birth. Her doctor might estimate the birth date, yet, even if the event should delay; she would still be sure that her baby will soon be born. Similarly, any mistaken expectations about the end do not alter the unmistakable features identifying these as “But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.”, 2 Timothy 3:1, [NWTR].
However, if the sign that we are near the end is so obvious, you might ask, why do so many people fail to recognize it? The Bible shows that when the end is near, many will belittle the evidence. Rather than acknowledge the fundamental changes during the last days, they would scoff; “For YOU know this first, that in the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires 4 and saying: “Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep [in death], all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.” 2 Peter 3:3-4, NWTR]. In other words the sign of the last days is clear, but many will ignore per Matthew 24:38-39, “For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; 39 and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” [NWTR]
Matthew 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [Authorized King James, AV]
Now a comment on that scripture by a renown Bible commentator:
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God--As this temptation starts with the same point as the first--our Lord's determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship--it seems to us clear that the one came directly after the other; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope of carrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon a desperate venture, we think that remaining temptation is thus shown to be the last; as will appear still more when we come to it.
cast thyself down--"from hence" (Luke 4:9).
for it is written--(Psalms 91:11,12). "But what is this I see?" exclaims stately BISHOP HALL. "Satan himself with a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!" Doubtless the tempter, having felt the power of God's Word in the former temptation, was eager to try the effect of it from his own mouth (2 Corinthians 11:14).
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands--rather, "on their hands."
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone--The quotation is, precisely as it stands in the Hebrew and the Septuagint, save that after the first clause the words, "to keep thee in all thy ways," are here omitted. Not a few good expositors have thought that this omission was intentional, to conceal the fact that this would not have been one of "His ways," that is, of duty. But as our Lord's reply makes no allusion to this, but seizes on the great principle involved in the promise quoted, so when we look at the promise itself, it is plain that the sense of it is precisely the same whether the clause in question be inserted or not.. [Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary, 1871]
Now we noted in all the above Scripture the Devil said to Jesus Christ (Yeshua) that he was the Son of God; interesting since for if the Trinity was true, it would have read God the Son instead of the Son of God. However, the Devil clearly used the term "Son of God" clearly showing he knew there was no Trinity, but a Father (YHWH) and Son, Jesus (Yeshua) relationship. In fact, the temptation of the Son, Jesus (Yeshua), clearly would have made no sense whatsoever if the son had just been a different manifestation of God (YHWH) as taught by Trinitarians. Also, note, the writer of the commentary, the renown scholar Jameison-Faussett-Brown clearly stated, "As this temptation starts with the same point as the first--our Lord's determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship." Since it reads the same in every translation I know of except one "feminists" biased Bible, where it reads Daughter of God which I am sure none of you would agree with. Therefore, it is self evident that Jesus is God's (YHWH's) son and not God the Son as would be technically necessary for the trinity to be true.
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. Not merely a spiritual reign in the sense in which He is "our righteousness," but a righteous reign "in the earth" (Jeremiah 3:17,1