I had a very interesting dream last night about the Great Tribulation. Yes, yes, I know that I said I was going to focus on Jesus over the next few days and/or weeks, but this was just too, what, eerie? not to share. I warn you, though, I have very, very vivid and detailed dreams. This is no exception. In fact, as an author, I find much of my inspiration from my detailed dreams.
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It started out with my wife yelling at me to come up front. I ran to see what she wanted but all she could do was look at the television. This irritated me a little in the dream but I finally hear the ominous words that had made her scream--the United Nations, backed by the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia, had unanimously passed a bill banning all forms of religion!
Within minutes of this startling turn of events, my phone rang. It was the Coordinator of the Body of Elders, asking for all the Elders and Ministerial Servants to meet at his house, seeing as the Kingdom Hall had been cordoned off.
After arriving at his house, (I rode with my grandfather who lives very close) we were each handed a video entitled, Then There Will Be Great Tribulation based off of Jesus' words at Matthew 24:21-22, and a book entitled, The War of the Great Day of God the Almighty based off of Revelation 16:14. We were given specific instructions not to open the book until we had watched the video after arriving home.
Well, this was interrupted by a knock at the door. When the Coordinator of the Body of Elders opened the door, three policemen came walking in. First they told him that some neighbors called the police because a Jehovah's Witness neighbor had about ten cars pull up within a ten minute period. Then they pushed the C.B.E. and handcuffed him, while the rest of us scattered, video and book in hand.
I, along with five other younger brothers, ran out the back to jump the fence. Brother Marcus, Brother Terry, Brother Matt, Brother Chris, and myself jumped the fence. Brother S.B. was about to get over the fence when a police officer dragged him back down. The rest of the older brothers, including my grandfather, didn't even have a chance and were carted off.
Brother Terry ran one direction towards his home, Brothers Marcus and Chris ran in the direction of their homes, and Brother Matt and myself ran in another direction. I don't know what happened to the others.
Upon arriving home, Brother Matt, my wife, and I grabbed my Bible's (all thirty-two translations!)and Society publications and threw them in the back of my car. I had Brother Matt get my grandmother while my wife and I loaded up other essentials.
After my grandmother got a few things, we drove in the direction of Brother Matt's house (which I've never seen), a few miles away.
Upon arriving at his house (it was his house in the dream but in real life is the house of his in-laws), we sealed up my Bible's and publications and buried them in the back in the woods. After that, we decided to split up.
Brother Matt, his wife, his sister-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, mother and father, were going to be in one group, while my wife and grandmother drove about a mile to the house of some other sisters.
After hugs and goodbyes, we drove to the house of Brother and Sister Mike and Brenda. Sister Brenda was the only one there, Brother Mike hadn't made it home from work yet. We got her and drove to the house of Sister Lorraine, Sister Christina, and Sister Maribel. We watched the short video which started out with the words, "This video was specially prepared to aid mature brothers and sisters through the coming weeks, months, or years of the Great Tribulation. Unfortunately, the Bible is quiet on this subject and so this video cannot answer every situation that comes up. Please review it carefully and prayerfully."
After the video, we opened the book. Under the inside title cover it said, "We pray that you opened this book after viewing the included video. This was the first test of the Great Tribulation that would test loyalty to Jehovah." I cannot recall the contents of the video or book.
After immediately completely video, the doorbell rang. Sister Lorraine opened the door and a young police officer stepped in. The rest of us were out of his point-of-view.
"Hello," he said, "are you miss Lorraine ______?"
"Yes."
"We have on our records that you were affiliated with Jehovah's Witnesses."
"Correct."
"Earlier today, we broke up an illegal meeting of leaders in the local Jehovah's Witness congregation."
"What?! Was anyone hurt?"
"No. We apprehended seven older men as well as two younger men. We suspect that there were more then that but many got away."
"Well, good!"
"Have you spoken to any of them? Perhaps a Mr. Terry ______, Mr. Shawn ______, Mr. Matt ______,..." His voice trailed off in my dream.
"If I had, I wouldn't divulge that information."
"Miss ______, I am obligated to search your house, I ask politely but can detain you and search it."
Sister Lorraine sighed, defeated, and stepped out of the way. The young police officer walked in and saw all of us sitting in the living room. He then turned off his walkie-talkie and said, "My grandmother was one of Jehovah's Witnesses and always told me that religion would be banned, signaling the start of the Great Tribulation. I never believed her until now. What can I do?"
I cannot remember the ensuing conversation but we did rip out a couple of pages of the Psalms, Isaiah, and John for him and watched as he folded them and hid them in his shoe. He said that the house of Miss Lorraine ______ was clean and left.
After he closed the door, we heard a knock at the back. Sister Maribel looked out and then opened it. Brother Mike stepped in. He told us that he drove by his own house and saw police officers at the door and decided to come here. We let him watch the video and read the booklet...
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At this point, my dog woke me up sneezing. After falling back to sleep, the dream continued, the events taking place later in the day. I will continue it later.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Concerning the Messiah
Below are select Scriptures that describe Jesus Christ, who he was, what he did, and the awesome authority given him by God. The Apostles quoted different Scriptures to prove who the Messiah was so I have included the Scriptures that they quoted so you can get a better idea of what they had in mind as they wrote these letters.
John 1
In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.
What has come into existence by means of him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light is shining in the darkness, but the darkness has not overpowered it.
There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John. This man came for a witness, in order to bear witness about the light, that people of all sorts might believe through him. He was not that light, but he was meant to bear witness about that light.
The true light that gives light to every sort of man was about to come into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him. He came to his own home, but his own people did not take him in. However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.
So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth. (John bore witness about him, yes, he actually cried out—this was the one who said it—saying: "The one coming behind me has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me.") For we all received from out of his fullness, even undeserved kindness upon undeserved kindness. Because the Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.
Hebrews 1
God, who long ago spoke on many occasions and in many ways to our forefathers by means of the prophets, has at the end of these days spoken to us by means of a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things. He is the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power; and after he had made a purification for our sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places. So he has become better than the angels, to the extent that he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs.
For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: "You are my son; I, today, I have become your father"? (Psalm 2:7) And again: "I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son"? (2 Samuel 7:14) But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: "And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him."-Deuteronomy 32:43, Greek Septuagint
Also, with reference to the angels he says: "And he makes his angels spirits, and his public servants a flame of fire." (Psalm 104:4) But with reference to the Son: "God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your partners." (Psalm 45:6-7) And: "You at the beginning, O Lord, laid the foundations of the earth itself, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They themselves will perish, but you yourself are to remain continually; and just like an outer garment they will all grow old, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as an outer garment; and they will be changed, but you are the same, and your years will never run out."-Psalm 102:25-27
But with reference to which one of the angels has he ever said: "Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet"? (Psalm 110:1) Are they not all spirits for public service, sent forth to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?
Hebrews 2
For it is not to angels that he has subjected the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking. But a certain witness has given proof somewhere, saying: "What is man that you keep him in mind, or the son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than angels; with glory and honor you crowned him, and appointed him over the works of your hands. All things you subjected under his feet." (Psalm 8:4-6) For in that he subjected all things to him God left nothing that is not subject to him. Now, though, we do not yet see all things in subjection to him; but we behold Jesus, who has been made a little lower than angels, crowned with glory and honor for having suffered death, that he by God’s undeserved kindness might taste death for every man.
For it was fitting for the one for whose sake all things are and through whom all things are, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Chief Agent of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified all stem from one, and for this cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers," as he says: "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the middle of the congregation I will praise you with song." (Psalm 22:22) And again: "I will have my trust in him." (Isaiah 8:17) And again: "Look! I and the young children, whom Jehovah gave me."-Isaiah 8:18
Therefore, since the "young children" are sharers of blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of the same things, that through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil; and that he might emancipate all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives. For he is really not assisting angels at all, but he is assisting Abraham’s seed. Consequently he was obliged to become like his "brothers" in all respects, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, in order to offer propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered when being put to the test, he is able to come to the aid of those who are being put to the test.
1 Peter 2
Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, you yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is contained in Scripture: "Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment."-Isaiah 28:16
It is to you, therefore, that he is precious, because you are believers; but to those not believing, "the identical stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," (Psalm 118:22) and "a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense." (Isaiah 8:14) These are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word. To this very end they were also appointed. But you are "a chosen race (Deuteronomy 7:6), a royal priesthood, a holy nation (Exodus 19:6), a people for special possession (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6), that you should declare abroad the excellencies (Isaiah 43:21)" of the one that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. For you were once not a people, but are now God’s people; you were those who had not been shown mercy, but are now those who have been shown mercy.
In fact, to this course you were called, because even Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely. He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. When he was being reviled, he did not go reviling in return. When he was suffering, he did not go threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one who judges righteously. He himself bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness. And "by his stripes you were healed." (Isaiah 53:5) For you were like sheep, going astray; but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.
What has come into existence by means of him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light is shining in the darkness, but the darkness has not overpowered it.
There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John. This man came for a witness, in order to bear witness about the light, that people of all sorts might believe through him. He was not that light, but he was meant to bear witness about that light.
The true light that gives light to every sort of man was about to come into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him. He came to his own home, but his own people did not take him in. However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.
So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth. (John bore witness about him, yes, he actually cried out—this was the one who said it—saying: "The one coming behind me has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me.") For we all received from out of his fullness, even undeserved kindness upon undeserved kindness. Because the Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.
God, who long ago spoke on many occasions and in many ways to our forefathers by means of the prophets, has at the end of these days spoken to us by means of a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things. He is the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power; and after he had made a purification for our sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places. So he has become better than the angels, to the extent that he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs.
For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: "You are my son; I, today, I have become your father"? (Psalm 2:7) And again: "I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son"? (2 Samuel 7:14) But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: "And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him."-Deuteronomy 32:43, Greek Septuagint
Also, with reference to the angels he says: "And he makes his angels spirits, and his public servants a flame of fire." (Psalm 104:4) But with reference to the Son: "God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your partners." (Psalm 45:6-7) And: "You at the beginning, O Lord, laid the foundations of the earth itself, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They themselves will perish, but you yourself are to remain continually; and just like an outer garment they will all grow old, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as an outer garment; and they will be changed, but you are the same, and your years will never run out."-Psalm 102:25-27
But with reference to which one of the angels has he ever said: "Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet"? (Psalm 110:1) Are they not all spirits for public service, sent forth to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?
For it is not to angels that he has subjected the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking. But a certain witness has given proof somewhere, saying: "What is man that you keep him in mind, or the son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than angels; with glory and honor you crowned him, and appointed him over the works of your hands. All things you subjected under his feet." (Psalm 8:4-6) For in that he subjected all things to him God left nothing that is not subject to him. Now, though, we do not yet see all things in subjection to him; but we behold Jesus, who has been made a little lower than angels, crowned with glory and honor for having suffered death, that he by God’s undeserved kindness might taste death for every man.
For it was fitting for the one for whose sake all things are and through whom all things are, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Chief Agent of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified all stem from one, and for this cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers," as he says: "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the middle of the congregation I will praise you with song." (Psalm 22:22) And again: "I will have my trust in him." (Isaiah 8:17) And again: "Look! I and the young children, whom Jehovah gave me."-Isaiah 8:18
Therefore, since the "young children" are sharers of blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of the same things, that through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil; and that he might emancipate all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives. For he is really not assisting angels at all, but he is assisting Abraham’s seed. Consequently he was obliged to become like his "brothers" in all respects, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, in order to offer propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered when being put to the test, he is able to come to the aid of those who are being put to the test.
Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, you yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is contained in Scripture: "Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment."-Isaiah 28:16
It is to you, therefore, that he is precious, because you are believers; but to those not believing, "the identical stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," (Psalm 118:22) and "a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense." (Isaiah 8:14) These are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word. To this very end they were also appointed. But you are "a chosen race (Deuteronomy 7:6), a royal priesthood, a holy nation (Exodus 19:6), a people for special possession (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6), that you should declare abroad the excellencies (Isaiah 43:21)" of the one that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. For you were once not a people, but are now God’s people; you were those who had not been shown mercy, but are now those who have been shown mercy.
In fact, to this course you were called, because even Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely. He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. When he was being reviled, he did not go reviling in return. When he was suffering, he did not go threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one who judges righteously. He himself bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness. And "by his stripes you were healed." (Isaiah 53:5) For you were like sheep, going astray; but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
The Messiah in the Psalms
Long before Jesus Christ ever lived, before that name was ever uttered, his life course was laid out for all to see. Holy prophets, such as King David, were inspired to write some of the things that Jesus Christ would do and the things that would happen to him.
All throughout the Psalms, the experiences of the Messiah are clearly visible for all to see. The pain of his death, the shock of his betrayal--the joy of his resurrection and gaining of his Kingdom.
One thing that has to be remembered, is that many times the Psalms are written about humans and their experiences, but oftentimes, these foreshadow someone greater. Let us look at one example of this.
"You Will Not Allow Your Loyal One to See the Pit"
The superscription over Psalm 16 says that this was written by King David. He uses the first person (I, Me, My) throughout but these do not apply to him completely. One verse in particular says, "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol. You will not allow your loyal one to see the pit." (Psalm 16:10) About a Millennium later, the Apostle Peter, one of the Messiah's best friends quotes this Psalm, saying, "God resurrected him by loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to continue to be held fast by it. For David says respecting him...,'you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your loyal one to see corruption'"
Peter admits that David was not speaking of himself, but of the coming Messiah. To drive the point home, he continues by saying, "It is allowable to speak with freeness of speech to you concerning the family head David, that he both deceased and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day. Therefore, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one from the fruitage of his loins upon his throne, he saw beforehand and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he forsaken in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption."-Acts 2:29-31
No one could deny that King David was dead and ample time had passed for his body to decay. And since David was a prophet, this could not be a false prophecy. How was it fulfilled? Peter said that it was explaining that the Messiah would be resurrected and not forsaken in Hades. Is this what happened?
"This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses. Therefore because he was exalted to the right hand of God and received the promised holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out this which you see and hear. Actually David did not ascend to the heavens, but he himself says, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet."' Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled." (Acts 2:32-36) Yes, Jehovah God resurrected Jesus the Nazarene, Jesus the Messiah--Jesus Christ! Yet, Peter alludes to another prophecy. Let us look at that.
"Sit At My Right Hand
"The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is: 'Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1) This Scripture prophecy is quoted or alluded to more times then any other Scripture--between 20 and 25 times in total! What does this Scripture mean?
After Jesus died, he was resurrected three days later. Forty days after that, he went to heaven where first he presented his shed blood to Jehovah God and then he "sat down on the right of the Majesty in lofty places." (Hebrews 1:3) For nearly two thousand years, Jesus Christ was right there next to Jehovah God. One disciple, Stephen, even saw this in a vision. It went like this, "But [Stephen], being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand, and he said: 'Look! I behold the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.'" (Acts 7:55-56) So, according to the Psalms, Jesus died, was resurrected, and sat down at the right hand of God.
"Go Subduing In the Midst of Your Enemies"
Amazingly, the prophecy at Psalm 110 was not finished. At Psalm 110:2 Jehovah continues, "The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, saying: 'Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.'" (Psalm 110:2) After the alloted time, Jesus Christ was to leave his spot at Jehovah's right hand and "go subduing." This was further expounded upon at Revelation 12. We read, "A great sign was seen in heaven, a woman...cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth...And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne."-Revelation 12:1-2, 5
What happened immediately after Jesus received his Kingdom? "War broke out in heaven: Michael* and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him." (Revelation 12:7-9) Immediately after Jesus received the kingdom, he went to war with Satan the Devil and threw him to earth from Heaven. Yes, he went subduing in the midst of his enemies! All of this was fulfilled in 1914.
When it comes to this subject, we can find out a lot more by reading Psalm 2. Part of this Psalm had a fulfillment at Jesus' death. Let us see what the Bible has to say about this.
"The Kings of the Earth Take Their Stand"
The writer of Psalm 2, King David, wrote this prophecy. It says, "Why have the nations been in tumult and the national groups themselves kept muttering an empty thing? The kings of earth take their stand and high officials themselves have massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one, saying: 'Let us tear their bands apart and cast their cords away from us!' (Psalm 2:1-3) This had a fulfillment in the first-century at the death of Jesus Christ.
These Scriptures are explained to us in a prayer recorded in the book of Acts, "Sovereign Lord, you are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, and who through holy spirit said by the mouth of our forefather David, your servant, 'Why did nations become tumultuous and peoples meditate upon empty things? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one.' Even so, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with men of nations and with peoples of Israel were in actuality gathered together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed." (Acts 4:24-27) The prophecy at Psalm 2:1-3 was fulfilled at the death of the Messiah. The Jews screamed, "Impale! Impale him!", Pontius Pilate and King Herod both had a hand in putting him to death, Roman soldiers "spit into his face and hit him with their fists. Others slapped him in the face." Finally, even though they may not have had a hand in physically nailing him to the torture stake, they were all equally guilty.-Luke 23:11-12, 21; Matthew 26:67; 27:1, 26; Mark 15:25
None of these people, except perhaps Pontius Pilate, had any inkling that it wasn't just Jesus that they were fighting against, but his Father, Jehovah, too. It didn't matter. They were all guilty.
The second Psalm continues on. It says, (this is Jehovah speaking) "'I, even I, have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.' Let me refer to the decree of Jehovah; He has said to me: 'You are my son; I, today, I have become your father.' Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession. You will break them with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces'...Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed and you may not perish from the way, for his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him."-Psalm 2:6-9, 12
Remember, Jesus did not stay dead. After waiting at Jehovah's right hand, Jesus took Kingdom power. The nations will one day all belong to him. He will completely annihilate the kings from off the face of the earth. He "will break them...dash them to pieces". Only those who pay due honor to the Son will not have to face the wrath of Jehovah. The Second Psalm is very telling, although a little hard to understand.
The nations are one day going to try to fight against Jesus Christ at the Battle of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:11-14, 19-21) Jesus made it clear that they would not win. That will be the day when "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin...[This] kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [all nations that take a stand against Jesus at Armageddon], and it itself will stand to times indefinite."-Daniel 2:44
There is one other prophecy regarding the Messiah in the Psalms that has not been entirely fulfilled yet and is of striking interest.
"He Will Have Subjects From Sea to Sea"
The prophet Isaiah spoke of a coming paradise earth where he said, "And there must go forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse; and out of his roots a sprout will be fruitful. And upon him the spirit of Jehovah must settle down, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of mightiness, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah." (Isaiah 11:1-2) The Father of the Messiah, Jehovah God, is going to be with His Son as he rules all of mankind. Jehovah's holy spirit will help him to be the best ruler that has ever or will ever live on earth.
Under his rule, all of man will live in peace with animals--and each other. (Isaiah 11:6-9) Why not read the rest of the description of Jesus Christ at Isaiah 11:3-5? What a wonderful leader we will have! And just think, all of this will happen on the earth, as spoken of in Isaiah 11:9. The earth will undergo wonderful changes that will mean peace, joy, happiness, and health for all living there!
The last Psalm that we will look at, Psalm 72, continues this thought. Regarding the Messiah we read, "He will have subjects from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Before him the inhabitants of waterless regions will bow down, and his very enemies will lick the dust itself. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands--tribute they will pay. The kings of Sheba and of Seba--a gift they will present. And to him all the kings will prostrate themselves; all the nations, for their part, will serve him."-Psalm 72:8-11
First, Jesus Christ is going to bring all people into subjection to him at Armageddon when he finally returns. At that time, the changes to the earth will begin to take place. He will be a ruler that only has the best interest at heart for his subjects. We are told, "For he will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper. He will feel sorry for the lowly one and the poor one, and the souls of the poor ones he will save. From oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and their blood will be precious in his eyes." (Psalm 72:12-14) The personal interest that Jesus Christ will take in each individual under his care will be most comforting for all of us.
Then the scene sort of shifts from what Christ is going to do for each one of personally to what is going to happen on a world-wide basis. We read, "There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow. His fruit will be as in Lebanon, and those who are from the city will blossom like the vegetation of the earth." (Psalm 72:16) The days of malnutrition and poverty will be no more. Another Prophecy, Psalm 46, is speaking of this same time period. It adds, "He [Jehovah through Jesus] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire."-Psalm 46:9
Yes, days are coming when wars will cease and poverty will be no more. We will finally live to see the "new heavens and a new earth." (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13) In that day we will all cry out and say these words, "Look! This is our God. We have hoped in him, and he will save us. This is Jehovah. We have hoped in him. Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him."-Isaiah 25:9
We, as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses, cannot wait for that day to come. If you would like to have a firm hope for the future, namely, living in a day when Psalms 46 and 72 will become a reality as Psalms 2, 16, and 110 already have, then Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you! Yes, join with us as we truly honor both the Father and the Son.-John 5:23
All throughout the Psalms, the experiences of the Messiah are clearly visible for all to see. The pain of his death, the shock of his betrayal--the joy of his resurrection and gaining of his Kingdom.
One thing that has to be remembered, is that many times the Psalms are written about humans and their experiences, but oftentimes, these foreshadow someone greater. Let us look at one example of this.
The superscription over Psalm 16 says that this was written by King David. He uses the first person (I, Me, My) throughout but these do not apply to him completely. One verse in particular says, "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol. You will not allow your loyal one to see the pit." (Psalm 16:10) About a Millennium later, the Apostle Peter, one of the Messiah's best friends quotes this Psalm, saying, "God resurrected him by loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to continue to be held fast by it. For David says respecting him...,'you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your loyal one to see corruption'"
Peter admits that David was not speaking of himself, but of the coming Messiah. To drive the point home, he continues by saying, "It is allowable to speak with freeness of speech to you concerning the family head David, that he both deceased and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day. Therefore, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one from the fruitage of his loins upon his throne, he saw beforehand and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he forsaken in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption."-Acts 2:29-31
No one could deny that King David was dead and ample time had passed for his body to decay. And since David was a prophet, this could not be a false prophecy. How was it fulfilled? Peter said that it was explaining that the Messiah would be resurrected and not forsaken in Hades. Is this what happened?
"This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses. Therefore because he was exalted to the right hand of God and received the promised holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out this which you see and hear. Actually David did not ascend to the heavens, but he himself says, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet."' Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled." (Acts 2:32-36) Yes, Jehovah God resurrected Jesus the Nazarene, Jesus the Messiah--Jesus Christ! Yet, Peter alludes to another prophecy. Let us look at that.
"The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is: 'Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1) This Scripture prophecy is quoted or alluded to more times then any other Scripture--between 20 and 25 times in total! What does this Scripture mean?
After Jesus died, he was resurrected three days later. Forty days after that, he went to heaven where first he presented his shed blood to Jehovah God and then he "sat down on the right of the Majesty in lofty places." (Hebrews 1:3) For nearly two thousand years, Jesus Christ was right there next to Jehovah God. One disciple, Stephen, even saw this in a vision. It went like this, "But [Stephen], being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand, and he said: 'Look! I behold the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.'" (Acts 7:55-56) So, according to the Psalms, Jesus died, was resurrected, and sat down at the right hand of God.
Amazingly, the prophecy at Psalm 110 was not finished. At Psalm 110:2 Jehovah continues, "The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, saying: 'Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.'" (Psalm 110:2) After the alloted time, Jesus Christ was to leave his spot at Jehovah's right hand and "go subduing." This was further expounded upon at Revelation 12. We read, "A great sign was seen in heaven, a woman...cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth...And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne."-Revelation 12:1-2, 5
What happened immediately after Jesus received his Kingdom? "War broke out in heaven: Michael* and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him." (Revelation 12:7-9) Immediately after Jesus received the kingdom, he went to war with Satan the Devil and threw him to earth from Heaven. Yes, he went subduing in the midst of his enemies! All of this was fulfilled in 1914.
When it comes to this subject, we can find out a lot more by reading Psalm 2. Part of this Psalm had a fulfillment at Jesus' death. Let us see what the Bible has to say about this.
The writer of Psalm 2, King David, wrote this prophecy. It says, "Why have the nations been in tumult and the national groups themselves kept muttering an empty thing? The kings of earth take their stand and high officials themselves have massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one, saying: 'Let us tear their bands apart and cast their cords away from us!' (Psalm 2:1-3) This had a fulfillment in the first-century at the death of Jesus Christ.
These Scriptures are explained to us in a prayer recorded in the book of Acts, "Sovereign Lord, you are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, and who through holy spirit said by the mouth of our forefather David, your servant, 'Why did nations become tumultuous and peoples meditate upon empty things? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one.' Even so, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with men of nations and with peoples of Israel were in actuality gathered together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed." (Acts 4:24-27) The prophecy at Psalm 2:1-3 was fulfilled at the death of the Messiah. The Jews screamed, "Impale! Impale him!", Pontius Pilate and King Herod both had a hand in putting him to death, Roman soldiers "spit into his face and hit him with their fists. Others slapped him in the face." Finally, even though they may not have had a hand in physically nailing him to the torture stake, they were all equally guilty.-Luke 23:11-12, 21; Matthew 26:67; 27:1, 26; Mark 15:25
None of these people, except perhaps Pontius Pilate, had any inkling that it wasn't just Jesus that they were fighting against, but his Father, Jehovah, too. It didn't matter. They were all guilty.
The second Psalm continues on. It says, (this is Jehovah speaking) "'I, even I, have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.' Let me refer to the decree of Jehovah; He has said to me: 'You are my son; I, today, I have become your father.' Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession. You will break them with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces'...Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed and you may not perish from the way, for his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him."-Psalm 2:6-9, 12
Remember, Jesus did not stay dead. After waiting at Jehovah's right hand, Jesus took Kingdom power. The nations will one day all belong to him. He will completely annihilate the kings from off the face of the earth. He "will break them...dash them to pieces". Only those who pay due honor to the Son will not have to face the wrath of Jehovah. The Second Psalm is very telling, although a little hard to understand.
The nations are one day going to try to fight against Jesus Christ at the Battle of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:11-14, 19-21) Jesus made it clear that they would not win. That will be the day when "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin...[This] kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [all nations that take a stand against Jesus at Armageddon], and it itself will stand to times indefinite."-Daniel 2:44
There is one other prophecy regarding the Messiah in the Psalms that has not been entirely fulfilled yet and is of striking interest.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of a coming paradise earth where he said, "And there must go forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse; and out of his roots a sprout will be fruitful. And upon him the spirit of Jehovah must settle down, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of mightiness, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah." (Isaiah 11:1-2) The Father of the Messiah, Jehovah God, is going to be with His Son as he rules all of mankind. Jehovah's holy spirit will help him to be the best ruler that has ever or will ever live on earth.
Under his rule, all of man will live in peace with animals--and each other. (Isaiah 11:6-9) Why not read the rest of the description of Jesus Christ at Isaiah 11:3-5? What a wonderful leader we will have! And just think, all of this will happen on the earth, as spoken of in Isaiah 11:9. The earth will undergo wonderful changes that will mean peace, joy, happiness, and health for all living there!
The last Psalm that we will look at, Psalm 72, continues this thought. Regarding the Messiah we read, "He will have subjects from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Before him the inhabitants of waterless regions will bow down, and his very enemies will lick the dust itself. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands--tribute they will pay. The kings of Sheba and of Seba--a gift they will present. And to him all the kings will prostrate themselves; all the nations, for their part, will serve him."-Psalm 72:8-11
First, Jesus Christ is going to bring all people into subjection to him at Armageddon when he finally returns. At that time, the changes to the earth will begin to take place. He will be a ruler that only has the best interest at heart for his subjects. We are told, "For he will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper. He will feel sorry for the lowly one and the poor one, and the souls of the poor ones he will save. From oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and their blood will be precious in his eyes." (Psalm 72:12-14) The personal interest that Jesus Christ will take in each individual under his care will be most comforting for all of us.
Then the scene sort of shifts from what Christ is going to do for each one of personally to what is going to happen on a world-wide basis. We read, "There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow. His fruit will be as in Lebanon, and those who are from the city will blossom like the vegetation of the earth." (Psalm 72:16) The days of malnutrition and poverty will be no more. Another Prophecy, Psalm 46, is speaking of this same time period. It adds, "He [Jehovah through Jesus] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire."-Psalm 46:9
Yes, days are coming when wars will cease and poverty will be no more. We will finally live to see the "new heavens and a new earth." (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13) In that day we will all cry out and say these words, "Look! This is our God. We have hoped in him, and he will save us. This is Jehovah. We have hoped in him. Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him."-Isaiah 25:9
We, as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses, cannot wait for that day to come. If you would like to have a firm hope for the future, namely, living in a day when Psalms 46 and 72 will become a reality as Psalms 2, 16, and 110 already have, then Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you! Yes, join with us as we truly honor both the Father and the Son.-John 5:23
*Michael the Archangel is in fact Jesus Christ in his pre-human existence. For Biblical reasons for this, please see the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? pg. 218-19 and Reasoning from the Scriptures pg. 218, both published by Jehovah's Witnesses
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Did Jesus Have a Pre-human Existence?
That question may not make sense to many people. Of course Jesus had a pre-human existence! Doesn't the Bible clearly teach that? Evidently, it isn't as clear as was thought for there are many groups that teach that Jesus was not alive in heaven before coming to earth, among them Christadelphians, Restoration Fellowship, and others.
So, was Jesus alive in heaven before coming to earth?
John 1: The Word
"In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence." (John 1:1-3) The words of the Apostle John leave this subject open to very little debate. There are no other words that John could have used that made the matter clearer.
John tells us what the Word did while in Heaven. He goes on, "He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him." (John 1:10) We owe our very existence to Jehovah God, for if not for Him, using the Word as His Master Worker, (Proverbs 8:30) we would not be on earth today. For anyone to deny that Jesus was alive before he came to earth is to deny our existence. We live because God made us through Jesus Christ! To get around this, some may argue that the Word is not the Lord Jesus Christ!
John would not agree. He continues: "So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father." (John 1:14) The Word came to earth in the form of the man Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that someone came to earth from a pre-human existence. Who else would that be? The Scriptures do not say anyone else, besides the Word, came to earth. The Word had to have been Jesus. In fact, the book of Revelation reveals that he was.-Revelation 19:13
John 6:37-38: "I Have Come Down From Heaven"
More important then John's testimony, though, is the testimony of the Word, Jesus, himself. Jesus specifically said that he came down from heaven. "Everything the Father gives me will come to me, and the one that comes to me I will by no means drive away; because I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:37-28) This Scripture is clear and concise, with no room for argument. For anyone to try to make the claim, "Jesus said nothing of a prehuman existence" is dishonest--or at least made by somebody who does not know the Bible.
Micah 5:2: A Ruler From Early Times
There are many texts throughout the Bible that are prophetic of Jesus as ruler, including Genesis 49:10, Psalm 2:6, and Isaiah 9:6. However, there is one that reveals also is very telling on this subject. A well-known prophecy by the prophet Micah. He says, "And you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite."-Micah 5:2
This prophecy is normally used to show where the Messiah is going to be born. (Matthew 2:4-6; Luke 2:4; John 7:42) Interestingly, we can also tell from it that he is going to be a king and that he had a prehuman existence. This idea was not foreign to any of the Bible writers. One last title of Jesus* will show that it was a commonly held belief that Jesus was a spirit in heaven before his life on earth.
Colossians 1:15: Firstborn
Jesus is a created being. Both Paul and John testify to that. For example, Paul said of Jesus, "He is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation." (Colossians 1:15) Christ was the only thing created directly by God, all other things were created by Jehovah through Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus said of himself that he was the "beginning of the creation by God." (Revelation 3:14; Hebrews 1:2) He would know better then any human that he was alive in heaven before coming to earth. For anyone to say otherwise would be to contradict the sayings of our Lord and Savior.
John recorded Jesus as saying that he was the "only-begotten son" of the Father. (John 3:16) The Greek word for "only-begotten" is monogenes. Two Greek-English Lexicons say this of monogenes: "single of its kind, only" and another "the only member of a kin or kind."** Jesus is the only-begotten, the firstborn of all creation. There can be no denying that and all of its implications.
Genesis 1:26: "Let Us"
In the creation account, something that many don't notice are the words Jehovah used while creating man. He did not say "I will create man in my image" but, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) Many people point to this Scripture as proof of the false Trinity teaching. However, God was obviously speaking to someone else, not to Himself. Who was He speaking to? Obvious, His only Son, the Word, Jesus Christ.
One person made this argument: "If a friend of mine and I said that we were going to create a stature in our image but it only looked like me, then it would not be in our image, only mine." That would be true in most cases, but not concerning Jehovah and Jesus. Why? Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" and "the exact representation of his very being." (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) Jesus Christ was made in God's image and so we can be made in the image of Jehovah and Jesus.
Philippians 2:6-7: "He Emptied Himself"
This is the last Scripture that we will use in support of Jesus prehuman existence. It says, "Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and came to be in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7) It is very obvious when you open your mind and really look that Jesus was existing in God's form (as a spirit) but he emptied himself. Now, if Jesus had not been alive in heaven before coming to earth, how could he have emptied himself?
Another telling thing about this Scripture passage is the subject. The context reveals that the true subject is being humble enough to do God's will at all times, no matter what the task is. What good would Philippians 2:5-7 do to admonish humility if Jesus was not alive in heaven? It wouldn't mean anything at all. Christ had to have been alive before coming to earth! There is no way to explain these verses away.
When we study the Scriptures deeply, we come to thrilling conclusions that we may not have seen before. Jesus Christ was humble enough to give up everything he had before his human life and come to save sinful mankind. We owe our everlasting salvation to him. Let us never take away from his experience by denying that he lived before being transferred to Mary's womb and that he displayed humility to come here.
So, was Jesus alive in heaven before coming to earth?
"In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence." (John 1:1-3) The words of the Apostle John leave this subject open to very little debate. There are no other words that John could have used that made the matter clearer.
John tells us what the Word did while in Heaven. He goes on, "He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him." (John 1:10) We owe our very existence to Jehovah God, for if not for Him, using the Word as His Master Worker, (Proverbs 8:30) we would not be on earth today. For anyone to deny that Jesus was alive before he came to earth is to deny our existence. We live because God made us through Jesus Christ! To get around this, some may argue that the Word is not the Lord Jesus Christ!
John would not agree. He continues: "So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father." (John 1:14) The Word came to earth in the form of the man Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that someone came to earth from a pre-human existence. Who else would that be? The Scriptures do not say anyone else, besides the Word, came to earth. The Word had to have been Jesus. In fact, the book of Revelation reveals that he was.-Revelation 19:13
More important then John's testimony, though, is the testimony of the Word, Jesus, himself. Jesus specifically said that he came down from heaven. "Everything the Father gives me will come to me, and the one that comes to me I will by no means drive away; because I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:37-28) This Scripture is clear and concise, with no room for argument. For anyone to try to make the claim, "Jesus said nothing of a prehuman existence" is dishonest--or at least made by somebody who does not know the Bible.
There are many texts throughout the Bible that are prophetic of Jesus as ruler, including Genesis 49:10, Psalm 2:6, and Isaiah 9:6. However, there is one that reveals also is very telling on this subject. A well-known prophecy by the prophet Micah. He says, "And you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite."-Micah 5:2
This prophecy is normally used to show where the Messiah is going to be born. (Matthew 2:4-6; Luke 2:4; John 7:42) Interestingly, we can also tell from it that he is going to be a king and that he had a prehuman existence. This idea was not foreign to any of the Bible writers. One last title of Jesus* will show that it was a commonly held belief that Jesus was a spirit in heaven before his life on earth.
Jesus is a created being. Both Paul and John testify to that. For example, Paul said of Jesus, "He is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation." (Colossians 1:15) Christ was the only thing created directly by God, all other things were created by Jehovah through Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus said of himself that he was the "beginning of the creation by God." (Revelation 3:14; Hebrews 1:2) He would know better then any human that he was alive in heaven before coming to earth. For anyone to say otherwise would be to contradict the sayings of our Lord and Savior.
John recorded Jesus as saying that he was the "only-begotten son" of the Father. (John 3:16) The Greek word for "only-begotten" is monogenes. Two Greek-English Lexicons say this of monogenes: "single of its kind, only" and another "the only member of a kin or kind."** Jesus is the only-begotten, the firstborn of all creation. There can be no denying that and all of its implications.
In the creation account, something that many don't notice are the words Jehovah used while creating man. He did not say "I will create man in my image" but, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) Many people point to this Scripture as proof of the false Trinity teaching. However, God was obviously speaking to someone else, not to Himself. Who was He speaking to? Obvious, His only Son, the Word, Jesus Christ.
One person made this argument: "If a friend of mine and I said that we were going to create a stature in our image but it only looked like me, then it would not be in our image, only mine." That would be true in most cases, but not concerning Jehovah and Jesus. Why? Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" and "the exact representation of his very being." (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) Jesus Christ was made in God's image and so we can be made in the image of Jehovah and Jesus.
This is the last Scripture that we will use in support of Jesus prehuman existence. It says, "Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and came to be in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7) It is very obvious when you open your mind and really look that Jesus was existing in God's form (as a spirit) but he emptied himself. Now, if Jesus had not been alive in heaven before coming to earth, how could he have emptied himself?
Another telling thing about this Scripture passage is the subject. The context reveals that the true subject is being humble enough to do God's will at all times, no matter what the task is. What good would Philippians 2:5-7 do to admonish humility if Jesus was not alive in heaven? It wouldn't mean anything at all. Christ had to have been alive before coming to earth! There is no way to explain these verses away.
When we study the Scriptures deeply, we come to thrilling conclusions that we may not have seen before. Jesus Christ was humble enough to give up everything he had before his human life and come to save sinful mankind. We owe our everlasting salvation to him. Let us never take away from his experience by denying that he lived before being transferred to Mary's womb and that he displayed humility to come here.
*Other Scriptures that prove Jesus had a prehuman existence are John 3:13; 6:62; 8:23, 42, 58; 17:5 and others.
**Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Honor the Son
*"All may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."-John 5:23*
Nearly 2000 years ago on the other side of the world, a gentle, innocent rabbi was beaten, tortured, humiliated, and finally executed. His crime? Many then said blasphemy. Many others said it was simply because he taught the truth about God--a truth that the religious leaders of that day did not want to hear.-John 8:37-41
The reasons that Jesus of Nazareth died are not what is important. The important reason is that he died. Why is this? Simply put, it is because of what his death did for all of mankind.
Jesus died 1,976 years ago on Nisan 14, 33 C.E. by the reckoning of the Jewish calendar. That day falls on a different day each year when converted to the Gregorian Calendar. This year, the day falls on April 9, 2009.
Jehovah's Witnesses gather each year on that day after sunset to follow a command laid down by Jesus the Messiah on the night of his death. Let us go back to the night that Jesus instituted the Lord's Evening Meal.
Nisan 14, 33: After Sunset
Jesus was weighed down in the days before his death. However, he did not let his anxiety get in the way of what he was sent to do--preach the Good News of the Kingdom. (Luke 4:43) Of course, he did not neglect his good friends, taking the last days (and hours) of his life spending time with and teaching them. He even said hours before he was to be killed, "I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer."-Luke 22:15
After the passover celebration, Jesus replaced it with something different. He took some leftover unleavened bread and burgundy wine and instituted the Lord's Even Meal.
Luke reports this: "Also, he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: 'This means my body which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.' Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening meal, he saying: 'This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.'" (Luke 22:19-20) Mark goes on to say that after instituting the Lord's Evening Meal that "after singing praises*, they went out to the Mount of Olives."-Mark 14:26
Over the course of the next few days and/or weeks, we are going to focus primarily on Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and his life and death and what that did for mankind. Also, check back regularly for recommended Bible readings applicable to the last days of Jesus life so that you too can see exactly what Jesus went through as his sad and yet important death was approaching.
Nearly 2000 years ago on the other side of the world, a gentle, innocent rabbi was beaten, tortured, humiliated, and finally executed. His crime? Many then said blasphemy. Many others said it was simply because he taught the truth about God--a truth that the religious leaders of that day did not want to hear.-John 8:37-41
The reasons that Jesus of Nazareth died are not what is important. The important reason is that he died. Why is this? Simply put, it is because of what his death did for all of mankind.
Jesus died 1,976 years ago on Nisan 14, 33 C.E. by the reckoning of the Jewish calendar. That day falls on a different day each year when converted to the Gregorian Calendar. This year, the day falls on April 9, 2009.
Jehovah's Witnesses gather each year on that day after sunset to follow a command laid down by Jesus the Messiah on the night of his death. Let us go back to the night that Jesus instituted the Lord's Evening Meal.
Jesus was weighed down in the days before his death. However, he did not let his anxiety get in the way of what he was sent to do--preach the Good News of the Kingdom. (Luke 4:43) Of course, he did not neglect his good friends, taking the last days (and hours) of his life spending time with and teaching them. He even said hours before he was to be killed, "I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer."-Luke 22:15
After the passover celebration, Jesus replaced it with something different. He took some leftover unleavened bread and burgundy wine and instituted the Lord's Even Meal.
Luke reports this: "Also, he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: 'This means my body which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.' Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening meal, he saying: 'This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.'" (Luke 22:19-20) Mark goes on to say that after instituting the Lord's Evening Meal that "after singing praises*, they went out to the Mount of Olives."-Mark 14:26
Over the course of the next few days and/or weeks, we are going to focus primarily on Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and his life and death and what that did for mankind. Also, check back regularly for recommended Bible readings applicable to the last days of Jesus life so that you too can see exactly what Jesus went through as his sad and yet important death was approaching.
*On the night of the Passover it was customary for the Jews to sing Psalms 113-118.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Three Arguments That Refute the Trinity
I have been debating with some Trinitarians online and it has gotten nowhere. After three days, and some getting out of hand, I have left the conversation. I have been reminded of what I was like before I became a true Christian Witness and what I have worked so hard to change. We need to strip off the "old personality with its practices and clothe [our]selves with the new personality." (Colossians 3:9-10) Doing this is very hard, even more so when that "old personality" comes to the surface--but it is essential that we ignore any urges it gives us.
Talking to Trinitarians can be hard. We may feel they disregard crystal-clear Scriptures that disprove the Trinity, wanting to stick to their traditions handed down to them and continue to "make the word of God invalid." (Mark 7:13) Verses such as John 14:28; 20:17; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 1:3 and Hebrews 9:24 seem to close the case against the Trinity. They just won't accept these!
This made me realize: Individual verses may not always have the desired effect. Sometimes we need to reason with them on certain points, like Paul did with the Thessalonian Jews. (Acts 17:1-3) With this in mind, I decided on three points that need to be reasoned upon:
1. Can God be tempted?
2. Can God walk among sinful humans?
3. Can God die?
Let us look at these in-depth later. First, we need to see exactly what the Trinity is.
What is the Trinity?
There are many conflicting ideas of what the Trinity is. The most popular one is this: There exists God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Yet, there are not three God's but one God. Each is co-equal and co-eternal, none of them having a beginning or an end.
Throughout the centuries there have been many ideas on how to explain the Trinity. Some say water, ice, and water vapor (an update of the "water-ice-fire" theory) are all different forms of the same water, using this to illustrate the relationship of the ones in the Godhead. Others will contradict such reasoning and say that even though God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit area all one, they can appear separately. The water-ice-vapor theory does not allow that.
One chart that has been getting passed around a lot is this shown below.
This graph says that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the holy spirit, and the holy spirit is not the Father and yet they are all God and they are all the same! Is it any wonder why the "Holy Trinity" is deemed a mystery (incomprehensible in the Athanasian Creed) that no one can understand? Ask: If Jesus said that the Jews "worship what [they] know" yet history proves that the Jews never believed in the Trinity*, then does that mean that Jesus' statement is false?-John 4:22
The truth is, it is as one encyclopedia says, "neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament."** No, the Trinity is not a Bible teaching. How do we know? Let us answer each of the questions presented in the outset.
Can God Be Tempted?
The disciple James said of God: "When people are tempted, they should not say, 'God is tempting me.' Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone." (James 1:13, New Century Version) This is obvious that God cannot be tempted because God is without sin. The very idea that God can sin is blasphemy. He does no unrighteousness. (Deuteronomy 32:4) Nobody, not even Satan the Devil, can make God sin.
If Christ was God, the same would apply to him. Nothing would ever be able to tempt the Lord. However, some may point to this Scripture in an attempt to prove that Jesus was never tempted, "He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:22) No, Jesus Christ did not sin at all; that is not what I am trying to imply. Christ was a perfect man throughout his entire life. Is the fact that he did not sin enough to prove that, like God, he could not be tempted? Let us look at an account in the Gospel of Matthew.
Now, if Christ was the God that cannot sin, why would the devil even bother to tempt him? The Scripture does not say that Jesus was led into the wilderness so that the devil could try to tempt him, but we are told this happened so that the devil could tempt him.
Some may say, "Even though the devil tried to tempt him, it didn't work. Jesus immediately denied the offers made." Yes, Jesus did immediately deny the temptations but is this enough to prove that he is the God that could not be tempted, or at least that the possibility stands?
No! God cannot be tempted, but Jesus was! We know that Jesus was tempted at some point in his life because the Scriptures say, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, New International Version) That is not something that can happen with God.
When we understand this about Jesus, the following account makes more sense. "And as he [Jesus] was going out on his way, a certain man ran up and fell upon his knees before him and put the question to him: 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?' Jesus said to him: 'Why do you call me good? Nobody is good, except one, God.'" (Mark 10:17-18) Why would the Lord say this if he was a perfect man? (Hebrews 7:26) Well, the main difference between God and Jesus is that Jesus could be tempted while God can never be tempted.
After looking at the first question, "Can God be tempted?", we see that Trinitarian beliefs on Jesus as God would cause a contradiction between Hebrews 4:15 and James 1:13. It would do well to rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.
Can God Himself Walk Among Sinful Humans?
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Think of the prophet Isaiah. Knowing he was a sinner, he did not feel worthy of being in God's presence. Look at this account:
Isaiah's sinful nature made him ashamed of being in Jehovah's presence. However, the prophet saw Jehovah for a reason. Jehovah had a mission for him. The meeting, though, could not proceed until after Isaiah's sins had been atoned for. This is a prime example of the point that Jehovah cannot have dealings with sinful humans.
Furthermore, we needed a reconciliation with God. We were once enemies of God and needed to be reconciled to Him--and a person only needs to be reconciled to another if they have separated themselves from that person. So we were separated from God. That is why the Bible says, "For if, when we were enemies, we became reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now that we have become reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." (Romans 5:10-11) We were only reconciled to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ, His Son.
To get a better picture of all of this, let us go back to the days of the Israelites. It was known that Jehovah would walk through the camp of the Israelites by means of an angel.* (Leviticus 26:12) However, there were certain requirements that the Israelites had to live up to for that privilege. For example, the Israelite camp had to be holy, with nothing indecent seen in it. If they sinned, Jehovah would leave it.-Deuteronomy 23:14
At one time, when the entire nation of Israel was still God's chosen people, he had no problems casting them off when their sin became too much. (Ezekiel 23:5, 9, 11, 28) Sin and God do not mix. The Bible clearly teaches, "For you are not a God taking delight in wickedness. No one bad may reside anytime with you." (Psalm 5:4) You can turn that around and say that God may not reside with anyone bad at any time.
But Christ was a different story. He came to earth as a man and lived among us. "So the Word became flesh and resided among us." (John 1:14) Isaiah tells us that Jesus allowed himself to be hit and spit upon. (Isaiah 50:6) Christ, not Jehovah God Himself, walked among us! Remember, Jehovah is "holy, holy, holy." (Isaiah 6:3) The original word rendered holy means "clean". So Jehovah is a clean God. On the contrary, we have on dirty garments, spiritually speaking. God had to use a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, so that we could 'wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the lamb.'-Revelation 7:14
Truly, it was not until we were clean in God's eyes that we could have a reconciliation with Him. Yes, "God...reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of the reconciliation, namely, that God was by means of Christ reconciling a world to himself." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) Before that reconciliation, Christ's death, we were separated from God. If God Himself had come to earth, it would mean that the reconciliation had already taken place. If two people are not speaking to each other, they only speak to one another again after they have been reconciled. So Christ could not have been God or he could have never come to reconcile us to him.
If you believe Christ is God, you have a contradiction between Psalm 5:4 and John 1:14. You should try to change your belief. You should rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.
Can God Die?
Truly, this last question is the most important. Is it possible for God to die? The Bible says no. "Are you not from long ago, O Jehovah? O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (Habakkuk 1:12, See Box Below) The Bible makes it clear that the true God is immortal.
Speaking of Jehovah, the Bible says: "Even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God." (Psalm 90:2) This Scripture states that He will always be God, He will continue to live forever as God. Being "to time indefinite" shows that Jehovah will never die.
What about Jesus? Jesus died. "Jesus shouted and then died." (Mark 15:37, Contemporary English Version) In fact, Jesus told the congregation in Smyrna that he was the one "who was dead." (Revelation 2:8, Holman Christian Standard Bible) Paul echoes similar words in one of his letters. (Romans 14:9) Yes, Jesus was fully dead. He was not alive. Now, if Jesus was God, then Habakkuk 1:12 would be contradicted which said that God cannot die!
Further, Jesus was dead for three days and was resurrected. "God raised him up from the dead." (Acts 3:15) If Jesus, being God, was actually dead, how did he raise himself up? If he was able to raise himself up then he wasn't really dead. And that presents a problem. "The Son of Man came...to give his soul [life, NIV] a ransom in exchange for many." (Matthew 20:28) "Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many." (Hebrews 9:28) "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...we have been declared righteous by his blood." (Romans 5:8-9) Jesus had to have been dead or else we are not saved from our sins. And if he was God and raised himself up, he was not truly dead. Do you see the problem?
Jehovah is incorruptible, immortal. Jesus died. The Son is not God Almighty. Continuing to believe this presents a problem in Scripture too big to ignore. There can be no contradiction between two Bible texts, in this case Habakkuk 1:12 and Mark 15:37. It is always best to rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.
What Will You Do Now?
You have a choice. The Bible is one harmonious book. It clearly teaches that Jehovah and Jesus are not the same. You can choose to ignore that or accept it. Hopefully you accept it. What if you have read all of this and still cannot see the lack of logic in the Trinity teaching?
There is someone who does not want people to see the truth about the Trinity doctrine. He is called the "god of this world" and he has veiled the minds of the unbelievers so that the "glorious gospel of Jesus Christ...should not shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:4, King James Version) Only when "there is a turning to Jehovah" is the veil taken away.-2 Corinthians 3:16
The Trinity is doctrine promoted by Satan which has its roots in many ancient false religions. It is something that is hard to break away from but necessary. But you have to continue to tell yourself that it would be dishonest to hang on to a belief that you know to be false and, even worse, causes numerous contradictions in Scripture. You can beat the impulse to hang on to a false teaching. With prayer to Jehovah, the true God, you can get help to start on the way of the Truth!
---------------
For further information see the brochure, Should You Believe in the Trinity? published by Jehovah's Witnesses
Talking to Trinitarians can be hard. We may feel they disregard crystal-clear Scriptures that disprove the Trinity, wanting to stick to their traditions handed down to them and continue to "make the word of God invalid." (Mark 7:13) Verses such as John 14:28; 20:17; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 1:3 and Hebrews 9:24 seem to close the case against the Trinity. They just won't accept these!
This made me realize: Individual verses may not always have the desired effect. Sometimes we need to reason with them on certain points, like Paul did with the Thessalonian Jews. (Acts 17:1-3) With this in mind, I decided on three points that need to be reasoned upon:
1. Can God be tempted?
2. Can God walk among sinful humans?
3. Can God die?
Let us look at these in-depth later. First, we need to see exactly what the Trinity is.
There are many conflicting ideas of what the Trinity is. The most popular one is this: There exists God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Yet, there are not three God's but one God. Each is co-equal and co-eternal, none of them having a beginning or an end.
Throughout the centuries there have been many ideas on how to explain the Trinity. Some say water, ice, and water vapor (an update of the "water-ice-fire" theory) are all different forms of the same water, using this to illustrate the relationship of the ones in the Godhead. Others will contradict such reasoning and say that even though God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit area all one, they can appear separately. The water-ice-vapor theory does not allow that.
One chart that has been getting passed around a lot is this shown below.
This graph says that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the holy spirit, and the holy spirit is not the Father and yet they are all God and they are all the same! Is it any wonder why the "Holy Trinity" is deemed a mystery (incomprehensible in the Athanasian Creed) that no one can understand? Ask: If Jesus said that the Jews "worship what [they] know" yet history proves that the Jews never believed in the Trinity*, then does that mean that Jesus' statement is false?-John 4:22
The truth is, it is as one encyclopedia says, "neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament."** No, the Trinity is not a Bible teaching. How do we know? Let us answer each of the questions presented in the outset.
The disciple James said of God: "When people are tempted, they should not say, 'God is tempting me.' Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone." (James 1:13, New Century Version) This is obvious that God cannot be tempted because God is without sin. The very idea that God can sin is blasphemy. He does no unrighteousness. (Deuteronomy 32:4) Nobody, not even Satan the Devil, can make God sin.
If Christ was God, the same would apply to him. Nothing would ever be able to tempt the Lord. However, some may point to this Scripture in an attempt to prove that Jesus was never tempted, "He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:22) No, Jesus Christ did not sin at all; that is not what I am trying to imply. Christ was a perfect man throughout his entire life. Is the fact that he did not sin enough to prove that, like God, he could not be tempted? Let us look at an account in the Gospel of Matthew.
"Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he felt hungry. Also, the Tempter came and said to him: 'If you are a son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.' But in reply he said: 'It is written, "Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth."'
"Then the Devil took him along into the holy city, and he stationed him upon the battlement of the temple and said to him: 'If you are a son of God, hurl yourself down; for it is written, "He will give his angels a charge concerning you, and they will carry you on their hands, that you may at no time strike your foot against a stone."' Jesus said to him: 'Again it is written, "You must not put Jehovah your God to the test."'
"Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him: 'All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.' Then Jesus said to him: 'Go away, Satan! For it is written, "It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service."' Then the Devil left him, and, look! angels came and began to minister to him."-Matthew 4:1-11
Now, if Christ was the God that cannot sin, why would the devil even bother to tempt him? The Scripture does not say that Jesus was led into the wilderness so that the devil could try to tempt him, but we are told this happened so that the devil could tempt him.
Some may say, "Even though the devil tried to tempt him, it didn't work. Jesus immediately denied the offers made." Yes, Jesus did immediately deny the temptations but is this enough to prove that he is the God that could not be tempted, or at least that the possibility stands?
No! God cannot be tempted, but Jesus was! We know that Jesus was tempted at some point in his life because the Scriptures say, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, New International Version) That is not something that can happen with God.
When we understand this about Jesus, the following account makes more sense. "And as he [Jesus] was going out on his way, a certain man ran up and fell upon his knees before him and put the question to him: 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?' Jesus said to him: 'Why do you call me good? Nobody is good, except one, God.'" (Mark 10:17-18) Why would the Lord say this if he was a perfect man? (Hebrews 7:26) Well, the main difference between God and Jesus is that Jesus could be tempted while God can never be tempted.
After looking at the first question, "Can God be tempted?", we see that Trinitarian beliefs on Jesus as God would cause a contradiction between Hebrews 4:15 and James 1:13. It would do well to rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Think of the prophet Isaiah. Knowing he was a sinner, he did not feel worthy of being in God's presence. Look at this account:
"In the year that King Uzziah died I, however, got to see Jehovah, sitting on a throne lofty and lifted up, and his skirts were filling the temple. Seraphs were standing above him. Each one had six wings. With two he kept his face covered, and with two he kept his feet covered, and with two he would fly about. And this one called to that one and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all the earth is his glory.' And the pivots of the thresholds began to quiver at the voice of the one calling, and the house itself gradually filled with smoke.
"And I proceeded to say: 'Woe to me! For I am as good as brought to silence, because a man unclean in lips I am, and in among a people unclean in lips I am dwelling; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of armies, himself!'
"At that, one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand there was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs off the altar. And he proceeded to touch my mouth and to say: 'Look! This has touched your lips, and your error has departed and your sin itself is atoned for.'"-Isaiah 6:1-7
Isaiah's sinful nature made him ashamed of being in Jehovah's presence. However, the prophet saw Jehovah for a reason. Jehovah had a mission for him. The meeting, though, could not proceed until after Isaiah's sins had been atoned for. This is a prime example of the point that Jehovah cannot have dealings with sinful humans.
Furthermore, we needed a reconciliation with God. We were once enemies of God and needed to be reconciled to Him--and a person only needs to be reconciled to another if they have separated themselves from that person. So we were separated from God. That is why the Bible says, "For if, when we were enemies, we became reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now that we have become reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." (Romans 5:10-11) We were only reconciled to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ, His Son.
To get a better picture of all of this, let us go back to the days of the Israelites. It was known that Jehovah would walk through the camp of the Israelites by means of an angel.* (Leviticus 26:12) However, there were certain requirements that the Israelites had to live up to for that privilege. For example, the Israelite camp had to be holy, with nothing indecent seen in it. If they sinned, Jehovah would leave it.-Deuteronomy 23:14
At one time, when the entire nation of Israel was still God's chosen people, he had no problems casting them off when their sin became too much. (Ezekiel 23:5, 9, 11, 28) Sin and God do not mix. The Bible clearly teaches, "For you are not a God taking delight in wickedness. No one bad may reside anytime with you." (Psalm 5:4) You can turn that around and say that God may not reside with anyone bad at any time.
But Christ was a different story. He came to earth as a man and lived among us. "So the Word became flesh and resided among us." (John 1:14) Isaiah tells us that Jesus allowed himself to be hit and spit upon. (Isaiah 50:6) Christ, not Jehovah God Himself, walked among us! Remember, Jehovah is "holy, holy, holy." (Isaiah 6:3) The original word rendered holy means "clean". So Jehovah is a clean God. On the contrary, we have on dirty garments, spiritually speaking. God had to use a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, so that we could 'wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the lamb.'-Revelation 7:14
Truly, it was not until we were clean in God's eyes that we could have a reconciliation with Him. Yes, "God...reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of the reconciliation, namely, that God was by means of Christ reconciling a world to himself." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) Before that reconciliation, Christ's death, we were separated from God. If God Himself had come to earth, it would mean that the reconciliation had already taken place. If two people are not speaking to each other, they only speak to one another again after they have been reconciled. So Christ could not have been God or he could have never come to reconcile us to him.
If you believe Christ is God, you have a contradiction between Psalm 5:4 and John 1:14. You should try to change your belief. You should rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.
Truly, this last question is the most important. Is it possible for God to die? The Bible says no. "Are you not from long ago, O Jehovah? O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (Habakkuk 1:12, See Box Below) The Bible makes it clear that the true God is immortal.
The Following is Supplementary Information
"You do not die" or "We do not die"?
Many Bibles say one of two different things at Habakkuk 1:12. What are some of these things that are said in each translation?"We Will Not Die" "My God, my Holy One, we will not die." (NIV) "O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die." (NASB) "O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die." (ESV) "You Do Not Die" "My Holy One, You will not die." (HCSB) "O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (NWT) "My God, my Holy One, you will never die." (TNIV)
Why do different Bible translations say different things? Well, simply put, different manuscripts say different things! Is there anyway to tell which ones are right? Yes!
In the past, a group of scribes (people that copied the Bible) took it upon themselves to copy the Bible--and "fix" the texts! These men removed anything that could be considered blasphemous in regard to God and put an alternate rendering that was "less blasphemous". Habakkuk 1:12 was not the only text changed by these scribes.
Look at two other verses changed by these scribes so that Jehovah will not be looked down upon or blasphemed. One Scripture says this: (Genesis 18:22) "At this point the men turned from there and got on their way to Sodom; but as for Jehovah, he was still standing before Abraham." (Correct Version) "Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD." (Altered Version) The scribes changed this because they thought it was disrespectful to Jehovah to have Him standing before Abraham, so it was changed so that Abraham was standing before Jehovah.
One other change is this: (1 Samuel 3:13) "For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them." (Correct Version) "For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them." (Altered Version) The scribes changed this because the idea of anyone blaspheming God was utterly heinous to them. So they changed the text to say that Eli's sons cursed themselves and not God.
The very idea that God could die offended the scribes so they changed the text, just like the two examples above.** What it really comes down to is which rendering makes more sense in light of the context. Does the context of the Scriptures surrounding Habakkuk 1:12 and contained in Habakkuk 1:12 show that Habakkuk was saying that God could not die?
Remember that Habakkuk is speaking to Jehovah, describing Him. He first tells Jehovah that He is from long ago. Then the prophet tells Him that He cannot die. Next Habakkuk tells Jehovah that He is too pure to look on badness. Since the entire context is describing Jehovah, it would be awkward if the subject changed from Jehovah to the Israelites and then back to Jehovah. Uniformity demands that the text say Jehovah cannot die. Context does not allow any other way.
The scribes went even further in another thing they did, not just changing a few Bible verses. They actually replaced the Name of Jehovah with the Hebrew word for "Lord" 134 times. All of the other times they just put a note under each occurrence of the Name to remind readers to say "Lord" instead of "YHWH".
The oldest and most reliable manuscripts show the original rendering of Habakkuk 1:12, Genesis 18:22, 1 Samuel 3:13 and the other Scriptures, and also show God's Name in all the places it is supposed to occur.
Speaking of Jehovah, the Bible says: "Even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God." (Psalm 90:2) This Scripture states that He will always be God, He will continue to live forever as God. Being "to time indefinite" shows that Jehovah will never die.
What about Jesus? Jesus died. "Jesus shouted and then died." (Mark 15:37, Contemporary English Version) In fact, Jesus told the congregation in Smyrna that he was the one "who was dead." (Revelation 2:8, Holman Christian Standard Bible) Paul echoes similar words in one of his letters. (Romans 14:9) Yes, Jesus was fully dead. He was not alive. Now, if Jesus was God, then Habakkuk 1:12 would be contradicted which said that God cannot die!
Further, Jesus was dead for three days and was resurrected. "God raised him up from the dead." (Acts 3:15) If Jesus, being God, was actually dead, how did he raise himself up? If he was able to raise himself up then he wasn't really dead. And that presents a problem. "The Son of Man came...to give his soul [life, NIV] a ransom in exchange for many." (Matthew 20:28) "Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many." (Hebrews 9:28) "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...we have been declared righteous by his blood." (Romans 5:8-9) Jesus had to have been dead or else we are not saved from our sins. And if he was God and raised himself up, he was not truly dead. Do you see the problem?
Jehovah is incorruptible, immortal. Jesus died. The Son is not God Almighty. Continuing to believe this presents a problem in Scripture too big to ignore. There can be no contradiction between two Bible texts, in this case Habakkuk 1:12 and Mark 15:37. It is always best to rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.
You have a choice. The Bible is one harmonious book. It clearly teaches that Jehovah and Jesus are not the same. You can choose to ignore that or accept it. Hopefully you accept it. What if you have read all of this and still cannot see the lack of logic in the Trinity teaching?
There is someone who does not want people to see the truth about the Trinity doctrine. He is called the "god of this world" and he has veiled the minds of the unbelievers so that the "glorious gospel of Jesus Christ...should not shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:4, King James Version) Only when "there is a turning to Jehovah" is the veil taken away.-2 Corinthians 3:16
The Trinity is doctrine promoted by Satan which has its roots in many ancient false religions. It is something that is hard to break away from but necessary. But you have to continue to tell yourself that it would be dishonest to hang on to a belief that you know to be false and, even worse, causes numerous contradictions in Scripture. You can beat the impulse to hang on to a false teaching. With prayer to Jehovah, the true God, you can get help to start on the way of the Truth!
---------------
For further information see the brochure, Should You Believe in the Trinity? published by Jehovah's Witnesses
*The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. XXVII, p. 294L
**The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. X, p. 126
*For the references that it was actually an angel in the camp instead of God Himself, please see Exodus 23:20-23. Also compare times when Jehovah was spoken of as doing something but it was revealed that it was an angel: Genesis 18:1-3; 19:1, 15, 18; Exodus 3:1-5
**A full list of altered Scriptures: Genesis 18:22; Numbers 11:15; 12:12;
1 Samuel 3:13; 2 Samuel 16:12; 20:1; 1 Kings 12:16; Jeremiah 2:11; Ezekiel
8:17; Hosea 4:7; Habakkuk 1:12; Zechariah 2:12; Malachi 1:13; Psalm 106:20;
Job 7:20; 32:3; 2 Chronicles 10:16; and Lamentations 3:20.19.
Monday, March 30, 2009
"Keep Watching The Ministry...That You Fulfill It"
I just had my Special Day Assembly yesterday and appreciated it greatly. The theme was taken from Colossians 4:17 and was, "Keep Watching The Ministry...That You Fulfill It." I greatly enjoyed this assembly. I at first thought that it was going to be more of the same but I can tell that a lot of thought was put into it, how could it be made different then past assemblies?
The brothers succeeded greatly on this assembly. I just wanted to share some Scriptures that stood out to me while there, some of these I have read many times but touched me in a different way then normal.
"Deliver those who are being taken away to death; and those staggering to the slaughter, O may you hold them back. In case you should say: 'Look! We did not know of this,' will not he himself that is making an estimate of hearts discern it, and he himself that is observing your soul know and certainly pay back to earthling man according to his activity?"-Proverbs 24:11-12
"I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy, because I was ignorant and acted with a lack of faith. But the undeserved kindness of our Lord abounded exceedingly along with faith and love that is in connection with Christ Jesus. Faithful and deserving of full acceptance is the saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am foremost. Nevertheless, the reason why I was shown mercy was that by means of me as the foremost case Christ Jesus might demonstrate all his long-suffering for a sample of those who are going to rest their faith on him for everlasting life."-1 Timothy 1:12-16
"Concerning this very salvation a diligent inquiry and a careful search were made by the prophets who prophesied about the undeserved kindness meant for you. They kept on investigating what particular season or what sort of season the spirit in them was indicating concerning Christ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ and about the glories to follow these. It was revealed to them that, not to themselves, but to you, they were ministering the things that have now been announced to you through those who have declared the good news to you with holy spirit sent forth from heaven. Into these very things angels are desiring to peer."-1 Peter 1:10-12
Again, it was a very good assembly. If you haven't been, you will enjoy it. If you have and you want to listen to it again, you can go here and download it.
The brothers succeeded greatly on this assembly. I just wanted to share some Scriptures that stood out to me while there, some of these I have read many times but touched me in a different way then normal.
"Deliver those who are being taken away to death; and those staggering to the slaughter, O may you hold them back. In case you should say: 'Look! We did not know of this,' will not he himself that is making an estimate of hearts discern it, and he himself that is observing your soul know and certainly pay back to earthling man according to his activity?"-Proverbs 24:11-12
"I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy, because I was ignorant and acted with a lack of faith. But the undeserved kindness of our Lord abounded exceedingly along with faith and love that is in connection with Christ Jesus. Faithful and deserving of full acceptance is the saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am foremost. Nevertheless, the reason why I was shown mercy was that by means of me as the foremost case Christ Jesus might demonstrate all his long-suffering for a sample of those who are going to rest their faith on him for everlasting life."-1 Timothy 1:12-16
"Concerning this very salvation a diligent inquiry and a careful search were made by the prophets who prophesied about the undeserved kindness meant for you. They kept on investigating what particular season or what sort of season the spirit in them was indicating concerning Christ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ and about the glories to follow these. It was revealed to them that, not to themselves, but to you, they were ministering the things that have now been announced to you through those who have declared the good news to you with holy spirit sent forth from heaven. Into these very things angels are desiring to peer."-1 Peter 1:10-12
Again, it was a very good assembly. If you haven't been, you will enjoy it. If you have and you want to listen to it again, you can go here and download it.
"May Jehovah bless you and keep you. May Jehovah make his face shine toward you, and may he favor you. May Jehovah lift up his face toward you and assign peace to you."-Numbers 6:24-26
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