Part One:
Jesus the Anointed One
This series is about the true identity of the man,
Jesus of Nazareth: of his human weakness, temptations, and obedience to Yahweh
his Father, as he was perfected through suffering.
The dual nature of Christ doctrine is not only false and
confusing, but it is self-contradictory.
The contradiction is obvious to the logical mind, yet the majority of
Christendom continues to believe that Jesus Christ is two persons (one ‘human’
& the other person ‘divine’), which live in one body of flesh and
blood. The portrayal of Jesus
co-existing equally as ‘God’ (Deity) and as ‘Man’ (mortal human being) in an
eternal ‘hypostatic union’ (i.e. the merging of two beings into one existence)
is a depiction of him as a spiritual schizophrenic ‘God-Man.’ However, those believers whose minds are
continuing to function properly, and have maintained a reasonable, logical
approach to biblical hermeneutics, will identify the aforementioned theophanic
nonsense as a portrayal of ‘another Jesus’ that the apostle Paul warns the
churches to beware of.
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2
Corinthians 11:3-4 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his
craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches
another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit
which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted
— you may well put up with it! New King
James Version
I recall sitting in a classroom full of Bible College students
many years ago. We were listening to a
theological lecture by one of my Bible College teachers. This particular course was part of the
required curriculum and it laid forth the rudimentary teachings of Christian
church theology and Christology. By
‘theology’, I mean the study of God’s inherent characteristics and by
‘Christology’ the study of the nature of Jesus Christ as ‘God’ & ‘man.’
In most Christian theological circles, the term ‘ineffable’ (i.e.
beyond description & incomprehensible) is frequently used whenever logic
and reason begin to shine the light of God’s truth from scripture on the
nonsensical Deity of Christ theory. One
popular Christian radio program broadcaster that deals with radio callers
questions live on air, uses a term ‘Theophany’ to depict Jesus as ‘God’ in the
Old Testament period, when he was yet unborn (i.e. uncreated; not yet conceived
by God in Mary’s womb & not yet born in Bethlehem). Below are the basic word meaning definitions
that I downloaded from Microsoft Encarta’s Dictionary to familiarize the
reader:
THEOPHANY = appearance of
the gods
1.
The
appearance of deity to person.
2.
The
appearance of a god in a visible form to a human being.
3.
Its origin is
the Mid-17th century via medieval Latin from the Greek ‘theophaneia,’ which is
literally ‘appearance of the gods.’
HYPOSTASIS = noun; the essential nature of Jesus Christ, in which
the divine & the human are believed to be combined.
1.
Philosophy essence:
the essence or reality of something.
2.
Christianity
one of Trinity: any of the three persons of the Christian Trinity.
3.
Christianity
essential nature of Jesus Christ.
4.
Medicine
settling of body fluid: the abnormal settling of fluid in an organ or other
part of the body, as a result of poor circulation, in patients kept in bed, and
after death.
5.
Its origin is
the early 16th century and it comes via the late Latin, which is from the Greek
compound word ‘hupostasis,’ meaning, ‘sediment, foundation.’ hupostasis then later came to mean, ‘
“essence,” from the Greek, ‘huphistasthai,’ (hupo = ‘to stand under, support,’
and histasthai = ‘to stand.’
*Microsoft® Encarta® Reference
Library 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Oftentimes the class teacher would point to the four gospel
accounts to illustrate how Jesus sometimes speaks as a ‘man’ (i.e. a human,
mortal being), while at other times, he speaks as ‘Deity’ (i.e. – he speaks as
the Almighty God). On one occasion, the
teacher illustrated one of his points by having all of the students open their
Bibles to John chapter 8, verse 40. He
uses John 8:40 as one of his New Testament proof texts in support of the ‘human’
aspect of Jesus Christ (i.e. when Jesus speaks as a ‘man’ not as ‘God’).
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John 8: 40 But, in fact, you {Jews}
are longing to kill me {Jesus}, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do that.” Weymouth New Testament Translation
Then, immediately following this example, the teacher read aloud
from Jesus’ words of rebuke to the Jewish scribes and Pharisees in John
8:58. He pointed out that in the
original Greek manuscripts, from which the New Testament is translated in to
our modern English versions of the Bible, the words that Jesus spoke to the
Jews when he said, ‘I AM,’ are Greek terms ‘égoó eimi.’
&
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM (égoó eimi)”
New King James Version
My Bible College teacher said the words spoken in John 8:58 are
uttered by Jesus as ‘God’ (i.e. as a divine oracle in which ‘God’ speaks in or
thru the human flesh of Christ).
Specifically, he took pains to present his interpretation of John
8:58. He contended that Jesus’ words ‘I
AM’ spoken to the Jews in John 8:58 are the same as the Old Testament words
spoken to Moses by Yahweh (God’s OT Name) in the first person singular form ‘I
AM’ found in Exodus 3:14. This incident
in Exodus 3:14 occurred when Moses asked God what His Name was, so that he
could tell his people Israel when he led them out of Egypt.
The original Hebrew words that are rendered ‘I AM that I AM,’ in
Exodus 3:14 are transliterated to English as, ‘ehyeh asher ehyeh.’ My Bible College teacher pointed out the
similarity in usage of the same Greek counterpart equivalent ‘égoó eimi’ (John
8:58 above) in the Greek Septuagint (Old Testament in Greek instead of
Hebrew). The Septuagint replaces the
Hebrew ‘ehyeh’ (‘I AM’) in Exodus 3:14 with the exact same Greek terms used in
John 8:58 ‘égoó eimi.’ These Greek words ‘égoó
eimi’ being identical in the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus 3:14, he
reasoned that it is biblical proof that Jesus speaks as ‘God’ (Yahweh of the
Old Testament) in John 8:58. Of course,
his reasoning is not only illogical, but based solely upon his own theological
and doctrinal prejudice.
For readers who are unfamiliar with the Septuagint Old Testament
Bible version, this is a Greek translation version of the ancient Hebrew Old
Testament Bible. The Septuagint was
prepared by Jewish scribes for use by the rabbinical teachers in Alexandria,
Egypt about 340-320 BC (approximate dates).
The Septuagint was needed as a Greek version of the ancient Hebrew Old Testament
manuscripts, which were scarcely few available due to the demographics at this
point in history. One major difficulty for rabbis who taught students of the
Old Testament Bible was the widespread discontinuation of the use of the Hebrew
spoken dialect. For the most part, the
Hebrew language had fallen into disuse and most rabbinical schools in
Alexandria exclusively spoke and read Greek, the language universal of the day.
Today, most theology professors in Christian seminaries and Bible
College teachers choose to interpret instead of
correctly translating the words spoken by Jesus of Nazareth to the
religious Jews ‘I AM’ in John 8:58.
It is merely their interpretation, and is NOT an
accurate translation to allege that the ‘I AM’ spoken by Jesus in
John 8:58 is identical in meaning, use, and application to the words, which
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the context of Exodus 3:14. My Bible College teacher did not have an evil
motive for his false theology, but he taught the scriptures thru a doctrinal filter
of church tradition. He did not see the
inconsistencies of his interpretation and because I had so little knowledge of
the Bible at the time, neither did I.
&
1
Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, to prefer as
child, to reason as a child: now I have become a man, I have laid aside the
things of the child!
Like everyone else in the classroom, I was a young, impressionable
Christian man that was newly saved and had no Bible background. Naturally, I believed whatever my Bible
College teachers were teaching and in my naivety, I took every word they said
to be the gospel truth. Now, some 34+
years later, having been a Bible teacher myself for nearly three decades, and I
have a much deeper appreciation for the sincerity and dedication of all Bible
teachers. As much as we ought to
appreciate those who teach scripture, we must give a much greater weight of
appreciation and be diligent to search the scriptures daily, to determine what
the truth about Jesus is from God’s perspective. In reality, ‘sincerity’ and ‘truth’ are quite
frequently opposites, particularly when it comes to the correct interpretation
and/or translation of the Bible. Many
sects and cults today are sincere, yet they are deceived in what they propagate
to others.
Eventually, I discovered that my college teachers were wrong about
John 8:58 and their use of ‘I AM.’ It is
a serious responsibility to be a teacher of scripture, and should not be taken
lightly. For the past 14 years, I have been
diligently reexamining all of my former beliefs, especially my previous
theological and Christological views. I
do not claim that my teachings are flawless, or that mine is the only correct
view. My responsibility and what I
strive for every day of my life as a believer and teacher is to be as thorough
as possible whenever researching and seeking God’s help to interpret and teach
the Scriptures to others in the body of Christ.
Whenever identifying the meaning, use, or application of any Greek
word, especially Greek prepositions like the word ‘prín’ (John
8:58; ‘prín’ = ‘before’), one must consider the
context of the surrounding narrative. As
is the case in English grammar, words such as prepositions have multiple and
varying uses and application. For
example, prín is derived from another root word in Greek ‘pro’ and
pro means ‘before, first in
order or rank, superior
to, in front of, afore,
etc.’ This Greek preposition pro and its related word prín are used in a
variety of alternate uses for either order of time, position, relation (to
others or compared to others), and more.
Our English language derives many of its individual words from
pro, such as professional, protect, program, promote, proceed etc. Obviously, when pro is constructed with parts
of other words, its meaning and application dramatically changes. The same occurs with the preposition ‘prín,’
except prín takes on a more targeted, specified usage and is the basis for our
English words such as ‘principle (as in an important precept), principal (one
in charge or highest rank, such as the principal of the school), princely, etc.
To demonstrate how easily Bible translators make mindless but
costly errors in Bible translating, nearly every modern Bible version today
renders the word ‘prín’ as ‘before,’ in John 8:58
thereby making it as a measure of time ‘… before (prín)
Abraham was born, I AM.’ Earlier, I
discussed the Greek words used in the sentence construction of ‘I AM’ in the
text of John 8:58 are the words ‘egoó eimí’.
These two simple Greek words egoó eimí are tantamount to the English
equivalent of ‘I am he’ or ‘I am the one,’ or, ‘I am the person {you seek},’ or
a similar grammatical construction and application. However, modern Bible versions combined their
misguided interpretations of egoó eimí with their misguided interpretations of
preposition prín, and in the New King James Version, John 8:58 reads: Jesus
said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
The phrase at the end of the sentence, ‘before Abraham was, I AM,’
is a poorly constructed and improperly translated text and makes it seem as if
Jesus existed literally BEFORE Abraham in time.
The Bible translator’s personal, theological prejudice (i.e. the belief
that Jesus is ‘God’ in human form) has interfered with his or her objectivity
in the translation process. Below is a
side-by-side comparison between the entire Greek text of John 8:58 and its New
King James Version English Bible counterpart:
&
Greek= Ieesoús
eípen autoís, “Ameén, ameén légoo humín prín Abraám genésthai egoó eimí.”
&
NKJV = Jesus
said to them, “Most assuredly, I
say to you, before Abraham was, I
AM.”
Making proper use of the Greek grammatical construction of John
8:58, the phrase highlighted in red above ‘prín Abraám genésthai egoó eimí,’ uses prín as a particle of
distinction. if properly rendered, the
Greek version of John 18:5b (‘prín genésthai egoó eimí’) reads as follows, ‘in former times, before Abraham’s birth, I was preferred.’ In other words, the forefathers of Israel’s
original patriarch (Abraham) such as Noah, Enoch, and others, gave their future
Messiah a place of honor and preference in their lives and hearts, even though
yet unborn or uncreated.
The Messiah is prophesied in the entire first chapter of the Book
of Genesis; later we will examine this chapter concerning Yahweh’s plan of
redemption from the foundations of the earth.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all true Old Testament believers looked
with hope to the future coming of Messiah, even though they only saw from a
distance by faith.
The Jews were boasting to Jesus about their genetic ties to
Abraham and earlier in the chapter, in John 8:56, Jesus rebukes them saying, ‘Abraham
your forefather exulted in the hope of seeing my day: and he saw, and was glad.’ Abraham did not literally see the physical
day that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, but rather, he saw by
faith. Abraham rejoiced in the hope of a
Redeemer one day being sent to atone for the transgressions of his
descendants. By faith, he looked to the
Creator and Giver of all life and he believed that Yahweh would even raise His
Anointed One.
Abraham’s son Isaac is described in Hebrews chapter 11 (see below)
as a ‘type’ or symbolic of Jesus & his propitious death by crucifixion; the
parallel typology is prefigured in the scenario of Abraham obedient to Yahweh’s
Command, willingly places his only begotten son on the stone altar to
sacrifice. As Abraham raises the knife
to slay his only son, who lay upon the of sacrifice, Yahweh intervened &
the boy was spared; he was saved by the ram caught in the nearby bush.
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Genesis 22:8-18 And Abraham said, “My
son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which
God had told him. And Abraham built an
altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the
wood. 10 And Abraham stretched
out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of Yahweh called to
him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.” 12
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I
know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son,
from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted
his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its
horns. So, Abraham went and took the
ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the
place, Yahweh-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of Yahweh
it shall be provided.” 15 Then
the Angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16
and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son,
your only son — 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as
the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
because you have obeyed My voice." New King James Version (with author’s replacement of ‘the
LORD’ in text with ‘Yahweh’)
The ram is given as Yahweh’s provision and the Book of Hebrews
describes Abraham’s inner conviction that Yahweh is able & willing if need
be to raise the dead to fulfill His unshakeable promise. Abraham’s faith wasn’t flawless, and though
he wobbled and backslid a few times, as we all do, he remained steadfast in the
conviction that Yahweh would fulfill His oath of promise. The ancient eastern Semitic custom of cutting
covenant between God and men, or between two men was always given a final
mutual witness, in which both parties participated. This final mutual witness is generally called
the ‘oath of promise’ in scripture.
It was common practice in covenants of substantial importance, to
kill and sacrifice either a sheep, a goat, or a bullock. Before the animal was placed upon the altar
of fire and offered up to Yahweh for divine approval and as testament to the
agreement, the body of the sheep or goat was split in half lengthwise. The two halves were slightly parted and as a
sort of bloody, ritual signature on their covenant agreement, both parties
walked together between the split halves of the sacrificial animal. This bloody rite to us, living in today’s 21st
century, food from shelving of stores, while enjoying our sterile,
bacteria-conscious modern-day amenities, cannot imagine such gore and
crudeness. Yet, for the ancient Semitic day-and-age,
it served its purpose and was done to honor each man’s solemn word (oath)
before the Yahweh, the Judge of all men.
When Yahweh gave his oath of promise to Abraham concerning his
future, spiritual posterity (i.e. ‘in your seed shall all nations be blessed’),
HIS word WAS the guarantee. In reality,
when Yahweh gives His promise, the cutting of covenant with a sacrificial
animal isn’t a necessary requirement.
Yahweh IS God, so He cannot swear by anyone else’s word because HIS word
(oath of promise) to anyone is ALWAYS greater (more sure) than that of the
human party to whom He makes the covenant agreement.. Abraham in scripture is described as ‘the
friend of God.’ Concerning his future,
spiritual descendents & Yahweh’s promise to him that all nations will be
blessed in Abraham’s seed, he knew for a certainty God would raise the dead if
necessary to fulfill His unshakeable & unwavering word.
&
Hebrews
11:8a, 9-10, 12-13, 16-19 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed…9 By faith he lived as an
alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same
promise; 10
for he was looking for the city which has
foundations, whose architect and builder is God…12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the
sand which is by the seashore. 13 All
these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance…16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called
their God; for He has prepared a city for them. 17 By
faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten
son; 18
it was he to whom it was said, "in Isaac your descendants shall be
called." 19 He considered that God is
able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back
as a type. New American Standard Bible - Updated Edition
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NOTE: Additional reading about
Abraham’s covenant with Yahweh: Genesis 15:5,6; Genesis 22:1-10, 17; 32:12;
Genesis 23:4; Psalms 39:12
When Jesus uses the phrase, ‘‘in former times, before Abraham’s
birth, I was preferred,’ he is emphasizing either the faith of
Israel’s pre-Abrahamic patriarchs or he is speaking of Yahweh’s preference in
choosing Jesus as Messiah before the foundations of the earth were created
(i.e. in Yahweh’s prophetic plan, which is veiled in the creation accounts of
Genesis chapters One, Two, & Three).
Jesus is reaching back in time long before the birth of Abraham.
Another way of wording this phrase is, ‘in former times, before
Abraham’s birth, I was favored (chosen).’
If this is the correct rendering, (which I believe it is), then the
words that Jesus speaks to the Jews in John 8:58 are an affirmation of his
calling as Israel’s ‘chosen’ Messiah.
This being the case, Jesus also affirms as a bold rebuke to these wicked
religious hypocrites, that Yahweh’s initial calling and choosing (i.e. –
selecting Jesus as Israel’s Messiah) took place before the inhabited world
(i.e. human population).
The aforementioned implications found at the heart of Jesus’
message about Abraham, caused the religious façade worn on the countenance of
the learned Jewish elders to be unmasked for what is beneath the exterior
religion. He uncovered their hateful and
murderous hearts and evil motives. They
reacted by seeking to seize Christ and have him stoned to death. One other possibility does exist for
retranslating John 8:58, which in all fairness to the objective truth ought to
be presented.
In effect, this next and final rendering of John 8:58, is very
likely the way that the Jews heard and interpreted the meaning of Jesus’ claim,
‘‘in former times, before
Abraham’s birth,
{before God created the heavens & earth) I was His preferred
& chosen
{as the One to be His Anointed}.’ The words ‘favored’ and ‘chosen’
are simply English synonyms that help convey
the same basic idea, but these words do so from a
modern, western viewpoint. Most
Christians are unfamiliar with the way that the ancient Semitic people looked at
time and prophetic events. They did not
look at the ‘future’ the same as our modern conceptualization of time and
space. In Yahweh’s spiritual realm, they
saw things only as He {Yahweh} revealed them.
&
Ecclesiastes
3:11 He
has made everything beautiful in its time.
He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds; a divinely
implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy; yet so that
men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Amplified Bible
We also must remember that once Adam sinned, sin had a
progressive, deteriorating effect upon things in the physical, atomic
dimension. The 2nd Law of
Thermodynamics kicks in, and everything begins to wear down and wear out. Since Adam sinned, the properties of time
have not changed, but human perceptions of time have been dramatically altered
and distorted because our societies are increasingly godless. The reason that our perceptions of time have changed
also has to do with multiple factors, including advances in technology and
man’s understanding of the properties of light, physics, etc.
&
Ecclesiastes
12:11-14
The words of the wise prod us to live well.
They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd. 12 But regarding anything beyond this,
dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to
the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for
anything else. 13 The last and
final word is this: Fear God. Do what he
tells you. 14 And that’s it. Eventually, God will bring everything
that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent,
whether it’s good or evil. The
Message Bible by Eugene Peterson 2002
None of mankind’s great scientific achievements or any of
mankind’s advanced capabilities (mental prowess) thru computerization,
mathematical equations, philosophy, or even religion will ever change the
reality of this human, mortal existence.
God told Adam, ‘In the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, you shall surely die.’ This applies to every person, without
exception.
&
Genesis
3:15-16 Yahweh said to the serpent, “And, enmity, will I {Yahweh} put between you {the serpent & the devil} and the woman {Eve}, and between your {serpent} seed {representative of all
humans that hate the light of truth & who love the darkness of sin}, and her {woman’s righteous} seed; he {seed of Abraham, which
is the man Christ Jesus} shall crush your {the serpent’s} head, but, you, shall crush his {Messiah’s} heel {which occurred when Jesus heel was fastened with
a metal spike to the cross, crushing the tendons & other smooth, striated
muscles, and ligaments}.” 16 Unto the woman {Eve}, he {Yahweh} said, “I will, increase, your pain of pregnancy, in pain, shall you bear children; yet, unto your husband, shall be your longing, though, he rules over you.” (Rotherham’s Emphasized
Bible + Author’s notes inserted in scripture text in {bracketed} words for
clarification of identity & continuity).
The ancient Hebrew people saw the messianic promises of Yahweh and
His future redemption as if they are already existed in the passage of Genesis
3:15-16 above. From a personal point of
view, my interpretation of the incident when Eve was deceived, but Adam chose
to willingly disobey Yahweh’s command, she was the more spiritual and mature of
them. Also, as I will later prove, this
incident portrayed in Genesis chapter 3 as the first sin, which involves two
trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, are
similes to depict sin that occurs over roughly 980-1100 years of earth’s first
period of existence.
A case in point for illustrating this, Hebrew grammatical
construction uses certain revelatory-related terms, in verb form, using the
perfect mood. In such cases, any
significant future events that are conceived in the sentence construction are
presented so vividly and so realistically , that the ancient Hebrew mind
regards them already having virtually taken place (in times past), as well as
existing in the present, though unfulfilled literally. At first, this kind of faith and thinking
sounds peculiar, even strange, but in reality, it is just as our own faith
today. The inner conviction of women and
men that believed in ancient days is the same faith that we share today because
God (Yahweh) is not a man that He should lie, neither is He a son of man as
Jesus (Read Numbers 23:19).
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Micah 5:2-15 “But
as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of
Judah, from you One will go forth for Me {Yahweh}
to be ruler in Israel. His {Messiah’s} goings
forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. 3 Therefore He
{Yahweh} will give them up until the time when she
who is in labor {looking back in time to God’s promise concerning the seed of
the woman Eve} has borne a child {looking forward to the time when Yahweh will
conceive His son Jesus in the womb of a virgin named Mary}. Then the remainder
of His brethren {Jew & Gentile as one flock under Jesus as
Messiah} will return to the sons of Israel {the church of
overcomers}. 4 And He {Messiah} will arise and shepherd His flock in the
strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh, His {Messiah’s} God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. 5 This One {Messiah} will be our peace. (*New
American Standard Bible - Updated Edition + Author’s notes in {brackets} for
clarification of identity)
Though Yahweh Elohiym cursed the ground when Adam and his wife
sinned, He also gave the Messianic hope thru the ‘seed of the woman.’ It might seem hazy and ambivalent to us in 21st
century America, but in the Hebrew text of Genesis 3:15, there is an unmovable
promise from the Almighty Himself and a guarantee of future redemption for all
the ‘seed’ of the righteous!
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Psalms
105:1-10
Give your thanks to Yahweh, call upon his Name, make known, among the peoples,
his doings; 2 Sing to him, make your music to him, speak of all his
wonders. 3 Make your boast in his
holy Name, joyful be the heart of them who are seeking Yahweh. 4 Search out Yahweh and his strength,{i.e. His Messiah or Anointed One} seek diligently his face at all times. 5 Remember his wonders which he has done, His portents {i.e. His prophecies}, and the just decisions of his mouth. 6 O you Seed {Messiah} of Abraham—his servants, sons of Jacob—his chosen ones: 7 Yahweh himself,
is our God, through all the land, are his just decision. 8
He has remembered, unto times age-abiding, his covenant, The word he commanded, to a thousand
generations; 9
which he solemnized {i.e. made official; honored; sanctified} with Abraham, and his oath, to Isaac; 10 and confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, to Israel, as a covenant age-abiding. Rotherham’s Emphasized
Bible
When rebuking these hardhearted Jews, Jesus says in essence, ‘In
olden times, your forefathers long before Abraham was even born {who prophesied
my coming} gave me preference of distinction.’
Below are some parallel passages of the New Testament, which attest to
the veracity of my translation of John 5:58, and which testify to Abel, Noah,
and Abraham, all of which gave Jesus preference in honor millennia before he
was conceived in Mary’s womb and born in Bethlehem.
&
Matthew
23:29-39
{Jesus rebukes the Jewish religious leaders saying}, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and
adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not
have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 So, you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your
fathers. 33 You serpents,
you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34 Therefore, behold, I {Jesus} am
{afterward, following my death, resurrection, & my ascension to the
Father’s right hand of authority} sending you prophets and wise men and
scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood
shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of
Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly
I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” 37 " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who
kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to
gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
and you were unwilling. 38 Behold, your
house is being left to you desolate! 39
For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say,
'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” {See Psalms 118:26-27a – Jesus quotes to these evil Jews a
prophecy about his coming as their Messiah to shine light on their darkened
minds}!’” (*Matthew 23:29-39 =New American
Standard Bible - Updated Edition + Author’s notes inserted in {bracketed words
& phrases} for clarification of identity & continuity)
In Matthew 23:37, there is an interesting side note, which is only
apparent to those familiar with the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. Jesus says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often I wanted to gather your children
together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” The portrayal is of a brooding hen over her
chicks; this idea is parallel to another Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:2, when
the Spirit of God was ‘brooding’ (or ‘hovering over’) the surface of the deep
waters.
&
Genesis
1:2-4 Now, the earth, had become
waste and wild, and, darkness, was on the face of the roaring deep; but, the Spirit of
God, was brooding on the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Light, be.” And light was. 4 And God saw the light, that it was,
good, and God divided, the light, from the, darkness. Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible
Genesis 1:1-31 is prophetic of Yahweh’s design and plan to make
believers into His image, according to His likeness. The reason we know it is prophecy is due to
many places in this chapter of Genesis 1, which are constructed as future tense
(e.g. Genesis 1:26 ‘Let us make’ = future).
The illustration that Jesus uses in Matthew 23:37 is familiar to these
Jewish experts in the Torah. It is
further testimony to them that long before Abraham was born, Yahweh’s future
Messiah was revealed to His people and His prophets, all of whom were
anticipating with preference the future Messiah’s appearance (parousia).
&
Luke
11:46-54
And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers!
For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not
touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your
fathers killed them. 48 In fact,
you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed
killed them, and you build their tombs. 49
Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles,
and some of them they will kill and persecute; 50 that the blood
of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may
be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel
to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of
this generation. 52 Woe
to you lawyers {experts in the Law & Old Testament
Scriptures}! For you have taken
away the key of knowledge. You
did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you
hindered.” 53 And as He
said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began
to assail Him vehemently,
and to cross-examine Him about many things, 54 lying in wait for Him,
and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse
Him. (*Luke 11:46-54 = New King James
Version + Author’s notes inserted in {bracketed words & phrases} for
clarification of identity & continuity)
NOTE:
FOR ADDITIONAL READING OF NEW TESTAMENT PASSAGES THAT AFFIRM THE AFOREMENTIONED
INTERPRETATION, SEE: Hebrews 11:4-19 & Hebrews 11:4-19
The Jews that Jesus rebukes realize the implications of his
words. They were aware that he was
appealing back to the righteous blood of the first prophet named Abel. The Jews also knew that he was implicating
them as being like Cain whose attitude caused him to murder his righteous brother Abel. Abel’s offering to Yahweh was preferred above
that of his brother Cain, which took place long before Abram was even born
(i.e. predating Abraham, back to creation).
His statements in Matthew 23:29-39 and Luke 11:46-54 run parallel in
concept to what Jesus said about Abraham to the Jews in John 8:58, which
angered the Jews so much that they tried to stone him. In John 8:58, as the context proves, Jesus is
NOT claiming to physically exist before Abraham was born. In John 8:57 the Jews said earlier, ‘You are
not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’
One other important note to my readers concerns what Jesus says to
the lawyers, who were the so-called ‘experts’ in the Law. For all of their cranial capacity to retain
and regurgitate manmade interpretations of the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus
chided them saying, ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge! You did not
enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” Jesus makes an intimate association between
the ‘KEY’ to ‘knowledge and what the lawyers failed to ‘ENTER IN’ to, as well
as having ‘HINDERED’ those who were entering in.
It wasn’t ‘knowledge’ itself that these self-righteous advocates
of law failed to enter into; rather, it was the absence of the ‘LOVE-KEY’ that
kept them and those whom they hindered from entering thru the locked door of
God’s kingdom. The Greek word for ‘key’
in Luke 11:52 is kleída and it comes from a root word meaning ‘to close’ (as in
closing & locking of a door). In
the Book of Revelation, Jesus commends the church in Philadelphia for
possessing and righteously making use of this key to knowledge:
&
Revelation
3:7-8
“And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He
who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one
shuts, and shuts and no one opens: 8 ‘I know your
works. See, I have set before you an
open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength,
have kept my word, and
have not denied my name.’” New King James Version
The name of king ‘David’ is both messianic and a fulfillment of
Yahweh’s plan for the Messiah’s people in the spiritual kingdom of God known as
the church. The name David means
‘loving’ and is from a root word in Hebrew that means ‘boiling’ (with affection
& love); it is used of love for one’s uncle or friend; this portrays the
‘family-like’ love that God desires expressed in absolute purity and warmth
amongst His people in the church (and not with any purification of sexual
immorality). This drives home the need
to eradicate pornography from the lives of God’s men in the church, otherwise
there can never be a true participation in expressing God’s love without purity
and holiness. Those who continue in porn
and sexual immorality will not inherit the kingdom of God, nor will they enter
the kingdom of heaven. Those who indulge
in sexual immorality (i.e. adultery, sodomy, pornography, fornication, oral
sex, and any other form of perversion that is contrary to the purity of Jesus).
The words, “in Philadelphia,” are transliterated literally
from the Greek as ‘Filadelfeía’ and when combined together with the literal
meaning of the Greek words for ‘the church’ in Revelation 3:7 (teés ekkleesías
Filadelfeía) it means: Those called from and into the direction of being
in a fixed position, of close association in dear, and active fondness as
friends, coming from the same womb…”
“Philadelphia” means friendship that is fixed and stable;
unshakable, regardless of circumstances.
This is to be the primary direction for the Philadelphian church and the
friendship of the Philadelphian church is described in its intimacy by the
terms, “close association in dear and active fondness.” This implies a mutual care, love, and concern
for one another, which is demonstrated in its “active” state. After all, faith without works is
dead. The church in Philadelphia loves
in both word and deed.
In the Greek text, the root word origin of “Philadelphia” ends
with the Greek word, “delphus” (i.e. womb).
The womb is a metaphor to describe spiritual birthing. As ‘born-again’ believers, we enter into a
spiritual relationship with God and we share the same with each other. The Spirit of God (John 3:3-8) makes contact
with our human spirit once the sin and shame for sin has been removed thru
faith in the sacrificial propitiation of the man Christ Jesus, the only
mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).
The Father, Yahweh, imparts ‘new life’ to our human spirit and
immediately we are transformed. We
become “brothers” and “sisters” of a spiritual family of God. The “womb” obviously infers the place in
which the birth takes place.
The church is referred to in the feminine gender (Ephesians 5:25-33;
Galatians 4:24-31) and is represented in the scripture oftentimes as a woman or
a bride. In figurative language, God’s spirit plants His eternal “seed” (i.e.
Jesus; see Galatians 3:13-16) in the “womb” of the church. At full term, the church goes into labor
pains trying to be delivered of this man child (Revelation 12:1-6). These are believers that have matured in
truth and love. They shall rule and
reign together with Christ in the new heavens and new earth, with New Jerusalem
as the capitol city located on the heavenly Mount Zion. Here there are myriads of those who are the
spirits of righteous people made perfect thru obedience in what they suffered
in this life, just as their sympathetic High Priest Jesus!
In ancient times, the steward of a wealthy family, especially of
the royal household, was given a key, probably a golden one in recognition of
his office. Therefore, the phrase referring to giving a person the key
naturally grew into an expression of raising him to great power (See Isaiah 22:22
with Revelation 3:7). The Lord
designated the apostle Peter as the first messenger first to open the kingdom
of heaven to a great crowd of devout Jews in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Read Acts
2) and later at Caesarea, which was of the Gentiles (Acts 10).
In addition, we may take this to refer to the power (dunamis; see
Acts 1:8 with Luke 24:49) that the Lord Jesus later gave to all believers in
binding and loosing the sins of those who repent. This does not mean that believers have the
actual power to forgive sins as God. As
believers, we declare the forgiveness granted by God to others by working as
co-laborers together with the glorified spirit of the man Christ Jesus. Jesus is able to continue working thru us
when we obey his Father, God, and do whatever He commands us (i.e. loving in
good deeds and words).
In summary on this point, the ‘key of knowledge’ referred to in
Luke 11:52 is the means of attaining true knowledge in respect to the kingdom
of God. It is God-given authority to
explain the Law and the Prophets, which was given among the Jews by the
delivery of a key. Also, a note on the
Old Testament origin of the ‘key of David’ (Revelation 3:7) alludes to the
promise made to Eliakim (Isaiah 22:22 [cf. 2 Kings 18:18]) and signifies the
capacity of the spirit of Jesus working in and thru his household, the Church.
&
Revelation
19:7-10
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has
come, and His wife has made herself ready." 8 And to her it was granted to be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to
me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the
Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are
the true sayings of God.” 10 And
I fell at his feet to worship him. But
he said to me, “See that you do not do that!
I
am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." New King James Version
When the messenger says to the apostle John, ‘Worship God,’ it is
meant as an unmistakable rebuke. In his
rebuke to John for his misplaced veneration, this messenger on assignment gives
his identity as being equal to that of John’s ‘fellow servant.’ The Greek word súndoulós is a compounded word
form for ‘fellow servant’ that connotes strong association with fellow human
identity in its literal ‘one who serves the same master with another.’
What exactly is meant when the messenger says ‘For
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy?’ The phrase begins with ‘for’ and a common
synonym used in place of ‘for’ is the word ‘because.’ Of these, two words either ‘for’ or ‘because’
are used grammatically in construction to join clauses and show dependence upon
the antecedent. If we replace ‘for’ with
‘because’ and improve upon the translation, the phrase reads, ‘Worship God, (emphatic) because in order {for anyone} to bear witness to Jesus as a martyr {requires} a life that is
inspired by revelation.’
This messenger is explaining to John that he is not Deity, but
simply as your fellow servant, and of
your brethren who have the testimony of
Jesus. The Greek words used in Revelation 19:10b give far more insight
than standard English Bible versions. For example, the Greek word marturían is
rendered as ‘testimony,’ (as in testimony of Jesus’), and is from a root word
cognate martus; martus is defined literally to mean ‘a witness’ (judicially or
figuratively); by analogy, it means ‘martyr.’
Our English word ‘martyr’ is derived from this Greek root martus
and in Acts 22:20, the apostle Paul describes his former life as a Jewish
rabbinical persecutor of the church that was consenting to the stoning to death
of the ‘martyr’ (martus) Stephen.
However, the word martus itself has a much broader use and application
and is not limited to martyrdom alone.
In Matthew 18:15-16, when Jesus teaches his disciples how ‘brother’
ought to confront a fellow brother (both human, by the way), if the man who has
sinned refuses to listen when privately corrected, Jesus said, “…take with you
one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses (martus) every
word may be established.'
The meaning of our replacement translation for Revelation 19:10b
is affirming that if a believer truly bears personal ‘martus’ type witness to
the persecuted form of life that Jesus of Nazareth suffered, he or she would
only do so if they were in an inspired relationship with the same God and
Father that Jesus as a fellow servant served and died to please. In fact, the closest sense in English that we
can relate to when describing martus in 21st century America, is
perhaps as a ‘material witness’ in our legal system.
The difference between an eyewitness and a material witness is
personal involvement. The material
witness was actually participating in whatever event or incident he or she is
testifying to. Who in their right mind
would willingly testify in a courtroom where they knew the sentence would be
unjust and result in the distinct probability they would be executed at the end
of the day? Without divine leading and
personal revelation to carry you, it is not only unlikely, but impossible to
bear such a testimony to Jesus.
In composition (súndoulós) the preposition ‘sún’ is literally
denoting union; with or together and denotes association, community, fellowship
& participation together. The other
half of the compounded súndoulós is the noun doulós, which is the typical Greek
term used throughout the entire Roman Empire for a slave. A slave was usually a house-servant as one of
a few or many slaves belonging to one owner.
Hence, the term súndoulós came to mean resemblance, possession, and even
companionship as a fellow-servant; or as one who serves the same master with
another. In case the reader is
unfamiliar with the Book of Revelation, this servant-messenger is first
mentioned in Revelation 1:1-2, 5-6, 9 (see below):
&
Revelation
1:1-2, 5-6, 9 The Revelation of Jesus the Messiah, which God gave to him, to
show to his servants the things that must shortly occur: and he signified it by
sending, through his messenger, to his servant John; 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus the Messiah, as to all that he saw…5 and from Jesus the Messiah, the Witness, the faithful, the First-born of the dead, and the Prince of the
kings of the earth; who hath loved us, and released us from our sins by his blood; 6 and has made us
kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 9 I John, your brother, and partaker with you in the
affliction and suffering that are in Jesus the Messiah, was in the island
called Patmos, because of the word of God, and because of the testimony of Jesus the Messiah.
The language of these verses with words in bold black and red
highlights are indicative of the same use of Greek words related to those used
in Revelation 19:10, all of which testify to Jesus the man, not deity… who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus the Messiah the Witness the First-born of the dead and released us from our
sins by his blood and has made us kings and
priests to
His God and
Father I
John, your brother, and partaker with you in the affliction and suffering that are in Jesus the
Messiah
because of the testimony of Jesus.
&
Revelation
12:7-12, 17
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and
the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a
place found for them in heaven any longer.
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called
the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him. 10
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the
accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has
been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and
you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the
devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a
short time… 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to
make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. New King James Version
&
Revelation
20:4 And
I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, and the souls of those who have been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the word of God, and who did not bow before the
beast, nor his image, and did not receive the mark upon their forehead and upon
their hand, and they did live and reign with Christ the thousand years. Young's Literal Translation Bible
The testimony of Jesus IS the ‘spirit of prophecy’ that works in
and thru believers, whenever we are willing to make our lives into a ‘living
sacrifice’ (Romans 12:1-2). Jesus is
able to show himself alive and reveal his Father God thru willing vessels, who
daily pour out their love for the Father, Yahweh, via the dunamis ability given
to them. This point is emphasized and
punctuated ‘daily’ if we abide with him in the spirit, because there’s no way
it will happen thru or by means of our fleshly efforts.
I believe this is the primary reason for speaking in other
tongues. Even though the glossalalia
spoken during prayer in tongues is unknown, our spirit is praying and doing so
via the glorified man Christ Jesus, our mediator and sympathetic High Priest,
which ever lives to make intercession on our behalf.
Now read the verses surrounding John 8:58 (below); but this time,
let’s insert my translation of verse 58, and see how it flows with the overall
meaning of what Jesus is explaining about his former preferred status.
&
John 8:
52-59 “Now,”
exclaimed the Jews, “we know that you {Jesus} are possessed by a demon. Abraham died, and so did the Prophets, and
yet *you* say, ‘If any one shall have obeyed my teaching, he
shall in no case ever taste death.’ 53 Are you really greater than our forefather Abraham? For he died. And the prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54
“Were I to glorify myself,” answered Jesus, “I should have no real
glory. There is One who glorifies
me—namely my Father, who you say is your God.
55 You do not know Him, but I know Him perfectly; and were I to
deny my knowledge of Him, I should resemble you, and be a liar. On the contrary, I do know Him, and I obey
His commands. 56 Abraham your forefather exulted in the hope of
seeing my day: and he saw, and was glad.” 57
“You are not yet fifty years old,” cried the Jews, “and have you seen Abraham?”
58 “In most solemn truth,”
answered Jesus, “I tell you that ‘in former times, before Abraham’s birth, I was
preferred as {the} greater.” 59 Thereupon, they took up stones with
which to stone Him, but He hid Himself and went away out of the Temple. (New King James Version = John
8:52-57,59 + John 8:58 = The Appropriate Translation + Author’s notes inserted
in {bracketed words & phrases} for clarification of identity &
continuity)
Curious about my new discoveries in scripture, and excited to
learn that I could rediscover the true Jesus of the Bible, I restudied many
passages of the Bible that were formerly viewed as ‘proof text’ that support
the alleged ‘Deity of Christ.’ One keen
example that is almost laughable once you read the text in its proper context
is the claim of Jesus speaking again as the Great ‘I AM’ at his arrest by the
Roman cohort sent by the Jewish high priests.
As the soldiers approached Jesus and his disciples who were with him in
the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stood in front of the disciples, as to protect
them, and asked the arresting soldiers, ‘Whom do you seek?’
The soldiers, temple guards, and the servants to the High Priest
answered Jesus saying, ‘We seek Jesus of Nazareth.’ Notice, they did not say, ‘We seek Yahweh
God,’ or, ‘We seek the Great I AM.’ In
response to their words, Jesus answers them saying, ‘I am he.’ In other words, Jesus is affirming his
identity as Jesus of Nazareth. As he
spoke these words, the entire regiment of Roman soldiers, and the crowd that
accompanied them with clubs, torches, and weapons to arrest Jesus and his
disciples… all of them fell backward!
Imagine that scene! Below is the text that best illustrates this
scenario:
&
John
18:1-14
After offering this prayer Jesus went out with His disciples to a place on the
further side of the Ravine of the Cedars, where there was a garden which He
entered—Himself and His disciples. 2
Now Judas also, who at that very time was betraying Him, knew the place, for
Jesus had often resorted there with His disciples. 3 So Judas, followed by the battalion
and by a detachment of the Temple police sent by the High Priests and
Pharisees, came there with torches and lamps and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all that
was about to befall Him, went out to meet them. “Who are you looking
for?” He asked them. 5 “For Jesus the Nazarene,” was
the answer. “I am he,” He replied. (Now Judas who was betraying Him was
also standing with them.) 6 As
soon then as He said to them, “I am he,” they went backwards and fell to the ground. 7 Again
therefore He asked them, “Who are you looking for?” “For Jesus the Nazarene,”
they said. 8 “I have told you,” replied Jesus,
“that I
am he. If
therefore you are looking for me, let these my disciples go their way.” 9 He made this request IN ORDER
THAT THE WORDS HE HAD SPOKEN might be fulfilled, "As for those whom Thou
hast given me, I have not lost one.”
10 Simon Peter, however, having a sword, drew it, and, aiming at
the High Priest’s servant, cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 Jesus therefore said to Peter “Put
back your sword. Shall I refuse to drink
the cup of sorrow which the Father has given me to drink?” 12 So, the battalion and their tribune
and the Jewish police closed in, and took Jesus and bound Him. 13 They then brought Him to Annas
first; for Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was High Priest that
year. 14 (It was this Caiaphas
who had advised the Jews, saying, “It is to your interest THAT
ONE MAN SHOULD DIE for the People.”) Weymouth
New Testament Translation
Jesus first approaches the mob of around 500 or more soldiers,
temple guards, temple servants, etc. It
is commonly held that this large show of force was for a twofold purpose. First, they planned to arrest not only Jesus,
but also the twelve disciples, minus the traitor Judas Iscariot, who was with
the mob. Secondly, the show of force had
much to do with the fact that literally tens of thousands of people were flocking
to Jesus daily to hear him teach and witness his miraculous signs (e.g. healing
the sick, casting out of evil spirits, etc).
Should this force of 500 or so men run into a crowd of 30-40,000 angry
people, even this amount would be insufficient.
This is why they came at twilight; it was thought by this time of
evening, most people were bedded down for the night.
The assumption that is commonly made by the Christian church that
leads to the misidentification of Jesus as ‘Deity’ in John 18:1-14 is when he
answers the Roman battalion leader.
First Jesus asks them, ‘“Who are you looking
for?” They reply “For
Jesus the Nazarene,” was the answer. “I am he,” Jesus replied, as
Judas was now greeting Jesus with the betrayers kiss & marking Jesus out by
standing with them. As soon then as Jesus
said to them, “I am he,” they went backwards and fell to the
ground. ’
I was taught in Bible College that when Jesus said, ‘I am he’ it
was Yahweh speaking in him saying ‘I AM,’ just as He (Yahweh) spoke to Moses on
Mount Sinai. Many Christian theologians
use this event of Jesus’ arrest to allege as ‘proof’ that only Jesus as ‘God’
could have made an entire Roman battalion fall backwards. I would agree that ‘God’ knocked the cohort
of soldiers down, not the man Jesus.
However, this manifest power of Yahweh is not equal to changing the
human identity of Jesus into that of ‘Deity.’
In other words, just because a miraculous sign has happened, it does not
make or prove that Jesus of Nazareth is one and the same as ‘God. Let’s examine the text and see what it really
says.
Notice in John 18:7-9, that after the soldiers got themselves
pancaked by Yahweh’s backhand, they fell
down and collided with each other. What
a scene that must have been. Picture in
your mind, what a mob of 500 angry men, bug, burly soldiers, at a time of
evening dark enough to require the light of flaming torches to see their
way. I’m sure they felt cocky and
confident this would go down without a hitch.
They probably expected Jesus and his disciples to scatter and run, which
means they anticipated a chase.
Jesus blows their whole scheme to smithereens the first time; when
he walks up to them, meek, humble, yet extremely confident in his Father’s
strength. We must also recognize, that
aside from the confidence Jesus held as his own in the spirit of God, he was
still a human being, with the same experiences we at times encounter, such
as fear, trepidation, anxiety,
apprehension, confusion and other types human emotions and feelings.
After all, it would seem perfectly normal for Jesus to have his
pulse and blood pressure elevate anticipating the cruel torture and the
taunting and mocking of his faith, his God, and his purpose in redeeming
Israel. I’m certain that Jesus had the
same endocrine system and internal organs, glands, and skin as normal human
beings. His adrenaline would be pumping
overtime and helping his flight/fight response to danger.
In all of this, and much more than I’m capable of describing,
Jesus stayed constant in his inner communion with the Father. How else could he remain so placid, so meek,
so quiet, and go to the slaughter like a lamb without a voice? Undoubtedly the scriptures that Jesus
cherished and meditated upon his entire adult life were now brought to his
remembrance by the spirit of God, especially the psalms, and the prophets. I can hear him reciting the words, ‘He will
keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon You Father.’
I would liken the same odds that Jesus was facing on the day of his
betrayal and arrest to the plight of little David, when he decided to
challenged Goliath, the Philistine from Gath.
As he approached over 500 heavily armed, extremely vicious,
battle-hardened Roman troops, all of them armed to the man with razor-sharp broadswords,
the famed Roman long spear (like a well-balanced javelin with a sharpened,
metal point), and many others wielded heavy wooden clubs, made of olive burl
wood, oak, or other hardwood, then hardened over and over in the fire. The wooden clubs were fierce, close-combat
weapons designed to crush the human skull with one blow. Some of these clubs were weighted by adding
resin to saturate the pores of the wood and make it heavy and dense with
multiple, hardened layers of saturated pitch.
In spite of the Roman’s ‘in your face’ show of force, Jesus is not
intimidated; he simply walks toward them, and asks, ‘Hey, who are you guys
looking for?’ A captain of the guard, a
surly, giant of a man, hollers with a deep, strong voice, ‘Jesus the
Nazarene.’ As soon as Jesus affirms to
them that he is indeed Jesus of Nazareth, “BAM!” Over 500 guys, flat on their butts! What would happen if 500 guys fell backward
holding flaming torches, clubs, spears, swords, and this is on a relatively
steep incline, at night, on unfamiliar terrain, and with a mishmash group of
combined temple guards, servants, and soldiers that are not familiar with each
other or the land?
Once they had fallen down all over each other finally got back up,
dusted themselves off, and collected the torches, put out the singed hair that
must have caught fire when they crashed into each other, not to mentioned how
many swords and clubs conked each other on the noggin, they did not go back for
more!
You can bet on one thing for sure… they were reticent and feared
approaching Jesus a second time. Since
Jesus was spiritually and mentally aware that his time of suffering had
arrived, as purposed and planned by his Father God, it is Jesus who reproaches
the soldiers a second time.
Fear grips each man’s heart as they see Jesus approaching them
AGAIN! What would you do if you were in
their sandals? Again, Jesus asks
them, “Who are you looking for?” “For
Jesus the Nazarene,” they peeped…sheepishly, and with great respect; no doubt,
they said, ‘Sir.’
“I have told you,” replied Jesus, “that I am he. If therefore you are looking for me, let
these my disciples go their way.” He
made this request in order that the words He had spoken might be fulfilled,
"As for those whom You {Yahweh} have given me {Jesus}, I have not lost
one.”
This act of Yahweh in knocking the soldiers backwards was in order
to fulfill a word that the Father had spoken to His Messiah son, that says
Jesus would not lose any of his disciples, whom God had given to him for the work
of the gospel.
The final text to examine before moving to the next section, is
yet another alleged ‘proof’ text that Christian church pastors and Bible
teachers misuse. Below, the context of
John 10:31-36 is so obvious, it warrants little commentary or explanation by
me. Jesus never laid claim to being
‘God’ but the Jews misinterpreted and misconstrued Jesus’ words to make it
appear that he claimed to be deity. In
reality, the context plainly shows that Jesus makes only one claim… ‘I am the
son of God.’
&
John
10:31-36
Again the Jews picked up rocks to throw at him.
32 Jesus said, "I
have made a present to you from the Father of a great many good actions. For
which of these acts do you stone me?” 33
The Jews said, "We’re not stoning you for anything good you did, but for
what you said—this blasphemy of calling yourself God." 34 Jesus said, "I’m only quoting
your inspired Scriptures, where God said, ‘I tell you; you are gods.’ 35 If God called your ancestors ‘gods’ and
Scripture doesn’t lie 36 why do you yell, ‘Blasphemer! Blasphemer!’ at
the unique One the Father consecrated and sent into the world, just because I said, ‘I am the Son of
God’? Rotherham’s Emphasized
Bible
Our final set of verses to end Part I are found in John 5:31-44,
oftentimes referred to by scholars as Jesus’ ‘fourfold witness.’ In this context, Jesus repeatedly uses the
Greek word ‘marturían’ as was examined earlier in Revelation 19:10. The New King James Version translates it
properly as ‘witness’ and as you will read, Jesus consistently refers to the
One and only ‘witness’ that he needs for validation… his Father, God.
&
John
5:31-44
"If I bear witness (marturían) of Myself, My witness (marturían) is not true.
32 There is another who bears witness (marturían) of Me, and I
know that the witness (marturían) which He witnesses (marturían) of Me is
true. 33 You have sent to John,
and he has borne witness (marturían) to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony (marturían) from man, but I say these things that you may
be saved. 35 He was the burning
and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have a greater witness than
John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish — the very works
that I do — bear witness (marturían) of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent
Me, has testified (marturían) of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any
time, nor seen His form. 38 But
you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not
believe. 39 You search the
Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they
which testify of Me. 40 But you
are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 41 "I do not receive honor from
men. 42 But I know you, that you
do not have the love of God in you. 43
I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in
his own name, him you will receive. 44
How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the
honor that comes from the only God?” New
King James Version
Part 2 will discuss the testimony of John the Baptist and examine
in depth the human soul of Jesus of Nazareth.
We will also detail why it was necessary for Jesus to be baptized by
John the Baptist, whose water baptism was for the remission of sins. There will be many ties to the Old Testament
prophecies, plus some new translations for Isaiah 53 that I think will prove a
blessing to you and make you closer to Jesus.
SELAH…Pause and reflect
The
Bible Answer Stand Ministry
1 Peter 3:15 Always
be ready to give reasonable justification to anyone who asks you for an
explanation of the hope that is within you,
but do it considerately and courteously.
Go directly to these parts of the “Jesus…Our Sympathetic High Priest” Study:
Part 1: Jesus the Anointed One
Part 2: Deity of Christ Doctrine Refuted
Part 3: John the Baptist Prepares the Way
Part 4: Jesus GAVE His Human Soul as an Offering for Guilt
Part 5: The Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness
Part 6: Was it "Divine Blood" that Jesus Offered in Sacrifice on the Cross?
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