By Nelson A. Herle, Jr.

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—STATEMENTS MADE BY BibleHelp.org —IN THEIR: "REFERENCE SECTION 2:  VERSES SHOWING JESUS IS GOD" AND "REFERENCE SECTION 1: VERSES TEACHING THE TRINITY"

Numbers in brackets [  ] refer to responses below the quotations of the above referenced work. "TTDE" refers to the essay, The Trinity Doctrine Examined in the Light of History and the Bible. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. (It should be kept in mind that the capitalization of letters is the option of the translators; the oldest and most complete Greek manuscripts Sinaiticus (!), Vatican 1209 (B) and Alexandrinus (A), are in all capitals (uncials). The statements in the paper by BibleHelp.org, will be presented in their entirety, within boxes, immediately below, and, on the following pages.

[1] "The word "God" is not found in the vast majority of modern translations of the Bible, nor in the oldest manuscripts thereof. It was discovered, when the earliest manuscripts of Scripture were found in the 19^th century, that the word "he" ($O", phonetically, hahs) had been changed to the word "God" (Greek, qeov", phonetically, theh.AHS) at a time long after the Bible was written. A marginal note on this in the American Standard Version states: "The word God, in place of He who ["He who" is in the main text of this version] rests on no sufficient ancient evidence. Some ancient authorities [manuscripts] read which." Also such a statement would contradict John 1:18 and 1 John 4:12: "No man hath seen God at any time." See TTDE p. 261.

[2] By Thomas saying to Jesus: "My Lord and my God," Thomas was showing that Jesus was above him. The "my" (literally, "of me," a genitive case setting) limits the application of Jesus' Lordship and Godship to that which was over Thomas at that time. However, Thomas, at that point in time, was only speaking of the relative position between himself and the resurrected Christ. The Father is the absolute God over the Son. (Revelation 3:12) At 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is called: "the god of this world; "the of this" (a genitive case setting) limits his 'godship.' See TTDE pp. 69, 70.

[3]  Colossians 2:9 does not say: "Jesus was the fullness of the Godhead bodily." as claimed. It reads, in the KJV: "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." It is showing that all the godly qualities are found in the Son of God. Why are they found in him? Colossians 1:19, KJV, teaches: "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;" It was the decision by the Father, Jehovah, that all these qualities should dwell in His Son. If they had been in the Son from all eternity, there would be no need for a decision to be made to have them dwell in the Son of God, they would have been there already. On "decision," in the Greek, see Thayer's Greek - English Lexicon Of  the New Testament, p. 258, under "eu-dokevw," and  TTDE pp. 79-81.

 [4] Titus 2:13 speaks of two persons (not one, not three), one called the "Great God" and one called "Savior," ("Saviour," British spelling)."The Great God is the Father, Jehovah, and the Savior is His Son, Jesus Christ. Others, in addition to the Father and the Son are called "saviors" in Scripture, note this at 2 Kings 13:5 and Nehemiah 9:27. At Judges 3:9, 15 we find the same Hebrew word rendered "saviour" in 2 Kings and Nehemiah. However, in some versions we see that they are rendered  "deliverer"; they are applied to the men Othniel and Ehud. Jehovah sent these men to deliver Israel from their enemies and act as saviors. In the "Hebrew And Chaldee Dictionary" of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible, we see that this word is:"3L­k yâsha‘, yaw-shah´…deliver (-er)…save (-iour)"—word number 3467. Why some translators chose to use different English words to render the same Hebrew word, is a question to be investigated. (The New World Translation is consistent in translating the word as "savior(s)." These saviors were not God. It should be noted that the holy spirit is never called savior is the Bible.

QUOTATIONS FROM— AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 2

[5] Here, Jesus gives the glory to his Father. The Father had done this healing through Jesus, His servant on earth. At Matthew 12:22-28 we read: "Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, "Is not this the son of David?" But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." (Jesus and the "children" (followers) of the Pharisees cast out demons by the power of the holy spirit of God, not in their own power. Neither the Pharisees' "children" nor Jesus were God!) Jesus also taught these truths at John 5:25-30, in the New American Standard Version: "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because His is the Son of Man [margin, "Or, a son of man"] "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (The authority to judge and raise the dead, was given to the Son by the Source of all good power, the Father, Jehovah, and was exercised through the Son.) John 11:41, 42, shows the dependence of Christ on the Father: "Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me." (Jesus prayed to the Father for the power to raise Lazarus.) Acts 2:22 reaffirms this thought: "Ye men of Israel, hear these  words; Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:" (Once again the thought, "which God did by Him.")

[6] Even if, this reading of Romans 14:10b-12 were the correct one; the meaning can be explained as follows. As we have seen in the above, the authority to judge was given to the Son by the Father, and as Jesus said, his judgment is just, because, he seeks to do the will of Him who sent him. Therefore, it is correct to say, that when one is before the judgment seat of Christ, he is also giving an account to God through the judge whom God appointed. Just as in the case of a trial in which an appointed (or elected) judge pronounces a verdict which is based on the law; the judge and/or the jury, act by the authority of the law. It can therefore be said that the law has found the person(s), or other entities, on trial, innocent or guilty. We have a parallel expression at Hebrews 7:28, New American Standard Version: "For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, by the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever." The Law of Moses was given by God; by that Law, men act according to the will of God. It can thus be said that those who are being governed by the Law are being governed by God, as long as the Law is being administered by faithful judges; they are His agents. It is written at Exodus 21:6: "Then his master shall bring him unto the judges (Hebrew /*%-!% (phonetically, hah el.o.HEEM, literally, "the gods"); he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and  his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he

shall serve him for ever." "The judges" are also referred to, in the Hebrew, as 'the gods' at Exodus 22:8, 9. In verse 28 of  this chapter we find: "Thou shalt not revile the gods [/*%-!%], nor curse the ruler of thy People." "The gods" here, refer to the judges of Israel. Certainly, Jehovah was not instructing the people to give honor to other gods, since they were to worship, in the highest sense of the word, only Jehovah and no other gods. At Psalm 82:6, 7, the Most High Jehovah, says to these gods (the judges): "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. Be ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes." The Companion Bible comments on these passages, in a marginal note to Psalm 82:6, 7: "gods. Elohim: used of earthly judges as representing Him. Cp. Ex. 21. ⁶;  22.^{8,  9,  28}  (quoted in Acts 23.⁵). Hence, Moses is so spoken of (Ex. 7. 10)." When the ones to be judged were before the judges of Israel, it was as if  they were standing before the One whom they represented, Jehovah Himself. So it with the Son of God. The Companion Bible makes this statement on Romans 14:10 in reference to "before the judgment seat of Christ": "The texts read "God."  So we find "the judgement seat of God" in many translations based

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 3

on older manuscripts than those available at the time of the making of the King James Version. See translations/versions: Darby; English Revised Version; The Emphasized Bible, J.B. Rotherham; American Standard Version; Moffatt; An American Translation, Smith and Goodspeed; Revised Standard Version; New American Standard Version; Charles B. Williams; William F. Beck; Westcott and Hort Greek text; United Bible Societies, Greek text, third edition, 1975; The New Jerusalem Bible; etc.

[7] Jesus did this and other healings, as shown in number "[5]" by the authority and power given to him by his Father.

[8] First, let it be observed, that Paul does not call Jesus God at this passage of Scripture. Philippians 2:5, 6, read: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:" If this were the correct translation, and we are to 'let this mind be in us as it was in the Son,' then, it would be proper for us to think that it is not robbery for us to be equal to God! More accurate translations of these verses read: "The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to become equal with God."—Good News Bible-Today's English Version. "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,"—English Standard Version. "Let your bearing towards one another arise out of our life in Christ Jesus. For the divine nature was his from the first; yet he did not think to snatch at equality with God,"—The New English Bible. "Take to heart among yourselves what you find in Christ Jesus: 'He was in the form of God; yet he laid no claim to equality with God,"—The Revised English Bible. The Greek word from which "grasped" and "snatch at" are taken is aJrpagmVon (phonetically, har.pahg.MAHN). It is the noun form of the verb aJrpaVzw (phonetically, har.PAH.zoh).  JArpaVzw is used 14 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. It always means 'an attempt to bring about some type of change.' This attempt, the Son of God never even had in mind, in order to try to change his position in life to become equal to his God and Father. (Romans 15:6; Revelation 3:12) It never means to hold on to something which one already has. Concerning this proper attitude of the Son, which Christians must have, we read in The Interpreter's Bible: "When he [Paul] says that Christ existed in the form of God, he implies that Christ was of the same nature as God, [yes, a holy spirit] that the principle of his being was essentially divine. Since he had this affinity with God, he  might have aspired to "equality" with him; he might have claimed an equal share in all the powers which God exercises and in all the honors which are rendered to him by his creatures. Standing so near to God, he might have resented his inferior place and thrown of his obedience. (d) Yet he never attempted the robbery which might have raised him higher…But in Greek, as in English, the word "robbery" involved the idea of violent seizure, and what Christ resisted was not merely the prize but the means of obtaining it. He refused to seize for his own the glory which belongs to God…Paul…set the obedience or Christ over against that old conception of a heavenly being [Satan] who had sought by violence to make himself equal to God." On the word aJrpaVzw, The Expositor's Greek Testament reports: "We cannot find any passage where aJrpaVzw or any of its derivatives has the sense of 'holding in possession', 'retaining'. It seems invariably to mean 'seize,' 'snatch violently'. Thus it is not permissible to glide from the true sense 'grasp at' into one which is totally different, 'hold fast'. See TTDE pp. 72-79.

[9&  The Jews felt  that Jesus was  making  himself equal to God.  But, since when  are Christians to be  taught  the  truth

10]  about  the Son of God from what his opposers felt? What the Jews felt is not the important factor; what Jesus meant   is the important factor. Jesus showed that those Jews, who accused him of blasphemy were wrong. He quoted Psalms 82:6 in John 10:34, 35 to them,  in this manner:  "Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said,

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 4

      'Ye are gods?' If he [Jehovah God] called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of Him, Whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, 'Thou blasphemest; because I said, 'I am the Son of God?" Jesus told them that he only claimed to the Son of God. He showed them that they were wrong in accusing him of claiming to be God. He also taught them that if God called those unfaithful judges "gods," that calling men such was not wrong, since God (or, in some translations, "a god," The New English Bible; New World Translation) Himself had called men "gods." However, he reminded them that he had not gone that far; he had only called himself the Son of God. On John 5:18: Once again we are faced with 'what the Jews felt.' Once more, they were wrong. They (according to the insight of John, inspired by holy spirit) accused Jesus of 'breaking the Sabbath.' He had not broken the Sabbath. If, he had done so, he would be a sinner; he was not a sinner! The Jews' thought, reported by John, was incorrect on the point of the supposed breaking the Sabbath and on the point of Jesus' supposed claim to be God. Jesus defended himself, teaching them that he was not claiming to be God, with the words of verses 19, 20 in the same chapter: "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." With these words, Jesus explained that he learned to do what he did, by being shown what and how to do them by the Father. These are not the words of one claiming to be God. God does not need to learn, or be shown by any one what and how to accomplish His mighty works!

[11] In saying that: "I and the Father are one." Jesus was not claiming to "part of God." He was claiming to be united in  will and spirit with his Father. At John 17:20-23, Jesus prayed to the "only true God," his Father, for the apostles and all who would believe through the apostles: "That they may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may one in Us:" Here, as well as at John 10:30, Jesus is quoted as using the word e{n (en, with rough breathing mark (  J ) over the e (epsilon, pronounced hen, "one"). This word has to do with being: "united most closely (in will, spirit), Jn x [10]. 30; xvii [17]. 21-23;" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 186) not being on the same level in rank with another. Also, this verse speaks of only two individuals not three. See TTDE pp. 66-67.

[12] Jesus never referred to himself as someone called "I AM" (Greek, ejgwÉ eijmiv, ego eimi, phonetically, eh.GOH ay.MEE, ay in "hay") as if this were a title of God as claimed by the BibleHelp.org. He did not say anything like: 'I am the I am;' nor: 'I was the I am.' At John 8:58 Jesus said in the King James Version: "Before Abraham was, I am." That statement means: 'Before Abraham was, I existed.' This was in response to the question put to him in verse 57: "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?" Abraham had lived some 1,900 years before this confrontation with the Jews took place. Jesus' reply was in answer to a question about age, not identity. K.L. McKay explained the reaction of the crowd saying:

The verb 'to be' is used…in what is presumably its basic meaning of  'be in existence' in John 8:58: prin Abraam genesthai ego eimi…which wold be most naturally translated 'I have been in existence since before Abraham was born'…if it were not for the obsession with the simple words 'I am.' If we take the Greek words in their natural meaning, as we surely should, the claim to have been in existence for so long is in itself a staggering one, quite enough to provoke the crowd's violent reaction."— "I am in John's Gospel", The Expository Times, July 1996, Volume 17, Number 10, p. 302.

The noted Greek scholar G.B. Winer reported on the construction found at John 8:58 and other scriptures of the same syntax (word order and type):

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 5

Sometimes the Present [tense, i.e. "I am"] includes also a past tense…when the verb expressed a state which commenced at an earlier period but still continues - a state in its duration; as, J[oh]n xv[15]. 27…viii[8].58 priVn AbraaVm genevsqai ejgwÉ eijmi [before Abraham to become I am] (emphasis added).—A Grammar of the Idiom of the New Testament, Luneman translation, 1893, Thayer translation, 1897, p. 267, in both translations.

Highly respected Greek grammarians wrote concerning John 8:58:

To make sense, one must say  "Before Abraham existed, I existed" or "…I have existed"— Barclay M. Newman and Eugene A. Nida, A Translator's Handbook on the Gospel of John, 1980. (This demonstrates also, that Jesus was making no claim to be God. He was merely informing that he had lived before the birth of Abraham.)

So, then, Jesus was telling the crowd that his life had commenced sometime before Abraham's life. That is how he could know what Abraham felt about the blessings of the Messiah's mission on the earth, as he had described in verse 56. He had been observing Abraham from heaven. One who showed that he a commencement of life, could not be claiming to be God! Even in the King James Version John 8:58 has "I am" not "I AM." This had to do with preexistence, not who he was, but, when he was.

In John 18:4-6, we learn of the situation as it occurred the night before his death: "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said unto, "Whom seek ye?" They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus saith unto them, I am He And Judas also, which betrayed Him, stood with them. As soon then as He had said unto them, I am He," they went backward, and fell to the ground." All Jesus was acknowledging here, was he was the one whom they were seeking, Jesus of Nazareth. He was not acknowledging he was someone called 'I am.' At John 9:9, the man cured from blindness, says of himself: "I am." This did not cause those who heard him to react as if he were claiming to be God. Why? Ego eimi is not a title of God! In Exodus 3:14 in the Greek Septuagint Version, Jehovah is quoted as calling Himself   JO  [Wn (O On, phonetically, hah own, "The Being,") not ego eimi. (For more on this, and on the correct translation of John 8:58, Exodus 3:14 and the "Perfect Indefinite Tense", see TTDE pp. 56-66. 

[13]  It is believed, a good way to explore the verses in Revelation mentioned, (with the addition of 1:1 to set the stage)  is, to record them as a script, identifying the various speakers as they give their messages. We will begin with the first verse of chapter one from the New American Standard Version, Note: The application of the title "Alpha and Omega" to Jesus in the King James Version at verse 11 is not supported by some of the oldest Greek manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi rescriptus. It is, therefore, omitted in many modern translations, including the New American Standard Version. A marginal note on this in The Companion Bible reads: "The texts omit.":                                                            

     [John at 1:1]

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him [emphasis added] to show His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent  and  communicated  it by His angel to His bond-servant John," Here, God and Jesus Christ, are shown to be two different individuals. God is identified as someone other than Jesus Christ. Also, let it be observed that God gave this revelation to Jesus Christ. It was a message unknown to Christ, and was a gift from his God and Father. (1 Peter 1:3). If Christ were God, no one would have to show him.

[John at 1:2]

"who [that is John] bore witnesses to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus, even to all that he [John] saw." (The "testimony of Jesus" had its source in his God, Who gave it to the Son, as explained in verse one. Once more God and Jesus are presented as two distinct entities, only one of which is God.)

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 6

[Jehovah God at 1:8]

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending." saith the Lord, Which is to come, the Almighty." The only One ever called the Almighty in Scripture is the Father, Jehovah God; therefore, this is He speaking identifying Himself as the Supreme One of the universe. (See Exodus 6:3.) The prayer to Jehovah at Psalm 83:18 is: "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH Art the most high over the earth." Yes, only the One whose name is Jehovah is the most high over all the earth; no one shares that exalted position with Him. At Revelation 21:22, the Almighty and His Son are clearly differentiated with the words: "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." The "Lord God Almighty," is the Father, Jehovah; "the Lamb" is the Son of Jehovah, Jesus Christ.

[Christ at 1:11]

The words found in the King James Version as if coming from the Lord Jesus Christ: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last and," are not found the vast majority of modern translations because they are not in the ancient manuscripts. See the American Standard Version; The Revised Standard Version; the New American Standard Version; The New English Bible; the New International Version; the New Living Translation; The Revised English Bible; The New Revised Standard Version. The New King James Version admits in a footnote to the verse: "5 NU-Text and M-Text omit I am thorough the third and." (It identifies the "NU-Text" as: "This text is published in the Twenty-Sixth Edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (N) and in the United Bible Societies' Third Edition (U)." The "M-Text" symbol is said to mean: "points of variation in the Majority Text from the traditional text, as also previously discussed in "The New Testament Text.")—PREFACE, p. viii [8]. The words in doubt cannot refer to Christ since he had a beginning of life. At John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18 and, 1 John 4:9, in the King James Version, he is called "the only-begotten." To reiterate, anyone who was begotten had a beginning of life; anyone who had a beginning of life cannot be the uncreated God, Jehovah, nor His equal.

[Christ at 1:13]

"And in the midst of the seven lamp stands, one like the Son of man…" Yes, this is Jesus who had spoken to John. This does not show that he is God.

                                                                                   [Christ at 1:17, 18]

"And when I [John] saw him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, "Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."  Jesus is the first and the last of his Father's creations. (More on this subject when we consider Micah 5:2.) He was dead and was resurrected. God cannot die; the Son of God did die!

[14] Isaiah 44:6 is connected, in some versions, with Revelation 1:11, as being equivalent statements as asserted in the BibleHelp.org paper. Is it? We must investigate. The claim that Jesus says he is the first and last at Revelation 1:11, as we have seen, is not substantiated by the ancient manuscripts nor is it in harmony with other statements of Scripture. What, then, is the meaning of Isaiah 44:6? It is this, before Jehovah there was no Almighty God, and there will be none after Him. As it is rendered in the American Standard Version: "Thus saith, Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." He also says at Isaiah 43:10: "Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO— BibleHelp.org

page 7

[15] At this verse, Hebrews 1:8, we have quotations from Psalm 45:6 (verse 7 of the Psalm and verse 9 of Hebrews 1)    which should  also  be  considered  to  obtain  the  correct understanding of this statement by the Psalmist and its meaning in Hebrews 1:8.) The New Oxford Annotated Bible Revised Standard Version, comments on the passage from the Psalms:

Ps 45: An ode [poem] for a royal wedding. 1: Introduction, The author identified himself as a professional writer (a ready scribe), presumably a court poet. 2-9: He addresses the king in flattering language.

This declaration was first addressed to a human king. It could not be taken as teaching that he was the Almighty God. The grammar of the Psalm is of the utmost importance when considering the significance of these verses. A close study of these verses has led scholars to the following conclusions:

When Solomon, who was God's Son (II Sam 7:14), ruled over the Lord's kingdom (1Chron 29:23; see also Enoch 51:3; 55:4; 61:2-3, 5; 69:26-27).  That did not mean that Solomon was God. It means that Solomon ruled over God's kingdom when he ruled over Palestine, and he sat on God's throne when he ruled from Jerusalem. Therefore, it is just as proper to speak of the eternity of God's throne with reference to the Son Jesus who was to sit on it as it was to speak of God's throne when Solomon, the son, sat on it.—George Wesley Buchanan, The Anchor Bible, To The Hebrews, 1972, p. 20.

So, Solomon was, if he were called "God," was called such only in a representative sense just as the judges of Israel were called "gods" in Psalm 82, as one who ruled over God's people as the agent of the Almighty.

This quotation  (the fifth) is from Psa. 45:7f. A Hebrew nuptial ode (epithalamium) for a king treated here as Messianic. It is not certain whether ho theos ["the God"] is here the vocative (address with the nominative form as in John 20:28 with the Messiah termed theos ["god"] as is possible, (John 1:18) ["the  only-begotten god" as in the ancient Greek texts] or ho theos ["the God"] is nominative subject or predicate with estin ["is"] understood: "'God is thy throne" or "Thy throne is God.") Either makes good sense.—A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume VI [6], p. 339.

With the above in mind, and with a better understanding of the Hebrew and the Greek (compared to the level of knowledge of those languages, and the number and age of Biblical manuscripts available, in the seventeenth century, the time of the producing of the King James Version), Biblical scholars have rendered Hebrew 1:8 as follows:

1)      "God is thy throne forever and ever"—The Twentieth Century New Testament; An American Translation; Moffatt; Byington; Lubach; Improved Version (1808).

2)   "Your throne, O Lord, is forever and ever"—Archbishop Theofan Stylian Noli, Albanian Orthodox Church.

3)      "O GOD.] This is a clear instance where Christ is called 'God,' but as v. 9 speaks of God as is 'God,' we cannot lay stress upon it here as proving the supreme divinity of the Saviour, besides it may be justly rendered, 'God is thy throne—to ages of the ages' in either case it is applicable to the mediatorial throne only."—Robert Young, Young's Concise Critical Bible Commentary. (Others read as in the King James Version, or, similarly.)

At this point, it is well to consider Hebrews 1:9: "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows." At this passage, Jesus is spoken of as having "fellows." This word comes from the Greek mevtoco" (phonetically, MEH.tah.kahs). In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, on page 429, under "FELLOW," it is defined as: "properly an adjective, signifying sharing in, partaking of, is translated "partners" in Luke 5:7; "partakers" in Heb. 3:1, 14; 6:4; 12:8; "fellows" in Heb.1:9, of those who share in a heavenly calling, or have or will hold, a regal  position in relation the earthly, Messianic Kingdom." God,

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 8

has no "fellows" with whom He shares a heavenly calling. God is not called to heaven. Jesus is shown here, to have such "fellows,"  those  who  were called  to heaven as he  was. In addition, who has given Jesus his throne? Who has anointed Jesus with the "oil of gladness?" The One called his God in verse 9. Yes, Jesus has one Who is his God, one Who is above him and, One Whom he serves as High Priest!—Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 6:20; 8:1;  9:11.

[16] It is said of Jesus that, in the future he will be called (among other things) the Mighty God. We have already learned  that others than the Creator, Jehovah are called gods in some sense. Jehovah is called the Almighty God, which is a designation above Mighty God. Jesus and the holy spirit are never called the Almighty God. Jesus can be referred to as the Mighty God without elevating him to the position of the Almighty God.

[17] The name Immanuel is defined when translated, "God with us." This is the meaning of the word. It is not a description of a situation. It is not a description of God being present with mankind in the person of Jesus when he was on the earth. The name Elihu is defined as "God is he." This does not mean that Elihu was God; it is only the meaning of his name. There are many men with the name Immanuel, Emmanuel or the shortened form Manuel today; this does not mean that these men are God. The claim that the one bearing the name Immanuel is God, contradicts the teaching of the Bible that: "No man has seen God at any time."—John 1:18.

[18] Micah 5:2 (1:5 in some Jewish translations, since they use the verse number first then the chapter number,) as found in the King James Version  is the result of a limited and incorrect understanding of Hebrew. More recent translations of the Bible show the correct understanding of the words through Micah:

1)      "One whose origin is from of old, From ancient times."—Tanakh The Holy Scriptures, 1985.

2)      "one whose origins are far back in the past, in ancient times."—The Revised English Bible, 1989.

3)      "one whose origin is from of old, from ancient days."—The New Revised Standard Version, 1989.

4)      "one whose origins are from the distant past."—New Living Translation, 1996.

5)      "whose origins are far in the past, back in ancient times."—Complete Jewish Bible, 1998.

6)      "whose origin is from of old, from ancient days."—The Holy Bible English Standard Version, 2001.

The following translations read as above, or similarly: Isaac Leeser; Moffatt; New American Bible; The Jerusalem Bible; George R. Noyes; Ronald Knox; An American Translation; Byington; New International Version; The New International Commentary of the Old Testament, Leslie C. Allen; Concise Critical Bible Commentary, Robert Young; and the New World Translation. God does not have origin (a beginning of life). The Son does have a beginning of life; the Son is not God. A comment from the Keil and Delitzsch series of commentaries (1850s -1870s) is most enlightening:

Coming forth out of Bethlehem involves the idea of descent. Consequently we must not restrict 0*<!7Ð. (his goings forth) to the appearance of the predicted future Ruler in the olden time, or to the revelation of the Messiah as the Angel of Jehovah even in the patriarchal age, but must also so interpret it that it at least affirms His origin as well…the words affirm both the origin of the Messiah before all worlds and His appearances in the olden time 0*<!7Ð. can only affirm the going forth from God at the creation of the world, and in the revelations of the olden and primeval times.—Biblical Commentary of the Old Testament, The Twelve Minor Prophets, Volume II. pp. 480-1.

The commentary by Theodore Laetsch (Concordia Publishing, Saint Louis, Missouri) also sheds light on the message of Micah 5:2:

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 9

The word [olam, "undisclosed time," "hidden time"] tells that the Ruler would issue from Bethlehem, not from the royal city Jerusalem. The context, however, very clearly defines this going forth as the bring forth by she "which travaileth" v.3), as the birth of a human child by a human mother,…Scripture speaks of another birth of this Child, born at Bethlehem of a human mother. God Himself, speaking to His Anointed, the Messiah, tells Him Ps. 2:7 ["You are my son, today I have become your father."] Wisdom the Son of God, speaks of His birth before all times (Pro. 8:22-31["the LORD" or, "Jehovah begot me" or "created me," in many translations])…it is to this birth in the timeless eons of eternity that Micah refers here.—pp. 271-2. See TTDE pp. 108-120.

The American Standard Version sums up the situation which settles any question of the rank of the one to be born in Bethlehem, with the words of Micah 5:4:  "And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in  the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God:" This personage to be born in Bethlehem, and to be the ruler in Israel, as far as God was concerned, would do his work and feed his flock in the 'majesty of the name of his God Jehovah'! One who has someone else as his God cannot be the Most High.

[19] On Zechariah 12:10, the Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, informs:

138. The Relative Pronoun…This use of 9[a [asher, phonetically, ah.SHARE] is  generally rendered in English by he who, he whom (according to the context [that is if it is the nominative or the objective case]), or that which & c., of sometimes of such of a kind…In Zc 12¹⁰ also, instead of the unintelligible 9[! <! *-! [elai eth asher, "to me whom"], we should probably read <[!A-! [el asher, "to him whom"].—pp.444-6 and footnote.

When Zechariah 12:10 is quoted at John 19:37, we find the words "him," "the One," or, "the man." "Me" was not found in the more than 50 translations/versions consulted. The one that was "pierced," "thrust through" and "impaled," was not Jehovah. A.E. Kirkpartick stated: "it is Jehovah who has been thrust through in the Person of His representative."—The Doctrine of the Prophets, p. 472.

[20]  Now we approach a consideration of the verse on which more controversy has been generated, than, perhaps, any other in Scripture, John 1:1. First, we should keep in mind that John 1:1 speaks of only two individuals, not three; therefore, it cannot by used to "prove," nor, even, to indicate, that God is a trinity, consisting of, to coin a phrase, 'a committee of three equal partners.' What is the correct translation of this verse? Grammar and scriptural harmony must be carefully considered. We will produce the Greek text of Westcott and Hort of John 1:1 with a interlinear word-for-word literal translation:

jEn     ajrch'/    h\n   oJ   lovgo" kaiV  oJ  lovgo" h\n  proV"  toVn qeovn kaiV  qeoV"  h\n  oJ  lovgo"

                  in  (a) beginning   was    the    word    and   the  word    was   toward   the   God   and    a god   was  the   word

                              (or with)

Our attention is drawn to the phrase "and a god was the word." The words with the article ("the") before them such as "word" and the first occurrence of  "god") should be capitalized when rendering them into English. The use of the article (oJ ho, with the rough breathing mark (  J) over it, pronounced, hah) makes the noun following it definite, (who or what the subject is) and the noun should begin with a capitol letter to conform to English grammar and usage. Therefore, in regular English translations, we should find, "the Word," and "with the God" or, "with God." The last occurrence of the word "god" (qeoV", pronounced, theh.AHS) is without the definite article, therefore, the English indefinite article (the word "a")  should be inserted before it in English translations,  and in other languages having indefinite articles, in order

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 10

to comply with the idiom of such languages (if the noun without the definite article, in English, begins with a vowel or a vowel sound, the form "an" is used in English). This rule applies  to  nouns which  are with  the nominative  case,  (especially to predicate nominatives, also called predicate nouns) not to nouns with other cases, e.g. qeoVn at John 1:18 which is with the accusative case. (Greek does not have indefinite articles; Latin, by-the-way, does not have either definite nor indefinite articles.) This procedure, of inserting the "a" before unarticled (anarthrous) nouns with the nominative case, is demonstrated in J. Gresham Machen's New Testament Grammar For Beginners:

99. The verb eijmiv ["I am" or, any form thereof, such as "was" at John 1:1c] takes a predicate nominative, not an accusative, to complete its meaning. Examples: oJ ajpovstolo" a[nqrwpoÈ" ejstin, [literal translation: "the apostle man is"]  the apostle is a  man  [the word  order has been  changed and  the "a"  has been  inserted  to  conform  to English grammar and usage]…in the sentence the apostle is a man, it is not asserted that the apostle does anything to a man. A man, therefore, stands here not in the accusative case but in the predicate nominative.—p. 50.

In the above sentence, "a man," has the significance of  'one who is manly,' 'one who is courageous, decisive, responsible for his actions.' The characteristics, the qualities, of this person are being described, not his position nor his rank, not, who or what he is, but, how he is. How does this effect the proper understanding the last phrase of John 1:1? This last phrase is called John 1:1c by scholars. What have they said on the construction and meaning of John 1:1c?

There is no basis for regarding the predicate theos as definite…In John 1:1 I think that the qualitative force of the predicate [noun] is so prominent that the noun cannot be regarded as definite.—Philip Harner, Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume 92:1m, 1973, pp. 85, 7. (This rules out the translation: "the Word was God.")

Grammatically, John 1:1 is not a difficult verse to translate. It follows familiar, ordinary structures of Greek expression. a lexical ("interlinear") translation of the controversial clause would read: "And a god was the Word." A minimal literal ("formal equivalence") translation would rearrange the word order to match proper English expression: "And the Word was a god." The preponderance of evidence, from Greek grammar, from literary context, and from cultural environment, supports this translation, of which "the Word was divine" ["divine" in Moffatt; An American Translation; Stringfellow, et al.] would be a slightly more polished variant carrying the same basic meaning. Both of these renderings are superior to the traditional translation which goes against these three key factors that guide accurate translation. The NASB [New American Standard Bible], NIV [New International Version],  and NAB [New American Bible] follow the translation concocted by the KJV [King James Version] translators. This translation awaits a proper defense, since no obvious one emerges from Greek grammar, the literary context of John, or the cultural environment in which John is writing.—Jason David BeDuhn, associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff; Truth In Translation, Lanham, New York, Oxford, University Press of America, Inc., 2003, p. 132.

What is meant by the New World Translation by the rendering: "and the Word was a god"? In "Appendix 6A" of its 1984 large print reference edition, we find:

Jesus—A Godlike One; Divine

Jhn 1:1—"and the Word was a god (godlike; divine)"

Gr., kaiV qeoV" h\vn loÈgo" (kai the.os´ en ho lo´gos)

…a singular anarthrous predicate noun preceding the verb points to a quality about someone. Therefore, John's statement that the Word or Logos was "a god" or "divine" or "godlike" does not mean that he was the God with whom he was. It merely expresses a certain quality about the Word, or Logos, but it does not identify him as one and the same as God himself.—p. 1597.

So, then, the New World Translation, along with others which read the same or similarly, do not mean that the Word (the Son of God in his prehuman existence) was  'one of a group of beings called gods,' nor 'a second god,' but, 'one who

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 11

has godly qualities.' The Word was a god, not a god. The same type of description, with the same Greek construction, (syntax), being used, (i.e. an anarthrous predicate nominative occurring before the verb, the verb being a form of eijmiÈ) is found at John 6:70, where Jesus, speaking of Judas, says: "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" Judas was not Satan; Judas was not the equal of Satan; Judas was not one of the demons; Judas had the qualities of one who was devil-like, diabolical, a devil , not a devil (not one of the devils).  (For more on this see TTDE, pp. 37-45.)

[21] God sent His angel; Jesus sent his angel. They both have angels in their service. God sent one, Jesus sent one. This does not show that Jesus and God are the same. It does show that God is an individual differentiated from Jesus; God is not Jesus; Jesus is not God. Jesus is another individual different from God. Revelation 21:9 tells us that "one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues," was sent to John with additional knowledge from God, his giving of the additional knowledge continues up to 22:15. Then, Jesus begins to speak at verse 16, informing the readers of the book of Revelation, that he sent his angel in the role of a messenger, as first taught in chapter one. The angel in chapters 21 and 22 is in addition to the one spoken of in chapter one. The angel which gave John the messages for the seven congregations in the Roman province of Asia, was not the same angel of chapters 21 and 22.

[22] In these verses we are taught that 'every knee should bow to God and every knee should bow to Jesus.' Both God and Jesus are due this honor, this does not make them equal. God is shown to be One different from Jesus. No one is ever spoken of as bowing the knee to the holy spirit. At Revelation 4:8b-10, we read: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Which was, and is, and is to come." And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him That sat on the throne, Who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him That sat on the throne and cast their crowns before the throne." The Lord God Almighty (Jehovah) receives something which neither Jesus nor the holy ever receive; the crowns of the elders are cast before Him. This shows that the elders acknowledge the fact of having received their authority from the Lord God Almighty (Jehovah) such honor and acknowledgment is never given to Jesus nor the holy spirit. Let it be observed, that we are told of "Him" (one Person, not 'them') Who sat on the throne. No trinity taught here! No equality of Father and Son taught here!

[23] Yes, all men should honor the Son "in the same way as they honor the Father." Observe, please, this says "in the same way" this claim is correct, "in the same way." This does not say: 'to the same degree.' The word "as" is from the Greek kaqwV" (kathos, phonetically, kah.THOS). On this word the Thayer's Lexicon says: "kaqwV"…1. according as, just as, even as…Jn. I[1].23; v[5].23…2. according as i.e. in proportion as, in the degree that:" —p. 315. (John 5:23 is not listed as an example of, "in proportion as, in the degree that.") This shows that the Son must be honored in the same way, not to the same degree. What is to be given to the Son and the Father is the same type of honor, not worship. We honor both Father and Son by giving them love, respect and obedience. That such can be given in different degrees while giving such in the same way,  is illustrated by what  the women of Israel gave King Saul and David after a victory

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 12

over the enemies of Jehovah, as recorded at 1 Samuel 18:7: "And the  women answered one another as they played, and said, "Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands." And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands, and what can he have more but the kingdom?" So, then, the honor was of the same type, however, not to the same degree or level. So it is with the Father and the Son. As we have seen in Revelation the Father and the Son are both given honor, but the Father is given even more honor. No honor is ever said to be given, or, should be given, to the holy spirit.

[24] As noted in number "[4]" above, others were designated "saviors" by Jehovah God, the supreme Savior to act for Him as saviors for special purposes. This fact did not make them the equal of Almighty God. Acts 4:12, of course, speaks of the only name under heaven (not, 'in heaven') by which given among men by which they may get saved is that of the savior whom God sent, Jesus Christ. "In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent His only begotten Son; into the world, that we might live through Him….And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." 1 John 4:9, 14. Titus 1:4 and 3:6 do name Jesus as "Saviour." This is in keeping with number "[4]" above. Titus 1:3; 2:10 and 3:4, do not name Jesus as savior, as asserted by the BibleHelp.org paper.     

[25] Of course, the Creator, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is the One Who created the heavens and the earth.—Genesis 1:1.

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

 page 13

[26] Revelation 4:8b, 11, speak of the Lord God Almighty; this is the Father, Jehovah, not the Son, as we have shown in number "[13]" above. John 1:3 says in the New American Standard Version: "All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." Notice "through Him," the word "through" comes from the Greek diaV (dia, phonetically, deh.AH "through" or "by") the use of  diaV is very significant; in A Manuel Grammar Of The Greek New Testament, by Dana and Mantey, (both were professors at Baptist theological seminaries) we find:

Although diaV is occasionally used to express agency, it does not approximate the full strength of upov [sic: should be uJpoV, phonetically, hüe.PAH]. This distinction throws light on Jesus' relation to the creation, implying that Jesus was not the absolute, independent creator, but rather, the intermediate agent in creation…Jn 1:3…Heb 1:2…(Cf. Mr. 1:22; Lk. 2:18; Jn. 1:10)…(2) Passive With Intermediate Agent. When the agent is the medium through which the original cause has effected the action expressed by the passive verb. The regular construction is diaV with the genitive. pavnta di È[¹] autou' ejgevneto. All things were made through him. Here God the Father is thought of as the original cause of creation and the lovgo"["Word"] as the intermediate agent. See also: Mt. 1:22; Gal. 3:18.—pp. 102, 162.  

The Son of God was the agent, the intermediate cause, of bringing about the making of those things which his Father and God, (Ephesians 1:3) wished should be made; the Logos, the Word, is not identified as the original cause of those things. As it is written in John 1:10: "He was is in the world, and the world was made through [di v¹] Him, and the world did not know Him."—New American Standard Version.

Hebrews 1:1, 2, also, bears out this teaching of Holy Scripture, when it declares: "God Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by Whom also He make the worlds:" Yes, God made the worlds by His Son. Just as He had spoken previously to the fathers by the prophets, they being God's agents. Both the Son and prophets were used by the Almighty, Jehovah, to do that which Jehovah decided should be done. They were not Jehovah nor the equal of Jehovah; they were His chosen servants to perform His will. The Son of God is spoken of as the servant of Jehovah in Isaiah 52:13; 53:11; note the context of Isaiah 52:13–53:12 which record inspired prophecies concerning the future Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.

Colossians 1:15, 16 denotes that the Son is the image of the invisible God. The original of must first exist before there can be an image of it. The Father, Jehovah, is the Original; Jesus the Son, is the image of the Original. This is confirmed by the Son being called: "The first-born of all creation." [New American Standard Version, et al.; KJV: "the Firstborn of every creature."]. The expression "first-born of," in Scripture, always mans the first and/or, the strongest, the most important one of the group of which the one called the "first-born" is a member. (Cf.. Genesis 25:13; Exodus 6:4; 11:15 (thrice); 12:29 (thrice); 13:13, 15 (thrice); 22:29; 34:20; Numbers 3:13, 40, 46, 50: 8:16, 17; 18:15; Joshua 17:1 1 Chronicles 1:29; 2:3, 13, 25, 27, 50; 9:31; Nehemiah 10:36; Job 18:13; Psalms 135:8; Isaiah 14:30 and Colossians 1:15, (36 occurrences), all with the common meaning, 'the one coming into existence first and/or the most important, or strongest one of the group identified. Of what group or category is the Son identified as being a member?: Creation! He is, one of that group, a part of, that entity, called, "creation."

(Some have, erroneously, tried to find in 1 Chronicles 26:10 an exception to the above. Let us see if it is. "Also Hosah, of the children of Merari has sons; Simri the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;" (some translations read "first").  It is not written, Simri was made "first-born" by his father; he was made the head of the family under his father, Merari. Simri still has one who was the first-born, nothing could change that fact. Both Simri and the actual "first-born" had a beginning of life. First Chronicles 26:10 has no relevance when studying the phrase "the first-born of," which is a genitive setting ("of" or, "from") according to Greek and Hebrew grammar.

If "all things" at Colossians 1:16 is taken in the absolute sense, then the Son of God brought himself and even his God into existence. Such a thought is clearly untenable, unthinkable. The fact that the Son is "the first-born of all creation" those things which came into existence after he did, must be described as all the other things that were produced by the Son acting as the agent for his Father. That even God, Himself is identified as one of the things, Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:27.

____________________

          1 di È, is the shortened (elided) form of  diaV. Words in Greek are elided by dropping the last letter to avoid a repetition of sounds when a word ends with the same sound with which the next word begins, or when the next word begins with a vowel. This does not change the meaning of the word.        

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND  RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 14

We find a similar thought at 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6: "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of [Greek, ejx, ex, phonetically, ex; "out of"] Whom are all things and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ by [di È] are all things, and we by [di È] Him." The One God here acknowledged is the Father, the One from Whom all things are. The Son is the means by which the One God of Christians had all things—other than God and His Son—come to have life or, existence.

This thought is confirmed by an observation from The Interpreters Bible:

But Paul meant much more than the affirmation of heontheism the restriction of worship to the God of the Christian faith. In his eyes only one is really God, the Father of all, who is the creator and consummation of all things. So likewise Jesus Christ was not one Lord among many. He is the only true Lord, one who shared his place with no other because he is the one mediator of creation. Paul chose his prepositions ["out of," "by," "through"] carefully in order to distinguish between God the Father, who is the ultimate source of creation, and Christ the Lord, through whom this activity took place.—Volume X[10], p. 93.

Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer wrote in his Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Corinthians, 1894:

it means that Jesus Christ, in His premundane existence, is the Son of God…was He through whom God brought about the creation of the world…Christ in the physical creation, is the causa medians [an intermediate cause] Just as we Christians have but one God, the true Creator, whose designs we serve; so, to, we have but one Lord, the true Mediator, to whom all things owe their being, and we our Christian existence that which we are as Christians.—p. 242, in some editions pp. 187, 8.

 [27] Did Jesus participate in his own resurrection? We will explore the answer as we proceed. Of course, God the Father, Jehovah, raised his Son from the dead.

[28] On John 2:19: Jesus raised himself in the same sense that Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah condemned the world: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." How did Noah condemn the world? Certainly, he did not have the power nor the means to do so. He condemned the world by showing faith, obedience and to what God commanded him to do. Noah showed that such was humanly possible, that Jehovah was not asking too much of mankind to live a decent honorable life, and to believe the warnings of God. Thus, Noah (and his family) gave Jehovah the legal and moral grounds for destroying the wicked world of that time.

So, too, the Son of God demonstrated the same qualities that Noah had, faith, obedience and faithfulness to his God. In these ways he gave Jehovah the legal and moral grounds for resurrecting His Son. At Revelation 1:18 (as we have already read) Jesus declared: "I am he that liveth, and was dead;" one who is dead cannot carry any activity, let alone resurrect himself from the dead.

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 15

On John 10:17, 18a (and 18b): Even reading these verses from the KJV, with the words: "take it again," the implication is obvious that he had 'taken' his life previously. This first 'taking of life' occurred as described at Proverbs 8:22-31 and Micah 5:2, as we have already studied. Verse 18b confirms that Jesus was speaking of the "power" he had received from his Father, when he said: "This commandment have I received of my Father." The Greek word from which "power" is derived is ejxousiva (exousia, phonetically, ex.u.SEE.ah) it is translated in many versions as "authority."

The New American Standard Version reads on these verses: "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down  My life that I may take it again. 'No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." Even more explicit renderings are found in The New English Bible, The Revised English Bible and The Scriptures (along with others): "The Father loves me because I lay down my life, to receive it back again. No one has robbed me of it; I am laying it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to receive it back again; this charge I have received from my Father." In saying "receive it back again," Jesus is acknowledging that he had received his life once before, and he would receive once again when he would be resurrected. Jesus received his life from the Father, not only once but twice. One who has received life is not the Creator, Jehovah God, nor His equal.

("Receive it again," or, "receive it back again," found also in Twentieth Century New Testament; Rotherham; Weymouth; Young's Concise Critical Bible Commentary; Improved Version, 1808; The Four Gospels, Nathan S. Fol- som; The Syriac New Testament, James Murdoch; The New Testament, William Barclay; New World Translation.) 

"Receive" in "receive it back" and "received" in "this command I have received from my Father," are taken from forms of the same Greek word lambaVnw (lambano, phonetically, lahm.BAHN.oh). Passive voice (when the subject receives the action) uses of lambano are found also in Luke 6:34; John 14:17; Acts 3:3, 5; 26:18; Hebrews 10:26.) Lambano is defined in various lexicons as:

"receive (what is given); to gain, get, obtain…to receive, get back…Jn. x [10]:18—Thayer's, p. 317.

"Originally meaning of 'again' repetition of a previous action.—Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. p. 475.

What previous action was to be repeated at the resurrection of the Son of God?: The giving of life to him by his Father and God: "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to My God and your God. —John 20:17.

This ends our consideration of the points listed in the BibleHelp.org, "Reference Section 2." We have seen that what that paper claimed, is not in harmony with the Biblical witness of the Word of God concerning the relationship of God and His Son.

Now, we turn our attention to another paper issued by BibleHelp.org; we will list the scriptures and applicable text in that paper:

We now consider scriptures which were not included in "Reference Section 2" of the BibleHelp.org paper, but are included in their "Section 1":

[29] Reading the entire account of Ananias, Acts 2:1-4, will shed much light on the matter:

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 16

said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

The money was laid at the feet of the apostles. Are we then, to conclude, that the apostles were not men? Are we to conclude that the apostles were the holy spirit? Are we to conclude that somehow the apostles were God? Of course the meaning is: 'You have lied [or, "played false"] to not only men but the holy spirit and to God.'

The account of Jonah will help us see the accurate meaning in the message through Peter. It is said of Jonah in the book which is called by his name, that Jonah finally arrived in Assyria :

So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh, was an exceeding great city of  three days'  journey. And  Jonah began  to enter the  city a day's journey, and he

cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Would it be reasonable to conclude that Jonah was God, because it was said that the people "believed God," when Jonah was the one who spoke?

Some may ask: 'How can a person 'lie to' or 'play false to,' something that is not a person? Scripture contains examples of that being done. At Mark 4:39 it is written about Jesus: "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea. Peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great clam." At Luke 4:39 it is written: "And he [Jesus] stood over her [Peter's mother-in-law], and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them."  The prodigal son was on his way home and he rehearsed his apology to be given to his father; he thinks of the words he will use: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee." Are the wind and the sea, the fever, and heaven persons. No! Therefore, it can be seen that non-livings entities can be said to receive an action, without putting them in the class of living personages.

But, how can non-living entities be 'lied to' or, 'played false to?' Notice this instance as recorded in the Modern Language Bible (also known as The New Berkeley Version) at James 3:14: "But if you cherish bitter jealously and rivalry in your hearts, do not pride yourselves in this and play false to the truth." "be false to the truth," English Standard Version. (Other translations read: "lie against the truth," "attach the truth," or similarly.) "The truth" is said be receiving an action. How is this possible?

We need to explore the meaning of the Greek word yuVdomai (pseudomai, phonetically, PSÜ.dah.my) forms of which are used at Acts 5:3, 4 and James 3:14, it is defined in the Thayer lexicon page 675, as: "To deceive, cheat…to show one's self deceitful, play false…to lie, to speak deliberate false-hoods." "The truth" is not a person, the use of yuVdomai in connection with the holy spirit, does not automatically show the holy spirit to be a person. Ananias was "playing false to God and to the spirit which was given to Christians. This is just as one could say to one who has not fulfilled his or her duty: 'You have played false to the trust given to you.'

[30] The answer is to this is very simple; God spoke to Isaiah by means of the holy spirit. The holy sprit was the medium through which Jehovah spoke to the prophets, just as it says in 2 Peter 1:20, 21: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Scriptures A New Translation From The Original Languages, by J.N. Darby, the American Standard Version, and Young's Literal Translation, record David saying at 2 Samuel 23:2"The Spirit of Jehovah s poke by me, And his word was on my tongue. These verses show how God uses His holy spirit as one means of communicating His thoughts to His servants. As Jesus said, when some of the Pharisees objected to his disciples saying of Jesus: "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and  glory  in the highest."  Jesus  responded: "I tell you that, if  these should hold their peace,   the stones would  immediately cry out."  (Luke 19:37b, 38, 40) If   'the stones had cried out,' they

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 17

would not be living personages; they would just be the means of communication, as is a loudspeaker today. So it is with Jehovah using His holy spirit to be the same.

[31] Yes, anointed, truly born again Christians have God's spirit dwelling in them. That fact does not make the spirit of God, God. The KJV, the American Standard Version and the New American Standard Version, here, uses the phrase "dwelleth (or, "dwells in you") instead of "living in you." The Greek word rendered "dwelleth, "dwells" or "living" is oikevw (oikeo, phonetically, oi.KEH.oh). It is used both of living and non-living entities dwelling within someone. Romans 7:18, 20, use forms of oikevw and speak of good things not dwelling in Paul and the sinful tendencies dwelling in him; these are not living entities. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 3:16 cannot be used in an attempt to prove that God's spirit is a person. See: Vine's Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words, under "dwell."

The words translated "one" in both of the above verses are very significant. In the Greek of Mk. 12:29, 32 the word translated "one" is ei|" (eis, phonetically —because of rough breathing mark over the diphthong  ei) hace, rhymes with "ace"); ei|" has reference to a single object. Examples: Matthew 8:19: "And a certain (ei|") scribe came, and said to him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Matthew 9:18: "While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain [ei|"] ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live." Mark 14:47: "And one (ei|") of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear." All these occurrences have reference to a single individual, not a composite group identified as a unified combination. This is how God Himself is identified; a single individual. Jehovah is shown to be a "him;" Jehovah is not shown to be a 'them.'

The expression: "The Lord ["the", not in the Greek] our God, the ["the", not in the Greek] Lord is one," is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Great Shema, as it is called by the Hebrew speaking people and others, after the first word in the verse, "Shema," "listen," or, "hear.") The American Standard Version reads at this verse: "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah" The Hebrew word for "one" is  $¯¼ (echod, phonetically, ekh.HAHD). $¯¼ has same meaning (when used without plural modifiers) as the Greek ei|", a single individual or object. Examples: from Genesis chapter 42,  verse 11: "We are all one [echod] man's sons," verse 13:"And they said, "Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one [echod] man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one [echod] is not." (These brothers of Joseph spoke of Benjamin, the youngest one of the brothers, and of Joseph, the one whom they thought, or, at least said, was dead.) At 1 Kings 4:19, we read: "Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only [echod] officer which was in the land." All these uses of echod refer to a single person.

The Broadman Bible Commentary offers this observation on Deuteronomy 6:4, with reference to the Almighty:

He is unique…He is not many, but one…Yahweh is a single unified person…one Lord is also opposite to diffuse…His is single…God's person and his will are single…Israel is called to concentrate its undivided attention in Yahweh himself. He alone is worthy of full devotion and he is one-single and unique.

The Creator is identified, in Scripture, as a monad, a single person, not as a God made up of more than one individual. See TTDE pp. 26, 27 and Genesis 2:21: "one of his ribs;" 11:1: "one language;" 19:9: "This one fellow;" 21:15: "one of the shrubs" etc. etc. word 259 in the "Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary" in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible.

"1 Tim. 2:5  "For there is one God…"  [32]

[32] The complete verse reads: "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus."

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 18

[32] We note that God and Jesus are clearly mentioned as two different identities, God in one, Jesus in another. God is Someone other than Jesus Christ.

"1 Cor 8:4  "and there is no God but one."  [33]

[33] In verse six of this chapter the apostle Paul is inspired by God's holy spirit, to identify Who the one God is: "But to us there is but one God, the Father," The One God to Christians is the Father!

"Gal. 3:20  "…but God is one."  [34]

[34] The full verse reads: "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one." The one God is referenced using the word ei|"; once more He is shown to be a single person.

"James 2:19  "You believe there is one God. Good!…"  [35]

[35] Once again, the word ei|". The one God is one, not several combined.

"Ps. 86:10   "…you alone are God."  [36]

[36] The Psalm begins with the supplication: "Bow down Thine ear, O LORD;" (of course, the spelling "LORD" makes it known that in the Hebrew text we find the name of God %&%* (JHVH or YHWH, not the word 1$! adon, "lord".) The One of Whom it is said: "you alone are God," is Jehovah, God the Father. This excludes anyone else from being God.

"Deut. 6:4, 5  "The Lord our God, the Lord is one…"  [37]

[37] In the KJV we see: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Yes, Jehovah is one (echod); He is to be loved with all the faculties mankind has. We have treaded this scripture in number "[32]" above.

"Isa. 44:8  "Is there another God besides me?"  [38]

[38] Here Jehovah speaks to the prophet, as verse 2 shows ("Thus saith the LORD"), declaring that there is no God but He. There is no other God; Jehovah is the one and only Supreme Being.

[39] Truly, Jehovah is the only God; there is no God but He.

"Mal. 2:10  Did not one God create us?"  [40]

[40] One God did create all humans; this He did through His Son (Hebrews 1:2) the one who later became Jesus Christ."

(NOTE: None of the above scriptures mention three persons being the one God.)

From the scriptures considered, we have learned that: (1) There is only one God; that one God is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. (2) There is none  besides Him, as far as being the God  Who created  the  spiritual realm and then

QUOTATIONS FROM—AND  RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 19

the physical universe. He alone is the One Who is the Most High over all the earth; He, and He alone, is the One known by the name Jehovah.—Psalms 83:18.

SOME SCRIPTURES TEACHING THAT THE FATHER, JEHOVAH, IS THE ONE WITHOUT EQUAL, THAT NOT EVEN ONE, NOT EVEN TWO OTHERS, SHARE WITH HIM THE KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM AND AUTHORITY UNIQUE TO HIM:

(UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS WILL BE TAKEN FROM THE

 New American Standard Version)

Daniel 7:13, 14: "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed." (The Son is given all that he has and will have, by his Father, the "Ancient of Days." If the Son were the equal of his Father and God in the highest sense of the word, he would not need to be given these, there could be no one who could give them to him, he would have them from all eternity.) Matthew 28:18b: "All power is given (emphasis added) unto me in heaven and in earth."

Matthew 20:20-23: "Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down, and making a request of Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to Him, "We are able." He said to them, "My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father."— (Jesus did not have the authority to say who would have what positions in his Kingdom; such could only be given by his Father.)

Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Only the Father had knowledge of the day and hour of the end of the wicked system under Satan. The Son did not know; the holy spirit did not know, the Father alone knew. If the Son and the holy spirit were God, co-equal with the Father, Jehovah, they would also have known; however, they did not!)

John 4:24: "God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (When Jesus said this, he was not spirit, he was human. Therefore, he could not be God as trinitarians would have others believe, that he was "truly God and truly man in the flesh.)

John 14:28: "the Father is greater than I." What could be more obvious than that statement by Jesus; his Father was greater than he. The full verse sheds much light on the relative relationship between Father and Son: "You head that I said to you, 'I go away, and I will come to you.'; If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father for the Father is greater than I."

Christ was speaking of the One in whose presence he would be when he returned to heaven. He would be in the presence of his Father, Jehovah, he would be with the One, Who is and would be, greater than he.

Some have said about the word "greater," that it means higher in authority and position, and that it had reference to the inferior position of Jesus on earth, because Jesus was a human when he said it. However, with such a claim they deny the doctrine of the trinity which asserts that Jesus, on earth, was fully man and fully God. 1 John 4:4 instructs: "You are from God; little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world. The One Who is in the Christians is God; the one who is in the world is Satan. Is Jehovah, the One Who is in the Christians, loving, kind, merciful, wise, all powerful, all knowing? Of course! Satan has none of these qualities. We can see that "greater," does not have to do with only authority or position.

What is the meaning of the word "greater"? According to the Thayer lexicon we see: "meivzwn [meizon, phonetically, MY.zohn] is used of those who surpass others—either in nature and power, as God: Jn. x [10]. 29…xiv [14]. 28…or in excellence, worth, authority, etc." Meizon as used at John 14:28, includes the connotation of: "those who surpass others

QUOTAIONS FROM—AND RESPONSES TO—BibleHelp.org

page 20

—in nature and power, as God."  How does the Father, Jehovah, surpass the Son in nature? Jehovah never had a beginning; He is from all eternity. The Son had a beginning, he being the "first-born of all creation."

John 17:3: Jesus in prayer to his Father said: "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." (Jesus identified his Father as the "only true God." "True" comes from the Greek ajlhqinov" (alethinos, phonetically, al.ay.they.NAHS) according to the Thayer lexicon in has the meaning of: "that which has not only the name and semblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name:…in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real and true, genuine" (p. 27) Only the One to Whom Jesus prayed has all the real nature and the only One Who has, in every respect, all that is signified by the word "God." No one else is the equal of the Father in these attributes, not the Son nor the holy spirit. The Father is "the only true God," God to the complete degree, the highest degree.)

Acts 1:6, 7: "And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time Your are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority." (The Father is the One Who has fixed certain times or epochs by His own authority; no one else has the authority to fix such.)

1 Corinthians 11:3: "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ." (If Christ were the equal of God, he could not have one who is his head, his superior, Christ does have such a one. Christ cannot be God to the same level of his Father.)

1 Corinthians 15:28: "And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all." (God cannot be subjected to anyone; the Son is subjected to his Father; he cannot be God.)

Revelation 3:2, 12: The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said to the congregation in Sardis: "Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God…He who over comes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it any more; and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. (The Most High cannot have one who is his God, the Son does. The Son cannot be the Most High.)

The doctrine of God being a trinity of three co-equal persons in not a Biblical teaching, in fact, it is an anti-Biblical teaching not worthy to be believed by true Christians!

A PRAYER FOR ALL:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him; the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he called you, what the glorious riches are which he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones, and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers."—Ephesians 1:17-19, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.