tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82901849784437090392024-02-20T15:22:01.141-08:00The Christian MonotheistJessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957678781830016789noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290184978443709039.post-34026292283780278592011-12-22T16:20:00.000-08:002011-12-22T16:28:21.000-08:00<div style="color: #f3f3f3; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Who is Jesus: Do the Creeds Tell Us the Truth About Him?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anthony Buzzard</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What
sense is there in clinging to a doctrine of the trinity which offends Jews and
Muslims and which Jesus would not have believed? mark 12:28-34 shows Jesus to
be in line with the cardinal tenet of Judaism: God is a single person, the
Father of Jesus. psa 110:1 says it clearly. The One God speaks in an oracle
about <i>Adoni</i>, positively not <i>Adonai</i>! God does not speak to God! He
speaks to the Lord Messiah (<i>Adoni</i>, "my Lord, the king,
Messiah"). <i>Adoni</i> refers some195 times to superiors <i>other than
God</i>. It is a word describing human beings and occasionally angels.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The old
arguments about <i>echad</i> being a compound unity ar fallacious. The word
means "one and not two or more. "One flesh" is still <i>one</i>
flesh. The idea of plurality is derived not from the word <i>echad</i> but from
the idea of two persons being on flesh. But there is nothing in the context of
the biblical statements about the "One God" that hints at plurality.
In fact, <i>Adonai</i> (or the sacred name) is referred to by singular pronouns
and accompanied by singular verbs multiple thousands of times. Singular
pronouns tell us that God is one person. Rabbi Paul was not a Trinitarian. He
believed in "one God, the Father and one Lord Jesus Messiah (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Co_1:1-4</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). The
Lord Messiah is not the Lord God. In </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Gal_3:20</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, Paul
said (according to the Amplified Bible) "God is [only] one person. There
is no occurrence of the word "God" in the whole Bible that can be
proved to mean "God in three persons." That is because the
Bible-writers had never heard of the Trinity and did not believe in it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The old
argument about Elohim having a plural ending and thus pointing to a Trinity. .
.was apparently not heard of until the 12th Century. It has been constantly
rejected by scholars in both RC and Protestant camps. Yet it continues to be
promoted by Dave Hunt whom many trust as an expert. Dave Hunt tells the public
that non-trinitarians are "pseudo-Christian cultists." He says that
"aberrant groups reject the
Trinity. He also promotes the myth that the Trinity can be traced back through
the early church fathers to the NT. This is not possible since, as many
Patristic experts know, the earliest Fathers were unitarians in the sense that
they believed the Son was begotten in time, not in eternity. The
"Son" of these Fathers was definitely subordinated to the Father. He
was <i>not</i> co-equal and co-eternal with the Father.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A dying
God?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">God only
has immortality (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Ti_6:16</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). How, If Jesus is God, can he have died? <i>An immortal person
cannot die</i>! That is a flat contradiction. Does it honor God to speak in
such contradictions? -- that Jesus as God (who is immortal) died? How can
Jesus, if he is God, not know the time of his second coming (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_13:32</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">)? God is
omniscient. Jesus did not know everything. Therefore, Jesus cannot be God,
unless language has ceased to have any meaning. God cannot be tempted (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jas_1:13</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">), but
Jesus was tempted. If he was not fully human, his temptation was a charade. Did
Jesus give up being god when he died? Did he give up being God when he did not
know when he would return? How can God give up being God? That would mean that
Jesus was not when he was on earth.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Trinitarians
[and Binitarians] argue that only God could be the savior. But if Jesus, as
God, could not die, how can he have saved us? Cannot God appoint a sinless man
to be savior (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_17:31</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_2:22</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">) "A
man approved of God")? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All of
these complex questions are solved if Bible-readers observe some simple facts:
Thousands upon thousands of times in the Bible (someone has calculated over
11,000 times), God is described by personal pronouns in the <i>singular</i> (I,
me, you, he, him). These pronouns in all languages describe <i>single persons</i>,
not [two] or three persons. There are thus thousands of verses that tell us
that the "only true God" (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_17:3</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_5:44</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">,
"the one alone is God") is one person, not [two] or three.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There is
no place in the OT or NT where the word "God" can be proved to mean
"God-in-three-persons." The word God therefore, in the Bible never
means the Trinitarian [or Binitarian] God. . ."The word "God" in
the NT means the Father, except (for certain) in two passages where 'God'
refers to Jesus in a secondary sense (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_1:8</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_20:28</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). If
Jesus is a much entitled to be called God as his Father, why these
extraordinary facts? The word "God" can be used of a man who reflects
and represents the true God (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_82:6</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Exo_7:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Why did
all translations in English before the King James render </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_1:1-3</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> :
"All things were made by <i>It</i> (not him)? How do you know that Jesus
was the <i>eternal</i> Son of God, when no verse of Scripture calls him that?
What if the <i>word or wisdom</i> was with God (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_1:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">) and was
fully expressive of God, and this wisdom became embodied in the real human
being Jesus (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_1:14</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">)? Jesus would then be a human being who is the perfect
embodiment and expression of the wisdom
and creative activity of God ("the word became flesh, "not" the
Son became flesh"). If so, Luke's statement would be exactly right.
"Because of the supernatural begetting of Jesus in the womb of Mary, Jesus
is entitled to be called the Son of God" (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_1:35</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). .
.There is not a hint in Matthew, Mark, Luke Acts, or Peter that Jesus
pre-existed his birth. There is also no proof in the OT. God did not speak
through a so-called pre-existing Son in OT times (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_1:1-2</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Eternal
Begetting?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Does the
term "eternally begotten" make sense? How can someone who has had no
beginning be begotten? He can't. The term becomes, therefore, an oxymoron, a
contradiction of terms. That which is eternal has no beginning or ending! There
are no verses in the OT or NT which speak of Jesus being begotten by the Father
<i>in eternity</i>, including </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pro_8:22-31</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, which
speaks of wisdom personified, not the Son. All references to the begetting of
Jesus are either to his conception and birth (luk 1:35; matt 1:20; Acts 13:33
or to his resurrection (v. 34), his appointment to kingship (Psalm 2). Without
an "eternal begetting" of the Son there is no Trinitarian (or
binitarian) doctrine.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Adam
Clarke says, "The doctrine of the eternal sonship of Christ is, in my
opinion, antiscriptural and highly dangerous. I have not been able to find any
express declaration of it in the Scriptures.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">J. O.
Buswell, former dean of the Graduate School, Covenant College, St. Louis, Mo.,
and writing as a Trinitarian said, "The notion that the Son was begotten
by the Father in eternity past, not as an event, but as an inexplicable
relationship, has been accepted and carried along in the Christian theology
since the fourth century. . .we have examined all the instances in which
'begotten' or 'born' or related words are applied to Christ, and we can say
with confidence that <i>the bible has nothing whatsoever to say about
'begetting' as an eternal relationship between the Father and the Son</i>."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Church
History</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Writers
of the standard encyclopedias tell us this fact about church history:
"Trinitarianism as a theological movement began much earlier in history;
indeed, it antedated Trinitarianism by many decades. Christianity derived from
Judaism, and Judaism was strictly unitarian. The road which led from Jerusalem
to the Council of Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century
Trinitarianism <i>did not reflect accurately</i> early Christian teaching
regarding the nature of God; it was, to the contrary, a deviation from this
teaching (EA).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tertullian.
. .was clearly not a Trinitarian. He wrote: "God has not always been the
Father. For he could not have been a Father <i>previous to the Son</i>. There
was a time when the Son did not exist" (<i>Against Hermogenes</i>). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Michael
Schamus in <i>Dogma</i>, vol.3, <i>God and His Christ</i>, p. 216, explains,
"The Christian writers of the second and third centuries considered the
Logos as the eternal <i>reason</i> of the Father [not the eternal Son], but as
having at first no distinct existence from eternity; he [Son of God] received
this only when the Father generated him from within His own being and sent him
to create the world and rule over the world. The act of generation then was not
considered as an eternal and necessary life-act, <i>but as one which had a
beginning in time</i>, which mean that the Son was <i>not equal to the Father</i>,
but subordinate to Him. Even Origen, who in the third century initiated the
concept of "eternal generation" of the Son was not an orthodox
Trinitarian. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Origen, p. 1009,
declares, "Origen's philosophical suppositions ensure that for him the Son
can be divine only in a <i>lesser sense</i> than the Father; the Son is <i>theos</i>
(god), but only the Father is <i>autotheos</i> (absolute God, God in Himself).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Creed
of Israel, of Jesus, and of True Christianity</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It seems
incredible that Jesus, who recited the great creed of Israel (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_12:28-34</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">) and was
a Jew, could possibly have believed in a Trinity. . .Jesus confirms and
perpetuates the creed of Israel which described God as one person, the Father.
He then defined himself as the Lord Messiah of psa 110:1 to whom he One Lord
god spoke in an oracle about the future. . .This "my Lord" of David
is translated from a Hebrew form of the word "lord" (<i>Adon<u>i</u></i>)
which is used 195 times to describe <i>a man</i> as distinct from God. God is <i>Adona<u>i</u></i>
(long vowel) and the Messiah is <i>Adon<u>i</u></i> short vowel, "my Lord,
the Messiah, the King"). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No Jew
could have expected his Messiah to be God in the Trinitarian sense. Moses
predicted the arrival of the Messiah by saying that God would not speak to the
people directly, but through a person like him, who would be raised up in
Israel (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Deu_18:15-18</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; Acts 13:33). To say that the Messiah is God
Himself contradicts this prophecy, which announces that this person <i>is not
God but a human prophet</i>! Peter and Stephen teach that it was fulfilled in
the human Messiah (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_3:22</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_7:37</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">), who perfectly reflects the will and the words of his Father and
who is the "visible image" of god, but not God Himself.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Clearly,
the One god is the Father and in close association is the one Lord Messiah (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_16:16</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). [see
also </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Jn_2:22</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">].</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Finally,
as to the pre-existence of Christ, Paul Tillich remarks on </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_8:58</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> (Before
Abraham was I am [he]): "This means that the universal logos, the
principle of divine manifestation, is present in Jesus" (<i>A History of
Christian Thought</i>, p.409). This does not mean that the Son of god
pre-existed but that God's plan did. As Harnack remarked, "The miraculous
genesis of Christ (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_1:18</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_1:20</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_1:35</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">) in the virgin of the HS and the real pre-existence and the
pre-existence are of course, mutually exclusive (<i>History of Dogma</i>). Luke
and Matthew denied the Trinity when they described the coming-into-existence of
the Son of God by miracle.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957678781830016789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290184978443709039.post-52753018178553508922011-12-21T20:26:00.000-08:002011-12-22T16:29:14.095-08:00<div style="color: #f3f3f3;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">According to Jesus</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anthony Buzzard</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">God is strictly one person, not
two or three. Christians who value Jesus as the Supreme revealer of truth
should consider his classic words, uttered in final prayer. "You father,
are the only one who is truly God" (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_17:3</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">It is a serious hijacking of
Jesus' words if one <i>adds</i> to Jesus' creed. For Jesus, his Father is
"the one alone who is truly God, the only one who is truly God (see also </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_5:44</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> and </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_12:29</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">These utterances are clear
without a hint of ambiguity. Yet they have been ignored by the church bearing
Jesus' name. The church has for centuries, since post-biblical times, defined
God as <i>three</i> persons. Jesus defined God as <i>one</i> person, the
Father. Jesus believed and taught unitary monotheism. He had never heard of the
Trinity -- or if he had, he rejected it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Centuries later, after church
counsels had invested iron-clad creeds and imposed them on the faithful,
Augustine came face to face with Jesus' definition of God as the "only one
who is truly God." What was he to do? The church by then had lost Jesus'
creed. It propagated everywhere belief that God was <i>three</i> persons. The
innocent sentence in </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Joh_17:3</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> stated that God was a single person, <i>not</i> three persons.
Here is Augustine's "solution." He wrote: "The proper order of
the words is 'that they may know you <i>and Jesus Christ, the only true God</i>"
(Tractates on John, 105:3). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">It is hard to see how one can
have the words of Jesus and the words of post-biblical creeds at the same time.
Following Jesus means believing his teachings. Jesus' teaching about how many
persons are the One God is really not difficult: "You , Father, are the only true God." Jesus is the
Lord Messiah (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_2:11</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">; </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">), the <i>Son</i> of God (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_16:16</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">), but <i>not</i>
the One True God. The word "one" should be clear to all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">If anyone has any question about
this, he should consult the thousands of singular personal pronouns used for
God in the Bible. "I," "me," "mine,"
"myself," "thee," "thy." "thine,"
"thyself," "he," "him," "his,"
"himself." All these words, as well as God's proper name (Yahweh)
followed by singular verbs (6700 times), ought to convince the open-minded that
God is one person, not more, And monotheism -- belief that God is one -- is,
according to Jesus, of critical importance (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_12:29</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Jesus, the Son of God, is the
perfect human reflection of the One God, his Father. But he is <i>not</i> God.
He is the sinless second Adam and the "prophet to be raised up from the
house of Israel" (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Deu_18:15-18</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">).
Created and begotten in the womb of his mother by the poser of God's Spirit, he
is designated "Son of God" (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_1:35</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">). The
idea that he is "eternally begotten" not only has no recognizable
meaning in language, but it is false to Scripture. "Eternal
generation" contradicts the important biblical fact that the Son of God
was begotten "today," not in eternity (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_2:7</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">; cp. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_13:33</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">,
referring in the latter text to the birth of Jesus). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957678781830016789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290184978443709039.post-15429714002957083072011-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:002011-12-22T16:29:20.563-08:00<div style="color: #f3f3f3; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sit Thou At My Right Hand</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Allon Maxwell</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This Old Testament verse, from
Psalm 11:1, is quoted in the New Testament no less than 22 times![1] The
Messianic significance attached to it by the New Testament writers demands our
attention.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is unfortunate that the
translators of the KJV clouded the meaning of David's words by assigning an
upper case "L" to that second "lord" in the verse. This
"lapse" has unfortunate complications for those who are unable to
read the Hebrew text themselves. It fails to follow the normally expected
"translators' convention" which uses an upper case "L" to
distinguish between two quite different Hebrew words, one of which always
refers to God, and the other of which never refers to God. The error has been
perpetuated by some later versions (KJV, NASB, NIV), but has been recognized
and corrected, by several others (RSV, NRSV, NEB). That upper case
"L" has led many to misuse the verse as a Trinitarian "proof
text." However, as we shall see, that is not the intention of the verse at
all.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">More
About that "Translators' Error</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In our
English Bibles, the same word "lord" translates several distinct
Hebrew words. A long established "translators' convention" uses
different combinations of upper and lower case letters ("LORD,"
"Lord," and "lord") to differentiant between the Hebrew
words.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When we
see "Lord" written with an upper case "L," those of us who
don't read Hebrew rely on the established convention that it is, most often, a
translation of "Adonai."[2]</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The problem
is that in this verse the original Hebrew word is not "adonai"! In
this one verse, the KJV has clouded the issue by assigning an upper case
"L" to the quite different word "ADONI." In all other
places where this word is translated as "lord" in the KJV, it appears
with a lower case "l."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
Hebrew Lesson</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We need
forst to look at the use of all the Hebrew words which are translated
"lord." the information for the following short "Hebrew lesson
has been gleaned from Young's Concordance and recent E-mail correspondence with
my good friend Anthony Buzzard.[3]</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">YHVH,
ADON, ADONI AND ADONI</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Young
lists eleven Hebrew words which are translated "lord." The four which
concern us here are those listed in the heading immediately above.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1. YHVH </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Yahweh
or Jehovah) This word is the first "LORD" in </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">. It is
the Divine Name considered so sacred by the Jews that it is never pronounced.
Instead when reading from Scriptures they substitute the word
"Adonai" (see below). The accepted convention is that in English
translations it always appears as either LORD or GOD (all upper case) thus enabling us to recognize that the original
word is "Yahweh."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2. ADON </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This word
is formed from the Hebrew consonants Aleph, Dalet, Nun. It appears often in
this form (without any suffix). Apart from about 30 occasions where it refers
to the Divine Lord, all of the other occurrences refer to human lords. In
English, it always has a loser case "l," except on those
comparatively few occasions where it refers to God. In those cases it is given
an upper case "L."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is important to distinguish
between "Adon" and three other similar, but quite distinct, words
which are formed from it by the addition of suffixes.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3. ADONAI</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
"Adonai" accounts for two of the three other words just mentioned
above. It is formed from the root wore "adon" with the addition of
the suffix "AI." In its main form, it always refers to God, <b>and no
one else</b>. The accepted form of "Adonai" has different vower point
under the "N" to distinguish it from the second mush less common form
of the word. (The second form of "Adonai" is used in the plural, of
men, very occasionally.)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">4. ADONI</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> This is
formed by adding the suffix "i" to "adon." With this suffix
it means <b>"my lord.</b> (It is also sometimes translated as
"master.") It appears 195 times, and is used almost entirely of human
lords (but occasionally of angels). When
translated "lord," it always appears with a lower case "l"
(except for that one time in </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">THE VOWEL
POINTS IN PSALM 110:1</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Hebrew
text identifies vowels by a system of "vowel points" (which, to the
untrained eye, look like random "dots" and "squiggles")
placed above, below, or alongside the appropriate consonant. This vowel
pointing system was developed by the Masoretes.[4]</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now for
some more information provided by Anthony Buzzard.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As
mentioned above, the two words "ADONAI" and "ADONI" are
both formed from the root word "ADON." They share the same consonants
-- ADNY, i.e. in Hebrew ALEPH, DALET, NUN, YOD. The difference is in th vowel
pointing -- "ADONAI" is formed by placing the point
"quamets" under NUN. -- "ADONI" is formed by placing the
point "hireq" under NUN. (Just one tiny letter different, but an
enormous difference in meaning!).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">CONFIRMATION
FROM THE SEPTUAGENT</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There are
some who persist in reading the word ADONAI in this verse, instead of ADONI.
This is usually justified by claiming that the Masoretes have assigned the
wrong vowel points. However, the "Greek Factor" from the Septuagint
version (LXX) supports the Masoretes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
following information was passed on to me recently by Bill Wachtel.[5]</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
Hebrew text in Ps. 110:1 is actually LADONI ("L" +
"adoni").</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ADONI =
my lord.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">LADONI =
To my lord.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the
greek of the LXX, LADONI becomes: "to kurio mou" (to my lord)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If the
text had read: LADONAI (= to the divine Lord) the Greek would have read simply
"to kurio."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">thus the
LXX confirms for us that the original Hebrew is ADONI, and that the Massoretes
got it right.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">THE
MESSIANIC CONNECTION</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Many have
incorrectly assumed that the original Hebrew word in Ps. 110:1 is ADONAI (which
always refers to God). This has led to the further incorrect assumption that
the verse is a "proof text" for the doctrine of the Trinity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However,
we have seen that the actual Hebrew word used is ADONI. This word refers to
human lords. It speaks of the HUMANITY of Jesus--not Deity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psalm
110:1 should be studied in the context of the many NT quotations which use it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Viewed
properly, it is clearly Messianic -- NOT Trinitarian.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In 22
places where it is quoted in the NT, the overwhelming conclusion is that the
early Church relied very heavily on Psalm 110:1 to prove that the MAN Jesus,
who now sits at the right hand of God, is indeed both Messiah and Son of God.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As
David's descendant, Jesus would normally be considered by Jewish tradition to
be INFERIOR in rank to David.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
through His miraculous Divine paternity, the impossible has happened!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">although
Jesus is both totally Human and descended from David, he nevertheless OUTRANKS
him by right of birth.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As
"Son of David," Jesus has inherited David's throne (Luke 1:32-33).
But as "Son of God," Jesus has also been exalted to receive the name
which is above every name" (Phil. 2:9-11).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In accordance with the Scriptures,</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus is forever both man and Messiah.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">His throne is for ever.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">His name is above David's name forever.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">He is David's King forever!</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">THAT is why David calls Him "lord!"</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Footnotes:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1. Psalm
110:1 is quoted by </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus: </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_22:44</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_26:64</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_12:36</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_14:62</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_16:19</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_20:42</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_22:69</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rev_3:21</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Peter: </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_2:33-34</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_5:31</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Pe_3:22</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Stephen: </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Act_7:55-56</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul: </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rom_8:34</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Co_15:25</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Eph_2:6</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Col_3:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_1:3</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_1:13</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_8:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_10:12-13</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">; </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heb_12:2</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2. On
about thirty occasions the word "adon" is also translated with an
upper case "L." However, it should be noted that "adon"
much more often refers to a human lord, and then it is translated with a lower
case "l."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3. Sir
Anthony F. Buzzard, Bt. M.A., (Oxon.) Th. A.R.M.C, teaches at the Atlanta Bible
College of the Church of God General Conference.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">4. THE
MASSORETIC VOWEL POINTS</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The following information on the
Massoretes and their work has been condensed from various books, encyclopedias,
and internet sources. The ancient Hebrew texts were comprised of consonants
only. There were no vowels or punctuation marks. The Massoretes were Hebrew scholars who, over several
centuries, established a system of vowel markings to indicate the traditional
pronunciation and intonation. We call these the "vowel points."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #f3f3f3;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> This work was not completed until
several centuries after the beginning of the Christian Era.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #f3f3f3;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One sometimes encounters people whose
determination to retain Psalm 110:1 as a Trinitarian "proof text"
leads them to (selectively) discount the reliability of the Massoretic vowel
pointing system, in favor of some other personal preference, especially when it
suits their particular theological bias. However, unless there is compelling
documented evidence for changes of this kind, they are seldom helpful. We must
be very cautious about introducing arbitrary changes of this kind. lest we
leave ourselves open to accusations of "intellectual dishonesty."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #f3f3f3;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The following summary will provide a
brief introduction to the Massoretes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The work of the Massoretes was done principally in the period AD
500-900.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">although there were different schools of Massoretes, their
differences seem to have left us very few variations in the meaning of the
Hebrew consonant list.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It was the goal of the Massoretes to preserve the traditional
meaning of the Hebrew text. (This was perceived as necessary, because ancient
Hebrew is strictly a consonantal language, and therefore prone to error in
transmission).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One of the ways they did this was to develop a system of vowel
pointing which indicates the traditional pronunciation and meaning of the text.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Since Hebrew is a consonantal language, there are many places
where the dame consonants are used for quite different words. (Note) <i>That is
no different from English! Often the same consonants form different words when
associated with different vowels. Often the same combination of consonants and
vowels has a different pronunciation and a different meaning. When that
happens, we use context and tradition to interpret the intended meaning.</i>)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">the Massoretic vowel pointing indicates the traditional meaning,
understanding, and pronunciation which had formerly been passed sown from
generation to generation, by oral tradition, through their teachers.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In cases where identical groups of consonants were traditionally
understood to be different words, with different meanings attached. the pointing
system made that clear and preserved it for future generations.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our current English translations all rely heavily on the pointed
text.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As a layman, I conclude that what we
have now is the work of dedicated Jewish Scholars, which reflects the best consensus
about what was ALREADY accepted as the traditional understanding of the text,
over many centuries. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #f3f3f3;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Consequently, when the Massoretes
reported "adoni" instead of "adonai" in Psalm 110:1, they
were following the oral tradition. As we have already seen above, the LXX,
which predates the pointed text by centuries, supports this conclusion.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> The Massoretes knew that in the
unpointed text for that verse, the word "ADNY" was properly read and
understood as a human lord, "ADONI," and not the divine Lord "ADONAI."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #f3f3f3;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And in the providence of god, they
inserted vowel points which preserved it that way for us (and our English
translations).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">5. Bill Wachtel ha an M.A. in NT from
Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. He was and instructor at the former Oregon
Bible College of the Church of God General Conference, from 1962 to 1968, and
president from 1963 to 1968. At OBC he taught Greek classes, as well as other
subjects.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957678781830016789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290184978443709039.post-73470288592067148092011-12-21T18:21:00.001-08:002011-12-22T16:29:28.854-08:00<div style="color: #eeeeee; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Plain Talk About Who God Is</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anthony Buzzard</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Trying to
read the Bible without understanding who the God of the Bible is is likely to
be frustrating. Unfortunately so much pressure and dogmatism now surrounds the
issue of who God is that Christians are unable to approach the text of
Scripture with an open mind. A great
measure of fear attends their studies, because they have been told what kind of
a God they are to find in the Bible, or else . . . hellfire! This is a hopeless
atmosphere for calm and reasoned investigation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
matter of deciding who God is in the Bible is relatively simple, if we follow
sound procedure.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And sound
procedure demands that we start our investigation in the right place, the
Hebrew Bible, the Bible which nurtured the Jews and Jesus and which Jesus
categorically said he did not come to destroy (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mat_5:17</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What God
is presented in Jesus' Bible</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The creed
of Israel, the cardinal tenet of all sound religion and the great hedge against
idolatry and paganism, is of course the <i>Shema</i> -- "Hear O Israel,
the Lord our God is one God" (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Deu_6:4</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). This
creed declares that the "Lord God is ONE LORD." The oneness of God is
here proposed in the simplest and clearest language.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">To
confirm this central truth the Hebrew Bible describes God with singular
pronouns (I, Me, You, Him, My, Your, His) <i>thousands upon thousands of times</i>!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anyone
with a rudimentary knowledge of language knows, or ought to know, that singular
pronouns denote a single Person. God therefore in the Bible is <i>One</i>
Person.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus
affirmed the unitary, non-trinitarian faith of Israel when he replied to the
question put to him by a theologian as to the greatest of all commandments.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus
replied that the "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord" is the
pinnacle of divine revelation. Only <i>that</i> God is to be loved with all our
hearts and minds and strength (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_12:28-34</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul
echoed the teaching of Jesus on this point with complete simplicity and
clarity. Discussing the multiple gods of paganism, Paul contrasted the
Christian belief:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"To us [Christians] there is
ONE God, the Father . . . And no other one besides Him" (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Co_8:4-6</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). That
of course is unitary monotheism, belief that God is a single Person.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The One
God is defined, we note, not as three eternal Persons, but as the Father.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At once
we are aware of a great difference between what traditionally appears in faith
statements and what Paul actually said: There is one God, the Father."
That is simply the unitary monotheism of Paul's and Jesus' Jewish heritage. Is
by definition also the Christian creed, because it is the biblical creed.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The stark
simplicity of this creed may seem threatening to some, but it is the force of
prejudice which makes it difficult to accept. There is no complexity about
Paul's creed. It is straightforward and beyond argument. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Many,
however, find it unsatisfactory, and they rush to point out that Paul in </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Co_8:4-6</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> went on
to say that Jesus was "God."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But did
he? In fact, not at all. Paul did indeed go on to say that "there is one
Lord Jesus Messiah." But it would be a fatal and confusing move to think
that Paul, by calling Jesus <i>Lord</i> was really calling him God! There is a
crucial difference.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">You see,
there is a simple and overpoweringly influential text behind Pul's language. It
is </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, the very text which Jesus himself had
produced when describing the relationship of himself the Messiah to the one God
(</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mar_12:35-37</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> is
quoted or alluded to no less than 23 times in the New Testament. It appears in
every section of the New Testament, and it would be a major mistake to ignore
its importance.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
recognizes in good Jewish fashion that God (Yahweh) is <i>One</i> Individual
and that One God speaks in a prophetic oracle to another individual, not
Himself, who is "my Lord," the lord of David. "My lord" is
told to sit at Yahweh's right hand until he is given future victory over his
enemies.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now the
second lord of </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> is definitely NOT God, but a superior <i>human</i>
being. How do we know this for certain? Because of the careful choice of words
in the original. "My lord" in the Hebrew inspired text is ADONI. In
every one of the 195 times the wore ADONI appears in the Bible, it <i>never</i>
means God, but always a human (occasionally angelic) superior. ADONI is the
word which tells us 195 times that the one named is not God, but man.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So when
Paul said that next to the One God, the Father, there is "one Lord Jesus
Messiah," he meant the one (superior, human) lord as defined by </span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">. Paul
has not confused Jesus with God.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Psa_110:1</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> could
well have used another word to describe the Messiah. There was a word ADONAI
which meant God (in all of its 449 occurrences). But the spirit never confused
God and the Son of God. God was Yahweh or Adonai and the Messiah was the human
lord, ADONI.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There are
two lords in the Bible, God and Jesus. But only the Father is the One God
("There is One God, the Father"). Jesus is the Lord Messiah, not the
Lord God (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luk_2:11</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, etc.).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The creed
of the Bible is the essence of simplicity: "There is One God, the Father,
and one Lord Messiah Jesus" (</span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1Co_8:4-6</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #eeeeee; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957678781830016789noreply@blogger.com0