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The Trinity

Part two

�There could be no concept that�s more foreign to the New Testament than the idea that Jesus was God.� (Rabbi Singer, 32:42 in this lecture)

 

 

Yahweh Echad!

Yahweh is One!

 

The Bible teaches us that man is created in the image of God and in the likeness of God. Man is created body, soul and spirit. What you see when you look at a person is not the person himself, but his body. The soul you can not see! We might not stop and think about it, but when we make decisions, it is the soul that decides what the person does. The soul contemplates and the body acts on the soul�s decision. The spirit acts as our conscious, that�s that little voice in your inner-self trying to correct you when you make a choice that maybe you shouldn�t do, telling you �should you really be doing that?�. It is your spirit calling you to account when you make such decisions. When God created man, the Bible says that God created man as �a living soul� (Heb: nephesh khayah). God says through the prophet Ezekiel that �the soul [nephesh] that sins shall die�. When we die, the body goes back to the dust, the soul lives on (either separated from [=death] or in the presence of [=life] God) and the spirit goes back to God, from where it came. (Eccl 12:7) So in essence the human is a soul, lives in a body and has a spirit given from God. So if we are to translate these three components to our understanding of God, since we are made in His image (b�tzalmo) and His likeness (kid�muto) the correspondence will look something like this:

 

The Soul = the Father

The Body = the Son

The Spirit = the Spirit

 

If we project this to how it works with God we see the following: the Father decides what happens and everything goes according to the will of the Father, the Son does as the Father decides and acts upon His decisions, the Spirit is God�s extension to His creation. This goes all in infinitely perfect unity and with God it works infinitely more complex than it does with the human being, since we are just an extremely downgraded version of God�s Being, in Whose image and likeness we are made.

 

Would this be what Yeshua meant when He said:

 

For this cause therefore the Judeans sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the Shabbat, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Yeshua therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing: for what things soever he does, these the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:18-19)

 

What follows are some passages from the Tenach and we will examine them thoroughly and see what rabbi Tovia Singer did not deal with, again, perhaps because he isn�t aware of this argument. Now as we examine them, keep in mind that according to anti-missionaries, God is not a man and that He can�t appear in human form. And that it�s idolatry to equate anything with the God of Avraham, Yitzchaq and Ya�aqov. Now if we will be honest and look honestly to the Tenach texts this is what we will find written in God�s Word.

 

 

What the Tenach tells us is that, although the people knew that God is not a man and that no man is God, for some reason people tend to claim that one particular Person has the right to be called God! We can see that this Person is sent by Yahweh, hence the fact that he is called "mal'ach Yahweh" (messenger of Yahweh). What we also see is that people know that they can't see God and live. This is something that is only applicable to the God of Israel! NO ONE has this exclusive quality other than Yahweh.

Yet, of this Person, it is said over and over again that they have seen God when they look at him. How can you, after coming to the full understanding of whom that person is, still say that he is God? Here are the texts from the Tenach that are all suspicious to say the least (all the Hebrew transliterations and most following translations are mine, mostly fashoned to the Hebrew text):

 

 

Genesis 18:1-19:1

Starting off with Genesis 18-19 where it�s said

�1 And the LORD appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth,�

 

The story goes on to say that God speaks to Avraham and Sarah and after diner the three men get up to leave for Sodom and Gomorra and the text says

�22 And the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.�

 

Avraham then reasons with God for not sweeping away the righteous with the wicked. After he is done, he goes his way and the text says that Yahweh goes His way. That�s the last verse of chapter 18. Now look at the very next verse:

�1 And the two angels came to Sodom at even��.

 

Did you see that? There were 3 men when Yahweh appeared to Avraham, after they have eaten they get up and go to Sodom, but God stays with Avraham to reason with him, and then they part ways after the other men are long gone and the Bible says that 2 angels arrived to Sodom. Where is �angel� #3? He was with Avraham talking about not sweeping away the righteous with the wicked and called Yahweh!

 

 

Genesis 32:31

 

Next up is Genesis 32:31 where Jacob wrestles with someone who changes his name from Ya�aqov to Yisrael because he �has striven with God and with man and prevailed�. Then Jacob comes to an amazing conclusion in verse 31 where he says

"ki ra'iti Elohiem panim el-panim watinatsel nafshi�
(for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved)

 

How do we know he isn't just speaking of a "judge" but of "God"? The fact that he claims to have seen Him and is amazed that he is still alive to tell! Look at this conclusion! If he wasn�t talking about the God of Avraham, then who was he talking about when he was amazed that he was still alive. It is only when you look at Elohim of Israel you fear for your life. It is only when you look at our God that you consider the possibility of dying in the process. Yet Ya�aqov, knowing full well that God is not a man, says that the Man he just saw face to face and whom he wrestled with is his God. Is Jacob idolatrous there? He sure is according to the anti-missionary position. Who was this Being? You don't say that you have seen a judge and are lucky to live. Only when having seen the God of Jacob, this proclamation makes any sense.

 

Genesis 48:15-16

How about Jacobs prayer for his offspring? In Genesis 48:15-16 Jacob makes another remarkable statement about his God. He is about to give his blessings to his offspring and blesses his beloved son Joseph. When announcing the blessing he says the following:

"HaElohim asher..., haElohim haro'eh oti...haMal'ach hago'el oti mikol rah, y'varech et-han'arim...
(The God whom... the God who tends me... the Messenger that saves me from all evil, bless the children...)".

 

How remarkable! Jacob requires the blessing of the Almighty and includes the Mal�ach in this request. Notice he doesn't use the plural "yiv'r'chu" (may they bless), but the singular "y'varech" (may he bless)! And why on earth would you include a mere angel in a blessing required from the Most High God?

Exodus 24:9-11

 

Then we have Exodus 24:9-11, where Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up to approach God. Verse 10 tells us

 

Wayir�u et Elohei Yisrael - and they saw the God of Israel;

and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand; and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.

 

Who did they see? They saw the God of Israel and they lived to tell. Some try to use the excuse that this was merely a vision as an escape clause. But that can't be. It says that they ate and drank. How do you eat and drink when you're in the middle of a vision? So, how does this mesh with the teaching that God has no form, when the text itself describes what is under God�s feet. To say that this is merely figure of speech, requires one to provide the proof for his case.

 

 

Judges 13

 

Now forward to Manoach in Judges 13, who makes the exact same claim, only now there is an extra detail. Manoach speaks to "the man of God" and at the end of the conversation the man does something supernatural. And when everything has passed the text says

"az yada Manoach ki mal'ach YHWH hu
(then he knew that it was Mal'ach Yahweh)".

So the text tells us that Manoach knew who this was! And still, in full realisation of whom he saw, he says

"mot namut, ki Elohim ra'inu
(we will die, because we have seen God)".

What an amazing proclamation!! Was Manoach mistaken? His wife surely didn't think he was. She didn't say, "are you crazy? Everybody knows that God isn't a man, so that couldn't have been God!" or something like that! She doesn�t reason like anti-missionaries do, because she has nothing or no one to refute. Instead, his wife said unto him:

 

'If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would He have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.'

 

Notice that she doesn�t deny that this was the God of Israel. One would expect her to say something like �if that really were God then we would have been dead by now�. Instead, she assured him that they wouldn't die, not because �that wasn't God�, but because He wouldn't have shown them all they were shown.

 

Judges 6

Back up to Gideon, Judges 6. He talks with a man and the man suddenly does something remarkable. When Gideon realises whom he's dealing with, look at the remarkable response:

"wayar' Gid'on, ki mal'ach YHWH hu; wayomer Gid'on: atah Adonai YHWH, ki-al-ken ra'iti mal'ach YHWH panim el-panim
(And Gideon realised that it was the Messenger of YHWH and Gideon said: Alas, O Lord YHWH! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of YHWH face to face)".

He then gets assured that he won't die. Why assure someone that he won't die since he hasn't seen God? Or has he?

 

 

 

I have yet to meet someone that can adequately explain these passages to me without making ridiculous statements like �those were angels that had the glory of God with them�. That is NOT what the text says! I have searched and discussed these passages with orthodox Jews and anti-missionaries who haven�t come up with any explanation that does right to these passages.

 

So what we see is that there is a Person that says of Himself "ehye asher ehye" (Gen 3:14 - I will be what I will be), that is sent by YHWH to act in Gods name, bares the name of YHWH and acts in that full authority. We see this through later revelation in the New Testament fulfilled by Yeshua the Messiah! He came to man to make His Father known to us, cause He is the "tselem" (image) of the Invisible God. Obviously God created man to his own "tselem" (image), so how can God create something and say that it's created in His image, when He has no form? So when Moses, Aharon and the Elders on Sinai "saw the God of Israel" and described what they saw was "under His feet" it wasn't God, the Father. It was the Son of God Whom they saw, cause no one can see or has ever seen the Father.

The only possible (and plausible) answer

 

If you would say that this is some god outside of HaShem, then it is definitely idolatry. So unless you claim that they have just been mistaken, Jacob, Gideon, Manoach and Moshe were all idolaters, because they said to have seen the God of Israel and all feared for their lives just because they claimed to have seen HaShem. Now I�ll ask anti-missionaries to be consistent by answering this question honestly, holding these instances from the Tenach to the same critical standard as they hold the New Testament: Is this idolatry? If is it, then the Torah and the Prophets endorse idolatry, since it doesn�t correct the supposedly idolatrous conclusions of these towering characters from the Tenach anywhere. Which automatically means that Genesis, Exodus and Judges have to rejected by rabbinic Judaism. If not, then why on earth is it idolatrous when we say that Yeshua is Elohim? Now we (i.e. most Messianics) see it the same way as these biblical characters. When we say that Yeshua is God we do NOT see Him as a God besides YHWH, cause there is no God besides YHWH. Knowing full well that there is no such thing as "seeing a prophet is the same thing as seeing God, Who sent the prophet" based on the so called "law of agency".

The only way that these passages can be explained adequately is Yeshua, the Image of the Invisible God! Now to all the texts from the New Testament that rabbi Singer conveniently left out of his lecture.

 

Now take a good look at the texts below that say that all things were made by Yeshua, through Yeshua and for Yeshua and that he sustains all things by his powerful word. But before we do that, let�s first go back to Isaiah 44:24 and look at what God said about creation:

 

 

Here, Yahweh says that it is HE that makes all things and he does it ALONE. The authors of the New Testament were fully aware of this text. To say that they didn�t believe that Yeshua was God, yet attribute all creation to him is simply untenable! Look at the following explanations as found in the New Testament and as you read these texts, and I urge you to read them carefully (please, don�t just skim through them), consider the implications of the following words and ask yourself this question: To what mere created thing can the following words be applied?

 

 

Philippians 2:5-8

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Messiah Yeshua: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 

 

Colossians 1:15-17+2:9

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him� For in Messiah all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,  

 

 

Hebrews 1:1-12

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say,
   "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"?

Or again,
   "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? 

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
   "Let all God's angels worship him."

In speaking of the angels he says,
   "He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire."

But about the Son he says,
   "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
      and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
      therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
      by anointing you with the oil of joy."

He also says,
   "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
      and the heavens are the work of your hands.They will perish, but you remain;
      they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe;
      like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same,
      and your years will never end."

 

 

John 1:1-3+14

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made�. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth�

 

 

 

Revelation 7:9+10

 

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

 

 

Revelation 5:11-14

 

And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb, [be] the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever. And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.

 

 

Who, besides God, is worthy to receive all this praise? Who, besides God, is worthy of the worship of �every created thing�, as expressed in Revelation 5:13? With this, he separates the Lamb from all creation and puts him alongside God. Now look at what a mere created thing should have said if he would be worshipped:

 

Rev 19:10 

And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See do it not: I am a fellow-servant with you and 

with your brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

 

Rev 22:9 

And he said unto me, See do it not: I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brethren the prophets, 

and with them that keep the words of this book: worship God.

 

If Yeshua were nothing more than ministering angels, even the highest angel isn�t worthy of worship, then please explain to me why God allows the Lamb to be worshipped?

 

 

 

The Targumim

 

Even in the Targumic concept of the Memra of YHWH (the Word of Yahweh) we see the same concept as explained above. The quotes from Scripture are in italics and the bold face are the Targums:

 

Gen 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

[JERUSALEM]. And the Word of the Lord created man in His likeness, in the likeness of the presence of the Lord He created him, the male and his yoke-fellow He created them

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2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.

[Pseudo Jonathan] And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of the world, and He made there to dwell the man when He had created him.

 

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3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden toward the cool of the day;

[Onkelos]And they heard the voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening of the day;

 

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3:9 And the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him: 'Where art thou?'�11 And He said: 'Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?'

[JERUSALEM]. And the Word of the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Behold, the world which I have created is manifest before Me; and how thinkest thou that the place in the midst whereof thou art, is not revealed before Me? Where is the commandment which I taught thee?

 

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3:22 And the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; �

[JERUSALEM] And the Word of the Lord God said, Behold, Adam whom I have created is sole in my world, as I am sole in the heavens above�

 

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6:3 And the LORD said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.'

JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord said�Have I not imparted My Spirit to the sons of men� Behold, I have given them a prolongment of a hundred and twenty years,

 

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15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.

[Onkelos] And he believed in the Word of the Lord, (Memra da Yeya,) and He reckoned it to him unto justification

 

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17:2 And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.'�7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant�10 This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised�11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you.

[Onkelos] I and I will set a covenant between My Word and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly much�And I will establish My covenant between My Word and thee, and thy sons after thee unto perpetual generations�This is My covenant which you shall keep between My Word and you and thy sons after thee, to circumcise every male that is among you. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between My Word and you.

 

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20:6 And God said unto him in the dream: 'Yea, I know that in the simplicity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against Me. Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

[Pseudo Jonathan]And the Word of the Lord said to him in a dream, Before Me also it is manifest that in the truthfulness of thy heart thou didst this, and so restrained I thee from sinning before Me; therefore I would not permit thee to come near her.

 

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21:22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke unto Abraham, saying: 'God is with thee in all that thou doest. 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son�s son;

[Onkelos] And it was in that time that Abimelek and Phikol, chief of his host, spake to Abraham, saying, The Word of the Lord is thy Helper in everything thou doest; and now swear to me here, by the Word of the Lord, that thou wilt not be false with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son.

 

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21:33 And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

[JERUSALEM]. And Abraham planted a paradise in Beer Sheba�And Abraham praised and prayed there in the name of the word of the Lord, the God of Eternity.

 

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Exo 6:3 and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name YHWH I made Me not known to them.

[JERUSALEM] And the Lord was revealed in His Word unto Abraham, to Izhak, and to Jakob, as the God of Heaven; but the Name of the Word of the Lord was not known to them.

 

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17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it YHWH-nissi. 16 And he said: 'The hand upon the throne of the LORD: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.'

[PJ]And Mosheh builded an altar, and called the name of it, The Word of the Lord is my banner; for the sign which He hath wrought (in this) place was on my behalf. And he said, Because the Word of the Lord hath sworn by the throne of His glory, that He by His Word will fight against those of the house of Amalek, and destroy them unto three generations; from the generation of this world

 

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30:6 And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the ark-cover that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

[Onkelos] And thou shalt place it before the veil which is over the ark of the testimony before the mercy?seat which is over the testimony, where I will appoint My Word to be with thee.

 

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33:9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the Tent; and [the LORD] spoke with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at his tent door.

[PJ]And it came to pass when Mosheh had gone into the tabernacle, the column of the glorious Cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle; and the Word of the Lord spake with Mosheh. And all the people beheld the column of the Cloud standing at the door of the tabernacle, and the whole people at once rose up and worshipped towards the tabernacle, standing every man at the door of his tent.

 

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Lev 26:11 And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people.

[PJ] And I will set the Shekinah of My Glory among you, and my Word shall not abhor you, but the Glory of My Shekinah shall dwell among you, and My Word shall be to you for a redeeming God, and you shall be unto My Name for a holy people.

 

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Num 14:20 And the LORD said: 'I have pardoned according to thy word.

[JERUSALEM] And the Word of the Lord said, Behold, I have absolved and pardoned, according to thy word

 

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Deut 4:7 For what great nation is there, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is whensoever we call upon Him?

[PJ] But the custom of (other) nations is to carry their gods upon their shoulders, that they may seem to be nigh them; but they cannot hear with their ears, (be they nigh or) be they afar off; but the Word of the Lord sitteth upon His throne high and lifted up, and heareth our prayer what time we pray before Him and make our petitions.

 

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4:24 For the LORD thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

[Onkelos]For the Word of the Lord thy God is a consuming fire: He is a jealous God.

 

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26:17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and that thou wouldest walk in His ways, and keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and hearken unto His voice. 18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be His own treasure, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments;

[JERUSALEM] You have chosen the Word of the Lord to be King over you this day, that He may be your God. But the Word of the Lord becometh the King over you for His Name's sake, as over a people beloved as a treasure, as He hath spoken to you, that you may obey all His commandments.

 

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Written in Deut 32. [PJ] When the Word of the Lord shall reveal Himself to redeem His people, He will say to all the nations: Behold now, that I am He who Am, and Was, and Will Be, and there is no other God beside Me: I, in My Word, kill and make alive; I smite the people of the Beth Israel, and I will heal them at the end of the days; and there will be none who can deliver them from My hand, Gog and his armies whom I have permitted to make war against them.

 

 

So in summary, looking at these quotes from the Targumim, we see the following:

 

      The Word has made man in His image, (Gen 9:6)

      The Word made Eden and was present there the whole time,

      The Word receives prayers and forgives sins,

      The Word rules in heaven,

      Altars are built in honour of the Word,

      There are petitions in the name of the Word and by His name people swear,

      The Word is being sent,

      The Word is called redeeming and en jealous God. My last example says that He Is, Was and will Be and that there is no God besides Him.

 

So in short:

* This Mal'ach is sent and gets the same response as though He is God in the Tenach
* The Memra is sent and gets the same credits as though He is God in the Targums
* Yeshua is sent and gets the same credits as though He is God in the New Testament

Do you see the parallels? These aren�t Christian sources, these are rabbinic Jewish sources. Who was this being that people spoke of so highly as though it was God himself? There are more places that can be pointed out, but are less ambiguous than these. But I challenge anyone to read the texts with an open mind and an open heart (forget trinity believes!) and to come up with a satisfactory explanation of these verses without coming to the same conclusion as we have. Namely, that there is something more than "unitarians" (for lack of better words) would like us to believe. The excuse that "one who represents God has His authority" simply will not work in these cases! A prophet represents God too but no one would claim that "seeing a prophet" equals "seeing God" and would then fear for his life after having seen a prophet. But I have to say, with people like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Gideon and Manoach on our side, we are in very good company.

 

 

John 12:39-41

 

A few more things to be said about this subject in conclusion. I will take you to a few more passages. In the verses 39-41 of the gospel of John we find the following:

 

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
"He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn�and I would heal them."

Isaiah said this because he saw Yeshua�s glory and spoke about him.

 

Does anyone know what part of Isaiah John is quoting here? When did Isaiah see the glory of Yeshua? John quotes Isaiah 6:10. If we go to the quote in Isaiah 6 we see the entire episode that John is alluding to and we see what Isaiah saw before the quote in John 12:

 

In the year of the death of King Uzziyahu, I saw Adonai sitting on a high and exalted throne, and His lower extremity filled the Temple. Seraphim stood above for Him, six wings, six wings to each one; with two he would cover his face, and with two he would cover his feet, and with two he would fly. And one called to the other and said, "Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh is Yahweh Tseva�ot; the whole earth is full of His glory." And the doorposts quaked from the voice of him who called, and the House became filled with smoke. And I said, "Woe is me for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and amidst a people of unclean lips I dwell, 

for the King, Yahweh Tseva�ot have my eyes seen. 

(Isaiah 6:1-5)

 

This is what Isaiah saw! Yochanan (John) claims that this wasn�t the Father that Isaiah saw, since no one has seen the Father. (John 1:18) According to John, this was Yeshua�s glory that Isaiah saw. How can anyone, in his right mind, say that the New Testament doesn�t teach that Yeshua is God? Unless, of course, he has some agenda, like rabbi Singer.

 

 

John 20:24-29

 

Then we go to John 20:24-29. Yeshua has risen from the dead and has appeared to the disciples except for Thomas. Now He appears to Thomas, who still couldn�t believe that Yeshua resurrected. After he became convinced that it actually did happen, this is what John records:

 

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Yeshua came. So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Yeshua came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Shalom aleichem." Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Yeshua said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

 

No one can claim that Thomas wasn�t talking to Yeshua and just exclaimed something in astonishment. John clearly said that Thomas addressed Yeshua. He answered �and said to Him�. And where is the rebuke of Yeshua to Thomas? It doesn�t exist! There is only the affirmation: Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed. And so it is indeed.

 

 

2 Peter 1:1

 

Lastly, I present 2 Peter 1:1. He starts with the following proclamation:

 

Shim�on Kefa, a bond-servant and apostle of Yeshua the Messiah, To those who have received a faith of 

the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah:

 

Look at that! Yeshua is called �our God and Saviour�. Now I know that people will claim that the phrase should be translated as saying �our God and our Saviour��, separating the two and distinguishing the words �our God� from �our Saviour�. But if we look at verse 11, we see the exact same phrase when is says:

 

and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah.

 

So why translate these verses differently when they say the exact same thing, with the only difference being the words �kuriou� and �theou� (see also 2:20; 3:18):

 

2 Peter 1:1

tou qeou hmwn kai swthroV ihsou cristou:

tou theou emon kai soteros Iesou Christou

 

2 Peter 1:11

tou kuriou hmwn kai swthroV ihsou cristou

tou kuriou emon kai soteros Iesou Christou

 

The translation �God and Saviour� is totally justified and actually the only correct reading of the text.

 

 

Conclusion

 

It is pretty obvious what the New Testament teaches about the divinity of Yeshua, our Messiah and Lord. To think otherwise is to totally neglect everything that is said by either Yeshua Himself or the apostles. Surely, for rabbi Singer to say that the teaching that Yeshua is God is foreign to the New Testament is as nonsensical as saying that Rashi, the Rambam and all the Sages believed in the validity of the New Testament as inspired Scripture, that Yeshua was the Messiah and that they were all passionate Muslims all at the same time. Who would believe that?

 

 

May the grace of haAdon Yeshua haMashiach, and the love of Elohim, 

and the fellowship of Ruach haKodesh be with you all. 

(1 Cor 13:14)

Nakdimon

 

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