Bible Study Testimony of the New Testament

[WalterandDebbie]

Sunday 12-6-20 Kislev 20, 5781 1st. day of the weekly cycle,
76th. Fall Day

Testimony of the New Testament

What do Jesus Christ Himself and the apostles have to say about this very important question? When the high priest interrogated Christ, and demanded, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus answered: "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Mark Fourteen:61-62).

On another occasion, the Jews asked Him, "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham!" (John Eight:53, 57). Jesus replied to them: "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" (v.58). At this point, the Jews picked up stones to stone Him for what they considered blasphemy (v.59). In other words, they understood that He was claiming to have existed BEFORE ABRAHAM -- they knew at this point that He was claiming to be the "I AM" -- the God, or YHVH, of the Old Testament!

Notice the play of words that Jesus was using. In Exodus Three, when God reveals Himself to Moses at the burning bush, He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exo.Three:6). Moses then asked God His name, so He would be able to tell the Israelites who had sent him. God then said, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I AM has sent me to you" (Exo.Three:13-14).

When Jesus told the high priest He was the "I am," the priest tore his clothes and accused Christ of blasphemy, of claiming to be God. When Jesus told the Jews that before Abraham was, "I AM," He was also telling them that He was the "I AM" who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. They got the point, and that is why they sought to stone Him to death!

Why is it that modern so-called "scholars" and professors of theology cannot grasp this simple, singular truth? Why is it that in their ignorance, arrogance, and conceit, that they overlook this fundamental TRUTH of Scripture?

Although Jesus deliberately hid His awesome true identity from the masses for most of His ministry, and simply let His miracles and signs do the talking for Him, speaking in riddles and paradyms and allegories to the masses, nevertheless there were special times in His ministry where He much more than "hinted" as to His true secret identity! He was GOD IN THE FLESH!

The above is a quote from this article if interested

Love always, Walter and Debbie

 

[WalterandDebbie]

Sunday 12-6-20 Kislev 20, 5781 1st. day of the weekly cycle,
76th. Fall Day

Notice more proof that the Messiah was to be the Divine King of Israel. In the second Psalm we read: "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD (here the Messiah is actually referred to directly as the "LORD"!) with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him" (Psalm Two:7-12).

Christ, the Messiah, is clearly referred to here not only as "the LORD," and is called by the Tetragrammaton (YHVH), or "Yahveh," but He is also referred to as the "Son of the LORD" (verse 7)). Let us learn a lesson from human experience. A husband and wife mate, and produce a "son." That son is fully human, just as much as his parents. He is just like them in every way -- with the same genetic code imprinted in his chromosomes. He is in the very image and likeness of his parents. He is FULLY HUMAN!

Even so, when the Father spoke of His own Son, whom He would give the nations of the earth as His inheritance, He was referring to a literal, begotten, and born SON -- fully Divine, just as He, the Father, is Divine -- FULLY GOD AS HE IS GOD, just as human children are fully human as their parents are!

To claim that the divinity of the Messiah is nowhere mentioned or alluded to in the Old Testament is nothing short of sheer unadulterated, fabricated ERROR and doctrinal heresy! It may not be pleasant to hear this belief described in such blistering, plain, and no-holds-barred terms, but it is true, nevertheless. Christ is very God, just as much as a human son is very human. But, of course, there is much more evidence! Now let us turn to the NEW Testament, and see what Christ Himself said on this pivotal question.

Testimony of the New Testament

What do Jesus Christ Himself and the apostles have to say about this very important question? When the high priest interrogated Christ, and demanded, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus answered: "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Mark Fourteen:61-62).

On another occasion, the Jews asked Him, "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham!" (John Eight:53, 57). Jesus replied to them: "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" (v.58). At this point, the Jews picked up stones to stone Him for what they considered blasphemy (v.59). In other words, they understood that He was claiming to have existed BEFORE ABRAHAM -- they knew at this point that He was claiming to be the "I AM" -- the God, or YHVH, of the Old Testament!

Notice the play of words that Jesus was using. In Exodus Three, when God reveals Himself to Moses at the burning bush, He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exo.Three:6). Moses then asked God His name, so He would be able to tell the Israelites who had sent him. God then said, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I AM has sent me to you" (Exo.Three:13-14).

When Jesus told the high priest He was the "I am," the priest tore his clothes and accused Christ of blasphemy, of claiming to be God. When Jesus told the Jews that before Abraham was, "I AM," He was also telling them that He was the "I AM" who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. They got the point, and that is why they sought to stone Him to death!

Why is it that modern so-called "scholars" and professors of theology cannot grasp this simple, singular truth? Why is it that in their ignorance, arrogance, and conceit, that they overlook this fundamental TRUTH of Scripture?

Although Jesus deliberately hid His awesome true identity from the masses for most of His ministry, and simply let His miracles and signs do the talking for Him, speaking in riddles and paradyms and allegories to the masses, nevertheless there were special times in His ministry where He much more than "hinted" as to His true secret identity! He was GOD IN THE FLESH!

The above is a quote from this article if interested

Love always, Walter and Debbie

 

[WalterandDebbie]

Messianic Texts in the Old Testament

The Messiah was to be born of "the seed of a woman" (Gen.Three:15). He was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah Five:2). He was to be a descendant of David (II Sam.Seven:14-16; Isa.Eleven:1). He was to be a mighty prophet, like Moses (Deut. Eighteen:15-16). But was He also to be very "God" Himself, a member of the divine Godhead?

Let us not assume. The apostle Paul tells us plainly that we must "prove all things," lest we be led away into hideous error and slanderous deception, which could deny us salvation itself (I Thess.Five:21). He praised the Bereans because they searched the Scriptures daily to prove whether what he taught was true or not (Acts Seventeen:11).

We know from many Scriptures that the coming of the Messiah was prophesied. This of itself neither proves His divinity or His humanity. It merely proves that the Father indeed had planned for the Messiah to appear to save mankind from their sins -- from the beginning. But is the Messiah ever referred to as "God" in the Old Testament?

The answer to this question is an astonishing and overwhelming YES!

"The Scripture cannot be broken" (John Ten:35). If even in just ONE verse we find the Messiah referred to as "God," then that would be sufficient proof of the fact. Scripture does not and cannot contradict itself. Jesus said of the Father, "Thy word is TRUTH" (John Seventeen:17). In other words, just one clear Scripture would be sufficient to PROVE the divinity and pre-existence of Christ, the Messiah!

But God has given us much more witness than that. Notice! In the 45th Psalm, speaking of the coming Messianic king, David writes prophetically: "You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword upon your side, O might one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. Your throne, O GOD, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy" (Psalm Forty Five :2-7, NIV).

The word for "God" in this passage, used once for the Messiah, and later for His "God," is the Hebrew word Elohim. It can refer to "gods in the ordinary sense," but in the plural with the article, refers to the supreme God. It is a word occasionally applied by deference to magistrates, and sometimes to angels, judges, or the mighty (see Strong's Exhaustive Concordance).

This is the very same word used in Genesis One, where we read: "In the beginning GOD (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth" (Gen.One:1). The very name "Elohim" is a "uni-plural" word denoting both unity and plurality at the same time. The singular form is "El," literally meaning "the mighty one." Thus Elohim, strictly speaking, is literally "The Mighty Ones"

-- an indication of just ONE GOD composed of more than one entity, being, or personality!

This conclusion is further reinforced by simply reading the rest of Genesis 1, especially the verses concerning the creation of mankind. We read, "Then God (Elohim) said, 'Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness, and let THEM rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created MAN in HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of God (Elohim) he created him; MALE AND FEMALE he created them" (Gen.One:26-27).

Notice this passage of Scripture carefully. God is not like the absent-minded professor who forgets how many of them there are, who speaks in the plural when there is only the singular. God cannot lie (Titus One:2). When He said, "Let US make man in OUR image," He was clearly referring to the fact that there were at least TWO PERSONAGES in the Godhead, communing with each other -- just as in a human family, there are Two Beings -- a man and a woman -- who become One in marriage! Both beings are on the same level -- that is both are human beings; but the man has authority over the woman. Even so, in the original Godhead, there are Two Beings -- the One we know as the Father, and the Other -- the One who BECAME the "Son" when He was born of the virgin Mary! This second member of the Godhead was also God, of the same composition and spirit essence as the Father -- but He was inferior in authority, even as the wife is inferior in authority to her husband. Thus a Great Truth is taught to us in this ancient verse of Genesis, the first book of the Torah!

Thus the "Son of God" did pre-exist as a member of the Godhead. However, He was not "coequal" with the Father, but was subject to and under the authority of the Father, who was greater than He. With this truth in mind, we can more fully understand the words of the prophet Micah who wrote: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, WHOSE ORIGINS ARE FROM OF OLD, FROM ANCIENT TIMES" (Micah Five:2). I believe it is very tenuous, and stretching the point, to try to claim that the person mentioned here was in existence merely as an "idea" or "thought" in the mind of God in ancient times. This verse, on the contrary, says that His very ORIGINS are of old, from ancient times -- or as the King James Version has it, "from EVERLASTING." The original Hebrew expression here is, "from the DAYS OF ETERNITY."

Does this really sound as if the Messiah really had no literal existence until His birth of the virgin Mary some 2,000 years ago? Nonsense! Falderol! Balderdash! Sheer bunkum!

The prophet Isaiah also foretold that the Christ would be God incarnate. He wrote: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end" (Isaiah Nine:6-7).

Anthony Buzzard and others claim that the word "God" here should be with a small "g." Now it seems to me, if you want to talk about idolatry, that would be it -- to worship any "god" with a small "g"! The Jehovah's Witnesses, of course, also subscribe to this interpretation. Thus they deny the Godhood and divinity of the Messiah! In the Hebrew, however, the expression "Mighty God" is gibbor meaning "mighty, powerful, champion, valiant" and "God" which is"El," the singular of Elohim, and which means, "The Mighty One." Thus the Christ is here portrayed as being the "Powerful, Valiant Mighty One," or "Powerful God." He is also referred to as the "Father" of Israel, His people, but not just that -- but as "EVERLASTING Father." The Hebrew for everlasting is ad, from adah, and means "for perpetuity," "eternity," "everlasting," "world without end."

Therefore, the Messiah is here depicted as being Eternal, Everlasting, and is once again referred to as God, "the Mighty, Powerful God," to distinguish Him from all pagan gods or lesser objects worshiped as gods by mankind.

Notice more proof that the Messiah was to be the Divine King of Israel. In the second Psalm we read: "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD (here the Messiah is actually referred to directly as the "LORD"!) with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him" (Psalm Two:7-12).

Christ, the Messiah, is clearly referred to here not only as "the LORD," and is called by the Tetragrammaton (YHVH), or "Yahveh," but He is also referred to as the "Son of the LORD" (verse 7)). Let us learn a lesson from human experience. A husband and wife mate, and produce a "son." That son is fully human, just as much as his parents. He is just like them in every way -- with the same genetic code imprinted in his chromosomes. He is in the very image and likeness of his parents. He is FULLY HUMAN!

Even so, when the Father spoke of His own Son, whom He would give the nations of the earth as His inheritance, He was referring to a literal, begotten, and born SON -- fully Divine, just as He, the Father, is Divine -- FULLY GOD AS HE IS GOD, just as human children are fully human as their parents are!

To claim that the divinity of the Messiah is nowhere mentioned or alluded to in the Old Testament is nothing short of sheer unadulterated, fabricated ERROR and doctrinal heresy! It may not be pleasant to hear this belief described in such blistering, plain, and no-holds-barred terms, but it is true, nevertheless. Christ is very God, just as much as a human son is very human. But, of course, there is much more evidence! Now let us turn to the NEW Testament, and see what Christ Himself said on this pivotal question.